How's it going, and welcome to the very first chapter of Chara?
Well, I'm a little late to the party, but I've really gotten into Undertale the past week. It's a great game, and the lore and characters are just fantastic. And for the past few days or so, I've had this idea for a story floating around, so I can't wait to get this rolling.
Before we begin, the only ground rule that needs to be established is that this takes place after a True Pacifist run. This means Frisk knows very little about Chara, which is crucial to the story.
EDIT 7/26/16: Welp... as luck would have it, a glitch swallowed up this story the first time I posted this, forcing me to reupload. I apologize for the inconvenience.
Okay, enough from me. Let's get going.
Disclaimer: I don't own Undertale. Undertale is owned by Toby Fox.
Present
"Thoughts"
Author's Note
Flashback/VHS Tape
Frisk's eyes blinked open.
Instinctively, they brought a hand to their forehead. The skin was wet to the touch, drenched in sweat. A quick rub of their hair revealed much of the same, and the pillowcase was soaked, too. Another one of those nights.
Frisk closed their eyes again. They thought hard about what their dream was, what it could have been... they used to remember them well, but now they were harder to recall. The details were a blur.
But still, there were the eyes. Those stuck out like a sore thumb.
Frisk tore the covers away and hopped to their feet. They raised an arm high to the sky, and stretched. When they were done, they walked to a desk in a corner of the room: an open notebook sat on the surface, with a pen just above it. Frisk took the pen in hand and began to write:
October 14th, 2015 — Not a very good night. Woke up in a sweat. I probably had a nightmare, but I don't remember any of it... except for the eyes. Those blank eyes were looking right at me again, and I don't know why.
Frisk scanned the rest of the page. Every entry from the past two weeks—when they began the journal—mentioned horrors from the night, terrible dreams all around... and all of them had one thing in common. The eyes.
Frisk closed the notebook. They walked over to their bedroom door and yanked it open; after a short trip down the hall, they made their way down the stairs and into the kitchen.
Frisk filed through the open doorframe and took a good look around. Sitting at the counter, a newspaper in her left hand and a coffee mug (though probably filled with something else) in her right, their dear mother Toriel. And as they walked in, she lowered the newspaper and smiled.
"Good morning, my child."
Frisk calmly made their way over to her. When they reached her, however, they opened their arms wide, and took her into a hug. She happily soaked the child in her own arms, and held them tight.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Not really... but at least I didn't wake up screaming again."
"Indeed. That's four days in a row." Toriel gently set Frisk down on their feet. "You've been having those nightmares for a few weeks now, but they seem to be getting better."
"Yeah, I guess... I still saw the eyes, though. They won't go away."
Toriel nodded. "I'm sorry I can't help you with those, but without seeing them for myself, I wouldn't know..." As she spoke, she scootched her stool away from the counter and rose to her feet. She walked to the refrigerator and opened it, and then reached inside: her hand emerged with a slice of her signature dish.
"Here, I prepared you your breakfast. Just remember to lay a napkin over your lap as you eat."
Frisk happily nodded. Toriel gave the child a soft smile, and then she set the pie down on the counter. Frisk jumped onto her former stool as she reached into the drawer for a fork.
"My child, I truly do hope you're beginning to overcome those bad dreams," she mentioned as she handed them the silverware. "That first night, I've never heard one yell as loudly as you..."
"Yeah, that one was really bad," nodded Frisk. They dug their fork into the pie and took a bite. "I'm glad you told me to start keeping a journal, though. I think it's been helping me."
"I'm glad. As I said, writing down your nightmares might help us... comprehend what it is you're seeing."
Toriel stared at her feet as she spoke. Frisk looked up from their pie.
"... Are you okay?"
"Hm?" Toriel shook her head, and reestablished eye contact with her adopted child. "Oh, yes, of course. Everything's fine, dear."
"Okay... it just seemed like you spaced out there."
Toriel shook her head. "I assure you, it's quite all right. Have you finished?"
Frisk nodded. They gently pushed the empty plate across the counter, and Toriel took hold of it. She put it in the empty sink, and quickly ran the water across it.
"Oh... Frisk?"
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry to bother you, but I just remembered there are quite a few boxes in the garage. A few leftover things I haven't gotten around to putting out yet. Would you perhaps help me move some of them to my room?"
Frisk nodded.
"Let's see here... boxes, boxes, boxes."
Frisk glanced around the garage. Stacks upon stacks of boxes lined the floor and walls, some reaching as high as the ceiling. Clearly Toriel had been keeping this stuff for a little while now, and just now felt the need to bring it to their attention.
For some reason.
Frisk walked over to the nearest stack. It ended just below the ceiling, and a few of the boxes jutted out a little too much for Frisk's liking. Lowering the stack without sending it tumbling over would be delicate.
"Okay, easy now..." they thought as they reached for a box near the middle. "Careful, careful, care—"
"Hey kid."
"AAAAAH!"
Frisk whipped around on the spot, their hands abandoning the box. Standing right behind them, hands buried deep in his coat pocket and staring with wide, unending eyes was Sans.
"Sans, don't scare me like that! Use the door, don't teleport."
"It's not teleporting, kid, I took a shortcut. Get used to it."
"I have. Just don't do it now, this is important." Frisk sighed, but nevertheless chuckled a little. "Make one little mistake, and this entire room collapses around you. It's dangerous."
"Hm... yeah, you got a point. Heh."
"Why is all of this stuff here, anyway?" asked Frisk. "I don't remember any of it. Where's Toriel been keeping it all?"
"Storage. It's not all hers anyway, some of it belongs to Undyne and Alphys."
"Undyne and Alphys?" asked Frisk. "Why's some of THEIR stuff here?"
"They only moved next door last week. They mailed some of their smaller stuff ahead of time, since they said it was less cost on shipping. Good idea, to be honest. Toriel keeps asking me to bring it over, but now she's gonna make you do it instead."
"But why... never mind. Say, where's—"
"DID SOMEONE MENTION ME?!"
The front door of the house slammed shut as he spoke, sending a vibration through the floor; Frisk's eyes immediately darted to the stacks of boxes, and while a few looked wobbly, none were about to collapse. They breathed a sigh of relief just as Papyrus entered the garage.
"SANS! WHERE DID YOU GO?! YOU LEFT ME AT THE WALGREENS BY MYSELF!"
"Sorry bro. I had stuff to do."
"LIKE?!"
"Uh... leaving the store. I'd say you agree, since you're here."
"WHAT?! I MOST CERTAINLY DO—" Papyrus cut himself off and looked around the room. His eye sockets widened. "DANG IT! AH WELL. I WAS BORED WITH THE TALKING PLASTIC SWORD ANYWAY. BUT EVEN SO!"
Just as fast as he ran in, Papyrus bolted away. Sans and Frisk watched him go right through the open garage door, leap perfectly into his convertible, and somehow speed away without even turning on the engine.
"... Talking plastic sword?"
"Kids section. He likes the weapons. Oh, and hey."
"What?"
Sans' grin grew wider. "Bye."
And just like that, he was gone. Frisk turned back around.
And in an instant, they knew why.
"What was that? It sounded like a—"
"Crash? Yeah, probably. I think it's Frisk in the garage."
"Think? You were just there."
Sans shrugged. Toriel darted out of the kitchen.
"Frisk! Are you all right?"
As she entered the garage, her eyes scanned the floor; Frisk sat curled in a ball, hands covering their head, while a small collection of boxes lay perfectly around them in a circle. It was quite remarkable how none hit them.
Frisk got to their feet. Ignoring Toriel for now, they looked around the room; luckily, it appeared that none of the other stacks of boxes were in any imminent danger. They breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh dear, look at this mess," said Toriel, interrupting Frisk's thoughts. "I knew I shouldn't have stacked the boxes so high. Will you need any help cleaning up? I'd be happy to."
"No, I'll do it. Thank you for the offer, though."
Toriel smiled. She nodded.
"Very well. Please let me know if you change your mind, however. I'll be back soon to help you move them in any event."
With that, she left the room. Frisk turned their attention to the boxes strewn about the floor.
"Hm... not much point in stacking the boxes again. She said to bring them to her room, so..."
Frisk squatted low to the ground, and went to the nearest box. They grabbed it with both hands, and prepared to lift it. When they did, however, they discovered the seal had come undone in the fall; all the contents came spilling out onto the garage's floor.
"What? Ah... darn it."
Frisk set the box down, open side up. Then, after a moment of stillness, they looked across the floor at whatever spilled out.
Packages of Instant Noodles. A collection of graphic novels. A piece of paper, apparently some kind of note.
And... a VHS tape. Five of them, to be exact.
"Tapes?"
Frisk gingerly reached for the nearest VHS. They picked it up carefully, and inspected the plastic casing for cracks. When they found none, they turned it on its side, and found a paper label: Tape 3.
Frisk stopped dead in their tracks.
"These tapes... these are from the laboratory. The ones I watched."
Frisk looked up from the tape in their hands. A little ways away, the note beckoned once again; they quickly reached over and grabbed it, and started reading. Would this perhaps have a clue?
Alphys X Undyne fanfic OUTLINE (chapters one, two and three)
CHAPTER 1: Alphys feeling down, Undyne asks what's wrong (EXTRA FLUFFY! BUT NOT TOO OOC REMEMBER)
Alphys explains how they finished anime, now sad there's none left (IMPORTANT FOR REALISM, USE MEW MEW FOR EXTRA IMPACT!)
Undyne hugs Alphys, leans in for kiss—
Frisk put the paper down. Definitely wouldn't help.
"But still... why?" they thought. "Why would Alphys even bring these tapes in the first place? It doesn't make sense, what's she planning to do with them?"
Whatever the reason was, they had no clue. And with no answers forthcoming from what was in the box, it looked as if there wouldn't be any at all.
As badly as they wanted to, Frisk knew they couldn't just go up to Alphys and ask. This box was clearly meant to be one she didn't want others to see—hence the outline for the fanfic—and it wasn't really their place to be looking in it at all. Even if it was an accident.
Frisk put the paper back in the box. Then they did the same with the Instant Noodles, and the graphic novel as well. But when they moved to put Tape 3 in the container, they felt a strange... hesitation. It kept their hand—tape entrenched in fingers—hovering over the box for a moment, and then lowering it into their lap.
Frisk could still remember these tapes well. Watching them deep in the laboratory, at that television set up in that isolated room. The first was of Toriel and Asgore, interacting with each other. Telling jokes. Messing around... and Toriel's excitement about being a mother.
The second was of Asriel. There was no picture to any of the tapes, but from what Frisk could tell by the narration, it seemed Asriel was trying to make someone do their "creepy face." And if the story they knew from was correct, that someone... was the other child.
Chara.
The next were even worse. In the third, Asriel remarking how Chara "laughed off" poisoning Asgore. The fourth, Asriel doubting a plan hatched by Chara. And the last...
As quickly as they could, Frisk put the five tapes back in the box. They resealed the package by putting the tape back on, and set it off to the side.
"My child, you were a magnificent help with the boxes today. Thank you very much."
"You're welcome..."
Toriel smiled. She gently kissed Frisk's forehead, and then pulled the covers up to their chin. "I'll be leaving to my room now. Remember, if you feel you need assistance during the night, I'm here for you."
"I know... I'm sure my nightmare won't be too bad tonight. Don't worry about me."
Toriel shook her head. "I must. I'm your mother, after all."
Frisk grinned. They sank into the pillow and closed their eyes.
Toriel, on the other hand, remained seated on the side of the bed for a moment. She watched the child, resting peacefully... for the time being. The night would grow worse soon, and how much so she did not know. If only there was something she could do to help their nightmares...
Toriel rose to her feet. She walked across the room to Frisk's door, and opened it as quietly as she could. But just before shutting it again, she spared one last look at her child.
They had rolled over in their bed. Facing away.
Frisk eyed their alarm clock again. The time read 1:19 AM.
The ruse had been a success. As far as Toriel was concerned, they were fast asleep, out like a light. Nightmares and all, of course, but asleep.
And that was just the cover to get this done.
As quietly as they could, Frisk walked over to their bedroom door. They pressed their ear against the surface, straining to hear any noises from the hall; all was quiet, meaning Toriel was most likely asleep.
Frisk opened their bedroom door, a little at a time. When it was just wide enough for them to slip out, they did so, and entered the upstairs hall. The stairs were nearby, and while the house was dark to the point of very low visibility, they knew their way around well enough to find it anyway.
Frisk went to the head of the stairs. Their hand fumbled in the dark for the handrail, but found it after a moment; they grabbed it tight and carefully made their way down. "Three steps... four... five..."
Ten was the magic number. And after hitting it, Frisk planted both feet on the ground. They were downstairs.
Next.
Frisk made their way into the kitchen. Careful to avoid loudly bumping things, they ran their hand along a row of drawers, until finally reaching the one at the very end. They opened it, and reached inside—a flashlight.
Frisk turned on the light. Immediately, the surroundings were revealed: A few stray cups and empty plates lined the kitchen countertop, and the stools were all neatly pushed in. The entrance to the living room was just up ahead, and from there, the garage.
Frisk walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. Thankfully, the floor here was carpeted, muffling their footsteps; the need for carefulness reduced, Frisk slouched just a bit. Nevertheless, they took their time reaching the door to the garage, and they opened it just as slowly as the bedroom.
Frisk squeezed through and closed it behind them.
With a sigh of relief, they flicked on the nearby light switch. The bulb hanging from the ceiling brightly illuminated, flooding the room with light. With its purpose served, Frisk shut off the flashlight.
Inside the garage, the number of boxes had been reduced greatly. All of Toriel's belongings had been taken to her room, while Undyne and Alphys's were in separate piles against the wall. And in Alphys's pile, there was one at the very top with a slightly torn tape seal.
Frisk grabbed it.
Frisk sat on the living room couch, in complete darkness. The flashlight was turned off, hastily pushed to the side. Their finger anxiously tapped the top of the box in their lap.
For the life of them, Frisk couldn't figure out what they were doing. Sneaking around the house in the early HOUR of the morning, swiping a box of VHS tapes that wasn't even theirs, and had already seen in any event? No to mention, the chances of getting caught were high, and it would be almost unexplainable if they were.
But still... the tapes.
Frisk had to admit, the contents of the box were, to put it mildly, dark. After all, they contained Asriel, back when he was just an innocent child... and the beginning of the end for him. These were awful memories of Frisk's friend, and ones they admittedly weren't too eager to revisit.
But there was another part. The wild card, the one Frisk didn't know much about. The one that had their interest piqued. The one that had them out of bed at almost two in the morning.
Chara.
In all the time they'd known her, Frisk had never heard Toriel discuss—or even so much as mention—Chara. Neither had Asgore. Obviously, there was a reason why: the former couple lost not one, but TWO children that day. The pain, though Frisk could never hope to understand it, was unimaginable. Of course they wouldn't want to go digging it up...
But the lack of information fueled the curiosity for Frisk. Rediscovering the tapes was the spark, but now they were bent on finding out more. The desire was inexplicable, really, but it their mind, it kept raising questions: What was Chara REALLY like, aside from what little they already knew? How did they change during their time in the Underground? Were they... comparable to Frisk, somehow?
Frisk looked down at the box again. They wouldn't get all they wanted to know, but maybe watching the tapes again would help clear it up a bit...
The VHS player was set.
The TV volume was turned as low as possible. Frisk sat close to the screen, their ear pressed to the speaker; seeing the picture didn't matter in the slightest, for there was none. Not on these tapes.
They just needed to listen.
Frisk felt the plastic tape in their fingers. Tape 2, from the label. As far as they were concerned, the first one was irrelevant. All that mattered were the tapes with the two children. With Asriel.
And Chara.
Frisk put the tape into the machine. It gurgled static for a moment, and then, after a few clicks, began to play:
Okay, Chara, are you ready?
Do your creepy face!
AHHHHH!
Hee hee hee!
Oh!
Wait!
I had the lens cap on...
What!?
You're not gonna do it again...?
Come on, quit tricking me!
Haha!
The tape popped out of the machine. Frisk didn't move to grab it.
"Chara's creepy face? What does that even mean? It must've been pretty scary, if Asriel were asking for it on camera... I wish he didn't leave the lens cap on. I would have liked to see what Chara looked like."
Frisk shook themself out of their thoughts. They took the tape at last and set it to the side, and then reached in the box for the next one. They held up the paper label to see which one was next: Tape 4.
Frisk shrugged. Order didn't really matter, since they'd seen them all before. The last time they'd watched these was only a few months ago in the lab, and they still remembered them clearly.
But even so. Seeing these tapes again, of Asriel and Chara. It was... unusual. Fascinating, even.
Terrifying.
I... I don't like this idea, Chara.
Wh. . what?
N-no, I'm not...
... big kids don't cry.
Yeah, you're right.
No!
I'd never doubt you, Chara...
Never!
Y... yeah!
We'll be strong!
We'll free everyone.
I'll go get the flowers.
The flowers. The poisonous buttercups, the same ones Asriel and Chara gave Asgore. Except this time...
Frisk shivered.
"Why would they even do something like that? I know Asriel was Chara's best friend, but... couldn't he see this was a terrible idea? Couldn't CHARA see this was a bad idea? It got them both killed... "
Frisk blinked. For a moment, their mind went blank.
"... Why was Chara like this? Did they have a reason? All Asriel told me was that they hated humanity..."
They finally spoke in a hushed whisper, to no one but themself:
"Who were you, Chara?"
And cut.
I don't have a consistent update schedule (as I release chapters as soon as they're completed), but I'll try to update as frequently as I can. Hopefully every few days, though it'll probably take a little longer once school starts up again.
On a last note, I'd like to remind that constructive criticism is always welcome. I tried my best to keep everyone in character, but this being my first Undertale story, I'm not sure how well I did. Let me know what you think!
Have a nice day.