A/N: What's up people, aside from the ceiling. Before you read this, no, this isn't spoilers for the main Grouptale story. It's completely different (aside from the occasional reference hue hue). You don't have to go and read that one to understand this one, but you can if you want to know the characters better. Or maybe you've already read it XD This is just a spin-off, based on a different type of Grouptale AU. It's going to be much shorter than the other one. Also you'll never believe it, but Chara is here. So is Frisk! They're both named. And they speak! Wowie.
There are quite a lot of people who I'd like to give shout outs to, but then I'd be here for five years XD But let's say a lot of them have given me some motivation to write things like this.
No more talking, happy reading.
Frisk was lying on some golden buttercups. That had been a long fall. They were surprised they hadn't injured themself. They had done this so many times yet they couldn't make sense of the fall. They shook their head. Petals were getting caught in their hair.
"Finally." a voice spoke beside them. It was Chara. They were sitting up, brushing their legs off. They stood up and looked around. "Come, Frisk. We don't have a lot of time." Frisk stood up. They put on a blank expression and followed the first human through the cavern. They were briskly walking. Frisk wondered how desperate Chara was. This was important, but…
Chara paused at the purple gate for a moment. They observed the symbol on top. Their expression seemed tense for a moment. Frisk patted their shoulder.
"Don't touch me." Chara said, brushing their hand away. "Affection is not our friend." They walked through the gate. Frisk sighed. Chara was so temperamental.
There was no Flowey to greet them in the first room. And even if there was, neither of the kids would've been fooled by his antics. They instead entered the RUINS: the lavish, purple brick-filled area that was full of puzzles. Chara had a nostalgic look in their eyes. They shook it off and kept walking. The first puzzle had already been solved for the kids, much to Chara's delight.
"I never liked puzzles anyway." they told Frisk. They were so tense. Frisk knew they were excited, but they couldn't help worrying about them. Frisk kept their blank slate face on. They were doing this for Chara. This was the only way to make them happy.
Chara bypassed the lakes with bridges. All the puzzles had already been completed. There was no Toriel either. Frisk found themself wondering what the heck was wrong with this timeline. Chara didn't seem to care. Frisk stayed behind them, eyeing the RUINS. They knew this place so well they could go through it blind and with their arms tied back their back. Frisk wouldn't do that, of course. They were not insane. They hoped, anyway.
The kids continued venturing through the RUINS. On the way, they ran into Froggit. Frisk wiggled their eyebrows.
Chara groaned. "Do your stupid flirting. Go on."
"Have you been in my throat?" Frisk seductively asked the Froggit. "Because baby, you make me croak."
"Croak…" Froggit blushed, even though they didn't understand what Frisk had said.
"I want to die again." Chara complained. The kids spared the Froggit and kept walking. They came to the spike puzzle.
"I assume you know how to do this?" Chara asked Frisk. The flirty human nodded. They grabbed Chara's hand and led them onto the spikes, which disappeared under their feet.
"Frisk!" Chara yelped, shooing them away. "Don't touch me!" Frisk sighed. Chara was certainly an individual they had to be patient with. They understood what Asriel meant when he described Chara as not the greatest person. Oh well. Frisk liked Chara too much to mind. At least at the moment.
Frisk led Chara across the puzzle. Chara was wincing every ten seconds. Frisk found themself more focused on Chara than the puzzle itself. Perhaps it was because Frisk knew the puzzle so well. And also, Frisk wanted to make sure Chara didn't hurt themself.
After the puzzle was finished, the two went into the next room. It was the Independence Test room. The kids eyed the long path ahead of them.
"Ah, I remember this very well," Chara said, making a face. "The test of independence." They paused. Frisk was giving them a look. "Of course I'm independent, Frisk. Do not give me that pathetic expression." Their voice was shaky. Frisk just looked suspicious. "Stop looking at me like that."
"If you're so independent, you wouldn't be doing this," Frisk told Chara. "I wouldn't be here either."
Chara looked a little surprised. They took a deep breath of composure, their blush increasing. "This is a rescue mission more than anything. It's not about friendship." They walked off before Frisk could bother them with anymore questions. Frisk sighed.
Frisk and Chara bypassed another area. It was full of red leaves and various monsters. Frisk SAVED using Chara's SAVE file. Chara and Frisk were forced to battle a few Whimsuns.
"I've got this," Frisk told Chara. They approached the Whimsun. "Hel-" The Whimsun ran off, sobbing hysterically.
"Too sensitive for consolation," Chara said, shrugging. The kids kept walking. They went past a few more puzzles and monsters, Chara urging that they waste no time. There were no main monsters such as Toriel or Napstablook yet. Frisk, however, insisted buying a spider donut. Chara was annoyed. Frisk gave Chara a look. They didn't have to rush. Frisk hoped they would find Toriel soon. Maybe she could knock some kind of sense into the first human.
They didn't find Toriel. They found someone completely different.
"Frisk, honestly, we're wasting time." Chara groaned, their arms folded. They were in the area with those patches of soft material you can fall through. The patches were against the walls.
"Chara, shush, I can hear something." Frisk told Chara. They listened. They could hear someone crying. It sounded like a child.
"Oh, it's probably just Whimsun," Chara grumbled. "Who cares? If we leave the RUINS soon we have less of a chance of running into Toriel." Frisk was walking off. "Frisk! You brat! Come back!"
Frisk ignored Chara. They walked over to a patch of soft material by the wall. The crying was coming from down there. They jumped down, twirling around. Chara was mumbling insults. At the bottom, Frisk found a patch of red leaves and a crying girl.
The girl didn't look too much older than they did. She had long, blonde hair tied back with a faded, red ribbon. She was wearing a short-sleeved white shirt with blue stripes. She was also wearing grey pants and black shoes. She had light blue eyes that she was currently wiping tears away from with her hand. In her other hand was a toy knife.
Frisk felt the girl was… familiar from somewhere. "Hey," they said gently. "Are you okay?"
"My leg hurts," the girl said. "And… Toriel isn't here… I… I can't get up… and I'm all out of bandages…"
"Well, that's okay," Frisk told her, smiling. "'Cause I've got plenty. I'll help you out of here." They helped the girl stand up. They put her arm around their shoulders. She was slightly bigger than them. Then again, so was everyone. Frisk turned towards the exit. Supporting the girl, they went towards it. The two tumbled out of the wall.
"About time," Chara grumbled. They eyed the girl. "What's she doing here?"
"Be nice, Chara!" Frisk told Chara, giving them a glare. They faced the girl. "That's my friend, Chara. They can be a bit mean but they… they don't really hate anyone." Frisk found trying to put Chara's personality in positive light was surprisingly difficult.
"I am not your friend, Frisk," Chara growled. They stared at the girl again. "Well, I suppose I'd better be courteous." They paused. They brushed off their shirt and straightened up. "Greetings. I am Chara. The First Human. My accomplice Frisk - the one who is currently supporting you - and myself are on a mission to SAVE my best friend, Asriel Dreemurr. We have entered this timeline as it may be our only hope to SAVE him."
"That's nice." the girl replied. She looked tired.
"Who are you?" Chara asked, folding their arms.
"My… my name is Faye…" the girl replied.
"What are you doing here, Faye?" Chara asked.
"I climbed up a mountain and I fell down." Faye answered. She winced. "My leg…"
"Well, now you know why we're here and we know why you're here," Chara said. They turned away. "Farewell. Let's go, Frisk."
"Chara!" Frisk yelped. "We can't just leave her here! She's hurt her leg!"
"Too bad," Chara replied. "This mission is not about saving humans, it is about rescuing my best friend. She'll slow us down."
"Oh…" Faye looked a little hurt by that.
Frisk frowned. "No she won't, Chara! She's lost and scared, just like you were! And she's hurt! Did Asriel abandon you when you were hurt?"
Chara made a face. They looked away for a moment. They took a deep breath.
"Alright," they said quietly. "She can come."
Frisk let Faye use their bandages. Chara continued being unreasonable and complained very frequently. The kids came to the pillar puzzle. After passing the first room, they came to the second room, where the path to continue was blocked. Chara glared at the colourful switches beside the pillars.
"Oh, fantastic," they groaned sarcastically. "A puzzle. A really efficient use of our time." They looked at Faye and Frisk. The two were putting bandages on each other. They were laughing quite a lot. Chara groaned. Frisk was such an optimist. They knew how to make people feel better. Didn't mean they knew how to make themself feel better.
"You two," Chara stepped in between them. "Quit your tomfoolery. We have a puzzle to solve!"
"Don't be such a downer, Chara," Frisk said, folding their arms. "We're just messing around."
"That is what I don't want you to do," Chara snorted. "I cannot believe I have such awful accomplices. See, Frisk? I told you. She is slowing us down. She is distracting you."
Faye looked away. Frisk stood up and glared at Chara.
"I'll do your stupid puzzle, Chara," they said. "And I'll do it all by myself."
"Go on then." Chara said, folding their arms. Frisk walked over to a pillar nearby a gate. Faye bit her lip. Frisk encountered Loox on the way.
"Oh no," Faye said worriedly. "Frisk is in battle!"
"Good," Chara said, folding their arms. "I hope they get an eye in their rear end."
"You're not very nice to them." Faye said quietly, raising her brow.
"Why should I be?" Chara asked. "They don't deserve kindness."
"... why not?" Faye asked. She felt surprised. Frisk seemed like a nice child.
"Because they're…" Chara paused. "They are not the angel you think they are." The kids paused, watching Frisk dodge some attacks.
"They've got a red SOUL," Faye noticed after a bit of silence. "I thought we all had light blue SOULs…"
"I'm afraid not," Chara replied. "There are different SOULs and SOUL traits and whatnot. Yours is a light blue soul, so that means you're a soul of patience. Unfortunately I have the same SOUL trait as Frisk. A red soul." They paused. Their voice became very quiet. "(I mean, at least for now.)"
"Oh," Faye replied. "Hmm, I like my soul trait." Frisk pressed a button behind a pillar. With a determined expression, they went past Faye and Chara and to the next room. Faye looked at Chara. "I don't think I was very patient when I climbed up Mt. Ebott."
"What do you mean by that?" Chara asked, giving Faye a look.
"Well…" Faye paused. "My mom and dad were in a big car accident and they went to hospital. They've been in hospital for a really long time. Everyone was telling me I had to keep waiting and stuff, but… they weren't getting better. I had to go and live in Ebott with my aunt. She's… cool, but I really missed my parents. I don't think they'll ever get better. So I climbed up Mt. Ebott, so… I could be… dead like they were."
"I see," Chara replied. They could bring themself to feel slightly sympathetic. They knew what it was like to be alone. "I understand, don't you worry. However, my parents…" They trailed off. "Nevermind. My human parents are not ones I enjoy discussing." They looked away.
"I hope we can save your best friend," Faye said. She looked sad. "I don't have a best friend. I… knew some people back home but I didn't really have any… real friends."
"I do not recall having any friends before Asriel," Chara said. They paused. "And if I did? Well, it doesn't matter anymore. I dislike being friends with humans." Another pause. "(Most humans)." The blush on their cheeks had grown, just a little.
"Oooh, Chara!" Frisk teased, walking over. "I see you're making a new friend!"
"Shut up, Frisk." Chara grumbled, looking even more flustered. "Did you finish the puzzle?" Frisk nodded. They still had a stupid smirk on their face.
Faye giggled. "I like you guys. Do you think we're… f... f..."
"Friends?" Frisk finished. They nodded with a large smile. They patted Faye's shoulder. Faye grinned. Chara sighed.
"Affectionate gestures end now," they said. "We have my best friend to save."
Faye followed the other two humans through the RUINS. According to Frisk, they were approaching Toriel's home. Toriel. Where had she gone? Toriel had told Faye to stay put, before leaving to take care of some business. Faye was patient, obviously, but she had been getting nervous. She had done… just a little bit of exploring, then she bumped into a monster and fell into that place…
Faye sighed. She just wanted to see Toriel again. Her mother was in hospital. She hadn't had a mother figure in a long time. Instead, she had just ended up injured and stuck. Thankfully two kids who looked surprisingly similar had found her. Faye wondered if they were related. Whatever the case, Faye felt lucky. Both of the kids were nice. Even Chara. Despite how mean they'd acted at first, Faye was beginning to like them. They weren't so bad.
After passing another room, the trio came to a space with a dead tree. It was surrounded by red leaves. For some reason, the dead leaves made Faye sad. She heard Toriel speaking ahead.
"Oh dear, that took longer than expected," the goat woman walked over to the children. Faye immediately felt relieved. For some reason, Chara seemed to have disappeared. Frisk was still there. At least. "How did you…" Toriel noticed Frisk. She gasped. "Oh my goodness…! Another fallen child?"
"That's Frisk," Faye told Toriel. "They rescued me when I hurt my leg."
"Oh...? How nice," Toriel said. She faced Frisk. "Hello, my child. How did you get here?" Frisk shrugged. Toriel made a face. She composed herself. "You must be very afraid. Fear not! I am Toriel, caretaker of the RUINS. I apologize sincerely as I was not able to greet you when you fell down. I was on an errand, so I was occupied. However! It seems you and Faye made it through the RUINS yourselves… barely injured!" She seemed astounded. She shook her head. "I should have enough of the surprise for the both of you. Come along." She turned and walked to her small, cute, purple-brick house.
Little does she know, I probably know the RUINS better than she does, Frisk thought. They frowned. Where's Chara?
Speak of the demon, the child emerged from the other room.
"Hi, Chara," Faye smiled at them. "Where did you go?"
"I apologize for my cowardice," Chara looked down. "I could not bring myself to face Toriel. You understand, don't you?"
"Toriel is Chara's adoptive mom," Frisk whispered to Faye. "However, they're supposed to be dead, and… after a long time… I guess they didn't want to relive those memories."
"I could have explained that myself," Chara grumbled. They twitched. "But whatever. You two… do whatever you please with Toriel. As long as it gets us out of the RUINS."
"Killing her?" Frisk jokingly suggested.
"I'll kill you first, Frisk," Chara spat back. "Let us go inside. And make sure I'm invisible to her motherly eye."