What lied beyond the door was Chara's favorite place, they knew. But even so, as the children stood there beside each other, both were hesitant to go through into the Underground, knowing it would be difficult. And yet it was the only way to return Frisk home, to learn what was truly going on here.
They exited into a long hallway, and before they came upon the snowy area ahead of them they again met with the flower. "Clever," it said, "verrryyy clever. You think you're really smart, don't you?"
"Don't listen to it, Frisk. It's not... it's not normal. It doesn't seem like a monster." Chara's own soul wasn't with them, but somehow they could tell... this flower did not have a soul either. It continued to smile, but squinted a bit, looking normally at Frisk but sometimes glancing to the side. Was it looking at them? Could it somehow see them...?
"...in this world," it went on, suspiciously glancing aside every few seconds but continuing to keep up the charade anyway, "it's kill, or be killed. So you were able to play by your own rules!" Its face twisted as it had previously, its voice distorting as it said, "You spared the life o n. Hee hee hee..."
They hadn't killed a single monster, and didn't plan on it. "It's just wasting its time," Chara said, before the flower's face returned to normal, looking somewhat amused as it looked... directly at the ghost child. "I bet you feel really great. You didn't kil y... this time." The child's eyes widened. If it knew they were here, did it know... about... "What will you do if you meet a relentless killer? You'll die. And you'll die. And you'll die. Until you tire of trying! What will you do then...?"
Its face distorted even more than before as it laughed, "Will you kill out of frustration? Or will you give up entirely on this world... and let ME inherit the power to control it?" Chara could see vines shifting in the darkness around them, the single illuminated area where Flowey sat otherwise distracting from the fact he could attack at any moment. "I am the prince of this world's future," the flower went on, eyes shifting again to Chara, "Don't worry, my little monarch, my plan isn't regicide."
At last, it turned its eyes to Frisk one last time to say, "This is SO much more interesting," before its crazed laugh rang out and it disappeared into the ground, leaving the children alone.
Leaving them both... confused, honestly. "He can... he can definitely see me! At least... a little. He looked like he was struggling." Chara closed their eyes, thinking on his words. He knew who they were, too...? He referred to them as a monarch, but... "What is he? How would he know that? I don't... Ugh! This doesn't make sense! What is he planning anyway?!" They trudged forward without another word, Frisk looking at them in concern but merely following behind.
Together, they went out into the cold of the Snowdin forest. They decided to rest there for a few minutes, giving time for Chara to think on even more confusing things.
"Mother said... there were more children." Chara leaned against the closed door, trying to think on what little they'd heard. "She said Dad was going to kill you! Dad couldn't kill anybody! But Mom...!" They slowly slumped to the ground, covering their head with their arms as they muttered, "She wouldn't lie... She wouldn't lie about that... Why is she saying this? Why is she saying these things?"
Frisk reached out to hopelessly attempt to touch Chara, but they lowered their arms, revealing the tears on their face. "She... did she adopt all those other children? Like she was going to with you? There's nothing of me or Ri in the house. Nothing... nothing... Did I mean nothing to her? Am I just another shoe in her box?"
There had always been something about their adoptive parents that... drove Chara away. They were closer to Asriel than them, but they figured it was some distrust of adults. Maybe they'd been right about it.
...no, they couldn't think that way. Toriel had taken them in and protected them. Toriel had fed them and loved them when they knew no love in their life. Her warmth, both in personality and in magic, kept them warm when they knew nothing all their life but this coldness they could not rid themself of. She was their mother. She was in pain. Thinking back on her words, Chara knew she probably felt as though she was to blame for Chara's death. She thought herself pathetic because she could not protect a single child.
...so what had happened to Asriel?
"W-We have to keep going," they said, wiping the tears from their face and quickly standing up. Frisk nodded as Chara walked ahead, but paused to stare at the bush next to the ruin door when they saw it. Was that something shining there...? "Come on, Frisk!" They turned their head to see Chara further down the dark road, and ran after them to catch up. The two of them were... determined to go on, despite what had just occurred.
The road they were on, however, was... creepy, to say the very least. "People used to travel back and forth between Snowdin and the Ruins all the time," Chara told Frisk, "especially when I first got here. Monsters were just moving out into the snow through Home. We got to see different monsters all the time. I met a lot of people." They smiled thinking about it, but immediately frowned after a few seconds when they heard a loud cracking noise. They turned around quickly to see a branch they'd just passed... now split in half. "...Frisk, something's here."
The living child turned and saw nothing, holding up the notebook in their arms to write, "What is it?" Chara shook their head, not knowing, but mentioned they should definitely hurry along. The forest could be dangerous now...
Something moved in the corner of their eyes, startling both of them, causing them to speed up. As they reached the bridge near the end of the path, however... footsteps behind them... slowly crept up... Frisk froze up, too afraid to look back, and for a moment Chara almost did the same, but... they had a responsibility. They couldn't be attacked – at least they were pretty sure – so they turned around to see... "...it's... a skeleton."
A small skeleton in a blue jacket, slowly walking up, but not looking very threatening. Once he was directly behind Frisk, he said in a low tone, " n."
Frisk wasn't sure what to do, but looking to Chara... the ghost child nodded. They turned around before being prompted, looking at the figure which held out a single bony hand. Figuring it'd be best to make a good first impression on the first monster out here – out here, where things were dangerous enough Toriel had wanted to protect them from it – they reached out their hand as well to grab it.
A loud... farting noise rang out. They stared in confusion. Chara stared in confusion. The skeleton laughed, though, mentioning the old whoopee cushion gag as both children looked in disbelief. Was this supposed to be scary? Had they really been afraid of him? He asked if Frisk had heard it before, though... "you turned around before i said to... weird." Chara scratched the back of their head, knowing it was really their fault Frisk turned around early, but Frisk just continued to look at the skeleton, not sure what to expect. "...whatever. you're a human, right? i'm sans. sans the skeleton. im actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. but... y'know... i don't really care about capturing anybody."
Frisk's eyes widened. Capturing? Is that what had happened to all the other children Toriel had mentioned? Were they captured and killed by the King? They looked in the corner of their eye, seeing Chara's stunned face. They knew nothing of it either.
"now my brother, papyrus... he's a human-hunting FANATIC. hey, actually, I think that's him over there. i have an idea. go through this gate thingy." Frisk turned around, looking at the... gate? Fence? It didn't look like it would stop anybody, leading them to look back at sans for confirmation. "yeah, go right through. my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone." Without giving them much choices, Sans suddenly pushed Frisk along through the bars, with Chara yelling after them in concern. "quick, behind that conveniently-shaped lamp."
It took Frisk, reeling from being pushed down the rest of the path, a moment to comprehend what he meant, but when they saw it they quickly went to hide behind it and attempt not to move.
Chara had followed along, and after making sure Frisk was safe watched the scene unfold before them.
A taller skeleton – Papyrus – came along, scolding Sans for his supposed laziness. Sans suggested multiple times Papyrus check out the lamp, leading both children to panic, but the taller skeleton was so worked up he didn't even bother. He went on and on about being the one to capture a human so he, the Great Papyrus, would get all the things he deserved! Respect, recognition, finally joining the royal guard... Chara knew some monsters from the royal guard. They weren't... nearly this ridiculous, from what they knew.
Several bad puns later, Papyrus ran off, laughing as he ran off. Sans signaled shortly after for Frisk to come out. "you oughta get going. he might come back. and if he does... you'll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes." With that, he winked, Chara noticing Frisk's smile. They turned to leave, motioning at Chara when Sans wasn't looking, but before they could get very far Sans called after them, "actually, hey... hate to bother ya, but can you do me a favor? i was thinking... my brother's been kind of down lately... he's never seen a human before." Which further confused the children, considering how sure he seemed he'd catch one. "and seeing you might just make his day. don't worry, he's not dangerous. even if he tries to be."
The two kids looked at each other with uncertainty. "I mean... you could handle mom just fine. She was holding back, but she's still a lot stronger than most monsters. Even if he tries, I think you can handle him... you just need to be careful." Frisk nodded, and turned to nod at Sans as Chara shouted, "Fine, but you better be right about this, bonehead!" They honestly just needed to make a pun, but...
Sans wasn't looking at Frisk. He was looking in the completely opposite direction as he said, as if seeing Frisk's nod or hearing Chara's words, "thanks a million. i'll be up ahead." And with that, he turned to head the other way.
"...what a weirdo."
...and so began the rest of their journey.
Chara found themself able to relax a bit easier once they'd gone a little further, both children agreeing to stop up ahead when they came to a split in the path. Frisk kneeled down next to a tree for a few moments, seeming to look at something, while Chara went on ahead to examine the box nearby.
Frisk rushed over before they could read the sign next to the box, holding up a drawing of a weird... star-like thing. Underneath were the words, "The convenience of that lamp still fills you with Determination!" For whatever reason, they looked pleased, prompting the ghost child to ask, "Why do you keep stopping everywhere? What is that even supposed to be?"
They only shrugged. Chara sighed, turning to read the sign. "This is a box. You can put an item inside or take an item out. The same box will appear later, so don't worry about coming back. Sincerely, a box lover." That didn't seem suspicious at all. Who was taking this box to different places along the way so they could use it?
"Well, I'll go see what's up there," they said, pointing to the path that turned left from where they were originally going. "Store whatever you might need to. Snowdin is up ahead, so if you need to you can buy more stuff from their shop. Just be careful about what you put away." Frisk nodded, going to sit by the box as they pulled their bag off their shoulder. They opened it as Chara walked away, making sure they were far enough away before putting the toy knife in there. They should've just thrown it away, but... just in case?
No. They'd decided not to hurt anybody. They were going to stick by that and get out of here without fighting.
They put the spider donut and butterscotch pie inside, figuring they didn't need so many sweets anyway. Hopefully they'd still be good by the time Frisk retrieved them. Also within the box... a glove? A boxing glove of some sort. Figuring they had no use for it – if anything, they still had a stick! – they closed the box and followed Chara...
Only to run into them as they returned. "There's nothing but a river up there. And the fishing poll of a desperate monster. But hey, I found out I could breathe underwater! ...don't ask why I found that out."
...they continued on their way, heading forward on their original path.
They ran straight back into the skeletons.
"SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE," Papyrus was saying as they approached, giving each other nervous glances as they wondered whether or not to trust Sans. Within just a few seconds they were noticed, the taller skeleton turning in their direction before both brothers began to look back and forth between the human in front of them and the skeleton next to them, eventually... spinning around wildly without pause. When they finally stopped, both turned around to whisper, though they were loud enough the kids could still hear. "SANS! OH MY GOD! IS THAT... A HUMAN!?"
The two of them turned back around and both pairs ended up staring at each other, Sans letting out a long "uhhh..." before breaking it to his brother, "actually, i think that's a rock." Chara, confused, looked around and indeed did see a rock, but didn't expect Papyrus to fall for that.
So they were a bit concerned for the skeleton when they heard his loud "OH."
Sans, remaining casual as Frisk tried not to smirk, asked his brother, "hey, what's that in front of the rock?" Papyrus turned to them once more and again seemed amazed, exclaiming suddenly, "OH MY GOD!"
He turned to whisper to his brother, still uncertain, "IS... IS THAT A HUMAN?" Sans replied with a simple "yes," leading Papyrus to again exclaim, even louder, "OH MY GOD!" Excitedly he carried on this time, unable to form hardly a full sentence, "SANS! I FINALLY DID IT! UNDYNE WILL... I'M GONNA... I'LL BE SO... POPULAR! POPULAR! POPULAR!"
Suddenly he cut himself off, as if realizing his behavior wasn't entirely appropriate for somebody who was supposed to be capturing the human in front of him. He cleared his... throat? Before finally declaring, "HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN... THEN!" He paused a moment, looking off to the side uncertainly, before admitting, "I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT. IN ANY CASE! CONTINUE... ONLY IF YOU DARE!" With that he once again ran off, laughing, "NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"
Sans looked after him, then looked back to Frisk to say, "well, that went well." Frisk, having by now realized if anything Papyrus was mostly just silly, looked back at the short skeleton, who shrugged as he assured, "don't sweat it, kid. i'll keep an eyesocket out for ya." With that, he winked and walked off, in the right direction this time, leaving Frisk behind.
...leading Chara to say aloud, "Wait, how did he even get here?" But neither of them could really answer that beyond... "Probably magic."
They stopped briefly at Papyrus's sentry station up ahead, running into a monster named Snowdrake when they tried to continue on. After laughing at his jokes, successfully reassuring him he was at least somewhat funny – though Chara, having a bit of a thing against ice-related puns, was obviously trying not to snicker – they carried on to the next sentry station, passing by a sign that said, "Absolutely NO MOVING!"
Having ignored the sign almost completely, knowing that wasn't an option, they ran into... an oddly-dressed dog monster who wasn't very pleased with their moving. Having outright told them he could only see things that moved, Frisk stood still as he searched for them, his shifty eyes uncertain as he tried to find them. His weapons, glowing blue, passed right through the still human's soul as he searched, Chara momentarily panicking as it made contact but breathing a side of relief when they remembered what blue magic could do.
When he was close enough, but still could not see them, Frisk carefully reached out and pet his head. To say he was excited was an understatement. But once that wore off, he seemed a bit fearful that something had pet him without moving, and sank back into his sentry station for some dog treats. "...Snowdin's a bit more lively than it used to be," was all Chara said as they continued along into what used to be the quiet, snowy forest.
They ran into Sans up ahead, who informed them of blue attacks – which was a good little run-through for Frisk, considering Chara forgot to even mention it. Frisk went ahead, sliding on the ice, but before Chara could follow they were stopped by a mumbled, "hey, kid."
Their eyes widened. They turned back to the skeleton who still didn't look in their direction, but said, "yeah, you. anybody else caught on?"
"Ex... cuse me? Caught on to what?" How could he see them? Turning back to Frisk for a moment, they were still continuing on, trying not to slip, giggling about a sign they found in the middle of the ice before heading north to whatever was off the main path.
"you, kid. anybody seen you yet?" He looked away from them, taking a step in the opposite direction. Was he going to leave before he could tell them anything? "besides the obvious. ghosts don't count, kid. no offense."
"There was... one, but it wasn't a monster. I don't know... what it... How can you see me?" Did this mean he'd heard them before when they called out to him? Is that why he replied?
But Sans merely shrugged, walking off in the direction they'd come from, saying, "k. just checking. your friend's coming back this way, kid."
And sure enough, when they turned to look, Frisk was heading back and... stuffing snow in their bag for whatever reason. Wouldn't that ruin it? Or anything inside? But... wait, no, they couldn't think about that now. They turned back to Sans, saying, "But wait, you didn't-" Too late. He was already gone. "...what was that about? If you're going to ignore me, then ignore me completely..."
Frisk questioned what they'd been doing, but Chara sighed, saying, "Wasting my time. I just got... distracted for a minute. Why'd you get that snow?" As they wrote down a reply, talking about a talking snowman up north, Chara glanced back in the direction Sans had disappeared in. They weren't going to bother trying to talk to him, especially while Frisk was around.
Papyrus, up ahead, had a shock maze puzzle that failed horribly. Sans, now there despite having gone the other way yet again, thanked Frisk as his brother seemed to be having fun. He then told them Papyrus's outfit was from a costume party, which seemed a tad ridiculous, but Sans... thought it was cool.
How sweet. Chara narrowed their eyes at him for the whole conversation, however, and when he asked Frisk, "isn't my brother cool?" he looked to the side at them. Chara was tired of these weird people either not acknowledging them directly or just being obnoxious.
Up ahead, Frisk bought some Nice Cream, won a ball game with a blue flag, and had to put up with more of Sans's shenanigans. Chara realized they felt like little more than a tagalong, with Frisk exploring this new world around them and hardly attempting to communicate with Chara at this point. Even as they enjoyed the brothers' shenanigans in the next room, Chara could only observe in silence. It was only when they got to the room with... a microwave, some cold spaghetti, and a note from Papyrus, that they finally stopped to rest and talk a bit more.
"I feel like I knew a skeleton once before," Chara mumbled, trying to think on it. "I can't really remember them, though... so I must've not seen them very often. I really don't recognize most of the monsters here, but I guess... it's been a long time."
Frisk didn't move to write anything, only looking thoughtful as they sat a few feet in front of the table of spaghetti. Chara was wondering whether or not to be concerned when they finally moved to write, asking, "Are you more comfortable in this area?"
Chara nodded. "Yeah, I... can't really use much magic, now that I'm a ghost. But since I'm still really cold, this place still feels homey. It always did when I was alive, too. Me and Asriel... we came here a lot back then." They laughed a bit, though, saying, "Not as much royal guard out and about back then, though. I had a... friend, of sorts, who lived out in the Snowdin forest. He was my guardian for a while, as ordered by King Dad. But I... don't know if he'd be around anymore."
The kids sat in silence for quite a while, Chara suggesting at one point that maybe Papyrus figured his spaghetti plan worked when they didn't continue on. That earned a laugh, but both kids were mostly thinking on things. And then... Chara realized. Maybe now would be a good time to ask...
"...Frisk, are you the same as me?"
A nod, without hesitation, was their response. It honestly threw Chara off, but Frisk wrote to explain, "My Determination is very great, according to the scientists. Because of that, I can hardly use the magic they put in me. I have no side effects either." They were so willing to talk about, but judging by the next words written they probably weren't as traumatized by everything that happened. "When I was really young the project was shut down. The lab is still there, but nobody is allowed to use it anymore." It was... a relief. Chara didn't say anything, though, allowing Frisk time to write more of what they knew.
"I didn't know your name, but I figure you were the first to run away?" They nodded, earning an expression from Frisk that seemed like... pity. "They said you went off to the mountain and never returned. Six other subjects followed you in, either running away or sent to do what we were meant to." The other... children? Their eyes widened. That... they followed their example. But now they were likely... dead. Because of Chara's father. "Eventually, people no longer feared monsters. They hadn't seen them in so long. So they shut it down when I was younger.
"The other children were all older than me. We were left out on the street. Because of what was done to us, nobody wanted us. One of the scientists, a nice old man, took us in. He had always been there to take care of us when none of the others wanted much to do with us besides the experiments. He was our father.
"After he passed away, my siblings began to drift away. Then I felt the tug from the mountain. I came here because I knew I was needed."
They concluded, looking at Chara to see if they had anything to say. The ghost child was stunned, though, not sure how to feel or what to think. Part of them wanted to cry, yet tears would not come. No more would have to suffer as they did. "Why... why do you think you were needed?"
Frisk shrugged and wrote, "Because of you? Because of my soul? Because of somebody deeper in the mountain? I'm not sure. I might never be sure."
After a brief silence, they decided to carry on, leaving behind the sound of a squeaking mouse...
"Warning: Dog Marriage." Frisk honestly looked concerned, as if they didn't understand. Chara, as an aside, whispered, "Yes, you read that correctly."
Up ahead, they ran into Lesser Dog. To calm it down, Frisk pet it. And kept petting it. And kept petting it. "F... Frisk. It's time to stop." But there was no way to stop this madness. Lesser Dog went where no dog had ever gone before.
After expanding the minds of the married dogs – even though Frisk wasn't actually the puppy the dogs thought they were – they proceeded on to an easily solved puzzle. There Frisk admitted to Papyrus that they hadn't eaten his spaghetti, both children feeling like he may be offended... but he thought the human child wanted to share it.
"You know," Chara started as the skeleton ran off, "I wasn't sure what to think of Papyrus at first, but... he's honestly kind of adorable? In a way. Not a weird way." Frisk raised an eyebrow, having obviously not been thinking anything weird, but Chara ignored that to go on, "He's... a cool guy."
Frisk didn't move to reply, only continuing to walk forward in the direction he'd gone while Chara stayed behind a moment. They were hesitant to bring this up, as if everything that had happened with mother... as if that didn't mean anything. But they had to know. "Frisk, you're... not going to hurt him, right? You're not hurting anybody else, but... even if he wants to capture you so badly, you wouldn't..."
The living child had paused, turning to look at Chara for a moment. They only smiled.
How reassuring.
The next puzzle was difficult for a minute or two until they figured out where exactly they needed to enter the frozen skeleton head from. Sans congratulated them upon completion, claiming they didn't even need his help when he wasn't being that helpful to begin with. And after that... well, the next puzzle wasn't much of a puzzle, despite how complicated it seemed. Even in ghost form, though, Chara was getting a bit exhausted from all this messing around.
"We're getting close to Snowdin," Chara assured as they sat amongst the remains of the many snowdogs that had recently been created. They tried to use their ice manipulation to create a new body for a head that had fallen over, but in death it seemed their abilities had weakened considerably. They could barely freeze things they touched or focused on, but beyond that...
They were powerless. To do anything. To free anybody. To stop them from hurting Frisk who only wanted to go home. Or to free the monsters.
Chara didn't actually know what they wanted at this point.
The duo made their way through a puzzle and a few other monsters, Frisk obviously being worn out after fighting a monster covered in gifts and a puppy in a mech. Their ghostly companion was worrying if they'd have the energy to even make it to Snowdin at this rate, especially when they faced... Papyrus's next "puzzle."
The Gauntlet of Deadly Terror.
Despite the ridiculous name, both kids were very clearly a bit frightened. Frisk was too exhausted to take another hit, their Determination barely holding them together. Chara couldn't do much besides offering to freeze the skeleton, which most likely wouldn't work anyway considering his size and all. But the tall skeleton seemed hesitant, his shorter brother prompting him to no avail. And at last, Papyrus figured himself a skeleton with standards. A defeat like this would be too easy. The humans were both beyond relieved. Still, Papyrus seemed as confused as they were that he had taken this course of action, running off with a confused, "NYEH... HEH... HEH?"
Even Sans admitted he didn't know what his brother was going to do next. The kids weren't exactly worried about him, though, since now... they'd reached Snowdin.
Frisk sped up when they reached town, hurrying towards the buildings while Chara looked around the small town that had hardly changed in their absence. At least compared to how they last saw it – when they got here Snowdin was just filling up, people forced out of the Ruins due to overpopulation. Quickly, with a bit of nudging from Chara themself, they expanded to New Home, just inside the barrier. The child had assured them multiple times humans would not enter directly through the barrier, fearful of the monsters within. And it seemed like nothing had gone wrong since their death, even considering their appearance in the human village.
At the time before they died of their "mysterious illness," Snowdin was settling into a quiet, cozy small town where they had spent many hours. Playing in the snow, practicing their powers, reading in the library... At that point, they had finally been accepted more into monster society. They could've been happy.
But...
Frisk appeared before them suddenly, wondering where their mind was wandering off to. "Aha, sorry, I spaced out because... nostalgia, I guess. How are you..." They stared at the other child, who no longer seemed as... desperate to get somewhere safe. They seemed a bit more cheerful, holding up a page with the same weird star drawn on it as before, the words now saying, "The sight of such a friendly town fills you with Determination." Not bothering to ask what the heck they were on about, Chara said, "Yeah, yeah, that's good that you're feeling better. But still, you must be exhausted. Let's go rest in the... 'Snowdinn.'"
Both children giggled a bit, going to enter the building where a bunny lady happily and obliviously checked Frisk into a room. They generally tried to ignore the loud snoring coming from the next room.
"I really think we should talk once you wake up," Chara said, looking oddly serious about it. When Frisk seemed concerned, they assured, "Don't worry, it's just a few technicalities. But you really should rest for now. It's been a long journey just to get here." Despite seeming uncertain, Frisk nodded, snuggling up under the blankets despite the fact they were... generally immune to the cold. It didn't really bother them.
"I'll be in the void while you're asleep," Chara whispered to them as they backed towards the door. "I'll come back every hour or two to make sure you haven't woken up, so don't worry."
Don't worry.
Everything is fine, Frisk.
Soon this will all be behind us...
Shaking hands quickly sign in the darkness, "Who's there?" But nobody came.
What's that? We're friends, aren't we? Ever since you fell down here, I've been by your side, haven't I? Don't you trust me? I know what I'm doing. This is necessary.
Come find me. Help me. Save me. Free me. Frisk.
Frisk.
Frisk?
"Are you okay?"
The red-eyed ghost was staring at them when they woke, sitting up in bed and wondering what they had been dreaming about. Chara seemed concerned, saying, "You kept moving around in your sleep... like you were having a bad dream. I figured I'd wake you up anyway since it's been about seven hours..."
Time had passed so quickly? Frisk yawned, still exhausted beyond belief. Yesterday had been pretty rough though, they figured, considering... well, between a pretty hyper skeleton and everything he put them through, which wasn't actually that bad, mixed with the "hounding" of all the royal guard members... it was a long day, to say the least. Still, Frisk felt a little better than they had before sleeping. There was still the matter of that talk, though.
Once they'd woken up a bit more, Chara opened with, "First of all, that Sans guy? Can totally see me. I don't know why or how or anything, but... he usually ignores me, I dunno. Point is, he can see me. Maybe because he's a skeleton and technically dead? But Papyrus can't and he's also a skeleton, hm..."
That out of the way, after a brief recap of their conversation with him, they went on, "And second, no more secrets. What's with the stars and Determination quotes? You were perfectly fine when you came back yesterday. You were perfectly fine when we met up with Mom the day before. What's the deal?"
After giving them a long opportunity to write out their response, Frisk's initial reply was an, "I dunno." On the next page, though, before Chara could get frustrated with them, they'd added, "Like with the buttons you cannot press, these stars appear for me to interact with. They heal me when I press them."
"Interesting... And I can't see them, apparently." Frisk nodded, having guessed this quite a while back. "This gives us an advantage, though. As long as you keep finding these spots, we don't have to worry as much about you resting up between battles. Now if only I could make them work, maybe they could cure my case of Death? Okay, yeah, not funny."
The two of them exited out into the cold town, same as it was the day before. "So... wanna look around before we move onto Waterfall?" Chara asked, honestly just wanting to spend more time here. Frisk nodded, obviously wanting to see what the Underground had to offer. So with that, they went off...
After purchasing some bisicles from the shop, the children made their way through town, Frisk stopping to listen to what the townsfolk all had to say. Some of them seemed pretty normal, others...
"We all know the underground has problems, but we smile anyway." Frisk looked questioningly at the monster speaking to his friend, who looked to the child and said, "Why? We can't do anything, so why be morose about it?"
The human's expression twisted into one of sadness after a few seconds, leading Chara to suggest they move on. The ghost child knew that it was hard to come to terms with their imprisonment – it was so unjust, so cruel, yet nobody could do anything about it without... well, they weren't going to suggest Frisk give up their soul. They wouldn't let them if they tried. As the two walked away, the monster gazed upwards, merely saying, "Smile smile... smile smile..."
They came upon a wolf tossing ice into the river, but when Frisk looked to Chara for some explanation they just shrugged. "I guess it's his job? I don't see why, though..."
Frisk seemed quite excited to go to the "librarby," writing to Chara that they were interested to learn what books could tell them about monster society. Chara wanted to point out that they could just explain things, but they probably wouldn't know where to start unless Frisk asked about specific things. So they sat around while Frisk read for a while, learning about monster funerals, monsters' physical forms compared to humans-
"But they will never know the joy of expressing themselves through magic." Chara read over their shoulder. "Guess we're the exception. But... that's weird. Humans at least used to have magic before us. Oh, but I guess if I told Mom and Dad about humans not having it anymore it would become pretty common knowledge around here..."
As they moved on, Frisk came to a book that really got Chara's interest. "H-Hey, this history book is about me!" At the confused glance they were given, Chara pointed out, "Um, that is! I told them about humans in my time and the monsters began to move out of Home! I helped with the expansion, but, uh... I died pretty soon after our house in New Home was completed."
Continuing down the road, they came upon the home of the skeleton brothers, made obvious by the mailboxes outside. Though Frisk passed by the house, only examining it for a few moments, Chara stopped them to ask, "Frisk, can you write something down for me?" And after stuffing said something in the mailbox... they went on to face him.
The two children wandered into the mist, Chara having to assure their friend they were still there as they sort of... blended in with everything else, being kinda transparent and all. Eventually, in the distance, they saw the shadow of Papyrus's form, heard his voice cut through the fog: "HUMAN. ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS.
"FEELINGS LIKE... THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PASTA LOVER. THE ADMIRATION FOR ANOTHER'S PUZZLE-SOLVING SKILLS. THE DESIRE TO HAVE A COOL, SMART PERSON THINK YOU ARE COOL. THESE FEELINGS..."
"Is he confessing his platonic feelings for us?" Chara wondered aloud, raising an eyebrow, before he ruined it by saying, "THEY MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW!" The child facepalmed. There were no words. He acted as if he might be there friend for a few moments, pitying their loneliness, but then... he realized again they were a human. They had to be captured so that monsters could be free.
As Frisk's soul appeared before them, Chara only said, "You know what to do." They nodded, knowing they couldn't really underestimate him no matter how silly he seemed.
That said, his attacks went right by them.
"Um... maybe he still wants to be friends so he isn't trying? Do something to maybe make him stop fighting." Chara suggested, watching the bones across the ground to their right, too short to actually even touch their target. Frisk nodded eagerly, writing something down, and holding it up to reveal... a pick-up line? "That... that wasn't what I meant. Frisk?" But the child was too busy finger gunning in Papyrus's direction, grinning in a way that meant they meant business. "I don't understand you."
"WHAT?! FL-FLIRTING? SO YOU FINALLY REVEAL YOUR ULTIMATE FEELINGS! W-WELL! I'M A SKELETON WITH VERY HIGH STANDARDS!" He didn't seem convinced that this would work out, leading Frisk to write down, "I can make spaghetti." "OH NO, YOU'RE MEETING ALL MY STANDARDS! I GUESS THIS MEANS I HAVE TO GO ON A DATE WITH YOU...? LET'S DATE L-LATER! AFTER I CAPTURE YOU!"
More of his attacks went by without any effect, as Chara went up to look closer at the skeleton muttering to himself about what to cook for the date. "He's so... innocent. I don't think he even knows what you getting captured entails. Just spare him and let's move on." Frisk nodded as Chara backtracked towards them, showing mercy.
"SO YOU WON'T FIGHT... THEN, LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN HANDLE MY FABLED 'BLUE ATTACK.'"
"Easy enough, just stand still and you'll have no problem." Chara told them, watching as glowing light blue bones moved actually in Frisk's direction, longer now and coming from both sides. The bones passed right through them, causing no damage, Frisk staring blankly at the skeleton before them. But as the attack concluded, something unexpected actually occurred.
Frisk fell to their knees suddenly, one of the bones from the right suddenly backtracking. Before they could get their bearings or Chara could warn them, it hit them for a bit of damage, their now blue soul weakening. "YOU'RE BLUE NOW," Papyrus proudly proclaimed, both children looking at each other with concern for the turn this just took.
Speaking of turns, the field seemed to change to match Frisk's now heavy body, bones from the right coming in low and bones from the left coming in high. Frisk managed to jump over the next few bones that appeared, but still mainly remained on one knee, finding it hard to stand. Chara in the meantime was panicking a little more than they appreciated.
"I-I, oh my gosh, I'm sorry, are you okay? I saw it but I couldn't stop it and it was coming so fast I-" Frisk shook their head, not really blaming Chara for any of it, yet still they said, "I-I didn't even know that could happen! Is your soul okay, are you okay, I don't think Papyrus would kill you so just-" It took an honest glare from Frisk to shut them up, despite Frisk not being angry. They just wanted them to stop being so hard on themself.
Frisk jumped and ducked under incoming bones, Chara focusing on warning them what direction the next ones were coming from or if any were coming back at them. Frisk was hit a few more times, having to eat half of a bisicle while Papyrus went on about his future popularity and how he'd be so great. "BUT... WILL ANYBODY LIKE ME AS SINCERELY AS YOU?" he pondered, even as he continued to attack them. "SOMEBODY LIKE YOU IS REALLY RARE..." he went on, going on to wonder how hard dating would be after they were captured and sent away.
But that didn't matter, he told them, and they should just give up before he used his special attack! Yet when he finally did try to use it, a dog was munching on it before running off to who knew where. Annoyed, he settled for a totally "normal attack." What followed was Chara desperately trying to assist Frisk in timing their jumps, confusedly reading off the "COOL DUDE" in his bone attacks, and Frisk barely managing to avoid that final, huge attack.
Chara felt that something was off about the height of their jump, obviously. Frisk was safe, so they weren't that suspicious, but it felt like... they would've needed help to make that kind of jump. As if something had pulled them that high.
Shaking that feeling off, Papyrus offered his own mercy, obviously too tired to continue. Frisk, having eaten a bit more food, seemed all right for the most part, and gladly accepted the mercy. Immediately after, though, Paps began to cry.
"NYOO HOO HOO... I CAN'T EVEN STOP SOMEONE AS WEAK AS YOU... UNDYNE'S GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTED IN ME... I'LL NEVER JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD... AND... MY FRIEND QUANTITY WILL REMAIN STAGNANT!"
In the time it took for him to mourn his friend loss, Frisk wrote something down on their paper, and when he turned around it said, "Let's be friends."
Chara wandered a bit, looking around for eyes they thought were watching as Papyrus celebrated their new friendship. "I wonder if... but I'd see him around if he were nearby, right?" Maybe Sans had been watching his brother or something? If so, he was probably already gone by now considering how he got around. Not that they were sure of how he got around. He just did.
"THEN... WHEN YOU REACH THE CAPITAL, CROSS THE BARRIER." they overheard Papyrus saying, turning their attention back to him. "ANYTHING CAN ENTER THROUGH IT, BUT NOTHING CAN EXIT... EXCEPT SOMEONE WITH A POWERFUL SOUL." That was Frisk all right, they thought, considering they must've been in the highest DT levels of red souls. "THAT'S WHY THE KING WANTS TO ACQUIRE A HUMAN. HE WANTS TO OPEN THE BARRIER WITH SOUL POWER."
...right. Dad was trying for that method now, too. They couldn't break the barrier with just one soul. "TO REACH THE CASTLE, YOU WILL HAVE TO PASS THROUGH THE KING'S CASTLE. THE KING OF ALL MONSTERS... HE IS...
"...WELL... HE'S A BIG FUZZY PUSHOVER! EVERYBODY LOVES THAT GUY. I AM CERTAIN IF YOU JUST SAY... 'EXCUSE ME, MR. DREEMURR... CAN I PLEASE GO HOME?' HE'LL GUIDE YOU RIGHT TO THE BARRIER HIMSELF!"
Papyrus said his farewells and somehow defied gravity to jump over Frisk's head. Chara stood thinking of this, how even though their mother had such a low opinion of her husband... others still seemed to love him. He hadn't seemed to change in their eyes. It was a relief, but it only made them that much more determined to see him.
He must be... so sad. But...
Where was Asriel?
"Mind if I go on that date?" The words were suddenly in front of Chara's face, Frisk holding the notebook up to them. Their expression looked like they were trying to stay happy, but they were obviously worried. About Chara, about Asgore... there was a lot to worry about.
"Sure, but... I think I'll pass. I'm going to just... sit here for a while." They didn't feel like putting up with his shenanigans any longer, as amusing as he could be. But instead of ditching them, Frisk sat with them, telling Chara they'd just go on whenever the two of them were ready. Ready to leave Snowdin and wander into the marsh.
As they sat there, next to the river, the fog slowly returned.