Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale, but all original characters are mine

A/N: Hmm. 4th Chapter in a week. Still small in actual size, but it's going along steadily, albeit a bit slow. But I guess that's a question for another time! I'm more of a bit by bit kind of guy, so trying to stretch long periods of events into a small section isn't something I'm used to.

Well, that aside, hopefully I did it correctly~

Chapter 3

"…Only the fearless may proceed. Brave ones, foolish ones. Both walk not the middle road." Ears perking, Frisk's grin widened as they stared at the plaque. Casting a glance at Toriel who stood by the switch, they gave her a confident thumbs up, as if telling her they got this.

She responded with a giggle, and Frisk mentally pouted as a result, because actually doing such would make them no doubt cuter in her eyes.

Sometimes, their adorableness was a curse, really.

So, with another glance at the plaque, they bounced over to the tiles popping out of the ground, 3 rows of them, 2 in each. The puzzle was self-explanatory, so just as they arrived, Frisk bounced from switch to switch, ignoring the middle row as four consecutive clicks sounded in the room.

"…such a spirited child, aren't you Frisk?" Toriel smiled warmly, drawing their attention.

"I'd prefer hopping mad, if I say so myself!" Their grin widened when a snort escaped her snout, especially when they hopped their way to Toriel's side. "But there's a time for hopping…and a time for switches." Reaching towards the switch, they pulled it down, snapping the door by their side open with a bang. "It's now back to hopping." Frisk stated simply.

Toriel propped a hand on their head before they could do just that, amused. "Now, now my child." Tracing a finger against the switch, she nodded. "The Ruin's is filled to the brim with puzzles, small and large. Wouldn't want to tire yourself out before solving them, right?"

Frisk gasped.

"But hopping is Frisk's life!" It's how they fell into the Hole!

"You'll be too tired to eat Pie."

"Hopping's overrated anyway." They concluded, darting towards the door…or they would have, had Toriel not picked them up. "The Frisk asks to be set down."

Raising a brow, she did just that, only away from the door. "Be a tad bit patient, my child." Toriel stated, tidying up their hair from all the hopping. "I…just remembered something, so I ask that you wait here for a moment." At first, she had intended to open the door herself, as to introduce Frisk to puzzles…but given how they earnestly asked to solve it themselves, she couldn't help but give in. 'Best to touch up a couple of them…especially the one next door.' That one wasn't even a puzzle really.

Besides…there were a couple things she needed to sort out…

Feeling a tug at her dress, she looked down to see Frisk staring up at her with concern. "Oh…!" Realizing that she had been frowning, her features softened. "I'm sorry if I worried you Frisk…but here." Looking down at them with a smile, she pulled out a phone. "I'm only going to be touching up some things in the next room. When I'm done, I will call you, okay?"

Brows furrowing, Frisk smiled. "Kay!"

Seeing such, a fountain of guilt began to well up, though she didn't show it. "…thank you for being patient with me, my child." Crouching down, she placed a small kiss on their forehead making them giggle. "I'll call soon, so wait here for me." And with that, she placed the phone into their hands, and walked to the next room…though not before casting a quick glance over her shoulders.

For a couple moments, Frisk stared after her, before sitting down against a nearby wall rolling the phone around their hands. "…thank you for reading the plaque for me, Chara."

Drifting down from their spot above, said Ghost touched down with a half-hearted smile. "No problem." Plopping right down besides them, Chara waved. "But seriously, all things considered, you're taking this better than I thought."

"How so?"

"…you've fallen down a hundred-meter hole, got attacked by a homicidal flower, almost burned to death by a bipedal goat, and are currently exited to go through a series of puzzles following said goat." Poking Frisk's nose, Chara snorted when they sneezed. "Most people would be losing it."

Wrinkling their nose, they shrugged. "Eh, sounds about normal for me."

Staring, Chara's eye twitched. "…I'm starting to wonder exactly how long I've been dead if this is an everyday occurrence on the surface."

"Eh."

"…what?"

"Eh."

"…you are not playing this game with me."

"Eh."

"Frisk, are you serious?"

Turning to face Chara, expression set to a thin line, widened to a large grin. "Who's serious? I'm Frisk!"

Tackling Frisk to the ground, they straddled them with a demonic grin, fingers curling over their sides ready to strike. "Go ahead. Play this game…see what happens."

Tilting their head in curiosity, Frisk's expression sharpened. "…Eh."

Several minutes later, they were both gasping on the ground side by side, brief, out of breath giggles escaping their lips after continuous rolling and chasing after one another in a raging desire for domination.

"…I win…" Chara gasped, a wide grin on their face.

Instead of honoring that with a retort, Frisk only huffed in steadying their breathing. "Nice to know I leave you breathless."

"…your puns are horrible."

Rolling onto their side, Frisk grinned, poking Chara's cheek. "You're smiling though."

They poked them back with a pout. "I am and I hate it."

Frisk's eloquent response was to latch onto their side like a koala.

Chara was too tired to push them away, so they simply lied there, idly wondering what was taking Toriel so long to call. "…has anyone told you your too touchy-feely?" Like before, they didn't get a response…but for some reason, Frisk tightened their hold onto them.

Eyes drifting towards them, they sighed inwardly before burying their fingers into Frisk's hair. "…you're weird, but I guess that's okay." Twirling the kids hair in between their fingers, Chara marveled at how soft and smooth it was before letting a small grin grace their lips. "Toriel has been gone for a while. Do you want to give her a call to see how she's doing?"

When they didn't respond after a couple seconds, Chara was starting to wonder if something was wrong. They quickly dispelled those fears by unlatching themselves, albeit reluctantly from the looks of it. "…yeah. She looked worried about something before she left." Pulling out the phone Toriel gave them, Frisk frowned at them. "Do you think she's okay?"

"Toriel is one of the strongest Monster's in the Underground." Chara reassured, pride in their voice. "There's nothing in the Ruin's that could harm her…but, if you want, let's just call her to make sure, okay?"

"Kay." Bringing up Toriel's number, Frisk pressed the phone to their ear with a frown, but as the ringing stretched on, so did their frown. When she did though, it shifted to a smile. "Tori—"

"Bark!"

"…bark?" Frisk repeated, turning to Chara.

"…I'm not barking."

Frisk pouted, before returning to the call. "Bark!"

"Woof?"

"Yip yip! Bark!"

"Bark! Woof, yip bark, bark aroooh~"

On the side, Chara watched, and listened with a twitching brow as Frisk continued their conversation with what they assumed to be a dog on the other side of the phone. It was amusing at first, seeing them bark like a dog, but now it was just getting annoying…and mildly disturbing, as it seems like an actual conversation was happening right before their eyes.

It took a couple moments, but Frisk hanged up the call. "Toby said Toriel was chasing after them since they stole her phone."

"…I'm not going to even ask." Chara decided…before curiosity got the better of them. "So…you speak dog?"

"Nope!" They grinned. "I heard Toriel in the background trying to scare Toby out of their hiding spot…I wanna see her chasing after a dog." Getting up, they sneaked over to the door with a mischievous grin.

"Toriel said to wait here."

"She also said she'd be back in a few minutes."

"…fine, but I'm getting first slice of that pie!"

(Noah's POV)

[Well, at least Chara seems to be in a better mood.] Poking his head into the room Frisk and Chara just left, Noah couldn't help but chuckle at their previous interactions. [But still…for Toriel to leave them this early…] Smile dropping, he shook away that train of thought with a huff. [Still, that aside, the added time gave me a while to think on some things.]

For one, he couldn't see the Save Points. Whereas the first in the game was set in the previous room, he only saw a patch of autumn leaves and nothing more, so that in itself told him two things, both bad and good respectively. [What's more, in this Universe, it seems like Chara is able to make physical contact with Frisk.] That…that was good, since actual comfort can only be done through physical contact.

Noah didn't expect Frisk to be a cuddle, but better that than a shameless flirt. After all, there's no telling how many times he'd have to slam his head into something not only listening to, but watch a child shamelessly flirt and succeed at seducing several Monster's into dating them. [For beings made of Love and Compassion, they sure are weak when it comes to a child's advances.]

Snickering at the thought, he cut his musings short in order to follow the duo, and while most people would call him out on stalking a pair of children, he'd smack them with both the pot and kettle in order to drive home his point.

Thankfully though, aside from a few changes, the next few puzzles happened by without anything too important happening…though they were amusing none the less.

Puzzle 1

(Look back when the way ahead is unclear.)

"…is it talking about the room back there, or something else?"

Rubbing their chin, Chara hovered around the Plaque, making her way across the room. "…yeah…no. Forget the plaque." Pointing to the faded yellow smudges on the walls, Chare sighed. "Toriel didn't quite wipe away the evidence."

"You sure?" Following after her, Frisk eyed the switches in particular, before turning to the spikes blocking their path.

"Yep."

Puzzle 2

(When you encounter a Monster, ACTing is as good as FIGHTing.)

"Frisk. You're supposed to be fighting the Dummy."

"Yep!" Frisk chirped.

"Then why are you hugging it?!"

"They seemed lonely."

"It's a Dummy!"

"And the apple of my eye!" Giving Dummy another gentle squeeze, they tackled Chara without a second thought.

"Wah! Down! No hugs! FRISK, NO!"

"Frisk yes~!"

Puzzle 3

(Spikes are dangerous, so Swim! Also, the Western Room is the Eastern Room's Blueprint.)

"I feel as if these are becoming less and less like puzzles." Frisk noted, making their way back to the Western Room.

"I think Toriel's just scribbling whatever she can think of…at least, tried to before she got nicked by a dog." Chara snorted.

"Toby!"

Turning to stare at the odd child, Chara raised a brow in mild annoyance. "…is that it's actual name, or just something you call them?"

"He told me it was his name." Tilting their head, Frisk looked about and saw…purple, purple, purple…and…well, purple. The entire room was purple, and to be honest, they'd have questioned the creator's sanity when creating this particular room.

They did note, however, that there was a path on the floor with a lighter shade of purple.

"So…you do speak dog."

"Nope," Frisk replied, popping the p.

"Then why would you assume his name was Toby?"

Skipping over to the Eastern Room, Frisk stared at the path littered with spikes a head taller then them, before taking a look at the moat on the side. "Because he told me so."

"HOW?!

Frisk's answer was a hearty splash, as they chose to swim right around the spikes rather than go through it.

(Noah's POV)

Yep, definitely amusing, and frankly, he would have followed Frisk's lead…well, Chara's lead since he wasn't sure he could get wet as he was now. Noah still couldn't figure out if he was just invisible, or intangible, but for the time being, he stayed in the twin room with a speculative frown.

[…the room is empty.] In between the rooms holding the first and second Save Point, save for two Monster's, they were entirely empty.

The first is the Dummy a room behind him, and as much as he'd like to ignore the possibility of it watching him pass, since it's…well, a Ghost, it didn't change how he chose to just float over its head just in case. Not sure if that doomed, or saved him from a MAD encounter, but his focus was more on following the kids to note anymore changes.

The second change to this Universe being no action…at all.

[There's always a Froggit for Frisk to encounter in one of the beginner rooms,] He huffed, biting his lip. [It's possible Toriel warned (scared) the weaker Monster's out of the way, but that probably happened in the game too, since there were no encounters aside from Exhibit A.]

[…does this have anything to do with Toriel's attitude?]

"…You know it's a crime to stalk kids, right?"

Nonplussed at Chara's sudden appearance, Noah stared. [Can't be called stalking when there's literally only one way through.]

"Tell that to the Judge." They snorted, hovering freely above his head.

Would have been amusing, but their mention of a Judge made him scowl for a brief moment, before he smiled. [Oh, I'll have plenty to tell him…but that aside,] Glancing at the next room's entrance, Noah turned to Chara with a frown. [Is it alright for you to leave the kid by themselves?]

Unaware to him however, Chara noticed their shift in expressions, and filed it away for later. "Frisk's soaked, and you have a sweater."Holding out their hand, their scowl deepened. "Give it."

Staring blankly in response, he sighed. […in case you haven't noticed, I'm kinda…well, like this.] Motioning to their transparent body, Noah shrugged. [Bad First Attempt at Mugging aside, I don't think Frisk'll actually be able to use it to warm up.]

"It's not your clothes that are transparent, only you," They stated bluntly. "The only reason why they are is because you're holding onto them, so take them away, and they'll regain whatever color and tangibility previously had."

[Which mean's Frisk will be able to both see and use it.]

"…hmm, so you aren't dumber than a rock," Chara notes, before motioning for him to hand it over. "Now give it before Frisk catches a cold!"

[…will you even be able to bring it to them?] Honest question, and they knew it too, which is why he saw a flicker of hesitation flash in their eyes. After a couple moments of silence though, he sighed, deciding to strip off his sweater anyway.

Twas a simple blue hoodie, thick and comfy, but definitely a couple sizes too big for Frisk, not that anything could be done about that…or about what happened next.

Holding out the item for Chara, he could only stare when she tried to swipe it away, key word being 'tried', since their hands simply phased right through. […if you want, I'll only follow you to Frisk in order to drop this off.] He sighed, noting their expression. [You…don't like me, though that would be an understatement, so after that, I'll simply move on ahead, so you won't have to see, or hear me.]

"…fine."

Moving onto the next room, he found Frisk huddled at the very end near a Pillar. [The one Toriel usually hides behind.] Noah noted, before turning to…yeah.

Frisk was not only drenched from head to toe, but shivering as well. Chara probably instructed them to take off their turtleneck and shoes. When they turned their way however, the frown they had shifted to a shaky smile. "H-h-hey Ch-Chara!" They chattered. "D-did you fi-finish what you n-needed to do?"

Besides him, Chara's expression softened. "…why did you do swim around the puzzle, when you knew the answer?" They asked wearily. "You wouldn't be shivering like this if you had."

"I-I wanted to go with t-t-the flow."

Staring blankly at them, Chara flicked their nose, making them sneeze. "There's a time for puns, and a time for everything else, Frisk." Sighing as they giggled, telling them they thought otherwise, Chara tilted their head forward. "Anyway, I got something for you to wear."

Taking that as his signal to drop the sweater, Noah placed it down in front of them…and, oddly enough, just as Frisk claimed, as soon as the article left his hands, it's form shimmered with silver sparkles giving it a more material look. […well…what do you know, it did work." He ignored the glare Chara sent his way, but for the moment, it made him wonder if anything he held onto for long turned intangible/invisible? And if so, does it only apply to objects, or can he turn people as well?

It'd be a good method in keeping Frisk out of danger…but that was for another time. He has a promise to keep.

"Did you borrow it from your friend?"

…say what?

A/N: Say what indeed~

But that aside, I think it turned out rather well, especially with a bit of added humor to drown out the previous chapter's...well, explosion of emotion, if that's what it felt like. But at least some things were learned today.

Never swim in a moat without an extra set of clothes kids~