UNDERTALE belongs to Toby Fox.

Chapter Three

Truth

Papyrus really outdid the planning. The opening of Muffet Grillby's Diner was so grand that the banner was so huge that everyone in Newer Home could see it from a far. Muffet and her husband Grillby was just about to cut the ribbon when Frisk got to the new place. The place was fully packed by Monsters and a handful of Humans as well.

Four years ago, the Council and Toriel built Deltarune Academy in Newer Home for both races. Humans started to move in town and send children to attend the new school as encouraged by Councilman Joseph who was Head Administrator of the Corona Education Society. Deltarune Academy proved to be a great institution and more Humans enrolled alongside the Monsters.

Fortunately, many Humans settled in Frisk's neighborhood. Most were from Plainsburg while a few were from Capstone City, the Capital of the Ebott Region. Many of the kids in their street saw Frisk as a hero and she—along with Asriel who shy at first—easily befriended every one of them. It is indeed nice to see Humans and Monsters living in harmony.

"You look terrible, Frisk!" Mick noted with a weak yelp. "Did you even sleep?"

Frisk could feel her left eye twitch. "I'm good."

She was clearly lying. Frisk can imagine how she looked like at the moment—which wasn't easy since she basically scared herself in the mirror a while ago. After a cold shower, Frisk got to check her phone and saw Toriel's messages. There were three of them:

"My child," Frisk imagined Toriel's voice as she read. "Asriel said you were still sleeping when came to check on you. Asgore promised last night to come pick you two to the opening today so I hope you'll be ready by then."

"Frisk, dear," The second message was a few minutes later. "You were still asleep when your Dad arrived. He and Asriel already went ahead after I told them that we will be catching up together."

"My child," The third one was literally five minutes after the second message. "The school just called in a Sunday faculty meeting. I'm afraid you'll have to go to the opening alone. I am sorry, my dear but I'll be joining you and your brother later at the diner. Take care and call if you need me, okay? I love you. P.S. there's breakfast in the kitchen; you may heat it up if it gets cold."

The bacon was still warm when Frisk got downstairs. Toriel must've used magic flames to cook like she always does. The Human didn't get to enjoy her meal though. Mick was right: she never slept last night because of the nightmare.

…

"Frisk..." Chara whispered to her like chalk being dragged across the blackboard. "He is coming and he'll get his revenge."

They were back in the Underground, in the castle throne room where Asgore's golden flowers bloomed as the sun beamed them with its rays. Frisk stood beside the abandoned throne with Chara who was sitting on the ground, picking one of the flowers' petals off.

"Chara, who is this: 'he'?" Frisk snapped at the Fallen Human who got up and skipped around while humming a slow eerie song. "And stop being cryptic with me, partner."

"You look so adorable when you're annoyed, partner," Chara giggled. She looked the same since the last time Frisk saw her—incorporeal and creepy—but somehow she didn't aged like Frisk though. "You should thank me. He doesn't want people talking about him behind his back. Good thing I have a way to shield us from his gaze."

"You mean the black goo you tried to drown me with? Gee, thanks..." Frisk muttered.

Chara burst into laughter. "You didn't like that? I'm sorry; I was only trying to keep you alive. He could snap your neck if it wasn't for my... goo."

Frisk exhaled and a tiny funnel of flame escaped her lips. "So who's this 'he' you're so afraid of?"

Chara stopped her humming and stood still. With her head bowed down, she whispered: "I'm not afraid for myself, Frisk. I'm terrified on what he'd do to you and your little family... especially Asriel."

"I'm surprised to know you care." Frisk said and she was genuine with what she'd just said.

"Because I do care, you fool..." Chara frowned in agitation. "I may have driven you to kill everyone back in the Underground but that was due the boredom and a hint of madness. When you got out... a weight lifted up from my chest—" She paused then looked at Frisk with a face filled with feat. "—Frisk, the Genocide we've done is nothing compared to what 'he' intends to do to anyone who tries to defy his plans."

Frisk shifted uncomfortably when she heard the word 'Genocide'; the mistake she made when Chara appeared for the first time with a promise of something new. Frisk could've rescued the Monsters then but when the Fallen Human told her the Pacifist Route would only disappoint everyone: so they should have fun instead and become a god.

Frisk felt her sins crawl behind her back. She was swayed by the alternative and got the timeline Reset. It was when Chara started to take over when she began regretting everything.

"Why are you telling me this?" Frisk asked biting back tears.

Chara resumed her skipping this time away from Frisk. The song in her hums is becoming faster. This only annoyed Frisk which made her hands blaze with fire.

"Don't you walk away from me Chara! Come back and set things straight with me!" Frisk roared in anger. The Fallen Human didn't turn around. "You can't just come back with a mysterious message of some guy out for revenge then remind me of my mistakes and just leave! Come back!"

Chara didn't stop at all.

Frisk trembled and raised her hand where a fireball began to form. "Don't make me hurt you Chara! I swear, I'll burn you!"

A few steps and the incorporeal girl paused along with her song. "Hit me and you'll grow in LOVE, partner... if you do that, the comedian will judge you—everyone will judge you. We won't like that now would we?"

"No... I-I was just—" Frisk faltered and the fire was extinguished in her palm. She fell to her knees and sobbed. "I'm so sorry... Toriel, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys, Asgore, Sans... everybody... I'm so sorry for what I've done... I'm so sorry."

Chara was suddenly next to her. "Don't blame yourself, Frisk."

"We killed them, Chara! I killed them!" Frisk cried out. "I know the Reset brought them back but what happened still happened! I saw them die trying to stop my murderous rampage! I am an atrocity, Chara! The dust... I can't truly wipe my hands clean. Their dust is still in my hand. I'm so sorry."

"No, don't be," Chara sighed. Frisk stared at her with teary eyes. "Frisk... the madness I told you that drove me to commit genocide..."

The throne room became dim. The song Chara was humming a while ago began playing, echoing across the empty halls of the castle. The air became cold and the hairs behind Frisk's neck stood up.

"... it was his." As soon as Chara finished her sentence, the song exploded into a menacing howl of pain and anger.

"What is happening?" Frisk stood up and summoned her staff.

"This madness, Frisk: I felt it... beware the man who speaks in hands..." Chara's face and voice became disoriented like her vision back in the clearing. Black ooze from her mouth and eyes began to fill the room. Chara grabbed Frisk's arm and screamed. "As I said, he doesn't want being talked about behind his back. He is coming—RUN!"

Without hesitating, Frisk rushed to the doorway that would lead to the corridor towards the Barrier but was swept by the black ooze.

"Human Soul... I sense a Human Soul!" A new voice thundered.

Frisk slowly drowning could feel something lurking in the dark pool; it was wailing accompanied by almost indecipherable mumblings. She could only make sense of a few:

"Let me out! Come back! No! This isn't happening! Help! Please! Help! Don't forget me! I will be back! I'll be back! I'll be back—"

…

"—for you." Mick finished, clearly saying something which Frisk wasn't paying attention to. "Frisk, were you even listening?"

"I'm sorry," Frisk shrugged in embarrassment. "What were you talking about?"

Mick gave her an annoyed pout but sighed. "I said, Asriel is with Mr. King Asgore. I was too and after we got a table reserved for us, I volunteered to come out and wait for you."

"Oh," Frisk smiled awkwardly. "Thanks, Mick."

"No problem," The Monster Kid beamed. "Now let's get inside—"

"Heya kids." A deep chuckle made Mick jump in surprise. Sans the skeleton gave Frisk a wink as the Human caught the Monster Kid in her arms. "How's it goin' bud?"

"Hi, Sans." Frisk said politely.

"Yo, Sans! D-don't just 'shortcut' your way to s-scare the heck out of people!" Mick protested as Frisk helped him back on his feet.

"Heh, sorry pal," Sans apologized with another silly wink. "It's just that when I saw the crowd, the idea of 'cutting' my way through made me lazy and so here I am bum I'm gonna 'cut-short' to the gist—" He looked at the Human and tilted his head a bit. "—so you ready to talk, kiddo?"

Frisk took a deep breath and nodded. "Mick, you join Dad and Asriel. Sans and I will have a short talk."

Mick juggled his look between his Human friend and the short skeleton. "O-okay. I'll tell them you're with Sans. I will see you two later, I guess."

"We will, Mick." Frisk assured him. When Mick left, she raised an eyebrow at Sans. "Let's go."

"Okay. Follow me kid, I know a shortcut."

Sans teleported the two of them to Camel's Back which was convenient since it was where Frisk first got Chara's warning.

"Papyrus left so early that I noticed," Sans chuckled. "I was gonna go see him but I bumped into ya first."

"He's probably busy with the opening anyways." Frisk suggested.

The skeleton is a few couple of inches but he was still able to ruffle her hair, messing it even more. Sans gave a jolly laugh. "Yeah, he's been working to the bone ever since Grillby asked him to help with the new diner. I won't blame him if he is bone-dry by the end of the day."

"Boo."

"You look tired, kiddo," Sans noted. "Whatever you wanna tell me must be messing with your nap time. So tell me, bud: what's bothering ya?"

Frisk's smile faded. She looked at the big tree across the hill they are standing on. The shadow casted by Big Bark reminds her of the dark ooze Chara uses to 'hide' them from 'him'.

"Sans, it's about Chara..." She could see Sans freeze hearing that name. "She's back..."

Sans didn't say anything for a while. "If this is about a possibility for another Reset—"

"No!" Frisk immediately said. "It's not like that. Sans, I lost the power to Reset and even if I could, I promised you that I won't do it ever again! Not after what I did..."

The wind whistling was the only sound breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Sans, Chara isn't the problem or a possible Reset," Frisk said. "It's something else. Chara and I think it's far worse than what we did back in the Underground—"

"—Worse than Genocide?!" Sans growled. His eye sockets are pitch black: the facial expression of the skeleton whenever becomes serious or as he himself would put it: dead serious. If his left eye glows, that would be a different problem for Frisk.

"N-no..." Frisk slightly moved backed away.

Sans has always displayed a cool and relaxed attitude but if the skeleton gets pissed off: he's just cold and unnerving. They may be good friends but angry Sans scares her. Memories of the fight in the Judgment Hall came flooding back—Frisk and Chara have tried and tried only to face death over and over again. She tried to say something else but was suddenly mute.

Five years ago, she would've cried but Frisk didn't. She held her ground and after a deep breath, she found her voice. "I'm not saying my sins are forgivable, Sans. You should be the first one to know that! I even made you a promise that you! You think I'd go back on my word? I recall you telling me that you and I are now connected with a 'Bond of Trust'."

The skeleton didn't respond.

Frisk sighed and kept talking. "Anyways, Chara said someone is coming—someone who is capable of harm and is out seeking for revenge... and I believe whoever this guy is, even Chara fears him."

"Go on." Sans said after a while. Maybe hearing Chara being scared of something caught his interest.

"She won't give a name though, only the repeated warning of 'him' coming," Frisk continued. "And Sans, according to Chara... she was under this mystery man's influence. That's why we took the Genocide Route."

Sans tried to hide his surprise but Frisk saw it. The skeleton shifted uneasily. "A voice from the shadows ain't the weirdest thing I've heard all day."

"Do you have any clue on who this guy is?" Frisk asked.

"Nah, kid. I got none with not enough data," Sans sighed. "You got any more details that would make things easier? I'm basically at a 'dead' end right now."

Frisk remembered the distorted chatter she heard when the mystery man lurked in the ooze. "He was saying something during my nightmare last night. He was saying things that K could hardly understand. I did hear 'him' say 'let me out' like someone crying out for help but what made me feel threatened however was 'him' screaming 'I'll be back' over and over."

"Kid..." Sans was suddenly frozen. Frisk felt him cast an emotion she rarely sees in him: fear. "Frisk, buddy... is there in any way that this guy is affiliated with 'hands'?"

Frisk felt shivers down her spine. Sans knows something. "Actually, yeah. I recall Chara warn me about 'a man speaking in hands'. She specifically told me to beware—"

"—the man who speaks in hands." Sans finished. "Beware the man who speaks in hands..."

With that, the phone rang. Frisk immediately answered: it was Toriel.

"My child, where are you?!" Her voice was filled with deep worry.

"I'm fine Mom. I'm with Sans. Please tell me what's going on?" Frisk is suddenly filled with dread.

"I'm worried, my dear," Toriel's tone calmed down. "We've been trying to contact you for an hour! We are worried sick!"

An hour?

"Mom, I don't understand," Frisk looked at Sans who looked confused just as her. "Where are you?"

"I'm at Muffet and Grillby's. Everyone's here except you and Sans. What is going on?" Toriel began to sound distressed again.

"Mom, we'll be there. I'm okay, don't worry," Frisk said before she explodes in worry. "We'll talk later, okay? I love you."

She hung up before Toriel could say anything else.

"Sans, what's happening?" Frisk looked at her skeletal friend who is still frozen. "Sans, hey!"

"Kid... we'll continue when it's private. He heard us... and he now knows who you are."

…

What is happening?

Haha welp, better tune in. I know everybody is now fully aware who the Mystery Man is (I am obviously being too obvious). Anyways, more stuff in the next chapter including the answer to what in the world is going on.

Please leave a comment; it would help in shaping the AU.

See ya in the next one, peace :-p

UNDERTALE belongs to Toby Fox.