Hey guys! Another chapter. Fun stuff.

Anyways, you didn't die to finals, all students out there. If you did, uh...hope for the best. If you're not taking them yet, good luck.

Also, about beta'ing my chapters. I actually don't do that, due to time constraints. Sure, I write rough outlines, but over the week I try to churn ideas out and everything just falls together. So uh...yeah. Your feedback is probably some of the best stuff I can ask for.

Sometimes what I write may seem a bit odd, but that's fine. Everything will be explained later in the story. Even soulology. Especially soulology, or at least my take on it.

This chapter is WAY too long (3k words! Normally one of my chapters are 750~1.5k), which is kind of a mixed blessing. First, this means that I will split this chapter into 2 parts. The first is being uploaded as of noon for me on Friday, the second Friday night. Totally not trying to do statistics to see when I have the most readers, nope. Totally not trying to cheat the systems. Why would you think that?

Anyways, without further ado, "Heartache." Enjoy.

(Psst, in the second section of the chapter, you can play the song "Reunited" from the OST. If you want. It works perfectly fine without the OST, though.)


Chapter 7-1: Heartache, Part One

The pie was amazing.

"Wow…" I groaned. "This is incredible."

Chara spoke in my mind. The tastes blend together so well.

How do you even know how it tastes? I asked.

I'm sharing your senses right now.

"Like it?" Toriel asked.

"Yeah...it's just amazing. With that layer of white chocolate on the bottom as well..." It's just like my grandma's own pies.

Toriel gave a warm chuckle. "I knew you would. I made it just the way you liked it." She picked up the dirty plates, and went to wash them after showing me my room.

When I was alone, Chara rematerialized. "Hey, wonder if I can nab some pie for myself."

"I really wonder what she meant by that."

"Huh?" Chara asked. "Whaddya mean?"

"Toriel's barely known me for a day, and she referred to me as if I lived my entire life with her."

"Oh, that? Well, you did get a call from Toriel, asking your preference."

"And you just answered for me?"

"Yup." She giggled. "Besides, no one can turn their nose up at a nice dessert pie like that. You might not like cinnamon or butterscotch, but it's impossible to turn down something hot on top of white chocolate."

"Ha, you're right there, Chara. Let's see if we can steal you a slice."

We got the pie, alright. Toriel didn't seem to notice or care. But when I looked away for a second, and turned back around, the pie was gone, Chara's face covered in crumbs.

"What?" She mumbled. "I really like this pie, okay?"


I stayed with Toriel for the next week or so. Together we did a lot. We went bug hunting, Toriel showed me all the secrets of the ruins, started homeschooling me, and took care of my needs.

On the third day, she took me through the whole ruins, past the spiked floors, past all the puzzles, into the cave where I fell down into. A small circle of green, covered in yellow flowers, was in the center of the cave. The walls of the hole leading downward were still wet with moisture from yesterday's rain, reflecting sunlight down into the caverns. The wet flowers refracted the light across the entire cavern, turning the yellows gold and basking us in a warm glow.

We stood there, looking at the scene for a good few minutes. Finally, she spoke in a gentle, motherly tone.

"Thank you for accompanying me, Chara. The walk here can feel very lonely at times. I'm glad to have you here."

I kept staring. "It's very beautiful here."

"It is. This must bring back memories for you."

We stood silently for a while before Toriel spoke again, very softly. "This was you and Asriel's favorite spot, wasn't it? It feels like only yesterday when Asriel brought you home."

I was confused. "Asriel? Sorry if I forgot him...but who is that?"

"Asriel?" Toriel snapped. "He's your brother! How could you forget him? You two used to always want to come here together! It was your favorite spot! It's one of the two spots where you could feel the sun-"

As if she was hit, Toriel collapsed to the floor. "Is something wrong?" I asked. "Should I get some help?"

She grasped the golden flowers, shredding them and staining her hands with green. "Nothing...it's just…"

"Please," I asked, while putting my arms around her. "Mom…"

Toriel dropped the flowers, almost startled. She then hugged me and started crying.

"I'm-I'm so, so sorry, child. Chara and Asriel...they meant the world to me. I loved nothing more dearly than those two children. I used to take them here all the time, where they would look so happy, almost oblivious to our problems underground."

She gripped tighter. I was running out of breath, but it didn't matter. My vision swam, the colors were too vivid, the light was too bright, the sounds fading out, becoming surreal, though I wasn't sure if it was because of lack of oxygen, Chara's pangs of raw emotion coming through our link, or if I just didn't like seeing Toriel cry. Though I knew Chara would never admit it, I guessed Chara was deeply upset by this as well, on the verge of tears if she could cry while being inside a necklace.

"When they died...I don't think anyone realized how distraught I was. On that day, it felt like Mount Ebbot, and everything surrounding it was falling on top of me. It hurt to talk. It hurt to move. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to look at anything both of those children used to own. And when he...when he made that royal decree, in his fit of rage...in my own fit, I left. I lost everything."

"You...you look so much like her, child. You look so much like Chara to the point that I tried to convince myself that you were Chara, and you weren't dead."

"I tried to replace her with you," Toriel whispered, taking a keen interest in the flower patch, "but I couldn't, in the end. No matter how hard I tried, I-"

Toriel tried to fight back her tears. I was fighting my own, as well. It was bringing back memories of the painful days after my brother died. But both of us failed, Toriel failing more spectacularly, her body shaking as she sobbed.

"I just never could forget that day! His-my son's-body, lying in my arms, crumbling to dust. Her small body, as fragile as the flowers we were kneeling on, coated in his dust." She took a shaky breath and wiped her tears away. "I'm sorry. This was all unwarranted. Please, child. Forgive me, but I need some time alone."

Toriel walked out of the cavern slowly. She walked stiffly and upright, almost like marching. As soon as she went out of sight, however, I heard paws smacking the floor as she ran.

Both Chara and I stayed silent for a while after that. Finally, Chara rematerialized and spoke.

"This place...Toriel buried me here. Frisk…"

"Yeah?"

"Please. Let's go home."

We walked home, together. On the way, some spiders waved at us, trying to get us to buy their donuts that we weren't in the mood for. We walked past Napstablook, who, on seeing our faces, politely stepped aside. When we got back, no one was inside the living room. Toriel's chair was empty and cold. Quiet sobbing and a music box could be heard from her room.

"That music box...Asriel made that. It was the first thing he made with magic, and he gave it to me. He called that song 'Memory.' It was his theme song, in a way. We all liked it."

The rest of the day was mostly both of us taking a walk through the ruins. When dinnertime came, Toriel came out of her room with a glum expression, saying only "Sorry for being irresponsible."