Welcome to chapter 9 (officially). Thanks for your patience while I worked on this one. It's another long one, so get comfy.

It's taken me a while to complete this one because a lot of it has been rewritten several times. However, I'm happy with the final result, and hope you will be too.


Chara stood there, looking at the pajama-wearing child in front of the door to the underground house, holding the object of their desire: a a slice chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. They had full intention of eating the whole thing and then demanding the rest from the kid, figuring it'd be easy to take what they wanted just like in the orphanages. All they had to do was assert their authority, beat down anyone who challenged them, then they'd get what they wanted along with some other tougher kids. They took a step towards the squinting kid, their own red eyes set on the delicious prize, only to watch as the chocolaty goodness was pulled away, the other kid holding it to their side away from them.

"Put the knife down, then I'll share," Frisk said in a stern voice. Here was a human, fresh from the topside, with a bloody knife and horrid looking grin on their face. The way they acted reminded Frisk of the crueler people on surface, like the ones that held them down and put the burn mark on their back. There was no way Frisk would trust someone like that with anything, much less let the little maniac near them or their family. They put one foot behind them, making it easier if they wanted to turn and flee into the house, taking the precious cake with them.

Of course, Chara noticed the change and briefly thought of charging at the other and taking the cake, but wasn't sure if they could get to them in time with how worn out and hungry they were. Then there was the chance the cake could get dropped or destroyed if the other kid struggled. Instead, they just looked at Frisk and smiled. "I'm not going to get rid of the only thing that's kept me safe, but if it makes you feel better, I'll put it away." With that, they slid the knife handle-up into their pocket, then held their hands out at their sides to show they were otherwise unarmed. That seemed to make the kid relax a bit as they let out a sigh and stepped forward a couple steps, setting the plate on the ground and backing up. Chara wasted no time in closing the gap, picking up the plate in one hand, then the cake in the other and stuffing as much into their mouth as they could. After a couple days without food, a chocolate cake was an amazing first meal.

Frisk watched this new human eat...no, devour the slice of cake like a starving animal, which Frisk remembered they were similarly hungry when they fell. Seeing it happen to someone else was almost heartbreaking, if the other person hadn't appeared with a knife in their hands. Still, they'd been reasonable, so Frisk would be too. Seeing Chara scooping up the last bits of frosting on the plate, Frisk was about to ask if they wanted to come in for some more, when Chara suddenly reached out with the hand not holding the plate and grabbed their shirt.

"Alright, now I want the rest of the cake, so you're gonna take me inside, give it to me, and let me walk out with it," Chara said in the most intimidating voice they could muster, their wide red eyes staring at Frisk's squinting ones. "This is gonna be easy, kid looks like a crybaby. If they refuse, bet one punch would be enough to make them beg me to not hurt them and do whatever I say." That thought brought a smug grin to Chara's face, which was turned to confusion as their hand was smacked away from Frisk's shirt and they were pushed back. That bought Frisk a couple steps distance, but now they stood in front of the door, fists clinched and stance at the ready.

"C'mon, I've beaten plenty of wannabe tough kids back at the orphanage. Take me inside now, or you'll regret it." Chara put their fist in their hand to emphasize their willingness to fight after recovering from the shock of Frisk pushing them away. Frisk remained unmoving, just watching the new kid with the same squinting neutral expression. After a moment's standoff, Chara's face changed to a scowl. "Tch, you asked for it, dweeb."

Chara lunged, bringing their left fist in for a heavy hitting hook aimed at Frisk's jaw to try and knock them down with one hit. However, their arm sailed through empty air, their momentum making them stumble and spin around. Turning to face Frisk again, they found them just to the left of where they stood before, just out of range of where Chara's strike would've landed. Chara let out a noise somewhere between a grunt and a growl and hurled themselves at Frisk again, intending to tackle them to the ground, but Frisk sidestepped again, this time pushing on Chara's back and making them go to faster, the aggressive child smacking their shoulder into house.

"Are you ready to calm down?" Frisk asked, arms crossed over their chest and a frown on their face. They'd been training with Asgore for nearly a year, learning all about fighting, from attacking to dodging, and resolving conflicts with others through talking. While the first two worked well for any fight, the last part Frisk thought would only work on monsters, as talking never helped them with people before, but they were willing to try it here. "If you had asked for more instead of demanding it like, I'd have gotten it for you. I'll still get you some if you stop now."

Chara heard Frisk, but their words only made them more incensed. This brat thought they could just be nice and things would be all hunky dory between them now? As if! They came at Frisk once more, though in a much more measured way, eschewing their full bodied attacks to go for jabs, body shots, and even kicks to the legs, trying to land some solid blows and knock Frisk off guard. However, Frisk seemed to weave and duck and spin away from every blow with ease, each miss making Chara grow more frustrated and careless. They aimed a hard right jab for Frisk's nose, only for them to duck at the last second. Chara's hand still hit something solid though: the tree. Several leaves fell off the branches as it shook, Chara having landed a glancing blow that scraped their hand across the bark, cutting into their hand badly and forcing a cry of agony from them.

They brought their hand to their body, moving quickly to avoid any attacks Frisk might make. Looking at their hand, they knew it'd have to be cleaned and bandaged after this and would probably be barely usable for a while. They looked up and saw Frisk just standing there, watching them. It then occurred to Chara that the other kid hadn't hit them once, hadn't even tried fighting back. All they'd done was dodge Chara's assault and made them hurt themselves. "They're toying with me! Bet they think they're better than me, like everyone else." Chara wouldn't, COULDN'T let this stand. They'd show this privileged brat who was boss.

So with a bruised shoulder and badly scraped hand, Chara jumped back in to the fight. They jabbed with their left fist, only for Frisk to dodge to Chara's right. Chara tried a right backhand, which Frisk ducked under. Chara tried to kick Frisk when they were down low, but Frisk caught their foot and pushed it to the side, making Chara spin on one foot so their back was to Frisk. Their instincts kicked in and they jumped forward and turned around to keep from being attacked from behind, though such a thing Frisk wouldn't do.

Chara tried to think as they stood there, panting, sweating, and injured, staring at their doppelganger. It was infuriating how they hadn't been able to land a single blow, yet this other kid refused to fight back. They knew Frisk wasn't weak with the way they stopped that kick. Chara put everything they had into it, and Frisk just grabbed their foot mid-air like it was nothing. Obviously this kid knew how to fight, but for some reason were holding back. Chara was determined to show them why that was a bad idea. Chara ran at Frisk with their right hand held up like they were going to punch, but their left hand went to their pocket discreetly, grabbing the handle of the knife.

Frisk saw the glint of metal in the light and moved quickly, but not quite quickly enough. The knife cut through their shirt and sliced into their side, Frisk gritting their teeth at the pain. With the next step, Chara twisted around and slashed, intending to cut Frisk from shoulder to waist, but they weren't about to let that happen. With a twist and hop, they put some distance between them and their crazy lookalike, only for that distance to disappear as Chara kept with their aggressive approach. Chara knew the other couldn't dodge forever, especially now that they were hurt. Sooner or later, Frisk would make a mistake, or Chara would get lucky, and that would be the end of the fight. All Chara had to do was keep up the offensive.

With each dodge of the deadly weapon, Frisk grew more worried and more fed up. This wasn't a monster, who could be reasoned with even in the middle of a fight to calm them down. This was another human, who would keep attacking until one of them couldn't fight anymore. They were going to let the other tire themselves out, but with the knife back out that was looking like less than a good idea. They had to stop this knife wielding lunatic fast before something bad happened that couldn't be taken back.

Even knowing all that, they had to give it one more try, see if this not-twin had some good in them somewhere. They were able to put some distance between themselves and Chara, who was panting heavily from the exertion. Frisk was getting fatigued too, but their training had given them a lot more stamina. It was getting obvious that Chara wasn't going to accept any mercy, but Frisk had one more act to try before resorting to fighting.

"You're not very good at swinging that knife around, are you?" The glare they received from Chara might've been able to kill a Whimsum. "But hey, you're as cute as me, and I bet you can be even sweeter than that chocolate cake." At this Frisk opened their arms a bit, hands open and palms out. "Let's forget this fight, ok? Just put the weapon down, and we can share some more cake together." Chara truly looked taken aback, their eyes wavering as they thought to themselves, seemingly trying to process what was happening. Frisk allowed themselves to hope that their little flirt was able to do it, to find a way to pacify another human without fighting. That hope was dashed away as Chara again looked at them with a steely gaze and rushed them, trying to bring their knife down across Frisk's chest.

Frisk stepped inside of the slash and slammed into Chara, knocking them down and back. This bought them a couple seconds as Chara got back up, but that's all Frisk needed. Chara lunged back towards Frisk, going for a straight stab to the chest and Frisk waited until the last moment to move. They turned slightly as Chara tried to get them, making as if to do a normal dodge, but stopped in the middle, slightly crouching in front of them. With one hand they grabbed Chara's arm while the other pressed up on their chest, which, along with Chara's momentum, allowed them to flip Chara over Frisk, Chara's back and head landing on the stone ground hard with a thud, stunning them. Frisk took the opportunity to flip them over onto their stomach and kneel on their back, still holding Chara's arm, which they pulled back and up, twisting and pulling Chara's already hurt shoulder into an awkward position.

"Let go of the knife," Frisk said above them. Chara didn't listen, instead squirming and trying to push back up with their other hand. Frisk couldn't risk them getting back up and wrenched their arm up again, eliciting a cry of pain from the prone human and reducing their struggling. Frisk didn't like what they were doing, but knew they had to do it. "I said drop it, or I'll dislocate your shoulder." Another tug on Chara's arm made them stop moving to get up, instead the child was breathing heavily. They were hungry, thirsty, sleep deprived, and physically drained after running from several adults in town and from the fight. They hated admitting it, but they were beat. However, they didn't want to let go of the knife. Once they did, they'd be completely helpless, and a helpless orphan is as good as dead. They were sure Frisk would take the knife and just stab them for trying to do the same to them, so they clung to the blade for dear life. Their own body betrayed them though when Frisk gave a hard yank, the pain in their shoulder traveling down their arm and forcing their hand open, Frisk snatching the knife instantly.

"This is it," Chara thought. "I'm gonna die to some dumb underground kid stabbing me while I'm starved and weak." They braced for the pain of the knife being pushed into their side or back, or the feeling of it moving under their head to slice their neck, cursing themselves, Frisk, the town, and anyone and any thing they could think of. They started the chuckle, then full out laugh, their signature nervous reaction to anything too stressful or fear inducing, and another person holding them to the ground with a knife was both those things. They were taken by surprise then when their arm was let go and a weight was taken off of them. Turning their head to look, they saw Frisk standing up, holding the knife to their side, a small spot of red under their arm from where they were cut a bit ago. Turning over and sitting up, Chara looked at Frisk, still angry but also confused.

"Well? Aren't you going to attack? Stab me back for what I did to you?" They didn't understand, that's how fights always went before. The winner would make the loser pay dearly to teach them not to mess with them anymore, inflicting more pain than they received. Chara had done it many times, and had it done to them a few as well, so when Frisk shook their head, they were even more confused. "Then what are you going to do to me?" Frisk took a deep breath, letting it out as a sigh before replying. "I'm going to get you up, take you inside, and get you something to eat." Chara wasn't sure, but it sounded like Frisk said that reluctantly, as though they didn't want to. When Frisk moved towards Chara, they flinched, but Frisk only helped them up by pulling on their unhurt shoulder. Chara wanted to tell them to not touch them but followed along, not wanting to risk making Frisk mad while they still held the knife. Their legs were wobbly, their reserves of energy drained after all the exertion from the day, making Frisk half-carry them to the door.

It wasn't easy for Chara to see inside the house, but the light coming in through the windows helped a little. They could see there was a hallway to their right, and a more open room to their left with a table and chairs. The latter direction is where Frisk directed them, helping the stumbling child to a seat. "Stay here, and I'll get you some food and more cake," Frisk whispered. Chara presumed it was to not wake up their parents, and with the promise of more cake stayed seated. Besides, it wasn't like they could go far in the condition they were in, all bruised and and exhausted. So they waited as a few moments passed by until Frisk returned, carrying a large plate filled with lots of food. Sandwiches, crackers, cookies, different fruits and vegetables, meats and cheese in little cut pieces, and another slice of chocolate cake. Chara couldn't remember the last time they'd been given this much to eat. Taking a quick look at Frisk, who only nodded, Chara dug in.

Something caught them off guard as they ate though. Most of the food seemed to melt in their mouth, only a little being swallowable, but even that felt like it was disappearing as it went down their throat. Now thinking of it, they remembered chewing the first piece of cake, but never swallowing it, and now the same was happening to the rest of this food. They didn't dwell on it too long or let it stop them though, their hunger easily winning out over any curiosity. Even so, they were feeling themselves become full as the food melted away in their mouth. At first, they'd just stuffed their face with whatever they could grab, but now they were picking what they wanted most. The cookies were gone in a flash, then the fruit, then meat. The poor veggies went untouched through the whole meal. Last was the cake piece, which again was nearly inhaled from being eaten so fast. The entire time, Frisk sat next to Chara and just silently watched them eat.

Finally, Chara sat back and pat their stomach, having eaten more in that sitting than they had in the last week total. They had a glass of water on the table and took several big gulps, draining the glass nearly dry in one go, putting it back onto the table with a loud belch. They couldn't help but giggle at their own antics, but when they looked at Frisk in the low light they could see only their normal neutral expression. Chara turned to face them better and opened their mouth to speak. "Hey, kid, wanted to kn," "Frisk," Frisk interrupted. "My name is Frisk." Chara sighed and started again. "Ok, Frisk. I wanted to know why you're acting so nice to me after everything. It's...weird." Now it was Frisk's turn to sigh before sitting up straight.

"A year ago, I lived up on the surface. I hated it, because everyone hated me. They blamed me for something I didn't do and couldn't control, and they made me suffer for it. I was always called horrible things, but most just referred to me as a demon." Frisk talked while looking a little bit up, recalling the memories. It quickly clicked in Chara though what that nickname meant. "Wait, I was called 'a second red-eyed demon' in that stupid town. Were you the first?" At Chara's words, Frisk brought their face back down to be level with theirs and opened their eyes fully, allowing the other child to see the faintly glowing orbs. The sight caught Chara off guard and made them gasp. "Yes," Frisk continued. "I was called a demon from the day I was born. One night, my aunt threw me out of the house after...disciplining me, and I had enough. I climbed the mountain to get away, and fell down here. There weren't flowers before, so I was really hurt. Then, a kid found me and brought me here, where his mom and dad helped me heal up. Now, I call them my family because they adopted me, and I thought I'd never have to deal with another human from the surface again."

Frisk's eyes were fixed onto Chara's, and there was something in them that was familiar yet disquieting to them. It looked like how Chara imagined they looked when they decided to stab the perverted priest. A look of malice and hatred, making Chara's sins crawl up their back at the thought of what was going through Frisk's mind. "Then you fall down here. Another human from the surface, only you're carrying a knife with blood on it and an evil look in your eyes. It took all my willpower to show you mercy out there and not fight back." Frisk said. Chara looked back at them, confused at their choice of words. "Well then why did you let me up and get all this food for me?" They retorted, voice rising in volume. Frisk shushed them before continuing. "Because Mom and Dad have taught me everyone deserves a second chance, and that even the worst person can change and be good if they just try. I know it's true because I've changed, and I know you can too."

Chara scoffed. "That's a stupid way of thinking. There's plenty of bad people who never change, and there's only one way to take care of them." Chara motioned to the knife that Frisk still carried. Instead of responding to that though, Frisk smirked and replied "How does your hand feel, Chara?" Confused, Chara looked down at their left hand which had been hurt by the dieing tree outside, only to notice that there was no more blood, no scrapes or cuts or anything wrong with it at all. Rolling their shoulders, they felt no bruising or stiffness in the one that slammed into the house. "What? How is my hand okay? It should have taken days for that to heal, now it's like it didn't happen." Frisk smiled at Chara's confusion as the child kept examining their hand. "It's magic," Frisk replied. "Magic food actually. I had a cookie before bringing your food out, and I'm fine too." Frisk lifted their shirt a bit, and even in the low light Chara could see that Frisk had no cut on them anymore, though the blood was still there.

"Bullshit!" Chara barked, becoming angry again at thinking Frisk was lying to them. "Magic isn't real!" Frisk tried to quiet them down, but the sound of a door opening told them it was too late for that. Instead, they sighed and slid off the chair saying to Chara "Think you woke up my family." Frisk scampered off down the hall, Chara losing sight of them when they got past the main door. Instead they just reached out to the plate on the table and took a bite of some crackers and cheese. As it melted in their mouth like the rest of the food, they wondered if the other red-eyed child had been telling the truth, since they'd never eaten anything like this before. Their pondering was cut short as the sounds of two sets of footsteps approached. As they turned to look at Frisk, who had just entered the living room, they saw something behind them.

It started as a dark silhouette, but gained some definition as it drew nearer. Chara's eyes grew in shock, then fear as what looked like a lumbering beast followed behind Frisk. Most of it was in the shadows, but Chara could still make out most of the features, like the snout with sharp fangs, large muscular build underneath white fur, a body nearly as wide car and tall as the doorway, with claws on its hands and massive horns on top of its head. It stretched its arms out over its head, making it appear even larger, while it opened its muzzle and let out a loud, deep growl, causing Chara to fall over backwards out of the chair, kneeling down behind it as if that might offer then some protection should this thing charge at them. Frisk, meanwhile, just stood there with their arms crossed, smirk on their face at Chara's reaction.

"Dad, this is Chara, a human I found outside the house. Chara, this is my dad, Asgore Dreemurr, King of the Monsters." Asgore chuckled, putting a hand on Frisk's head and patting them. "Frisk, no need to be dramatic." With that, they stepped into the room proper, revealing a pair of pajama pants and a pink shirt with the words "King Dad Guy" in blue on the front. "Well Chara, it's nice to mee..." Asgore didn't get to finish the sentence because, as he took another step into the room, Chara let out a blood-curdling scream. Chara had been afraid before, like when the head of one of the orphanages got angry, and when they were in the room with that priest, but now they weren't afraid of getting hurt. This time, they were afraid for their very soul as a true monster stared at them and came towards them. Frisk winced, since if Asriel and Toriel hadn't heard them and been up before, they sure were now.

Indeed, two more sets of doors opened as Asgore tried to calm the terrified child. "Now now, there's no need to be frightened. Why don't we settle down over a nice cup of tea?" Chara had their back against the wall with Asgore kneeling in front of them, trying to speak to them when Toriel rushed past Frisk and into the room, magic fire in one hand. "Asgore, what in the world is going on!?" Chara, upon seeing yet another strange monster with an odd colored fire in her hand, screamed again. They wished they had their knife with them, even if it wouldn't help defend themselves, because it'd at least make them feel a little safer, but the other child that looked like them, Frisk, had taken it from them. Looking over at them, they saw the faint outline of it in their pj bottom's pocket.

Toriel extinguished her flame quickly at the sight of the frightened child, then proceeded to grab one of Asgore's horns and pull up, making him stand but in a slouched position so that his face was at the same height as hers. She looked him in the eyes, her expression stern. "Asgore Dreemurr, what did you do to this poor innocent child?" She demanded, with Frisk giving a quiet snicker behind her. "Tori, I only tried to say hello. I did nothing to harm them." Asgore replied sincerely, causing Toriel to sigh. Thankfully, Chara had stopped screaming at this point, though they were in danger of hyperventilating at this rate. Toriel pulled Asgore behind her before releasing him, then turned to Chara, making sure to stay well away so as not to frighten them more.

"It's all right, little one. You're safe in this house. I know we may look frightening to your kind, but we mean you no harm." Her calm demeanor and soothing voice seemed to be working, the child calming down, though no less scared. Meanwhile Asriel came up beside their sibling and tugged on their shirt. "Frisk, what's going on? Why are there two of you?" Frisk just wrapped their arm around their adoptive brother, promising to tell them later when everyone had calmed down. With Chara now just sitting on the ground, Toriel turned to Asgore, asking him to make some tea for everyone. He dutifully obliged while Toriel looked around, seeing the platter of leftover party food from the evening. "I see someone had a big meal here. Was it good?" She asked, looking to Chara, who tensed up but nodded. "Good! You'll have to tell me what foods you like sometime and I'll be happy to make some." Her genuine smile put Chara more at ease before she took the plate back into the kitchen, leaving only the three children in the living room.

Frisk decided to use this opportunity to introduce the last member of the Dreemurr crew. "Chara, I'd like you to meet my brother and savior, Asriel. He found me when I first fell down here." The flattery made the goat boy blush a little as he gave Chara a little sleepy wave. "And Azzy, this is Chara, another human that was outside our house that I found." Chara gave a shaky wave back, still not fully calm after the fright they'd just had. Toriel had come out and lit the fireplace with her magic, giving the room a soft glow. "Speaking of which, you'll have to tell us why you were up and able to find them in the first place, my child." Frisk's smile vanished at Tori's words, replaced with a nervous lip bite. It was Asriel's turn to snicker, knowing their sibling was going to get a talking to, but probably not get in too much trouble.

As everyone began sitting and getting comfortable, Asgore came back out with five stacked cups in one hand and a teapot in the other. "All right everyone, seems we've had more excitement tonight than we were planning on. Let's all calm down so we can head to bed and finish sleeping." He gave one cup to Toriel in her chair, nuzzling her head as he filled the cup. Asriel and Frisk were sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace, so Asgore put their tea beside them. He looked over to Chara, who hadn't moved from the wall near the table. "Child, you don't have to stay over there. You may come join us for some warm tea." Chara sat there a moment, thinking it over before slowly, seemingly reluctantly, getting up and making their way closer. They sat in the same area, but further than arms length from anyone else. Asgore poured their tea and handed it to them, Chara giving a mumbled "thanks" as they sipped it.

Asgore sat and poured his own cup of tea, putting the kettle down beside him, then took a sip for himself before turning his head towards the new human. "Chara, may I ask what caused you to enter the underground?" Chara pursed their lips, staring into their cup. "I was running and tripped on something," they replied. Such a curt answer struck both parents as odd, with Toriel speaking next. "And why were you running, my child?" Chara's grip on their cup tightened, frowning as they remembered the events over the last few days. "I don't want to talk about it," was all they said. They expected to be admonished for not doing as they're told, or for keeping secrets, or other various reasons like they would've been on the surface. "Very well. You don't have to tell us anything you're uncomfortable with," Toriel responded, surprising Chara, though they tried to not show it.

"As for you, young one," Toriel's tone of voice grew more serious as she looked over to Frisk, who sat up straighter. "Just what were you doing up so late at night?" Frisk fumbled over themselves for a moment, trying to think of what to say. "Um...I don't want to talk about it?" They said in the hope they would be given the same leniency as Chara. Asgore chuckled and spoke. "Frisk, you know that won't work on your mother." Frisk sighed and looked at Toriel as they admitted their sins. "I wanted another piece of cake, so I snuck into the kitchen to get one." Asriel turned to their sibling, cheeks puffed up in indignation. "Frisk, why didn't you get me one too?" he said in a bit of a whine.

"I'm not the one that ate it though, Chara did!" Frisk said quickly, trying to somehow get in less trouble. It didn't seem to work. "Frisk, it's the intention that matters. It was a selfish act and your mother and I will come up with a suitable punishment for it." Asgore replied. Frisk sighed and nodded, going back to their tea. A couple minutes passed in silence, with nearly everyone finishing their drink before Toriel spoke back up. "So Frisk, would you like to tell us why you have a knife in your pocket and a cut in your shirt?" Frisk looked up with a deer-in-the-headlights look, eyes going from mostly closed as they relaxed to fully open, showing off their shining red irises. "I'm your mother, I notice when things aren't right," she said as Frisk looked at her. Asriel looked over to their sibling with worry. "Frisk, you didn't try to...um, you know, did you?" Frisk quickly shook their head, Toriel giving a relieved sigh and Asgore a confused look. "It's...um...well, I didn't...uh..." Frisk sputtered, trying to come up with an excuse, but Chara interrupted. "It's my knife, and I made that cut," they said matter-of-factly, causing three pairs of monster goat eyes to look at them in surprise. "Child, why would you..." Toriel started with her question, but didn't get to finish.

"It's not their fault. They were hungry and scared and I surprised them. They didn't mean to, and I traded the cake piece for the knife. When they were done I brought them inside for more food and water." Frisk said in a hurry, completely leaving out the fight they and Chara had. This threw Chara for a loop, as no one had really stood up for them before, let alone someone they'd recently attacked. Asriel put their arms around Frisk, putting them in a hug with their cheeks against each other even as Asriel glared at Chara. "You hurt my Frisk, you meanie." Frisk, for their part, hugged Asriel back. "Azzy, it's fine. I'm not hurt, and it was an accident."

"Chara, did you fight anything else on your way here?" Asgore asked. His voice was deeper and quieter than usual, sounding almost menacing. Chara didn't look up, just staring at their almost empty cup of tea. "No, all the other things either ran away or just sat there as I walked by." Their reply, along with the fact there was no dust on their hands, made Asgore breathe a sigh of relief. "I'm glad to hear that, child. The monsters that live in this part of the underground are not very strong, and you could have seriously hurt them or worse, even by accident. Since you will be staying underground, we will teach you all about the relationship between humans and monsters." Chara's head shot up at that. "Wait, I'm not allowed to leave? I'm being kidnapped?"

"Asgore, now you've scared them!" Toriel looked over to her husband, giving one of her famous glares that could make anyone in the underground scamper away in both guilt and fear. While she admonished the king, Asriel, still holding on to Frisk, replied to Chara. "We're not forcing you to stay down here, it's just actually impossible to leave. We're all stuck under the mountain because of a magic barrier." Chara rolled their eyes at that. "Magic? Psh, yeah right. Can I just have my knife back?" Frisk hesitated, unwrapping their arms from Asriel who did the same. "You're not gonna try to hurt anyone, are you?" Frisk asked, wary of giving the other human a weapon. "Only if they don't try to hurt me first," Chara replied. Frisk wasn't fully satisfied with that answer, but took the knife out of their pocket and scooted over to Chara just close enough to where they could hand it off. As Chara went to take it, Frisk gripped the knife tightly so it couldn't be pulled out of their hand and just stared Chara in the eyes with a serious expression, then let the knife go, leaving it with Chara, who quickly pocketed it.

As everything wound down, Asgore got up and collected all the cups, taking them into the kitchen with the kettle. "Children I believe it's bed time now," he said upon his return. Two children groaned and stretched, Frisk and Asriel standing up. Chara stay sitting, wondering where they were going to be put. Frisk came over to them and offered a hand to help them up. "You can have my bed tonight, Chara. I'll sleep with Azzy," they said, giving a sincere smile. Chara got up on their own, refusing to touch Frisk's hand, feeling more confident now that they had their knife. "Fine, just as long as it doesn't have any bugs," Chara replied with a huff.

Chara followed their mirror image and the goat boy into their room, with Toriel and Asgore right behind them to tuck them all in. Before getting in bed though, Asriel perked up. "Oh, I almost forgot!" he exclaimed as the got down on all fours and rooted around under his bed. He got back up holding two presents, handing one to Frisk. "I kinda forgot about these in all the excitement earlier. One's for your birthday, the other's for coming down here and being my friend for a whole year." Frisk smiled and pulled the ribbon holding the lid on the box, then took it off and reached in. They pulled out two golden necklaces with the monster's symbol on the front, and opening one up saw the words "BEST FRIENDS FOREVER" etched into the left side. Asriel took the second one and put it on while Frisk followed suit with the first. "Thank you, Azzy. I'll never take it off," they said, giving Asriel a big hug. Chara watched this and felt oddly jealous, almost as if that necklace should have been theirs, though they had no real reason to think that. The second gift was opened quickly, Frisk pulling out...a microphone! "Mom and dad put speakers into here and in New Home, so you can sing whenever you want." Asriel chimed in, having seen how much Frisk liked to sing and hum, especially when people were there to listen and join in. Frisk thanked Asriel again and put the gift back in the box for safe keeping.

Frisk and Asriel got in one bed together, letting Toriel pull the covers up and giving her and Asgore a hug and cheek kiss. "Night mom, night dad." They said in unison. Chara however had pulled the covers up themselves, hands behind their head and eyes closed now. Toriel came up beside the bed, standing next to the new human child. "I know things have been rough for you, and we don't have a lot to offer, but we will do what we can to make you comfortable and happy. We will explain everything tomorrow, and you can too if you want. For now, have a good night, child." She went to pat their head, only for them to flinch away when they felt her paw. Toriel took it in stride and retracted her hand, giving them all one more good night wish before leaving the room with her husband and shutting the door.

Chara couldn't understand Frisk. One moment they're defending them from their own brother and leaving out the part of them trying to kill the other child, and the next they're giving some unspoken threat while giving them back the knife. Chara wondered if they'd been telling the truth about their treatment by other humans. Would certainly explain why Frisk seemed to hate humans as much as Chara did, but then why would Frisk be nice and stand up for another human like them? Certainly they couldn't actually be convinced that people can change. If that was the case, nothing bad would ever happen. Their parents wouldn't have left them on the steps of some orphanage, the other kids and even the 'caretakers' wouldn't have hurt them, and those horrible men wouldn't...

Chara stopped themselves from continuing that line of thought, pulling the knife out and putting it under the pillow. As they did, they glanced at the other bed and saw what looked like a faintly glowing red ring right where Frisk's head should've been. It unnerved them, never having seen a glowing eye before, not realizing their own eyes did the same just not as brightly. However, the thought of being watched didn't really affect them, since it happened all the time up on the surface, with caretakers walking through the halls to make sure the kids were sleeping. Before Chara knew it, they were out cold, their body finally getting the rest it needed after several days without. Frisk slept lightly that night, one eye opening every time a noise came from the other bed. However, the thought of of helping Chara become a better person filled them with hope, and the thought of protecting their family and friends filled them with determination.