Lots of muse today... here's another chapter! It's mostly a backstory chapter, oops... Please review if you enjoyed! The lyrics scattered in the chapter are from bumble-lily's cover of "Asgore's Theme" from Undertale, which is owned by Toby Fox.

"But alas, my dear it can't be. Surrender your SOUL~ to me..."

The music was loud and took my mind off of my memories. I had given Rose a break from being physical, taking over their body and letting their mind rest. But my own memories had surfaced during Rose's breakdown, and right now I needed a distraction to keep the memories from overflowing onto Rose.

"If I could~, I would cut the rope~, and yes I would let~ you go..."

I would let Rose go if I could. But if I cut the tie- if I severed our connection... they would die. We both knew that. I was the one thing that kept Rose from spiraling into a deep depression that would only end in their death.

"I will claim our hand now to control~. But all I need~ is your final SOUL~."

With Rose's body, I could see colors. Their nails shined black with a silvery pattern, spotted with bits of red and green. I had examined them closely the first time I saw it, but I had found (with relief) that it was just the nail polish. I didn't want Rose to start hurting themselves again.

"I never wanted~ this twisted despair~. I would release you~, I mean it, I swear~..."

I would. If it would help him, I would release my hold on him, even if it meant giving up the object of my obsession. That wasn't easy, and usually it ended with the ghost in question going insane or exploding into nothingness from the paradoxical nature of obsessions.

"So why do you stare at me~ with eyes that are spilling tears~?"

I never wanted to see Rose cry like that again. And with that, my mental barrier broke and I was flooded with my own memories.

"Did you hear that noise?" I asked Mom. "Can I go check?"

"I don't know," the light green-skinned ghost said, biting her lip. Her red eyes carried a worry that I didn't understand at the time. "Why don't we ask Daddy?"

"Mom!" I complained as she began to pull me back to the house.

"Let him go, Kitty." My dad's rough voice came to my ears, which perked up at his voice. He smiled down at me and ruffled my hair. Mom let go of my hand to argue with Dad, but I didn't stick around for that. I went running towards the sound, letting my hands act as forepaws. I quickly left them behind, relishing in the feeling that running created against my hair.

I slowed down when I got near the place, walking on two paws now. "It sounded like it came from over here..." I pushed my way across the field, towards the sound of whimpering. And suddenly the sight jolted into sickening clarity.

A tiny human laid face-down on the ground, shaking like a leaf. Their hair was some vibrant color that I couldn't name due to my colorblindness, but what really horrified me was the blood that pooled around them. It was a bright red, different from the glowing green of ectoplasm. It poured down their face from the right side of their face, and the human's left ankle was completely ravaged beyond the repair of even ectoplasm. Their left foot was gone. Completely and utterly missing. On their right foot was some sort of shoe, but it looked like nothing I recognized. I covered my mouth in revulsion for the tiny human child's injuries.

They looked up at me, their remaining eye wide with fear and pain. What sort of horrible monster would have done this, torturing such a poor innocent child? Tears streaked down the other side of their face, and that spurred me into action. I stepped forward, ignoring their squeaks of fear, showing that my hands were empty and would not hurt them. I took their hands and helped them up.

"Oh, you've fallen down, haven't you?" I was worried; this human must be so injured. I deliberately kept my voice soft, trying not to frighten them further. "Here, I'll help you up." They cried out in pain, and I pulled more of their weight onto me. I could easily take it. They didn't weigh much to me. I began to help them limp forward, trying to keep them from putting any weight on their injured leg. They whimpered out their name, much to my surprise. "Rose, huh? That's a nice name." I was just about carrying them at that point, as I felt them descending deeper into a pained lethargy. "My name is-"

The memory cut off there. It always did. But now I could fill in the blank. "My name is Shadow." Another memory surfaced.

Rose laid in their bed, sleeping. I had been overjoyed when Mom and Dad let them stay, even enthusiastic about it. I didn't understand a human's need for sleep, though. Was it a way to recover? But they didn't seem to be getting any better.

"Rose?" I whispered. They were a light sleeper, and they stirred and opened their eye. We matched, I belatedly realized. We both only had our left eyes. Their other eye was wrapped in bandages still. It'd been almost two months since they'd fallen and I'd found them, but they still needed to wear the bandages or else their eye socket might get infected.

"What is it, Shadow?" Their voice sounded groggy, and I instantly felt bad.

"Why do humans need sleep? Does it help you heal? Because your eye still isn't better, and if sleeping makes you better then how come your eye isn't better yet?"

Rose laughed quietly and sat up in their bed, letting me clamber onto the bed next to them. They tugged at the covers until we were both underneath them. Rose's body warmth was almost scorching; I had quickly learned that humans generated heat.

"Well," they began, "humans need sleep because that's how our bodies make energy. Sleeping does help us heal, but it's not like how sleeping helps ghosts. We don't heal as quickly." I blinked in understanding as they continued, staring at the ceiling with a smile on their face. "Humans sleep because our bodies don't generate energy like ghosts do. We need to give our bodies and minds a break to recover our energy."

"Oh. Okay, I think I get it now." Warmed by their pocket of heat, I snuggled up to them. They didn't even shiver, used to my coldness by now, and merely snuggled back. "Sorry for waking you up."

"It's okay." They patted my cheek as they got comfortable in my arms. "Goodnight, Shadow."

"...Goodnight, Rosey."