Chara insisted on treating Frisk's wound herself. Grillby gave her a first aid kit. Chara cleaned the wound. Frisk was still unconscious.
"Frisk will be okay, right?" Green asked.
"He better be," Chara answered. She bandaged the wound.
"…You really care about him, don't you?" Grillby asked.
Chara nodded. "I will always take care of him."
"Hmm…"
"Well, thanks."
"I would say 'come again,' but… you know."
Chara picked up Frisk and carried him toward the door. She looked at Green and Grillby.
"Seriously, thank you."
Chara carried Frisk to their hideout: Napstablook's apartment, who was rich from Mettaton's inheritance. The sun had almost set. Chara tried to hurry. It was only a couple blocks away.
Chara heard screams.
"It's the Demon! It hurt Frisk!"
"Demon! What did you do to Frisk this time?"
"Stay away from Frisk!"
"Good! You're both traitors!"
After what felt like an eternity, Chara reached the apartment. She made sure nobody saw them go inside.
"Chara! Frisk! Are you okay?" Asriel was in a flower pot placed on the living room table.
"Yeah."
Napstablook floated in. "We saw the news. Headlines ranged from 'Demon Assaults Innocent Knight' to 'Demon Terrorizes Restaurant.' Sorry for making such a bad suggestion." Napstablook was the one who suggested that Frisk and Chara try going to Grillby's. They thought that seeing an old acquaintance would help improve the public's opinion of Chara, and Chara believed that she needed to stop hiding and face the people she hurt.
"It's not your fault," Chara said. "No matter where I go, people hate me. Besides, Grillby was actually pretty helpful!"
"Oh… that's good… the part about Grillby I mean… not the other part."
Frisk began to regain consciousness.
"Ugh… wh-what happened?"
Chara set Frisk down on the couch. "It's okay now, Frisk."
Frisk was still groggy. He looked around. "Are we… home? Chara, you didn't carry me all the way here, did you?"
Chara embraced Frisk. "Of course I did! Did you think I would just leave you there?"
"Chara…" Frisk returned the embrace. "Sorry. I'm usually stronger than this."
"Don't worry, Frisk. I'm here for you."
"You always have been." Frisk and Chara looked at each other happily.
"AHEM!" Asriel got their attention. Chara jumped, and Frisk snapped fully awake.
"Oh… they were having such a nice moment…"
"Yeah, and I stopped it before it got TOO nice."
Frisk and Chara both blushed. Chara sat down next to Frisk.
"Anyway," Asriel said. "That clearly could have gone better. We need to figure out how to convince everyone that Chara is NOT a demon."
Chara knew that was impossible. She would never be able to live down her actions.
Chara let out a long and bitter laugh at the irony.
"Asriel, you think I am above consequences?"
"Chara…"
"They're right. I used to think I was a monster, but I was wrong. Monsters are nice. I… am a Demon." Chara stood up.
Frisk tried to console Chara. Tears formed in Chara's eyes.
"Frisk, I just… need some time, okay?" Chara went inside her room, alone.
Asriel gave Frisk an apologetic look. "Sorry, Frisk. I was just trying to-"
"I know, Asriel." Frisk was amazed that Asriel could be empathetic at all without a SOUL.
"So… what do we do?"
"Nothing. Chara needs to be alone for a while."
"Frisk, I don't have a SOUL, and I'M tempted to open that door."
"I just want what's best for her."
Frisk looked at the jars of dust placed on the shelves.
"I know. We deserve worse..." Frisk whispered to them.
Frisk passed the time watching the news. He wished he hadn't. People hated Chara so much. It seemed like a miracle that she hadn't been killed. The only reason she not in prison or anything was that no one could actually prove that Chara was in fact the same Chara that fell underground and possessed Frisk, but everyone knew.
Wait…
No…
Frisk flipped through the channels and saw a headline that Napstablook had failed to mention: "Demon Confesses!"
Well, there was still another reason. They were still scared to death of her. Nobody knew the details of her ability to consume the timeline (herself included, to be honest). It acted as a deterrent. Maybe that would at least buy them time, and they had somehow managed to keep their residence here a secret. Still, both humans and monsters would be searching for Chara. It also seemed likely that once they were done with Chara, Frisk would be next, and then...
All they could do now was lay low.
Frisk, Asriel, and Napstablook were the only people left who understood Chara.
"Hey, Napstablook. Sorry for being such bums." And for having you harbor two of the world's most wanted fugitives. For obvious reasons, going to school or anything was out of the question.
"It's okay. It's what Mettaton would have wanted."
Damn it, Napstablook.
Frisk wasn't so sure about that.
Frisk sighed. "Hey, want to lay down on the floor and feel like garbage?"
"Okay!"
Hours had passed. It was midnight. Chara was still in her room.
"Alright, I'm going to check on her now."
Frisk knocked on Chara's door (it was actually both of their rooms). "Chara…? Can I come in now?"
"…Okay."
Frisk entered the room. Chara was sitting in her bed. Her eyes were even redder than normal, and her sleeves were wet.
Frisk didn't say anything. He just sat with Chara in her bed and put his arm around her.
"Frisk…" Chara finally said. "Why are we still here? Just to suffer? It won't stop hurting. They won't stop hurting."
"I know," Frisk answered. "But I don't think they would want us to just give up."
"Frisk, if you could RESET to before you tried to save me, knowing that I would never come back, would you do it?"
Frisk was surprised by the question.
"Don't lie to me, Frisk. Of course you would. You would just leave the underground, and everyone would be alive again. I'm not worth everyone else."
Frisk decided that the best thing to do was to be honest. He closed his eyes.
"…I guess I would have to…"
"Exactly."
"Yes, the right thing to do would be to save the others. You're not worth everyone else. I would definitely do it. But…" Frisk held Chara tight. "…I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that I just abandoned you like that. I do miss them, of course. I want to see them again so badly, but I would also miss you. I would still be unable to forgive myself, for any of this. I would have to live knowing that I could have saved you, but instead turned you into a murderer and doomed you to death forever. If I could RESET to exactly how things were before, then that would be a different story. I would never rest until I found a better way to save you. I really wish I could have it both ways, but I can't. So…" Frisk stared into Chara's eyes.
"…I guess I'll just have to take what I can get."
Chara stared back dumbfounded, then smiled. "You… really are fascinating."
Chara hugged Frisk.
"Thank you, Frisk."
"I'm here for you, Chara."
Chara smiled shyly. "Hey, Frisk. Do you mind sleeping by me tonight?"
"Of course not." They had separate beds of course, but sometimes, Chara would have nightmares of her past, both recent and distant. Frisk would crawl in her bed and cuddle with her until she fell asleep.
Frisk laid down in Chara's bed, and Chara held him close.
Chara gently stroked the wound on Frisk's arm. The blood was still fresh.
"Frisk… don't kill yourself for me."
"I'll try not to."
Chara laughed. "I guess that's the best I'll get."
"Goodnight, Chara."
"Goodnight, Frisk."
The warmth of Chara's arms quickly put Frisk to sleep.
Good, he's asleep.
She had to do this alone. She caused this, and she was going to make it right. She was going to make Frisk's wish a reality. She concealed her knife, grabbed her phone, and linked it to her dimensional box.
Chara took one last look at Frisk.
Aw, he's so cute asleep! Chara kissed his cheek. Don't worry. I'll come back safe.
Chara left for her destination.
Chara headed back to Mount Ebott.
"Monster funerals, technically speaking, are cool as heck. When monsters get old and kick the bucket, they turn into dust. At funerals, we take that dust and spread it on that person's favorite thing. Then their essence will live on in that thing."
-A book in the Snowdin Library