Frisk opened their eyes. They were in a bright room, lying on a bed. Chara was sitting on a stool beside them, knitting. As soon as Frisk raised their head, Chara put down their knitting needles and stood up, rushing beside Frisk's bed.

"Frisk! How are you feeling?"

"I'm...relieved, I think," Frisk replied.

Memories of the trip through the tunnel beneath the laboratory came flooding back to Frisk's mind. They remembered the lamps, the long, endless halls, the rumbling sounds, and a certain child who cast a very long shadow...

"Relieved?"

Frisk shook their head. "Yeah." They put on a weak smile. "I'm glad we got out of there. What happened since then?"

Chara still looked concerned. They placed their hands on Frisk's right arm. "After you blacked out, Alphys brought you to the second floor infirmary. You've been resting here for the whole night."

"Really? How long was I out for?"

"It's been over half a day, I think."

Frisk turned their head away, staring up at the ceiling. They had been unconscious for a whole day. Maybe it was because of fright, from seeing a terrifying clone of themselves. Or perhaps it had been because they had sprinted for several minutes.

Chara leaned towards Frisk and placed a hand on their forehead.

"I'm not sick," Frisk said, giggling.

"I'm just checking."

Chara brushed strands of hair out of Frisk's eyes. Frisk turned back to look at them.

"Thanks for being so concerned about me."

"Frisk...what did you see, exactly?"

They weren't comfortable with answering that question yet.

"Can I tell you later?"

"...Okay."

Leaning closer, Chara gave Frisk a quick kiss on the cheek. It made Frisk giggle again, and Chara blushed.

"I'm...sorry, for insisting that we explore that tunnel," Chara whispered.

Frisk raised a hand and patted Chara on their shoulder. They stared back into Chara's pretty eyes. After being asleep for so long, it felt good and refreshing to see Chara again.

"It's fine," Frisk replied.

"No, it isn't." Chara lowered their head. "I'm not happy with myself."

"Chara, I'm not mad at you."

"I'm mad at myself!"

The blush on Chara's face grew deeper. Frisk hated seeing Chara get so flustered (unless it was when Chara was embarrassed about something, in which case they found it cute). They wrapped their hand around Chara's arm, pulling them closer. Frisk raised their head and kissed Chara back on the cheek.

"...Frisk, you don't need to make me feel bett-"

"Who said I was trying to make you feel better?"

Chara raised their eyes curiously.

"I just wanted to kiss you."

"...Uh, thanks?"

Smiling, Chara gave Frisk a light kiss on the cheek again, and then on the nose. They pulled away from Frisk's arm and went back to their chair to continue knitting.

A moment later, Alphys arrived into the room. She gave a sigh of relief when she saw that Frisk had awoken.

"Oh! Y-you're awake!" Alphys said, rushing towards their bed. "Frisk. A-are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Frisk replied.

Alphys nodded and smiled. "You were unconscious f-for so long. I d-didn't know what to do, but I assumed you w-were just tired. Are you feeling w-well, again?"

"Yeah."

"Then..."

Chara gave Alphys an irritated look. "They don't want to talk about what they saw right now."

"Actually, I feel better," Frisk said. "I can tell you about it."

"N-no, that's not what I meant!" Alphys said. "I m-mean, you're probably w-wondering about what I was trying to keep h-hidden in the basement. Now that y-you've...seen it, there's n-not much point in my keeping it s-secret for any longer."

"Why did you make it a secret in the first place?" Chara asked.

Alphys looked embarrassed. "I'll...explain."

Frisk laid their head back down onto the pillow and listened.

"About a m-month ago, there was an earthquake b-beneath the city," Alphys began. "It h-hit the laboratory pretty hard. We found a big hole in the b-basement, and saw the same t-tunnel that you went through with Chara. So, we p-put together an excavation crew, and they started exploring this tunnel, putting up those l-lamps as a marker."

"However, the tunnels n-never came to an end. Every d-day, we went and explored a bit f-further, but we'd never find a s-single end to any of them."

"Did you go down the stairs?" Chara asked. "The one that went really far down."

"Y-yeah. We did," Alphys replied. "B-but one day, we had an excavation crew disappear when they went d-deep into the tunnels."

Frisk felt goosebumps. "Where did they go?"

"They went d-down the stairs," Alphys said, her tone growing more serious. "We d-didn't hear from them for a full week. Our sensors, which s-searched for the heat of h-human bodies underground, c-couldn't find anything."

"A week l-later, one of them came back. She was on the v-verge of death. She told us...she told us that they met someone, or something, and then, all their l-lamps and flashlights went dark. She heard the others in her crew s-scream, and she started running. Somehow, she c-came back, but she was badly hurt. We brought h-her to the infirmary, but it was too late. Her w-wounds were untreatable." Alphys closed her eyes, sniffing. "Just b-before she died, she kept screaming about...about some big 'shadow'."

Frisk froze.

"We went d-down there, one last t-time, to install cameras on the wall. However, for s-some reason, technology d-doesn't seem to work down there. The cameras don't capture anything. Even stranger, when we ran t-tests analyzing the state of things d-down in the tunnels, we...we discovered that those tunnels shouldn't even b-be there. They're not supposed to exist."

"That's because they don't belong in our world," a voice said.

All eyes turned towards the door of the room. Sans strolled into the infirmary, hands in his jacket pockets. There was a grin on his face, but from the sound of his voice, Frisk could tell that he was in a serious mood right now.

"Hey, kid," Sans said, waving at Frisk. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah," Frisk managed to say. "I'm fine. Thanks."

"Well. Those tunnels that you saw? They don't actually exist in our world's physical space. If you go deep enough into them, you'll start crossing into other timelines."

Alphys nodded. "B-but, I think you'd have to go v-very deep if you wanted to actually enter another world."

"In any case, someone's been building these tunnels," Sans continued. "They must intend to use it to cross into other timelines."

"That's w-why we wanted to keep them a s-secret," Alphys said. "We knew that s-something was going on beyond the t-timelines disappearing. But, we d-didn't want to worry you."

"You still could have just told us," Chara spoke up. "I know we look like children, but we're not that innocent. We'd rather know about what's going on than be in the dark about everything."

Alphys sighed. "I...I know. I'm sorry. It was my idea to hide this from all of you. I...screwed up again."

"Alphys. It's okay. We're still alive, right?" Frisk said, trying to put on a comforting smile. Alphys still looked sad.

"Frisk. If you don't mind me asking, what did you see down in those tunnels?" Sans asked.

Frisk paused before replying. They had to say it, sooner or later. And, given the current state of their situation, it wouldn't do any good to keep more secrets.

"I saw...myself," Frisk said. "A different version of myself, I mean. They were holding a dagger, and they looked crazy. But there was a huge shadow behind them. I don't think they noticed us."

"A h-huge...shadow?"

A thoughtful expression came over Sans' face. He looked more concerned now than Frisk had ever seen him before.

"Alphys," Sans said. "We're going to need more guards around the basement."

"Guards?" Frisk asked.

"After we brought you away, we installed twelve s-security guards in the basement," Alphys replied. "We c-can't take any chances with this. The g-guards are armed with guns, and they've b-been told to shoot on sight anyone or anything that tries to c-come out of the trap door."

"If our enemy here is who we think it is, then guns might be the solution," Sans said, a slight grin reappearing upon his face. "Genocide Frisk must be building these tunnels, somehow, and walking into other timelines. Monsters are no match for them, but a good bullet to the skull? Should take care of the problem."

"That's j-just an assumption," Alphys added. "We...don't know what they're truly capable of, and what y-you said about the shadow is...worrying."

Frisk closed their eyes to rest. They didn't want to even think about having to come face to face with that other version of themselves again.

"They could reset," Chara added.

"Actually, we d-don't really know if they can, in this timeline," Alphys responded. "Only the p-person with the greatest amount of d-determination in the world has the ability to reset. But, if Genocide Frisk c-comes into this world, we can't r-rule out the possibility that our Frisk still has more determination."

"Plus, they'd have to reset a ton if they're up against a barrage of bullets," Sans said, smiling. He turned around, put his hands into his pockets, and began to walk away.

"...A skele-ton."

Frisk spent the first half of the day resting. They felt ready to leave the infirmary by the afternoon, and went to visit Chara and Undyne's piano lesson (which had been postponed from morning).

The piece that Frisk heard being played as they approached their room was called 'Battle Against A True Hero', which had been composed by Undyne herself. Frisk liked it a lot. There was a powerful feeling of hope in it, mixed with an atmosphere of danger and filled with desperation. They thought that Undyne must have composed it with feelings from their battle together in mind, though that made them wonder – who was the 'true hero' in the title? Them, or Undyne?

When Chara first started learning it, they had thought it was too challenging. But, with Undyne's encouragement, they had slowly started to get better, and now they were able to play the first half of the melodic line at the correct tempo.

"You play like a robot!" Undyne yelled at Chara as Frisk walked into the room. "Where's your passion? Your fury? Your UNBRIDLED WRATH?"

"I don't like the first half," Chara said, frowning, after waving at Frisk. "Can't I just skip to the next part and learn that instead?"

"NO!" Undyne howled, though she was grinning. "If you neglect the first half, there's no BUILDUP! The whole piece will sound stale! You're going to miss all the madness, the despair, the storm!"

Sighing, Chara went back to practicing the first half of the piece.

Frisk listened, sitting on a stool beside the piano. Chara looked frustrated, but as they played, they started to adapt to the mood of the piece. Their fingers flowed and skipped smoothly across the keys. Even so, it still wasn't without errors. Their tempo kept changing – at the parts that were easier, Chara sped their playing up, but was forced to slow down again when they reached a section that was harder. There were a few wrong notes, but because the piece was so fast, that was tolerable.

"DYNAMICS! DYNAMICS!" Undyne screamed, nearly making Chara flinch. "When you start, you have to play softly, and let it build up! But don't go banging the keys when you get to the quiet part again! You have to UNDERSTAND THE EMOTIONS!"

"All right, all right!" Chara responded, groaning. "Let me try again."

This continued for another half hour, with Frisk mostly staying quiet, though Undyne asked for their input every time Chara finished playing. Eventually, Chara was able to play...satisfactorily, though it was nothing compared to Undyne's interpretation. To conclude the piano lesson, Undyne went and played the piece herself. Her performance was astounding. Listening to it, Frisk could feel their mind drifting back to the underground, back to the valiant battle that they had had together – how they had fought so desperately, how their weapons clashed with the strength of the blows that they had exchanged...

Wait. They didn't exchange any blows at all. They had spent the whole battle trying to run away.

"Well, that's all for today!" Undyne said when her performance was done. "I think Alphys is almost finished cooking. I'll see you upstairs!"

Chara got up from the piano bench and stretched. They looked exhausted.

On the way back up the elevator, Chara tapped Frisk on the back. Frisk turned to face Chara, who had – again – an all too familiar look of mischief upon their face.

"Hey, Frisk," Chara began, "I...I hope you aren't still mad at me for suggesting we go explore Alphys' basement."

"I wasn't ever mad at you," Frisk replied, remembering that they had said that before.

"...Okay. I guess, if you aren't mad, then, I can ask..."

"What?"

Chara clasped their hands behind their back and leaned towards Frisk. "I think, at dinner today, we should...tell Alphys and Undyne that the two of us at dating."

Frisk thought about it for a second. "I suppose it doesn't hurt to let them know. Still, why bring this up?"

"Oh...you know," Chara said, suddenly turning their eyes away, "I don't want to...confuse them or anything."

"Why would they be confused?"

"Well, I think they've seen us sleeping in the same bed, and..."

Chara was blushing again. Frisk had the feeling that Chara was hiding something from them.

"I don't think they care, do they?"

"I know! But...let's just tell them, okay?"

"Fine."

At dinner, Frisk sat down beside Chara on their side of the table, while Alphys and Undyne sat on their own side.

"You want to tell them now?" Frisk whispered to Chara.

"No...not yet! Let's just, uh, wait a bit first."

"Why?"

"Ummm!" Chara was all red again. "Well, maybe we can give...hints, you know? Like, the way they do it?"

"...Seriously?"

Chara was referencing the fact that, during their dinners together, Undyne made no attempt to hide her affection for Alphys. She would give Alphys kisses and sometimes feed her with her own spoon. In response, Alphys would always become flustered, and sometimes she would tell Undyne to stop because they were "in front of the children" (Chara found this statement questionable, as Alphys was the one responsible for sending Chara games and anime that had far more...mature content).

From the look in Chara's eyes, Frisk had a feeling that this dinner was going to become more awkward than any before.

"So...h-hey, Frisk," Alphys began as she ate. "Do y-you have any plans for t-tonight?"

"Not particularly," Frisk replied.

"Oh!" Alphys made an embarrassed smile. "Then, w-we can watch the new season of the anime adaption of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie together again, right?"

Before Frisk could say anything, they felt a spoon being pushed into their mouth. Chara glanced at them, blushing. Frisk took the food and Chara pulled the spoon away.

"Uh, what're you feeding Frisk for?" Undyne asked.

"Oh, no reason!" Chara answered, putting on their most innocent smile. "Just making sure Frisk gets their daily nutrients, that's all."

"But...Frisk has exactly the same amount of food on their plate as yours."

Frisk glanced at Chara. The look on Chara's face spelled out 'play along'."

"It's okay!" Frisk said to Undyne, grinning. "Chara's just taking care of me, that's all. I try my hardest to take care of them, too!"

Frisk scooped up some rice with their own spoon and placed it into Chara's mouth. Chara ate it and giggled after swallowing.

"..."

Undyne appeared clueless. Alphys began to look flustered again.

"Hey, Frisk," Chara said, turning their eyes away. "Do you think...I look pretty today?"

"Uh, what?"

"Well, you said before I had really pretty eyes, didn't you?"

"Why, yes, I...I did," Frisk replied, trying to stifle a laugh. Chara's acting couldn't possibly get any worse.

"Here, have another bite!"

Chara put a spoonful of food into Frisk's mouth again. Alphys was starting to grow nearly as red as Chara did when they blushed.

"Thank you, Chara," Frisk said.

"Frisk, I have a confession to make," Chara said suddenly. They took some grapes from the basket on the table.

Alphys was shaking.

"Yeah?"

"I...really like your eyes, too," Chara replied. They raised the grapes in front of Frisk. "Your eyes are so delicate and lovely. Oh, and have a nibble."

"All right, Chara. If you insist."

"...What's going on here?" Undyne asked.

"MMMMMM!" Alphys seemed to be saying, but she couldn't open her mouth.

As Frisk started eating the grapes, Chara put an arm on Frisk's shoulder.

"Have as many as you want," Chara said. "Anything for my dear, cute friend, Frisk!"

Chara pulled the grapes away for a second to kiss Frisk on the lips.

"OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOD!" Alphys suddenly screamed. "ARE YOU...ARE YOU TWO IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER?"

"...Yes," Frisk replied, cringing.

"We've been...we've been dating for a while now," Chara added.

Alphys squealed.

"Oh my god...oh my god oh my god oh my god OH MY GOD! THE SHIP IS REAL!"

"Ship?" Frisk asked, raising their eyes.

"That's when you take two people whom you think would be really cute together, and you...umm, you imagine that they actually like each other," Chara explained to Frisk. "Most of the time, it's done to fictional characters, but..."

"Where did you learn this?"

It was Chara's turn to blush now. "Uh, well, Alphys' games and stuff..."

Still squealing, Alphys seemed to be trying to take a deep breath to calm herself down.

"Oh my god. Oh my god. Charisk is actually a thing."

Frisk's eyes grew wide.

"...CHARISK?"

After dinner, Alphys wouldn't leave her room. Every once in a while, Frisk would hear squealing or screaming come from behind her door, followed by Undyne telling her to calm down.

"You did this just to see Alphys' reaction, didn't you?" Frisk said to Chara.

Chara had the most guilty grin on their face. "If you've seen the stuff that's on her blog, you'd be tempted to do it, too."

"Her blog?"

Come to think of it, they had never actually looked at it before.

"You mean weeaboo dinosaur dot tumblr dot com or something?" Frisk continued.

A grave expression came over Chara's face. They turned around slowly to face Frisk.

"No."

"What?"

"Don't go there."

"Now, I'm interested..."

Chara jumped and tackled Frisk. Both of them fell onto their bed.

"It's for your own good!" Chara shouted.

Frisk tried to push Chara off, but ended up laughing as they fell into a mini-wrestling match. Their arms were pinned down, but with all their strength and determination, they reached for and grabbed the nearest pillow and whacked Chara in the face with it.

Giggling, Chara grabbed their own pillow and lifted it up, about to hit Frisk back.

"Get a room, you two," a voice said.

Frisk turned their head up to see Asriel looking at them from his flower pot on the table disapprovingly.

"...Right," Chara said, stepping down from their bed to return to their seat. "As I said, Frisk, don't go to Alphys' blog."

"No promises there. This whole 'shipping' thing...interests me."

Chara laid their head down on the table, whispering something like 'what have I done...'

"Ha! It's all your fault," Asriel said, pointing a finger-like leaf at Chara. "Maybe if you thought about being something other than a massive piece of garbage, you wouldn't have ended up pulling Frisk down to your level. Now you're both trash!"

"That's not nice, Asriel!" Frisk said. "Don't call Chara 'trash' or garbage!"

"Frisk..." Chara whispered.

"Yeah?"

Chara sighed.