Sans tapped his fingers against the table, eyeing Todd with death glares. Todd kept scratching his skin, feeling a little jumpy as he waited for the proper time to escape when no one was paying attention.

"So…Sans," Toriel munched down, "how did your APPOINTMENT go today?" She genuinely asked.

"Huh?" he was previously distracted, "What?"

"Your…..appointment," she annunciated, giving more emphasis. Sans mind ran a blank, he shrugged. Then it hit him like a truck.

"Oh-oh! Yeah," he shrugged, "As far as I know everything's fine. I would have called you sooner but someone," Sans chucked a roll at Todd. "Someone had to lose my phone." Todd acted like nothing fazed him, not giving Sans the benefit of appearing to intimidated.

"Good," Toriel didn't see the thrown food as she looked up. "Tomorrow, I'm going to go there myself and make sure everything checks out." She patted her face with a napkin. Asgore was staring at his wife, something was off.

"What appointment?" Asriel sniffed out the suspicion, "Monsters don't need to go to doctors." Papyrus was thinking the same thing, but tried to stay out of it. Undyne was apathetic, more interested in cheering on Alyphs to chug down the whole basket of rolls.

"Just a checkup that I suggested Sans to go to." She waved off their stares.

"What're are you hiding mom," Asriel's glare met hers, "Just out with it, we're all family here. Is there something going on we should all know about? Does it even have to do with Sans?"

"Asriel, granted you are family, but not everything is your business." She stated. Asriel sat back in his chair. He understood her blunt point but shifted a glare over to Sans who purposefully looked away, they were hiding something.

"I'm calling Charlie-," he pulled out his phone, worried.

"I'm going to see a therapist." Sans blurted out. Papyrus dropped his fork, Undyne and Alyphs froze. Asgore grabbed his plate and calmly left the room.

Asriel calmly closed his phone, feeling embarrassed. "My apologies…I'm just used to thinking—"

"The worst of me? Heh," Sans nervously laughed, "Well…you guys win." Sans got up, he avoided everyone's concerned glances and left. Toriel regretted bringing it up, she thought she was subtle but apparently not enough.

Asriel took out his phone again. It was a text from you. He took a good five minutes of rereading each line with scrutiny. His then pulled the hair upon his head, stressed.

"Asriel?" Toriel noticed this, "Asriel what is it?"

"C-Charlie's gone."

"What!" Undyne spat her food, "What do you mean gone? Is she dead?" Alyphs now felt like throwing up.

"No, no. She left us." Asriel sat back in his chair, taking this all in. He looked at his phone once more. "I'll read it out loud."

"We should get Sans," Papyrus got up, "Todd, come on." The cat nodded and left abruptly.

Sans got a horrible feeling in his gut, he began taking off, running now. He would teleport but that required more stamina then he could muster. Fear of something off kept him going.

Asriel read the text out loud for everyone to hear.

[It's been 10 amazing years….and for some of you, I'm sure it's felt even longer. Thank you, for being there…]

Sans jumped over a fence, he could now see your house…but the side window was open, and only your bedroom light was still on.

[But most of all, thank you for never giving up on me.]

He quickly teleported, hitting the side of the house underneath the window, he jumped up, pulling himself inside.

[But now, someone else needs me. And all I ask is that you still have faith that I can do the right thing.]

Sans checked the room, drawers were left open, clothes thrown about everywhere. It looked as if someone left in a hurry. The light was left on, "Charlie!" He shouted. "Charlie!" No response. He ran into the kitchen; food was left out.

On the table was an old picture that Chara accidently left. Sans picked it up, it was an old photo of two kids, one of them was Chara….and the other was Charlie.

He slowly slid down the back of the counter, dropping the picture…and staring off, seeing that both his phone and Charlie's were left here.

[P.S. Sans, if you ever get around to reading this…I'll always love you, but now you must find a way to move on without me. Maybe we'll see each other again…Sincerely yours, Charlie Hope.]

Papyrus and Todd busted through the front door. Papyrus saw his brother, just sitting in the floor, staring off.

Pap kneeled next to Sans and placed an arm upon his leg, "Sans, Charlie-,"

"I know….I know," Sans sniffed, wiping his face with a sleeve. "She-I didn't get to say goodbye."

"She probably knew that if she gave you that chance…that you'd try to convince her to stay." Papyrus's words rang with some amount of truth, it only made Sans ache even more, knowing this was his fault.

"I'm going to stay here….until you're okay." Papyrus sat down, side-by-side. "And I won't leave until you're ready." He kept quiet, in support.

Todd paced around the front porch, he grumbled curse words, feeling like complete shit. He ripped off his dress and threw the shoes over the front porch. He then looked at the text Chara sent him just an hour ago, thanking him for letting them escape.

"Yeah," Todd scoffed, "Thanks to that, I'm going to be living in hell for a while…." He then snapped his phone in half and chucked them into the woods. "Now we wait….."He took a seat, waiting for them to finish.

Sunlight pierced through the foggy windows as the truck passed through an underpass. You awoke, now in the truck as Chara drove through traffic heading into Denver.

You rubbed your groggy eyes, "How long was I asleep? What time is it?"

"Almost noon," he turned on the heat after noticing you shivering. "We'll hit Denver, eat there. And then we'll be at our new home in about 5 hours."

"Home….," you echoed that word. "Huh, sounds nice." You sat up, and wrapped the blankets around you. "Kudos to you for somehow getting me in the truck without waking me up. I must have been out cold."

"I'm surprised you felt a thing…you felt like ice. It was actually too cold to keep you outside, so I just put you back in the truck and took off."

"But then that means you've haven slept in the past 24 hours? Let's just go to a rest stop-"

"I'm awake, and we'll only have 5 hours to go after hitting Denver," he pulled off a road and traveled downtown to find a place to eat. He found some breakfast outlet and pulled in. "Come on." You zipped up your jacket over your bra and went inside.

The doors jingled as you entered, some gruff looking individuals glanced over and then went about their own business. A lady came to greet you.

"Welcome to Denver, what brings you here."

"Oh well—"

"Newly weds," Chara butted in.

"Oh! Well congratulations, this way," she lead you towards a back table that had only one booth, forcing you and Chara to sit next to each other. Chara covered his mouth discreetly to hide his smirk. You scoffed, taking a seat near the window.

"Here, we have specials on our omelets and smoothies that can be made with the different ingredients of your choice. I'll be right back." She handed you two menus and left momentarily to handle other customers.

You slowly eyed Chara with a smirk, "Newly weds? Is this your master plan?"

He shrugged, "We'll never see them again, it's not like it matters. Just wanted to see the disgust on your face when you thought of being married to me." He rolled his eyes, taking a menu.

"It's not disgust, there's not really any emotion. If we got married for a cover up, well…it wouldn't be the first time." You retorted, almost teasing.

"How about a marriage that you choose to have…," he spoke lowly. You put down your menu to see his glare. "Don't think I forgot about that. I never knew whose stupid plan that was, but I'm sure you were forced into it one way or another."

"It wasn't forced," you maintained composure. "We were willing to do whatever it took to able to defeat you, the old you. Everyone was scared…and that was the most peaceful route."

"You mean peaceful sacrifice?" He scoffed. Chara was resting his chin upon his palm, glancing off, not even paying attention anymore. He started to become distant. "To be honest. I don't blame you."

"For what?"

"For doing what you had to. I still have to come to terms with what I've done, but honestly I don't think I've changed from the 'old me'."

"What?" You snorted, this was ridiculous. "Well for starters you aren't going on murder rampages, doesn't that count?" Some diners looked over their shoulders at your booth, you lowered your voice.

"You don't get it," he retorted, appearing remorseful.

"Enlighten me, how are you still the same 'you' from underground? You've made considerable progress all these years."

"The only reason why I stopped killing people was because I was tired. So tired….I wanted it to end, just make it stop. I thought about doing that before you came along but Sans would just kill me after the final reset, making sure I never came back. But after you made that final offer of peace, you gave me a way out. You gave me freedom." His mind was strained, under pressure from suppressing his emotions.

You sat back, contemplating how to respond. The lady came back with a notepad. She propped herself over your table, grinning with that exciting news earlier. "So…any honeymoon plans?"

Chara was slumping over in his chair, feeling drained from his past.

"Yup," you glowed with enthusiasm, Chara glanced over. "We're going to spend some…. quality time…together for awhile. Set up our new home…then go from there," you smiled.

"Alright," she nodded seductively at Chara who looked slightly comfortable at the gesture, coming from her. "So what'll be?" She tapped the paper. You order for both you and Chara, then watched her assist other people. After being alone once more, you caught a smirk from Chara.

"Tell me more about this…quality time," he tried to keep a straight face, but the corner of his mouth twitched. You kicked him from under the table. "Oh! So rough?" You kicked him harder, the other people in the store were now staring at you. You hid your face away, blushing. "It's okay….," he pretended the part of the lover and held your hand, "Your secret's safe with me."

The drive there was fair, with the sun barely setting. You finally pulled up to the house. It was a two-story log cabin, just about 15 minutes outside the closest town and located in the dense coniferous forest.

You jumped out of the slowing car and ran off. You raced towards the steps of the house. The entire porch was cluttered with fallen leaves of multiple shades or orange, yellow, and red. You smiled at Chara.

"This place is beautiful!" You looked up, you then began climbing the closest pine.

"Charlie," Chara called, "Come help me with the supplies. What're are you doing?" he laughed, amused you were actually excited about something. He hasn't seen you like this before.

You climbed higher and higher, and then stopped. Just out of your line of sight, was the top of a mountain. You pointed up it, "We actually have a mountain in our back yard! Isn't that …something." You waved down at him.

He shrugged, "I guess? Come on, let's go inside before the bears come."

"Bears?" You climbed down quickly. "Are they common around here, I didn't know." Chara went inside, you grabbed some boxes and helped set them down in the house. It was incredibly spacious, but only had one room. It was like a studio apartment, there were no walls separating the bedrooms. Only the bathroom had walls around it near the corner. In the kitchen area, there was only a fridge and some counter tops. "Huh….so where do I sleep?"

"Pick a spot, make yourself home," He pulled out his wallet, handing you a $20. "They don't do takeout this far out, so drive down the street and get us some groceries from the small store. I need to chat with our neighbors just a mile away about a spare bed they're willing to sell." He took off but stopped outside the door, "Hey Charlie, you going to be okay on your own? You won't have anyone but me occasionally popping in for a while. It won't be the same, it'll take getting used to."

You gave him thumbs up, "If I don't get eaten by bears, I'm good. This new start is something I needed. Thanks for bringing me along."

"Sure." He smirked, taking off down the road. You watched him leave…wondering how he was comfortable taking off on his own if bears lived nearby. You ran to the truck and drove to the store.

It was a rather adorable small shop/restaurant. The owner was an older man, and his wife who took care of the dining service. You opened the door, every eye was on you. Only a few locals were here in this more secluded part of the county. You politely smiled and went over to the isles, glancing over the groceries. When you picked up some basics, you noticed the individuals whispering among themselves. It felt uncomfortable but they probably didn't have many new things to speak of.

"Hey, girl," an old man called, he was the owner. You walked over. "You're the one that just moved up the street, in the cabin eh?" You nodded and shrugged, like it wasn't a big deal. "Well, my name is Bill, and my wife over there is Susanne. Be sure to let us know if you need anything this winter, sometimes the roads are blocked off if it gets bad."

"Appreciate it," you nodded, dropping the groceries on the counter to check out. The other people in the back were still speaking softly behind your back. "What's up with em?"

"They say you're that girl who's friends with the leader."

"Leader?" You squinted your eyes, you were in the paper a few times but you didn't have any followers.

"What's his name…..Char? Charlie?"

"Chara," you corrected, putting the money on the table. He gave you correct change. "Why? Does it matter?"

"Is he, well, a monster?"

"Depends on your definition," you shook your head, heading out the door with the food. You then realized you were an idiot, you left the keys inside. You hurried in and grabbed them.

"Now now," Bill apologized after you reentered. "We don't hate monsters. We just wanted to know it's …well safe. There hasn't been any attack from monsters but Chara, he's human?"

"As much as anyone else," you glared off but then unfortunately noticed a 'help wanted' sign on the counter behind the register and sighed. "You don't happen to have any positions available? Do you?"

"How about you come in tomorrow," he smiled, "As my apology. Seven sound good?" He looked over to his wife who nodded, approving while counting the tips and money made for the day.

"Okay," you fidgeted, "sounds good." You left before making a bigger fool of yourself.

Chara finally came home but instead of opening the door, he just kept kicking it with his foot.

"I'm coming!" You ran over, "Chara, you got hands don't ya-." You had to quickly open the door all the way so he could run through with an entire mattress on his back. "Jesus, you carried that thing on your own for a mile?"

He grunted, throwing it in the middle of the floor. "Yes. But recently that pain in my lower back has disappeared, and now I've never felt better."

You smiled, "Glad you're not sick anymore, but don't push it." You helped him scoot it over to the end of a wall. "I can just sleep on the pillows for now. And by the way, I already got a job at the store down the street."

"Really?" He stretched his sore arms, "I've got a few applications here and there, not too far. The longest one is a 30 min drive. But rent is cheap this far out, so don't over work yourself," he collapsed on the bed, resting his back. You hopped on, scooting next to him.

"I'm actually happy to be here. All this new scenery, and everything, it's all refreshing. But I will miss them. I left them a text last night, telling them my goodbyes for now. Maybe we'll see each other again. But it's important to give everyone time to move on. On a different note, how do you like it here?"

Chara shrugged with his eyes closed, "Just like the underground if you ask me. But at least we have a sun and moon that's real, we can actually have a garden here if you want."

"I don't like the idea of attracting more bears," you insisted. You asked Chara for his phone…and then sat there, just staring at it. You went through the contacts, then saw Sans's number. Your thumb hovered over the call button, but then stopped yourself. If he was going to be able to move on, you couldn't contact him for a while. He must be in pain but he has everyone there for him and all he must do is ask. You hoped Papyrus was there, and Asriel, both to console him as he's done for them in the past. A few moments passed, "Hey Chara, you want something to drink-"

You looked over, he was passed out. His chest rose and fell in slow intervals as he rested with a hand over his chest. You admired his tenacity for finally going off on his own from the group. And by doing so, he was finally free. Not like before where everyone looked at his past, rather than who he was now. You didn't excuse the actions that he's done or condone the terrible crimes you saw in the underground. You just did the one thing no one else could, you forgave him and moved on.

You woke up in the middle of the night, next to Chara who hadn't budged. You slowly got up and went over to get a drink from the kitchen. You closed the door and went over to the front window, mixing some kool-aid and looking out at the full moon. It was gorgeous; the light cascaded through your shades and practically illuminated the cabin. You then got shivers down your spine when you noticed something moving in the woods, something medium sized, but slightly bigger. You then heard a loud clank, and then a ringing noise that echoed near the trashcan.

"Charlie...get out of here." Chara growled in his sleep, calling out a warning.

"Are you still asleep," you asked him in a hushed tone while peaking outside. "I can't tell if your just sleep talking again or if you're awake." You glanced out the peep-hole. "Chara, I'm scared something's actually out there."

You turned around and covered your mouth, careful not to shriek.

Chara had opened both of his eyes; both glistening in a fluorescent red. You fell down, shivering by the window. "C-Chara?" You grabbed a book on the floor, reading it as a weapon. "Chara, come on man. Don't fuck with me." He disappeared from your sight. "Shit!" You spilled kool-aid across the floor.

You checked around the house, it was empty. You then heard a blood-curdling crying outside, except it wasn't human. You opened the front door and a severed head rolled forward, smearing blood across the pine deck.

Standing against the porch ledge on the other side was Chara, softly looking up at the night sky. You firmly grabbed the book, slowly approaching him.

"Charlie….am I dreaming?" He asked, tears freely falling from both eyes. Blood dripped from his cheeks unto the floor. "Please….tell me this isn't happening again."

"Chara? It is you, right?" You whimpered, ready to smack him across the head. "No funny business? Just…my Chara?" You placed a hand to your heart.

He slowly turned his head, "Please," he begged you, "kill me."

Something snapped a twig in the distance, you turned your attention to face it, worried it was person. You suddenly started blacking out as someone held you in a headlock. "P-Please don't kill me," you sobbed, "I thought…I." you passed out.

Chara's phone alarm went off, you woke up next to him in the same bed. You were sweating bullets and quickly scampered up on your feet away from him. Chara was calm, resting peacefully. You ran over to the door and opened it, but then froze. There was no blood, bear, or any indication that all happened last night. You felt rather rested to be honest. Then you remembered the book and looked for it upon the front porch but it wasn't there either…you went back inside and found it where it was last night, next to the front window.

You turned around and Chara was sitting up, rubbing his face.
"Chara." You calmly called. He looked up, with his typical hazel brown eyes. "Okay," you took a deep breath. "Alright…" You placed a hand across your own forehead.

"You alright," he asked, drowsy. He stood up, but as he rose, you could see the sheets fall. He was naked again.

"Uhhh sure." You hid a hand over your face. "I know you love being free, but at least indicate your naked next time you plan on sleeping in the same bed as me."

"Alright." He opened the fridge door, yawning. "Oh, hey Charlie?"

"Yeah?"

"From now on, I'm going to be sleeping naked." He smirked while taking out some milk and pouring it into a bowel.

"Hey Chara…what time is it?"

"6:45 am."

"Shit," you grabbed a coat and some socks, racing out the door. "I don't know when I'll get back from work, don't wait up!" You grabbed the keys and took off, hoping you weren't late for the first day.

Upon leaving, the smile upon Chara's face faded. He went over to the bathroom and opened the door. Several pieces of cloth were drenched in blood, dripping from the shower curtains. There were bottles of cleaning supplies thrown into the bathtub.

"Good thing you didn't need to go to the bathroom…"

One-by-one Chara pulled the sheets down, rolled him together, and headed towards the back yard. He took a good 3-mile hike up base of the mountain and came into a small clearing. A rotting bear corpse near the center had already been picked off from local wildlife. He placed the rags over the bear and grabbed a bunch of leaves and smothered the pile with dried mulch.

Once piled nicely, he pulled out a match and lit everything on fire. The smoke thankfully wasn't too high to be noticed by anyone else. Chara then fell to his knees, covering his face. His arms trembled as he felt the urge to rip the bear apart, piece by piece. Flames engulfed his view, they flickered around his body without causing him any harm. His hands glowed a familiar red, he held back, forcing it under some control.

"Not again, not again, not again. Why is this happening? Goddmit." He began holding himself. "Yeah…I was just defending…defending," he shook. "It was just a bear, Chara, just a bear. Not a human…" he rubbed his own shoulders, praying he could force this poison back down before it could fester.