[Ah, how time flies. Happy 2021 everyone! Sorry for not uploading for so long, I was focusing on my studies. Don't worry though, this chapter is way longer! Thanks to all those who followed me. Your support means a lot and it motivates me to keep going. Enjoy this chapter!]

"Gah, what a strange dream..." I yawned.

Ink groaned. *Is it morning already? I feel like I haven't slept a wink...

Pfft, imagine needing to sleep? Jeston snerked.

But you were sleeping last night!

"Life works in strange ways my friend." I replied as I tried to shake the weariness off me.

Just then, I blinked as I registered the pair of eyes staring down at me.

The someone in question was lying stomach down on the bed, legs propped against the wall. Their head leaned over the side of the bed, where they had been staring at me for god-knows how long.

"Uh, are you awake, or..?" I honestly couldn't tell if Frisk's eyes were open or closed.

Frisk yawned and got up from their position. "You've been asleep for so long the pie's gone cold. Which is very long."

"Uh, sorry." I replied as I rubbed my eyes.

"It's nothing. I already ate mine... you should go freshen yourself up."

"Okay-" I paused. "Wait, where do I..."

Frisk looked at me with a confused expression on their otherwise neutral face. "The... bathroom..?"

"Oh. I didn't know there was a- er, where is it exactly?"

Frisk raised an eyebrow at me. "It's next to the room with the fireplace."

Didn't you say you've been here before? Rasmus asked.

I was getting more and more confused by the second. "But there isn't anyth- you know what, forget it..."

I hastily left the bedroom and headed towards the living room. Then I looked to the left and everything made sense.

The door to the bathroom was right there. Of course I had never noticed it when playing Undertale before- the screen was unable to show any walls south of the room.

I can't believe I thought this place didn't have a bathroom... I mentally groaned.

The splash of water in the sink did nothing to drown out my thoughts, which were currently spinning with all that had happened the previous day. The upside of being in a closed room, however, meant that I could talk freely to the others without looking like a psychopath.

Who was that guy we met last night? Orion asked.

I splashed some water on my face. "That was Sans. He's a skeleton and he's... dangerous. Getting on his bad side would not be a good idea."

I paused as I recalled something.

"Say... did any of you have a weird dream last night?"

Not that I remember. Rasmus mused. *Care to tell us what it was about?

"It was strange. There was a burning village getting destroyed by some strange creature. And it's like I was someone else. It felt like they were in pain..."

Hoo boy. That's pretty intense... Jeston muttered. *Are all your dreams this vivid?

"Ha ha, very funny."

Jeston chuckled. *I'm flattered. That being said, a certain someone's gone silent today. Flaambeeeerge? You there?

What do you want? Flamberge growled.

You're usually much more talkative than this. Rasmus pointed out.

So what? I'm just tired. What's your problem?

Jeston smirked. *Pfft, nothing at all! Was getting a little bored without the resident grouch.

CALL ME 'RESIDENT GROUCH' ONE MORE TIME AND I SWEAR I'LL-

You don't happen to know anything about Zillow's dream, do you? Orion interjected.

...

Do you?

...

I sighed as I turned off the faucet. "Alright, break it up already. We should head back."

I'm starting think I know who that soldier was...

When I returned to the bedroom, Frisk was sitting on the bedstand, reading a leatherback book from the shelf.

"Which book is that?" I asked as I folded the bedsheets and grabbed my monochrome scarf from the chair.

Frisk looked up. "Ah, you're back. I'm reading the one about plants and stuff. Don't you get hot with that thing on? It's huge..."

I wanted to ask the same thing myself... Rasmus muttered.

I chuckled as I slipped said scarf around my neck. The twin ends of the scarf were long enough to reach my waist, but I didn't really mind. "Tell me that again when we get to Snowdin."

Frisk groaned at the thought of the freezing environment that awaited us. "Ugh... I never stay there for too long."

"Speaking of which, when are you planning to ask Toriel about... y'know."

Frisk thought for a while. "I'm ready whenever you are, I guess. I don't have anything that I want to do here anyway." They put their book down and passed me a plate of pie. "Here. It somehow stays warm in your inventory."

"Does it?" I took the pie from them and put it away. "Well, we should get a move on, as nice as this place is. Sans is expecting us."

"What do you mean?"

"I had a little accidental chat with him last night..."

Frisk's jaw dropped. "You what?"

I shrugged. "I couldn't sleep, so I took a walk down the corridor in the basement. And that's where I met Smiley Trashbag. Needless to say, he wasn't too happy to know that there's two of us here now. Well, physically."

Frisk shuddered and got up from their position. "Thinking of him gives me the creeps. Let's just go."

I picked up my sheets and tossed them into the cupboard. "Lead the way."

When Frisk and I returned to the living room, Toriel was seated on a couch next to the fireplace.

As we approached, Toriel looked up from her snail book and smiled. "Ah! You're finally awake, my children. You're both dressed up... are you two heading out for a walk?"

"Yeah, we'll just take a walk right out of he-OW!"

Frisk elbowed me hard in the side, before smiling sweetly at Toriel.

"Uh, mom? Can we ask something?"

Toriel smiled. "Why of course, my child, what is it you wish to know?"

"How can we leave the Ruins?"

Toriel looked to the side, and I could almost see a bead of sweat running down her forehead. "Now, why would you want to know that? Here, let me show you an interesting snail fact... Did you know that snails are, uh... terrible gardeners? Heh, heh..."

Frisk seemed to ignore Toriel's response. After all, they must have had this conversation countless times.

"When can we go home?"

Toriel froze up, and her smile faded slightly. "Wh... what do you mean, my child? This is your home now. Do you not like it here..?"

Why does she look like she's been through this before? Ink whispered.

I frowned. That's because she has. Six times.

Frisk, on the other hand, wore a completely neutral expression.

Toriel sighed and put down her book. "Please wait here, you two. I need to do something."

Toriel got up from her couch and strode off to the basement, and Frisk signalled for us to follow suit.

"Here we go again..."

Somehow, the wind in the purple hallway felt colder than it had been the previous night.

"At the end of this corridor is the exit from the Ruins. I am going to destroy it. That way, nobody will leave this place ever again."

Our footsteps echoed across the walls.

"You children are all the same. They come. They leave. They die."

Can someone please fill us in on what she's talking about? Rasmus whispered, though Toriel wouldn't have been able to hear him anyway.

I sighed. "Goat Mom used to be the Queen of Monsters. One day, lots of tragedy befell her family. Both her kids died... It's a long story that someone else could tell better." I glanced over at Frisk, who seemed to understand what I was talking about.

"After that, her husband declared in anger that all humans that fell down here would be killed. She was so aggrieved and furious with her husband that she deserted the kingdom and fled here."

Wow, that's REALLY messed up... Jeston muttered.

Fisk nodded. "And to think she had the audacity to belittle Asgore at the end of the Pacifist Route. Dad didn't even try to defend himself- it'd be funny if it weren't so awful."

Chara, who had been floating behind Frisk the entire time, frowned greatly. *Exactly. She deserted her kingdom when it needed her most, and now she comes back and acts like she did nothing wrong...

Just then, I felt a sharp pain in my head, as if there was something burning inside.

Resentment...

We turned round a corner to find Toriel standing there, trembling ever so slightly.

Sensing our presence, she spoke again before walking further down. "This is your final warning, children. Go back upstairs."

After what seemed like an eternity, the three of us finally arrived at the large purple door.

Frisk stood firm. "I'm sorry, but we're not going back. We need to return to the surface."

Toriel heaved a long sigh before turning around to face us.

"Hmph. You are just like the others. If that's really what you want, then prove yourself. Prove to me you are strong enough to survive!"

{Heartache by Toby Fox} began playing.

Toriel swept her hand to the side and a wall of flame grew to cover the door. With a flash, Frisk's soul as well as mine appeared above our chests.

Toriel frowned as she waved her hand, causing a ring of flames to shoot towards me. I flicked the Toy Knife out of my sleeve and used it to bat some of the fireballs away, but a few still got past and burned my sleeves.

I snapped my head over to look at Frisk, who was somehow completely unscathed. Seems they had way more practice dodging Toriel's attacks.

Jeston yawned in my subconscious. *Jeez, Zillow, you suck. Don't you know how to dodge?

"Unlike Frisk I HAVE ZERO FIGHTING EXPERIENCE." I snapped in frustration.

"Fight or run away!" Toriel shouted, before sending another wave of fire at us.

"Why can't you just let us go?"I yelled as I batted a fireball away. "What's so bad about the rest if the Underground?!"

"If you leave this place, Asgore will kill you and take your soul. I have already lost six children. His plan must not bear fruit!" Toriel declared.

"And YOU can't do anything about it?!"

"This is exactly what I am doing about it. Preventing you children from being sent to your deaths." Toriel snapped.

At that moment, the burning in my head returned in full force, and I was forced to bend forward in pain.

You...

"COWARD!!!"

I felt as if my mind was being torn from my body. Then, as fast as it had come, the pain faded and I stood up.

Only to realise my hands were greyish and translucent.

I looked up to see my body crouched on the floor.

Ow, my head... Ink groaned.

I turned to the side to see four more see-through people slumped on the ground next to me. Each of them glowed slightly in a different colour. In an instant, I realised who they were.

Uh... guys? You okay? I whispered.

What. The. Hell?

I turned around to see a very confused Chara staring at me in bewilderment. They looked almost identical to Frisk, except that their eyes were actually opened and their spectral body glowed with a red hue.

I rubbed my head as I got up. *Oh. Hi, Chara.

SERIOUSLY? That's not the point right now! they shouted. *How did you go from here- they jabbed their finger in my body's direction- *-to HERE?! they gestured back at me.

I raised my arms in protest. *I don't know! This hasn't happ-

Chara didn't seem convinced. *And what happened to your eyes?!

What do you mean?!

Your eyes are empty, Zillow. Orion pointed out.

I immediately reached for my face to check, and sure enough, I had no eyes. It felt surreal and disturbing at the same time. It was just like that dream about Core-

Oh no.

This is so weird. Why am I the only one without eyes? I muttered.

That's not my problem- and I'm not finished! Chara snapped. *WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US THERE WERE FIVE OF YOU?! They pointed an accusing finger at the other four, who were needless to say looking very confused.

We... uhhhhh... Ink stammered.

Yeah, yeah, nice to finally meet you guys. I replied. *So let me get this straight... I pointed at the green soul. *Ink.

*Uh, yes..?

I pointed at the yellow soul. *Jeston.

Mhm.

I turned around to face the purple and cyan souls. *Rasmus and... Orion.

Correct.

That's right.

Chara facepalmed and groaned. *This is so stupid...

Wait a minute. Orion interrupted. *If we're all here, then where's Flamberge?

The answer came to us all at the same time.

I guess we're all looking right at him.