The third chapter arrives, but before you get into it, I just wanna clarify something. Skyler is not related to, or is a reincarnation of Chara. He simply looks a bit like them facially. With that out of the way, this chapter is slightly longer than the second chapter so there's that. I hope you enjoy!

Ruins Exploration

Skyler sits on the ground munching a sweet and freshly unwrapped chocolate bar. His back rests against a large white pillar in the long hallway Toriel instructed him to stay in until she was done with her errands. While waiting isn't his strong suit, he doesn't care too much about not being able to proceed further ahead as he has all the chocolate in the world that he could need. The hallway is still and quiet, almost too quiet considering the fact that she had mentioned other monsters were living in the Ruins. As he quietly munches on his chocolate, he looks down at his phone sitting on the ground in front of him, hoping that she would call him and let him know that she was coming back to get him. Curiosity is a strong thing, and though it might not look it, he's been sitting here waiting for almost half an hour, and deep within him is a strong desire to explore onward by himself. A few monsters the likes of Froggit wouldn't cause any problems for him as he's more than capable of holding his own. He hopes he won't have to fight anyone as he really doesn't want to hurt them but if they won't listen, he might not have a choice. With one last happy bite of his chocolate, he stuffs the empty wrapper into the front right pocket of his hoodie, zips up his backpack and puts his arms through the straps, grabs his cellphone off the floor with his right hand and puts it in the left front pocket of his hoodie, and faces the rest of the hallway leading to the next room. A small feeling of excitement wells up within his heart and he starts walking forwards into the next room which looks no different than the other rooms he's been in while in the Ruins. Another sparkly yellow glowing star is in this room floating over a pile of red leaves, which compels him to walk over and touch it. Curiously, there isn't anyone else in this room, which among his excitement also creates a faint, uneasy feeling within him. His black shoes step onto the red leaves and an audible crinkling and crunching is heard echoing through the room. If someone or something was there and wasn't aware of him, they're definitely aware of his presence now. His mind isn't fixated on that though, for he reaches out with his left hand and the glowing star quickly brightens and something different happens. Unlike the first time, a strange black box appears in front of him with some interesting white text in it.

"Skyler. LV 1. Time: 37:22. Ruins - Leaf Pile. File saved."

His eyes open completely and he tilts his head to the right a bit, utterly confused on what this all means. The text box stays up for a few more moments and then disappears. This is supposed to be real life, it's impossible for him to be able to save a moment in time for later as if to load it like a save file in a video game. That oddity is left for discussion by the purple walls surrounding him as he looks around to make sure nobody else saw him do this only to see something from the corner of his eye in the entrance to the long hallway he was in moments before. He turns around to face it but nothing is there. He becomes annoyed and hopes that if someone was there, they would leave him alone and not let anyone else know about this strange saving power he now has. Closing his eyes and moving on from the weird saving point, Skyler can see another room to his left and to his right, the room bends into the unknown. He decides to go into the room on his left and walks through the leaves and into the room where a small bowl full of candy sits on a pedestal in the middle with a small ring of leaves around it. On the left and right sides of this room is a small river flowing through calmly, though the water level doesn't seem to be that deep and the water itself is crystal clear, allowing him to see the bottom where little fishes swim without a care in the world. He walks up to the bowl and inside is an extremely neat written note. "Please take one." It reads. The candy itself looks like any ordinary candy that could be found in a store though the wrappers are quite fancy with swirly designs and a sparkly shine. He takes one and his sweet tooth gains control, opening the wrapper up to reveal a black colored candy with a distinct shine to it. He takes a small bite of the candy and his entire face lights up with joy. He quickly gobbles it down, takes his backpack off of his back, unzips it, and starts taking as much of the candy as he can. He manages to take four pieces before accidentally knocking the bowl off the pedestal and spilling the candy all over. He freaks out a little and his cheeks become a deep shade of red as he falls to his knees to try and pick it all up. While he does this, he's unaware of the fact that a familiar flower is watching him from the entrance to this room with a wide smile on his face. He decides to make his presence known to the unaware boy.

"Hee hee hee… what are you doing, you idiot? We have important things to do and you're here picking up an insignificant mess! Let that woman take care of it and get your ass moving!" This causes Skyler to look behind him and see Flowey the flower in the doorway with his head tilted to the left a bit, holding a slightly creepy smile. He tenses himself up, worried that he might do something to him but instead, he disappears and reappears right beside him on his left side. "C'mon, stop pretending to be a maid and let's go! We don't have all day, Chara, and if that woman comes back, we won't be able to get out of here!" He pushes his face and petals into his left arm, trying to make him stand up and continue through the ruins. Even though he doesn't want to leave the bowl and all the candy that he dropped, Flowey does have a point about that woman, Toriel, coming back to get him. Skyler zips his backpack up and puts his arms through the straps, putting it on his back again and Flowey, unlike last time, decides to tag along to make sure he keeps heading forwards. A vine creeps up from the ground and slithers quickly up his right leg, around his stomach, and stops on his right shoulder where Flowey sinks into it and reappears right next to him. "Now THAT'S more like it! Let's go, Chara, the rest of the Ruins is waiting for us to explore." He says this with a devious smile across his face, hinting at some evil intention but Skyler doesn't pick up on it.

The two walk out of the candy room and into the previous room, heading towards the bend leading into the unknown and going beyond it. As he walks, Flowey talks to him with a curious expression. "You know… I have one question for you, Chara." This makes Skyler look at him directly. "What made you reawaken? Did you hear me calling your name from the garden? Was it the fact that that puny kid, Frisk, died and couldn't come back? Did you steal their soul upon dying? I really want to know." He smiles in an evil way. "Wait, I get it… You never died at all and managed to secretly steal the soul of another human on the surface so you could come back to get me, didn't you?" He doesn't get a response from him at all. "Am I wrong? Oh well, whatever it is that caused you to come back, I don't care. All I need is you, because you're my best friend! We still can show them what this world is like even if you have a stolen soul." He giggles for a moment. "Everything is going EXACTLY the way I want it!" While listening to him, Skyler isn't watching where he's going and ends up bumping into a medium sized rock, nearly tripping himself in the process. Flowey almost falls off his shoulder from the sudden stop he does to avoid tripping over it and this angers him. "HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" Which makes Skyler slightly upset. "Don't give me that whiny baby look!" This only makes it worse and he sighs while rolling his eyes. "Fine… but you should know better. Watch where you're going next time..." The two look ahead and notice that the rock isn't there just for show. A few feet in front of them is a floor filled with spikes that's completely impassable and in front of these spikes looks like a switch that might deactivate them. Skyler immediately bends down to grab the rock with both of his hands and pushes it over to the switch, placing it on it, only for nothing to happen. He frowns as he thought that it would solve this puzzle or trap. He decides to place his right foot on top of the rock and it fully presses the switch down and the spikes disappear. Turns out the rock is too light for the switch and needs something with more force on it to keep it pressed down. He looks at Flowey on his right shoulder which makes him pull his head back. "What? You want ME to hold the switch?" To which he gets a 'yes' from a nod as a response. "Alright, fine… but I'm not your puzzle assistant! I know you're smarter than this, Chara!" He takes himself off of his shoulder and uses a vine to push it down. "I can't go with you while holding this stupid thing down, so just go on without me. I'll see you at the end of the Ruins." Skyler nods in his direction to show that he understands and runs past the spike trap and deeper into the ruins. Flowey, however, disappears back into the ground to wait for him at the end.

Without Flowey on his shoulder, Skyler feels a bit more at ease and continues at a brisk pace through the ruins until his phone starts vibrating in his front pocket. He takes it out and it reveals to be Toriel calling him, so he answers it. "Hello? This is Toriel! I hope you haven't left that room because the monsters in the Ruins seem to have gotten quite rowdy and are looking for a fight amongst themselves. I do not know what has gotten them so crazed, but I would suggest avoiding any and all monsters if you can. I am sorry that it took much longer than usual to call, but I got caught up in a couple of conflicts myself. Anyway, for no reason in particular, do you prefer cinnamon or butterscotch?"

Skyler thinks about it for a few seconds. Both of these choices are too good to just have only one, but he has to choose. "I guess I like cinnamon more."

"Oh, I see! Thank you very much! ...You do not DISLIKE butterscotch, do you? I know what your preference is, but, would you turn up your nose if you found it on your plate?"

"No…"

"Right, right, I understand. Thank you for being patient, by the way. You do not have any allergies, do you?"

"I don't think so… w-why are you asking?"

"Huh? Why am I asking? No reason… no reason at all." And with that, she ends the phone call with him and he continues through the Ruins. The next room he enters has a floor with a bunch of cracks in it, but if one takes a closer look, they'll be able to tell that parts of the cracked floor are actually painted on to LOOK like the floor is cracked when it isn't. With careful observation, he manages to navigate through this cracked floor puzzle and carry onto the next. He comes across another room with three switches and three rocks, although interestingly, all three switches are being held down by vines coming out of the ground. He immediately links it to Flowey helping him out with any puzzles that might be ahead, which allows him to simply walk on through, but he does find it a bit weird. With a feeling of dread bubbling up, Skyler continues onward through this room and into the next where a SAVE point, mouse hole, and table resides. On the table is a block of cheddar cheese that looks to have been placed there a very long time ago, yet still appears to be fresh. He comes closer to the table and upon further inspection, the cheese is completely untouched and pristine. While this cheese should technically be extremely spoiled, he knows that one day, the mouse living in the hole nearby will come out and eat it since no mice can resist the taste of cheddar cheese. A quick save with the SAVE point and he runs off down the hall to the next room. This next room has nothing special in it except for a strange ghost blocking the way, laying on a pile of leaves in the center of the room. It's also saying the letter "Z" out loud in an effort to pretend to sleep.

"Zzzzzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzzzzz. Are they gone yet? Zzzzzzzzzzzz." If they're trying to sleep, it isn't a good facade, and if they're trying to be funny, they don't have a good sense of humor. Regardless, this ghost is in his way and without a big enough gap for him to squeeze past, he can't get through. With no other option, he gently pushes them and this jolts them from their sleep. They start floating in front of him and looks at him directly in the eyes. "oh... i'm in your way, aren't i? oh... i didn't mean to be in your way…" The ghost's eyes water up and he frowns in Skyler's presence. He feels bad for this ghost, did HE cause them to be upset? He decides to speak up and try to help them even if it wasn't his fault.

"H-hey… what's wrong? Are you feeling alright?" He asks, his tone soft and serene sounding.

"i'm fine, thanks. just pluggin along…" He says, his ghostly voice echoing a melancholy tone signifying that something is definitely wrong.

"Do you have a name by any chance?" He asks. Knowing their name would make it slightly easier. Instead of getting a response, the ghost starts crying weird, squiggly tears that fly towards him. They aren't fast moving, so he's easily able to avoid it without getting hurt.

"oh… sorry… i'm napstablook…" He says, his tears drying up in the process

"Well, napstablook is quite a nice name." He says without even thinking. This makes Napstablook smile slightly for a mere second.

"heh…" He cries a bit more, but not as much as the first time and instead of squiggly tears, they're normal and just like before, Skyler easily avoids it.

"Yeah, it's such a great name for a great ghost like you!" He says, his tone becoming more optimistic and encouraging. He also pairs a sunny smile with it as well.

Napstablook stops crying and smiles slightly once again, but he sighs not long after. "heh... i appreciate it but… really not feelin up to it right now. Sorry…"

He tries harder to help him. "I'm sure there's something you feel up to doing."

"Let me try…" he starts crying again, except his tears somehow defy the laws of gravity and land on his head, forming a sharp and dapper top hat. "I call it 'dapper blook'... do you like it…" Skyler gives him a big thumbs up with his left hand, a massive smile, and happy nod. Not only did it look really cool, but it makes Napstablook look real… well… dapper. "Oh gee…" he stops crying and floats down closer to the ground, his black eyes level with Skyler's eyes. "I usually come to the ruins because there's nobody around… but today i met somebody nice…"

Skyler feels relieved to have helped him, but he still has to get past so he politely clears his throat and asks. "Umm, excuse me, Napstablook… but can you please move? I have to get past here."

"oh, i'm rambling again. i'll get out of your way." He disappears into thin air just like all ghosts do and allows him to get past.

Now that the path is clear, there's two ways to go. Straight leads into a small room with what looks like nothing in it, while heading north will lead into a large room. He decides to check out the small room straight ahead out of curiosity and instead of nothing being in there, he finds a sign and two spider webs on the floor with some gold contained within. He checks the sign and it reads, "Spider Bakesale. All proceeds go to real spiders." which he finds odd since spiders can't bake or cook. He is curious to know what they're selling so he reaches into the left pocket in his shorts and pulls out a handful of gold coins that he tosses into one of the webs. Almost immediately, a bunch of spiders come crawling down from the ceiling carrying both a clear jug with a strange purple liquid and a doughnut with purple glazing on it. He takes both of these with both hands and the spiders disappear back into the ceiling, leaving him to wonder just exactly what the juice and doughnut is made out of. Just like with the monster candy from earlier, he decides to take the cork off the jug and take a taste, sitting down and taking a small sip from the jug. His eyes shoot wide open as an intensely sweet and tangy flavor bursts to life in his mouth… but this joyous shock is replaced by his eyes closing and his mouth scrunching up in disgust as an aftertaste of horrid proportions swamps and dirties the sweetness. It's not overly repulsive, but enough to make him think twice about drinking more. If he can't find a source of water in the event he leaves the Ruins, the strange cider-like juice made by the spiders will be enough to keep him hydrated. The doughnut is now looking not as appetizing as it was a few moments ago, but nonetheless, a treat is still a treat. He can't stuff it into his backpack as is, it'll make a mess, so he reaches into the right front pocket of his hoodie and pulls out a few empty name-brand chocolate bar wrappers and gently wraps the doughnut up to prevent it from being squished and causing a mess inside while he explores. He places it inside along with the jug of spider cider and puts his backpack on his back, stands up, and leaves the room to continue exploring. He heads north into a large room where a single sign and nothing else stands. He takes a look at the sign and it reads. "Did you miss it? Spider Bakesale down and to the right. Come eat food made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders!" this sign only makes him shudder at the fact that he just drank something that was made OF spiders. He walks around the sign and to his right to continue walking forwards when his phone rings again. He answers it and Toriel is heard again on the other end.

"Hello! I just realized that it has been a very long time since I last cleaned up. It's been so long since the last human fell here that I wasn't expecting company at all. There's probably a lot of things lying about here and there. If you find anything you like, you can keep it, you'll be doing me a favor in the end as well!" With that, she hangs up and Skyler continues walking into the next room. The floor in this room has six oddly lined cracks in it and unlike the cracked floor maze from earlier, the floor here is actually cracked for real but luckily, it isn't in his way and he can simply walk straight. At the end of the room looks like a spike trap although the spikes are deactivated, more of Flowey's puzzle help. He walks right on through, but as he walks through, on the left wall, he sees something from the corner of his eye with two red glowing dots looking at him and he stops to see what it is. Whatever it is disappears before he can make out what they were. That feeling of despair from earlier starts to grow a little bit stronger, but he pays it no attention and keeps walking forwards. The next few rooms have pillars with different colored switches on them to deactivate the spike traps leading to the next, but as expected, Flowey has taken care of them all. Unlike the other rooms in the Ruins which have been sufficiently bright and cheery, these rooms are much darker and oppressive. As Skyler walks through, the corners of his eyes keep catching something watching him from the shadows and darkness. More and more red dots appear as he walks along, and with it, more and more darkness. Skyler can barely see what's in front of him now and because of this, he takes his phone out and turns on the flashlight function to help him see where he's going. Instead of a clear path ahead, he's met with a group of 20 monsters he's never seen before, and they all look PISSED. He silently gasps and his mouth opens slightly at this sight, he wasn't expecting this at all.

"You lied to us." Says one of the monsters. They have sharp teeth, two arms and hands, a large eye, stand on two legs, and have two horns on their head. Their eye is half open with an aggressive feel to it. They are known as "Loox" and usually bully others, but not this time.

"W-we had h-hope for once!" Says another. This monster has arms, two feet, wings, and a body that looks a bit like a ghost. They also have a face and look like they're about to cry but also hold a strong, angry expression. This monster is called "Whimsun", and are usually too sensitive to fight, but it looks like this one and all the others in the group have been given a reason to fight.

"FILTHY BACKSTABBING LIAR!" Yells a bug looking monster with two legs and feet, two sharp fingers, and two black stripes on its stomach rudely. This roach looking monster goes by "Migosp" and get a bad rep in crowds. Seems like they're going rouge even in the crowd this time.

"Because of you, we still haven't been able to escape the ruins since Toriel keeps the door leading to the rest of the Underground locked. You made us think we'd get out of here. You made us all believe that we'd be able to escape and see the world. Now, it's time you understand the pain that we've all been going through." Says the Loox, and with that, he raises his right hand into the air, snaps his fingers, and all the other monsters go after Skyler.

A clicking sound is heard and the spike trap leading to the previous room reactivates, blocking off a potential escape route that he could use, and the entire room suddenly becomes bright again, allowing him to see. Two Froggits jump at him, making various aggressive croaking sounds in an attempt to attack him, but he jumps out of their way at the last second, only to be hit by a magic orb that came from one of the 3 Loox in front of him. All of the monsters have spread out in such a way that it'd be impossible for him to get through without being badly injured by them. He doesn't want to fight them, but they don't look like they'll take any sort of kind approach so nicely. Against the odds, he goes to say something, only to be hit in the head by a carrot falling from the ceiling, nearly knocking him out from how hard he was hit. He stumbles for a moment, only to walk into a magic butterfly attack from one of the two Migosp that are there, making him trip back and fall on his butt. All of the monsters slowly close in on him as he looks at them. A third Froggit jumps in front of him, opens their mouth, and a bunch of flies buzz at his face. Even though they're flies, they hurt quite a bit and Skyler holds his hands up in front of his face to prevent them from hurting him there, but his arms and hands still get hurt in the process. The Loox who had snapped his fingers and commanded everyone to attack him looms over him. "Well well well… They say a bully always gets his way, and I remember you being much tougher. Oh well, enjoy your last moments. At last, we will finally avenge our lost hopes with your soul!" He charges up a powerful magic attack with his eye, but before he can use it, Skyler's right fist blasts him there and the force sends them flying into the far wall behind the monster group. His fist finds a new victim in the Froggit that is now shocked in place in front of him and pounds their face in, killing them instantly and causing their body to dissipate into dust. He stands up and walks towards the now frightened group of monsters and after a moment of silence, he releases a scream full of pain and suffering that echoes throughout the ruins before rushing at all of them.

A hostile end to this chapter. What will happen next? Find out in the next chapter! Seeya then!