Chapter 6: It's raining somewhere else

The compartment's floor rocked slightly as the capitol's train drifted through the dark night. Each swift rise and fall was dampened by the soft mattress and pillow, supporting Chara's small body. The child felt like they were floating as they lay beneath soft covers. At times, the material would get stuck on the human's scruff skin. Chara didn't mind. Their gaze rested on the compartment's ceiling. Even in the darkness, the smooth texture was nothing like the familiar rough stone of their bedroom.

It had been a long day and the most stressful one they ever had. After all that happened, Chara felt like every bit of energy had drained from their body, leaving a frail husk behind. Sleeping should have been easy. Yet, their mind drifted restlessly, keeping them far away from the merciful sleep they desperately needed.

For the first time in years, Chara didn't feel hungry. Their tummy even ached a little from the sudden overload of food. The child wasn't sure if they ever had been this full. Mom tried to feed them as well as she could, but food was never enough.

Chara vividly remembered how Azzie used to pout whenever his plate was clean after too little time. Once, a bunny monster in snowdin with the gift of possessing a rare kind of magic had invited them for supper. It took some time and lots of energy, but she eventually managed to conjure the most delicious cinnamon bunnies out of nothing but snow. Asriel had been amazed for weeks. He'd keep on asking "Mom, can we go to snowdin?" "Dad, I want to try to make food out of snow, like that nice bunny lady did!" "I'll make food for everybody!" Eventually, mom and dad caved. Dad took them there; all of them huddled in thick winter clothing. They couldn't have been older than six, maybe seven years old.

"Now, now, you two. Don't you stray too far" dad had said with that big, warm smile of his. "I'll be staying here. Have fun!"

"Come on, Chara. There's a snow drift right over there!" Azzie. He had been so excited. Chara tried to be giddy too. Even so, life had already taught them that most hopes just stayed to be faint dreams. Till this day, Asriel kept firmly refusing to accept that fact. And at this point, Chara didn't want to change that anymore.

"You should try it too!" Their brother insisted, after the seventh or eighth failed try. The snow just kept melting in his paws, although it shone with a multitude of colors while doing so.

Chara remembered shuffling closer, pulling the warm mittens from their hands. The snow was chilling to the point where Chara's joints began to ache. They had felt for that familiar energy in their chest, the way dad had taught them. Slowly, a dim, red light began to seep through them, brightening slowly till it reached their eyes. The world suddenly was filled with about a dozen white lights all around them, the closest one being an Asriel shaped one right next to them. Yet, as they looked down at the snow, it was just snow. Nothing glowing, nothing changing; it didn't even melt rapidly or light up like Asriel's handful did.

There was nothing special about that patch of snow. It was utterly useless to monsterkind.

The child rolled onto their side, chewing on the memory. That was quite a long time ago. Azzie had ended up trying to do food magic for months. Chara smiled to themselves. He could be quite stubborn when he wanted to be. They liked to imagine that it was Chara's bad influence rubbing off on him.

Deciding that lying around wouldn't do anything besides making them feel homesick, Chara fought their way through the fluffy pillows towards the edge of their compartment's bed. They took a moment to sit at the edge, pulling one of their pajama's legs down that had scrunched up at the back of their left knee. The smooth texture felt strange against their skin. Linda had insisted that they cleaned up.

"You two look like you crawled here on your hands and knees" that woman commented with her annoying, high pitched voice. "Even the tributes last year managed to look better and it was rainy and muddy all the way!"

"give them a break, linda. it's not their fault. one of your buddies decided that things needed to be a bit more shocking for chara here."

"Oh, those annoying ruffians. They know that prolonged shocks from those repressors can have lasting damage. They'll only dampen our tribute's performance in the games by doing that! I'll have to talk to them."

Her critical gaze was once again directed in Chara's direction. The child was way too busy eating a piece from that tasty, creamy chocolate cake with cherries on top to mind.

"Nonetheless, you'll have to clean up after this. Both of you. We cannot have you running around the capitol looking like… this."

Chara looked up from their cake long enough to watch Linda pinch the bridge of her nose.

"There are bathrooms adjoined to your bedrooms in your private compartments. You'll also find an assortment of clothing in the wardrobe next to the bed. Feel free to pick whatever you like. Just don't put on those filthy clothes again."

Needless to say, that didn't make Chara like Linda any more. Chara's favorite sweater might have seen better days, but it was still theirs. A piece of home that mom had made for them. It was hard changing out of that.

"Now I see who I was protecting by keeping you here."

The child shook their head violently, trying to keep the memories of a broken voice out of their head. No, trying to sleep definitely was a bad idea.

They hopped down from the edge of the bed, bare feet touching a cool wooden floor. Even though it was fairly dark, a few, dim lights shone through from under the compartment's door. Chara felt their way towards it, careful not to bump into anything. As they neared, the door slid open by itself, revealing a small corridor running parallel to the bedroom and bathroom. The child followed it in the direction that they recalled led to the shared compartment were Linda had greeted them.

Dim lights shed little shadows throughout the large common room. The table now was empty with no trace of the mess Frisk and Chara had left behind only hours ago. The child couldn't imagine Linda getting her hands dirty. And Sans was far too lazy to clean anything up in his own house, let alone dishes belonging to the capitol. It was probably one of the servants that Chara had observed flittering around.

At the very back of the compartment, a cushioned seating space was set beneath a big window showing the path their train had taken. Each and every bit brought then farther away from home and closer to their doom.

Chara had already made it halfway towards that window when they noticed that they were not alone. "So you couldn't sleep either?"

Frisk turned their head slightly, kneeling on the cushions with their body towards the window. It was the only acknowledgement that they even heard the other child.

Chara proceeded to step towards the glass surface, already used to Frisk's silence. Using their hands to help them, they, too, rested themselves atop the cushioned seating space next to Frisk, ignoring the awkward feelings whirling around in their gut.

The view was great, despite the darkness, with parts of the rails vanishing into the night at dizzying speeds while other parts appeared from beneath the train. Above, the star's twinkled with startling beauty. Chara had forgotten how a real night sky looked like. If only Asriel could watch it with them.

"Why are you even sitting here" commented Chara with a sideway glance at Frisk's forever shut eyes. "You can't even watch any of the stuff outside."

"It's slightly cooler."

Chara perked up at the unexpected answer.

"And I also like the feeling of the train shaking." There was a moment of quiet. "What about you?"

"Me? I don't know. It's quiet. And I like watching the stars, I guess."

For a good while, no one said anything. They just both sat there in silence, each of them lost in their own world of thoughts. Chara could hear Frisk's soft breath over the humming of the train's engine. Not too long ago, they hadn't been breathing at all. And it was all Chara's fault. Frisk probably hated them after that. Who wouldn't. Chara had murdered them and not in a painless way at all. And soon, they would both be in the arena, fighting for their lives. Only one would make it out alive. Maybe not even one of the two of them. The winner would get everything: Enough money to spend the rest of their life without a worry and enough food for the whole district to last them through a year without anyone having to die of hunger. It was perfect. Yet, Chara's chances weren't great at all. They didn't have tons of muscles or any awesome ability to speak of. Frisk, however, could just turn back time as often as they wanted to.

Chara watched the other child out of the corner of their eye. Clad in a similar pajama as Chara's own Frisk looked incredibly small and vulnerable, when in truth, they were the perfect tribute.

"Frisk…" Chara struggled to find a good start, opening and closing their mouth a few times in a fruitless attempt of creating the right words. "Frisk, I wanted to tell you… that I'm sorry. It probably doesn't mean anything to you after what I've done, but… I'm really sorry for what I've done to you. It's unforgivable."

"I forgive you."

Chara blinked, staring at nothing in particular for a moment as their well prepared, emotional speech just went up in smoke. They had prepared themselves for resistance. An argument, maybe. Anything that wasn't this. "Err, what?"

"I forgive you." Frisk repeated the words as if it was the most common thing in the world.

"…Why?"

"Well, for one, mom said that we should try to forgive people."

Chara raised a skeptical eyebrow. "For eating candy before supper, maybe. I don't think she meant murder."

"And also, it wasn't so bad. You were confused. People are like that at times. Monsters have acted similar to that before."

"When?" Chara didn't remember a single monster ever trying to murder Frisk. Or even say a rude word to them. Monsters weren't like that.

Frisk shuffled so they were facing Chara more directly. "They sometimes remember when I reset. They are often confused. Some are frightened. No one had ever really remembered, though. Not like you."

That was concerning. And confusing. Chara tried to pick their way through the new information. "So when you reset, you restart time? Like when we were back at the reaping?"

Frisk nodded.

"And people usually don't remember what happened during these other times? Those ones that you erased?"

A nod again. "I've reset for the first time a few weeks ago. After my repressor burned up."

Chara recalled how Linda had called the collar that. Their fingers softly touched the cold metal. Underneath they still could feel the phantom pain of their own scar. Those things don't take the barrier well.

"I met Toriel." Frisk continued. "And I met you and Asriel and dad."

Chara still remembered that day well, the way they remembered every time another human fell down. It was why the royal family formed a tradition of having a picnic in the ruins every now and then.

"You and Asriel showed me the ruins. But then I heard a noise. It scared me. I ran into a puzzle. There were spikes. Then I was in that first room again. Stuff like that happened a few times."

Frisk plucked at the hem of their shirt, seemingly unfazed by the memory of dying. Chara tried to concentrate on the conversation as possibilities and speculations flooded their mind.

"So you have to die to… what did you call it?"

"Reset. Like in video games."

"Oh, like that program Alphys made that mom doesn't like."

They had to pause for a second as the train jumped a bit, making them both grip their seats tightly.

"Yes, like that. And I don't need to die. It also works if I remember a moment in time firmly enough. I think I'm marking them in time. I always come back to specific moments. Save points. They don't change. Only in case I set a new one."

"Back then when my name was called, did you mark that moment too?"

"Yes."

"Do you have a limit to the times you can reset?"

"I don't know."

"Does your body come back with you or just your mind?"

"I'm not sure."

"And you've learned all of that in just those few weeks in the underground?" Not that Chara was jealous, but it had taken them years to figure out how to control just the meager bit of power that they had.

"Yes."

"Could you reset now?"

Frisk touched their own collar, frowning slightly. "I don't think I can. Trying might hurt. I couldn't before I fell down."

"Figures. I couldn't use my power before that either. You're really, absolutely sure that no one else remembers those resets?"

"It think so."

"That's amazing!"

"It is?"

"Of course it is!" Chara couldn't stop the wide grin from spreading on their face. Just keep it innocent. "That power of yours must be great in combat. Fighting in the arena will be super easy."

Frisk shifted uncomfortably, their hands tangling in a nervous knot. "I'm not good at fighting. I don't react fast when people move rapidly around me. Or if there are loud things around."

"Yeah, I've noticed. You trip a lot, don't you? You're lost in chaotic situations. You're right. You probably wouldn't last a second in there alone." Time to plant the right idea. "But if you had a guide, someone who knew how strong the people around you were, what they were doing, you'd be unstoppable!"

Chara reached forward, grasping a surprised Frisk's hand. "Lucky for you, that's exactly what I'm perfect at doing. My power allows me to see my enemies for what they truly are. I'll be your guide, your partner."

"And we'll be able to survive?"

"Together, we'll be able to do even more than that. We'll be unstoppable. Let us eradicate the enemy and become stronger." Chara smiled at the sudden hope blooming in their own chest. A perfect plan. "What do you say, partner?"

The train rattled as soft moonlight fell into the compartment, illuminating their joined hands.

"Yes."

"Then it is agreed. We'll be together forever."

Chara may not be able to change snow into food, but they were determined to feed their family, their home, no matter what. And thanks to that small human across from them, they would be able to do so. They would be victorious.