Frisk sat in Mom's lap against the trunk of the leafless tree. The book of family memories lay open across their knees.
"You look so pretty," Frisk said while brushing their fingers over a faded photo of Mom. She was dressed in dark violet wedding robes that stood out against her white fur. She looked younger than she did now, but not by much. Maybe monsters aged really slowly.
"I suppose I did." She sighed. Her chin rested on Frisk's head. They couldn't tell if she was looking at the photos or not. "I was… very happy, at the time."
In the pictures, she practically glowed. So did her husband—Asgore. Dad. He looked so happy, too. What could've happened to make her hate him?
Pictures never tell the whole story, Chara warned. But they were happy. When I lived with them, they were always nuzzling noses and being gross.
One photo showed them nuzzling noses. Sun shone through a wide stained glass window, casting colors across their robes and fur. Had the wedding taken place above ground?
Monsters weren't always trapped down here, Chara said.
"What happened?" Frisk asked quietly. They weren't sure if they were talking about monsters in general, or about Mom and Dad.
"We will get there, small one."
They turned the page. A single leaf fell from the tree, obscuring the photos for a moment. They brushed it aside.
"Awwww!" They couldn't help cooing when they looked at Mom holding a tiny baby monster. The baby looked just like their parents, white with floppy ears. "Is that Chara?"
Chara laughed at the same time Mom did.
"No, no, my child. Chara was—well, we will get to them later, as well. This is Asriel." Her voice grew somber. "He would have been your brother."
A brother. They had two siblings!
No, you don't. Chara's voice was cold. You would've had two siblings. He's… Azzy is…
"What happened to him?"
Frisk would've accepted an answer from Mom or Chara, but neither of them replied.
Suddenly they felt something wet seeping through their hair.
"Forgive my weakness, Frisk." Mom let go of them to wipe her eyes. "I will tell you in time."
So far all they had were more questions, but they didn't want to hurt Mom. They would be patient.
Asriel was in most of the pictures. Frisk recognized the puzzles and buildings in the backgrounds, though everything looked a little different. Newer.
Asriel held up a giant beetle he'd caught in the garden. Asriel rode on Dad's shoulders through the city of Home. Asriel swam with Mom in the river.
Other monsters were in the photos, too. Gerson was the name of the smiling turtle monster, Mom told them.
"I have not seen him in many years. I hope he is still alright," she murmured. Frisk would have to ask Napstablook if they knew him.
Mom laughed out loud at a photo of Asriel catching Dad's cape on fire.
"That was the day Asriel summoned his first bullets. He nearly burned down the whole house."
Frisk giggled. Even Chara laughed.
I heard about that, but I wish I could've seen it, they said. Frisk agreed.
The laughter seemed to have flipped a switch in Mom. The melancholy left her voice as she told them memories of her lost family.
Then Frisk flipped a page, and her voice trailed off again.
"Mom?" Frisk asked before studying the new photos. They blinked.
There was a human in these.
This is so weird, Chara said. Before Frisk could ask what they meant, Mom spoke up.
"This is Chara," she whispered.
Frisk turned around, nearly tumbling out of Mom's lap. "What?"
Mom laughed. "You did not know that Chara was human, did you?"
They'd had no idea! But then—how was Chara inside them? Unless… Chara was a ghost?
Something like that, they mumbled.
Did that mean—were they dead?
I don't know! Shut up and listen to Mom so we can find out!
Frisk flinched. Mom's brow furrowed.
"Are you alright, my child? I did not mean to keep this from you. Well. I suppose I did mean to… but it is not because I do not love them. Quite the opposite." She smiled sadly. "You do remind me so much of them. You have the same hope in your eyes…"
Frisk didn't know what to say. Chara was here. Her child was here. Why couldn't Chara let them tell her?
She wouldn't want to see me like this, they said quietly. Don't just stare at her like an idiot. Say something.
"I think we would've been friends," Frisk spoke up. They got the impression that Chara was rolling their eyes.
They finally had a face to put with those impressions. Chara had pale skin, with rosy cheeks and straight brown hair. It was impossible to tell what color their eyes were from the photos. They never looked at the camera. They seemed about Frisk's age in these pictures, though.
You're nine, right? I was eight when I fell.
Eight. They were practically a baby.
Shut up!
Frisk grinned. "Can you tell me more about them?"
"I think you'll learn quite a bit from these next photos." Mom shifted Frisk in her lap, so that they could both see the book more easily.
Most of the next pages showed Chara and Asriel. They chunked handfuls of cinnamon at each other in Mom's kitchen. They came in from the garden covered in mud. They guiltily stood next to a knife stabbed into the living room wall.
"Chara was jealous of monster attacks," Mom explained. "They and Asriel both admired each other so much. I believe it was actually Asriel's idea to teach them to use knives as bullets."
Dang. I was sure she believed me when I said it was my idea, Chara muttered.
"That's why you—that's why they like knives so much," Frisk realized.
Mom stared down at them, and they realized what they'd said.
"How did you…?" she asked, then shook her head. "I must not have found all of the knives they had hidden in Asriel's—your room. Do not touch them, my child. You could hurt yourself."
Frisk's brow furrowed. Maybe Chara had hurt themself, and that's why Mom was so much more protective now?
Pretty close, Chara said. Ugh. Why couldn't they just tell Frisk what happened? It seemed like they didn't quite remember, but they had to know something. You didn't just go from being a human to being an invisible, unhearable ghost.
Mom grew quieter again with each page Frisk turned. The backgrounds shifted—there was snow, and a dark marsh, and what looked like the inside of a volcano. The Dreemurrs built a new house that looked nearly identical to Mom's current one. Dad and Asriel and Chara were all there, still looking as happy as ever.
Frisk kept expecting to see things go wrong. But there were no photos of funerals. No forced smiles. Mom still nuzzled Dad's beard; Chara and Asriel still rode on Dad's giant shoulderplates.
The last page was a fancy family portrait. Everyone was smiling.
"That's it?" They couldn't help asking.
What, did you think she was going to have a photo of my dead body in there? Chara scoffed.
They had a point, but still. Mom had promised them answers. It was hard not to feel frustrated.
"No." Mom sighed. "This book is far from 'it.' The rest of my memories are in here." She placed a paw over her chest. "They are not as happy as the ones you have seen so far."
"I know," Frisk said quietly. "I have unhappy memories, too. I can handle it."
Mom gave them a soft, sad look.
"I know you can. That does not mean that you should have to."
There was a long pause. This time, though, Frisk looked directly into Mom's eyes. They could help. They knew they could. They just needed Mom to trust them enough to tell them the truth.
Some things even you can't fix, Frisk, Chara murmured.
"Very well. If you wish to know so badly..." Mom looked away. "Asriel and Chara are dead. Chara from illness, Asriel at the hands of humans. My ex-husband declared war in anger, and has killed every human child who has fallen down since."
Frisk gaped. Every word felt like a bullet to their soul.
"Dad wouldn't do that!" They burst, then covered their mouth. That was Chara talking through them.
Mom looked up. Her glare cut like a knife. Even Chara withered before it.
"He would, and he has. He is no longer the man you saw here." Her claws dug into the photo album. Smoke started to hiss from the cover, but she quickly put it out. "Do not worry, my child. As long as you are here, I will not let him harm you."
"He wouldn't…" Chara whimpered, hugging themself tightly.
Mom set the book aside and squeezed Frisk. That seemed to soothe Chara as well, and Frisk regained control of their body.
"You are safe here, my child. I promise."
Frisk hugged her back. They believed her.
Their eyes still pricked with Chara's tears.