Frisk was both glad and frustrated.
Despite what Chara had told them, they continued to believe that using their power previously had not been a bad thing. They had taken people's sorrows away and replaced them with the joys of a happy morning. While they did so based on their own feelings and impressions, which are subjective, these remained strictly good things. When balancing the good and the bad of what they had done, to Frisk, there was no contest.
They were glad that in the end, things had worked out, that they had managed to reach their goal and avoid what would otherwise have been a pretty dreadful series of events.
But nobody knew about it, there was no one to know about what they did or to thank them for it, and the only person who did remember had been chastising them for it instead...
They may have gotten what they wanted, but they felt no satisfaction from this supposed good action. It was a tasteless victory.
Frisk didn't feel happy.
...Why didn't they ? Frisk wondered. They'd done it to make the others happier, right ? And they had gotten that. Why were they not satisfied ?
They considered that it might have to do with the lack of recognition of their actions by the Dreemurrs, but ultimately decided against it. There was no need for those you make a good action towards to know about it, the simple act of doing it should be sufficient to make yourself happy. Besides, Frisk had known from the very beginning that a LOAD would mean wiping out memories in the process, it wasn't like they were expecting anyone to thank them anyway. They had been fully ready to accept doing this for the Dreemurrs without them remembering any of it.
No, they knew what was making them feel this way. It was Chara.
To be exact, it was the way they'd lectured them about it like they had committed an unforgivable sin while their action had done nothing but good... And a good which was benefiting Chara specifically nonetheless !
Obviously Frisk hadn't been expecting to be praised, but Chara had outright taken offense in being given this help by them.
This must have been a biased reaction, Frisk told themself. If Asriel had been in their place, Frisk was pretty sure he would have done the same thing, but Chara likely wouldn't have treated him the way they treated Frisk. It must have been only because they were human that Chara had seen their action more as trying to reshape the world the way they saw fit rather than as the attempt at making the household happier that Frisk had wanted it to be.
It felt as if whatever Frisk did, they'd find a way to spin it to make them the vilain. No matter how much they tried to do good.
And... it made them a little sad ? Not sad because they thought it was unfair (although they did believe that to be the case), but more sad as in... They wanted Chara to like them, and they didn't give them the chance to prove themself.
Frisk found themself questioning why did they care so much about Chara's opinion of them. Indeed, the older human had done some pretty terrible things to them not so long ago. Yet, whenever they thought of Chara, they imagined the two of them smiling at each other or holding hands. Despite everything, they just really liked Chara and they wished Chara would like them back. They weren't sure why, but they just did.
They had mostly been trying to convince Chara that they were not a threat, but what if they tried to show them that they wanted to establish good relations directly ?
...Or would that be overstepping their boundaries ? The last time Frisk had given Chara a compliment, they did not take it very well.
The way Chara worked remained mostly a mystery to them.
Although, this was something they could probably ask someone about wasn't it ? The Dreemurrs surely had a far better understanding of Chara and of their way of thinking than they did. Perhaps they could ask for some tips ?
Frisk decided to go find Asriel, believing that he would be the easier one to approach on that regard. They searched for the young boss monster for a few minutes before realising that he was unavailable as he was in the kitchen helping out Toriel. Thus, Frisk decided to wait a little. They weren't particularly in a rush anyway.
They had some time to waste, so they spent a little time daydreaming. A lot about magic, monsters and the underground as a whole, but also a bit about Chara who, while a human deprived of magic powers, had been in their thoughts a lot lately.
During lunch, Frisk was glad to notice that Chara, while they were looking at them a lot, didn't really seem to be giving them dirty looks. Maybe they'd realised it accomplished nothing but get others in a bad mood ? Or more likely, maybe Toriel or Asgore had a talk with them about it... Whatever the reason, Frisk was just glad to see that this was happening.
On one occasion when Chara had asked Toriel for water, Frisk, who was the closest to the jug, took the queen by speed and served Chara before she could. They even took care to fill the glass all the way up to the brim. No one said anything about it, but everyone was definitely thinking it and Asgore giggled a little. Chara themself mostly just formed a bubble of air in their right cheek and slowly exhaled whilst looking on the side.
Frisk finished eating quite quickly and had to wait for the others to be done as well before they could call Asriel.
"Hey ? Can you come here ? I want to ask you something." They told the prince, inviting him to follow them back to their room. He did briefly remember not being supposed to isolate himself with Frisk but he went anyway as he knew it wasn't like he was in any danger.
The way he noticed Frisk looked around to make sure no one was nearby did make him question what could they possibly want to ask, though.
"What is it ?" The prince asked, holding his paws together.
"Well. As you know, i haven't really left the best first impression on Chara." They started. "But, it was just a misunderstanding ! So i thought i should try and make it up to them somehow, so that we can be friends ? Except i... don't really know how to do that..." They trailed off a little bit. "So i thought i'd ask you !" Frisk perked up again. "Can you tell me what does Chara like ? Or what could i do so we can get along better ?" Frisk attempted to word it all in a way that would earn them the prince's sympathies.
This effort was quite successful as Asriel's eyes quickly found themselves illuminated with sparkles. He knew Chara wouldn't lie to him about things like what they had said about Frisk, but he was also quite certain that Frisk meant no harm. It would make a lot of sense if things had just been a misunderstanding. After all Chara did tend to have exaggerated reactions and they were quite the misanthropist.
"Oh, sure !" He responded. "Why did you make me come all the way here for that ?" He wondered. "Are you afraid Chara might hear ?"
The prince squinted his eyes when Frisk didn't contradict what he said. He let out a little laugh. "Haha ! You are, aren't you ?"
Frisk met his stare again. "It is just that Chara is very... unpredictable ?"
"Don't worry, i get it" He reassured them. "I know its hard to make friends and Chara isn't very social. I'll help you. Come here."
Frisk approached closer to the prince and listened as he started whispering a few things in their ear.
"Frisk ? Are you there ?" Asgore called out as he came into Frisk's room, catching the child's attention. He was not motivated to have this conversation, but it was inevitable yet he simply couldn't and shouldn't keep them in the dark about it for much longer. "Do you have some time to talk ?"
The human gave the king a short nod and walked up to him. "Thank you, Frisk. Would you like to go on a little walk with me ?" He proposed, believing that it may make things a little easier for both of them.
"Sure !" They answered. Frisk quite liked spending time with Asgore. There was something about the large kind polite and fluffy monster king that made them feel very comfortable when they were in his presence.
Frisk held Asgore's hand, or rather, they put their hand inside of his palm for the boss monster to grab. The king walked Frisk outside and led them to wander around New Home with no real destination in mind.
"So, what did you want to talk about ?" Frisk asked, grinning. They looked like they were in a good mood.
It made the monarch feel bad to know that he was going to have to ruin that smile with his bad news, but he couldn't dodge his responsibilities. They had to know.
"As you are aware, there is no way out of the underground." He began. "Unless they obtain enough soul power to bypass the barrier, those who live here will have to remain in the underground until their passing."
Frisk silently continued to listen while the pair crossed the corridors.
"This means that this kingdom will have to become your home. As such, it will be necessary to inform the public of your fall very soon as you will have to live amongst us monsters from now on." Asgore continued. "Every month, we dedicate a moment to address monsterkind regarding the recent events." He brought up.
Frisk understood where this was going. Asgore wanted to tell the rest of the underground about them during this monthly address. "So you'll tell them about me ?"
The king nodded grievously. The human was slightly confused at to why he appearing to be considering it as a bad thing.
"Yes. However, i am afraid things will not be so simple." The king added. "I believe you might have noticed it by now, but we are not supposed to let you leave the house or go unsupervised. It is a precaution which was taken because of what Chara had said about you after you fell."
Frisk frowned a little. They did figure this out already, but it still hurt a little to hear. The two then entered an elevator headed towards an apartment complex.
"Not that we actually think you would do anything reckless of course, but please understand that this may be considered as necessary by some." He developed. There was no doubt in Frisk's mind that when Asgore said "some", he meant "Chara".
"Of course, we do not want any rumors to tarnish your reputation underground." He quickly added. "Therefore for as long as these restrictions will last, it ha been agreed that if you wish so, we may may word the reason for their existence in a way that wouldn't de detrimental to you." The king attempted to present the situation in a bright light, despite it not really being joyful news.
"But... Wouldn't that be lying ?" Frisk questioned as they left the elevator and continued walking. It sounded like Asgore was suggesting to not tell the truth to the other monsters. Frisk didn't think of Asgore as someone which would do such a thing as lying to his people during an address.
"I do not intend to lie. Simply to word the truth in a way which would benefit everyone." He responded. "As a ruler, it is my duty to so what is best for my people. But as a monster and as a father myself, i cannot allow your future to be compromised by what i am convinced to be just a misunderstanding." He explained. "It would not be right for you to grow up in a place like this."
Frisk smiled in response. They actually related to this pretty well. They too simply wanted to do what they believed would be the best for everyone, even if some may not always consider their actions as perfectly moral.
"I see." They said. "I understand."
Asgore was somewhat relieved Frisk appeared to be taking this rather well given the situation. They seemed to be quite the mature child.
Frisk and the large boss monster strolled through the apartment building. On the way, Asgore waved salutations to a few passing residents.
"How do you feel about finding yourself in this new world, Frisk ? How has accommodation been so far ?" He requested to know.
"Well, its still a bit difficult to wrap my head around sometimes, but i think im starting to get used to it a little." They answered.
Asgore continued. "How would you feel about this confusion to be put forward as a reason for your isolation ? Leaving you the time to get used to our society ?" He brought up the proposal he had discussed with Chara previously.
Frisk thought about it a little. Well, it wouldn't really be wrong. They did feel a bit overwhelmed by everything they've seen and learned down here and may need some time to fully comprehend it. What the king was proposing was merely a slight divergence in how much Frisk was impacted by the things which did actually impact them.
"That sounds reasonable." They decided. What Asgore was proposing to them did not feel that restraining and Frisk could tell that he most likely had to argue in their favor to earn these terms in the first place, for which Frisk was quite thankful.
He was really looking out for them, wasn't he ? From the moment he found them.
"Thank you Frisk for being understanding." The monarch praised their maturity.
"No, thank you for taking care of me." Frisk returned the thanks and faced him spreading their arms, inviting him into a hug.
Asgore smiled, then lifted Frisk up into the air before hugging them.
When he eventually let Frisk down, he looked at them in the eyes and pointed something out.
"Frisk, when i look at you, i am reminded of how Chara used to be when they fell. You have the same feeling of hope in your eyes."
For a second, Frisk tried to imagine Chara in their situation. They wondered how did they initially react when they faced the prospect of having to live the rest of their life among monsters. Although, they guessed that as someone that hated humans, Chara probably didn't mind too much the idea of never seeing the world above again.
Asgore asked them one more thing.
"Well, i believe it is time to return home now. But while we're here near the store, would you like to take a little something to eat ?" He proposed them, considering that Frisk did deserve a little treat after all this.
The human child was glad to accept his offer.
After spending a bit of time reading the menu and a much longer time listening to Asgore as he explained to them what each of the items they saw was, Frisk eventually settled on a puppydough ice cream. (Which, obviously, were named after the fact that they were made by puppies. Not that they were of puppies.)
This didn't prevent Frisk from looking a bit hesitant before taking their first lick while Asgore paid for it. But once they had tasted it once, they quickly realised that they loved it.
Just as they were about to turn back, Frisk suddenly had what they believed to be a very good idea.
"Wait !" They told the monster king.
Asgore turned around, wondering what could be bothering Frisk.
"Can we... buy something else ? Please ?" They asked.
"Frisk, i believe this is already enough sweetness for you. Anything more would be too much." Asgore explained.
"Oh but... Its... its not for me !" Frisk reacted.
"Not for you ?" The king tilted his head, slightly intrigued.
"Yes ! I want to give something to someone." Frisk gave him a little more detail.
Asgore scratched his beard. "Well, in that case, what exactly would you want me to buy ?" He accepted to hear them out.
Frisk pointed to an item at the very bottom of the list of items that were being sold. Once the monster king approached close enough to read it, a smile appeared on his face. Frisk didn't need to say anything more for him to decide himself "Alright, Frisk. I will buy it."
Toriel's ear tilted itself when she heard the door open. Pausing what she was doing, she went to meet them at the door and quickly pulled Asgore aside to talk. Most likely about what he had told Frisk earlier.
As soon as the two royals were no longer looking at them, Frisk sneaked away in an attempt to find Chara. They found them rather quickly as they were reading some japanese book which they pulled away as soon as Frisk approached. They were only able to read the first two letters of the title, which were "Ki-"
"What ?" Chara asked them.
"I got something for you !" They said before reaching for their pocket. They managed to catch the older human's attention, Chara suddenly seemed quite interested in what they had to show. Frisk wore a large smile as they pulled out the brand name chocolate bar that they had asked the king to purchase earlier. According to Asriel, this was something Chara was quite fond of.
The first fallen human went through a few facial expressions within a single second. From intrigued to suppressing a faint smile to suspicious.
"Who told you ?" They wondered, regarding how Frisk had gotten a hold of this information.
"Asriel told me." Frisk didn't hesitate to answer sincerely.
They took one step closer to the other human, who kept watching them silently.
"Its a gift ! You can have it." Frisk insisted. "I got it for you."
While they continued not to hold Frisk in very high esteem, Chara didn't really have a reason not to accept. They did tell themself they'd try to consider letting Frisk off the hook just a little as long as they behaved and they definitely weren't going to turn down free chocolate for no reason !
Chara got up and took the chocolate bar from Frisk's hand. Not without a very thin smile.
"Alright. I appreciate the gesture." They told Frisk as they immediately turned back with the bar in hand.
Well, it wasn't a thank you, but it almost sounded like a way of saying thank you without actually saying it. In any case, it was certainly the closest thing to it that they had gotten from Chara to date, so this was a win in their book.
Wearing a small smile of their own, Frisk left Chara to their own devices.