It was warmer in Waterfall, at least compared to Snowdinn. Like the proceeding region, however, it lived up to its name. Frisks steps marked with the sound of running water, and flowing rivers.

The ceiling to the place seemed to be endlessly high. Countless shimmering lights so far above, they may as well be stars. Frisk imagined they were some form of crystal, it seemed like the only honest explanation, at least.

She passed into the entrance, and below tall overhangs. Water up above, sliding across the smooth stone of some higher ledge. Falling down the side, and into the dark, empty abyss below. She didn't like to look at it.

A river branched to the side, moving to an area she could not get. A lone block of ice floating across it, moving to a place she may never see. The girl wondered, however brief, where its destination was. This poor piece of ice, adrift, dragged along by the stream.

Was it going someplace cold, that it might persist? Or, was it going someplace hot, where it would meet an untimely demise? She hoped for the former, in that moment, but expected the latter. Stepping forward, losing sight of it, and the river as she walked into the next room.

Her mind went back to the guard that had blocked her way in, or that she imagined was intended to block her way in. The cat-woman, however, was too busy. Dealing with people who had seeming come out of waterfall, discussing things she barely heard.

Hearing a sliver, something about 'A human' being sighted. Someone had seen Chara, and alerted others to her counterpart's existence. Frisk recognized this path as being more dangerous than she'd anticipated. Yet, she remained determined.

This next room bore a sentry station, overrun with concerned people. Discussing this 'rumor' and the associated panic. She briefly peered through the crowd. There was some form of skeleton there, frustrated, speaking in a lazy voice. Attempting to calm people down, though it didn't seem to be working.

Frisk didn't understand the panic. Toriel didn't seem like a bad person. It stood to reason that anyone raised by her, at least, hopefully, wouldn't be one. Some assured one another that there was someone hunting for the human right now. Someone whose name she didn't catch, at least at first.

Frisks attention falling on another child who was present there. A monster kid, in an orange poncho. He noticed her, and nodded some, as she did the same. Ultimately providing the name the others were whispering.

"Yo, you sneaking out to see Undyne too?" He asked. "I heard she's after the human that's chasing people off."

Frisk didn't appreciate this information. It inspired what she felt was reasonable concern. Undyne...did she know that name? It felt familiar.

She realized he was waiting for an answer and replied. "Yeah. I...wanted to watch."

"I know right?" He laughed. "Tough luck though. Apparently, the path got blocked by a bunch of rocks, cuz it's too dangerous. They're not letting anyone in."

The human turned, focusing on the...apparently blocked path. "That's...probably for the best."

"Pfft, it's lame as hell is what it is." He complained. "I'm going home. What a bust."

Seeing him leave felt somehow wrong, but she appreciated that he wasn't going to be in the way. She didn't want to be noticed sneaking past, after all. Her hood still up, she wandered away from this cluttered room.

Her attention fell on a shining light, that only she could see, marked on the path forward. Stepping over, she decided to |SAVE| her progress. Knowing that she was getting closer, filled her with determination.

Proceeding into the next space, it appeared to be a sort of waterfall. With flowing water rushing down from somewhere above. Rocks falling endlessly from the space, sometimes colliding against others. They had been used to form a jagged barrier in the center. Wet, and dangerous looking. Climbing that would be...far too dangerous.

Turning to look around, she noticed a platform nearby. With a crumbled piece of bridge between her, and it. The girl stepped to the edge, looking out over this weird wooden ramp. Leading to lower sections of the waterfall, and then back up to the other side. Some part of her began to wonder, was this...a jump she could make?

Hesitation clouded her desire to test this idea. It wasn't the fall, exactly, but the dark that raised her anxiety. There was nothing, nothing she could see. It was just darkness, somehow growing darker the more she stared at it. Frisk huffed in annoyance. Maybe there was another way she'd missed? She have to turn-

|Proceed|

The feeling was the same as before. A little bit of scratching in the back of her mind. An idea, that felt like it was her own, and alien to her at the same time. Attempting to convince her to jump the gap.

"It's...too far." Frisk whispered back, to nobody in-particular. "I can't."

|Proceed|

Her thoughts grew a bit dimmer. Her resolve to oppose this concept remaining, albeit shedding layers. It wasn't something she could do...the thought, it was crazy. There was no way, it just...wasn't possible.

"I can't do that." She replied, feeling the scratching in her head.

|Proceed|

She tried to resist it. She wouldn't do it. She refused. She didn't want to fall into the dark. Frisk felt terrified of the concept.

"Stop it, it's too far, I can't-" She shook, hands against her head. "do, I can't, I-I won't." It was getting so hard to think. "Don't...I-I'm afraid of-"

|Proceed|

Everything seemed to flicker for a moment. Her eyes blinking some, readjusting, as color returned to them. Her consciousness coming back to her. Had she...blacked out again?

Frisk found herself standing on the other side of the jagged rocks. Facing them, watching as new rocks fell, and perpetuated the endless cycle. Falling off into the dark.

Turning some, she noted the walkway she had been hesitant to jump onto was gone now. Or, at least the majority of it. Broken sections existed, clinging to the side of the cliff. The rest having vanished, fallen away, never to be seen again.

She'd...made it? She couldn't remember making the jump, or even having tried it. It was a blur, like static in her head. The more she tried to focus on the memory, the more her head ached. She abandoned trying to grasp for it.

When she blacked out, it was like she went on autopilot. It was like she was giving into instincts, well, clearly her own instincts. Further, when she did it just...worked out it seemed. She turned on her heel to face the path ahead. Swallowing down the feeling of anxiety, pushing it out of her mind, she decided to stay determined. Her steps echoing in the otherwise empty space, as she proceeded along.

This empty hall she was walking seemed to have a 'second floor' or rather a raised section that ran alongside it. Too tall for her to reach up to, or even bother trying to. She could however see some of what was up there. Most of it appearing to be pillars, more than anything else. Her attention turning back to the rest, in its entirety.

On the other side of things, namely to her right as she walked, instead of to her left, there was the abyss. An edge, and then, the abyss. One could even call it a cliffside view...of the abyss. Frisk was incredibly uncomfortable walking alongside it, and wished there had been a wall there instead. As she struggled not to sneak glances off, and into the dark, and each time it only made her feel more anxious.

She finally noticed something else though, tall grass. It was big, and blue, and more than that, it was very tall. The sight became her distraction as she approached it. A way of focusing on something else.

She praised the grass internally. She flirted with the grass internally. It was an incredibly welcome sight, although it proved be annoying to deal with.

Attempting to navigate it, and push through proved to be a mild pain. It was so thick, and heavy that she had to barge in through a section to actually make proper progress. Her movement only pausing with the sound of heavy metal reaching her ears. Coming, from the section above her own. Frisk felt incredible concern, for reasons she didn't understand.

Before she could move and determine the source of the sound, her soul manifested. A sensation prompting her to move back, a spear of light piercing the ground where she had stood. Looking up, she could see an armored figure looming above. Manifesting another such spear.

Frisk let out a noise of panic, and moved forward. The red spear slamming just behind her. The knight above her motioned, more appearing around their being. And then, they started flying down, one after another after her.

The girl raced onward. Weaving to the side, as several more slammed down. Her foot getting dangerously close to the edge for a moment. Pushing onwards, a spear struck before her. Reeling back, another got close, nearly punching into her jacket sleeve. The one before her fading, as she dodged, and started to flee.

But as it turned out, this was to be a very, very short-lived effort. Her feet came to a grinding halt, as she reached a stream. It was deep, wide, and more than that, it was blocking the path. She noticed some strange seed things beside it, or plants maybe. She didn't know.

Before she could figure out what they were about, spears blocked the path. Her attention turning to the armored figure above her. A spear of light in hand.

"Gotcha." The warrior spoke, in a muffled voice.

The weapon was tossed out, Frisks eyes widening as she pushed back to evade it. Her foot catching on the edge, her other left staggering, pressing down only to find nothing. Arms flailing to keep balance, before the stone crumbled and...

A sudden weightlessness overtook her, prompting a fall into the dark. The rushing light and color fading away. Replaced with it. A terror gripping her, as her eyes clenched shut. Hands moving to cover them, her jacket waving violently as she went.

Frisk was anticipating the pain, anticipating the sensation. She could try and load, but, she was paralyzed by the dark. She didn't want to look at the abyss of nothing. And it didn't matter to her anyways, loading, that was.

Frisk knew she would hit something soon. It would likely be painful, and...hopefully, it would end things quickly. The will to fight her perceived death faded, replaced by the determination to get up after she fell. And then it hit her.

Cold enveloped her, wet and rushing. The force knocking the wind from her lungs, as she sank. Consumed by the dark water, as she was swept up in the unseen waves.

Elsewhere, wet feet pattered against the dirt and stone that made up the endless field of blue grass. The hood of the purple poncho pulled up, to deal with a newfound sensation present in the place. Rain.

Water sprinkled down steadily from above. Like rain might. It was...everywhere. And sometimes she heard rocks colliding in the distance, sounding like rolling thunder.

Chara placed a hand against a blue set of mushrooms, inspiring brightness in them, were once they were dark. The illumination provided proving quite severe. And, rather needed for navigating this strange land she had fallen into.

Her tired eyes coming to view, what appeared to be the remnants of some buildings in the distance. At least, she thought they were buildings. It was hard to tell, with how dark it was down there. It could all just be rocks, she didn't know.

Wandering along the odd beaches, she continued to light the way. A sloshing sound coming to her attention, from out on the water. She tensed and stepped back. Was it some creature, or-

Her attention fell on what seemed to be a hand, and fabric. Caught on rocks. Rushing over to the edge of the water, she squinted. The girl could barely make out a shape, someone stuck against them.

"H-hey, are you okay?" She called out, a dreadful feeling in her chest. She looked around for some way to get near to them but couldn't manage to break a branch from the trees. Huffing, she went back to the edge.

She let out a breath, as her purple tinted menu shined. Her mind projecting the spell list, after a moment. There was that new spell. |Phantom Hand| it was called. Maybe...it would help? She hoped it would help, at least...she didn't really know what it did.

Chara cast |Phantom Hand|

As the spell ignited, her soul shined some. The space beside her appearing to glitch, with a purple glow. She watched it, curiously. A strange hand, with a hole punched in the center had materialized. Well...it was definitely a phantom hand.

"Hi, er, hello..Miss Hand, can-" Chara began to say, before noticing it had already begun moving out across the water. "I see you know, heh, well...uhm, good."

The strange hand hovered over the shape she could barely make out. Grasping at the edge of the cloth, pulling it from the rocks. It then began dragging, moving the shape from them, nearer, and nearer, before placing them by the shore. It was a person...some strange monster with a big puffy hood, and dark jacket. Kind of like Sans's. The hand vanishing after this, as she stepped over.

Frisk found, despite initial belief to be otherwise, she was not dead. Coughing, and spitting up water, she turned and came to face the dirt. Expelling the liquid from her lungs, while gasping for air. Eyes straining to open, as oxygen steadily returned. Stale air, that smelled like cold and darkness, but oxygen all the same.

The area was...a shoreline, somewhere. With tall blue grass, big luminous trees, and strange blue flowers. The girl groaned tiredly, trying to get up. Barely registering the sound of footsteps drawing nearer, or the feeling of rain falling against her already soaked body, chilled and cold.

"Greetings...uhm, no, I-I mean, are you okay?" A voice asked her, catching her attention. "Here, let me help you up."

Frisk found her arm being lifted up. "I...I'm alright..."

The presence got her to her feet. "You likely swallowed water...it's okay...let it out."

Almost on command, Frisk keeled over some, beginning to spew out what remained in her lungs. It was not a flattering sound, nor was it a flattering feeling. It burned, despite how cold it felt.

Yet the presence held onto her anyways, keeping her from falling back to the ground. Patting her on the back as she whimpered and cried a little. Frisk felt she could go the entire rest of her life without feeling that again, and she would be...very pleased not to.

"I'm...okay." Frisk muttered, breathing mostly normal again.

The voice spoke. "It's alright, just give a minute and uh...breath, just...let yourself breath."

"Yep...ugh, yep." Frisk glanced over to see what monster had picked her up this time. "I don't k-oh, hi." Holding her up, was a girl with purple eyes. "hey."

"Greetings...again." The girl with the purple hooded poncho said, smiling faintly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Frisk replied, trying to stand on her own two feet. "I just...water ya know?" She asked. "Heh, g-guess you could say...you took my breath away."

"Was...that a flirt?" The other human asked, looking concerned. "You must have hit your head."

Hearing this, prompted a sense of determination to grow in Frisk. A drive to not back down from what was clearly a rather sloppy flirt. She was better at this than that. So she searched for something, anything to toss out. And came across this 'gem.'

"W-well it's just-" Frisk began to stand of her own accord, trying to compose herself. "I know they say red's the color of passion, but purple's lookin pretty cute to me."

The other girl raised her brow. Looking perplexed at the attempt. Frisk yelling at herself some. That was the best she had? That? What happened to all her research? Years of being left alone in the library dating section. It had betrayed her, in her darkest hour.

Her counterpart placed a hand against her forehead. "I think you may be delusional. You do realize you're flirting with a total stranger, right?"

And there it was. Frisk was sweating a little, nervous. Thankfully, between the downpouring rain, and being soaked to the bone from nearly drowning to death, that wasn't very obvious. She couldn't even place why, but this person looked...very familiar to her. Maybe she had bumped her head?

"Right, we don't...know each other." Frisk smiled nervously, adding. "And yet, it feels like I've known you my whole life."

Interestingly, that line wasn't a lie. Though she felt it was undoubtedly one of her best lines. In truth, staring at this person...there was a sense of familiarity. Of knowing, but...she couldn't quite place it.

The other girl raised a brow, and pushed back her hood. "Oh...you are a kid...I was about to kil-" She paused, realizing. "w-wait, you're a human!?"

"Oh, yeah. Guess I am." Frisk replied, her hair covering her eyes. "So are you, right?"

"I...am, yes." The girl replied, saying. "And, before you ask it, in some terrible little flirt...my name is Chara."

The purple eyed girl offered her hand. Frisk brushed some hair from one of her eyes, to get a better look. Taking the hand, shaking it.

"Heh, they're not that bad." Frisk greeted her partner. "I'm Frisk. It's nice to meet you partner."

"Partner?" Chara asked. "Awfully chummy considering we just met."

"W-well, uh...you're helping me, and I don't know where we are. So, I guess, I just guessed that uh...guessing stuff?" Frisk smiled nervously, uncertain why she'd just called her that.

Chara frowned a little bit, looking over this other girl. They were both soaked to the bone, but one of them was definitely worst for wear. Her purple eyes noting some blood leaking from a wound on the side of Frisks head, that the other child hadn't noticed yet. Too busy gripping her stomach, from what was likely another injury.

"Here. Eat this." Chara ordered, taking a piece of Rock Candy from her pocket, thankful they hadn't fallen out.

"Why?" Frisk being handed a red one. "What is it?"

"It's something that'll heal you. Make you feel better." Chara explained. "Now eat it, please."

"Little bossy, aren't you?" Frisk replied, while eating the Rock Candy. It tasted...well, it didn't taste like licorice. She couldn't place the flavor, but...definitely not licorice.

"I'm not bossy." Chara replied. "It's better if you aren't hurt. And I needed you to eat it, is all."

A few bites, a bit of chewing, and the magic of the candy flowed into her. It took only a moment, but Frisk wound up feeling a lot better after. Albeit with a continued, less significant headache. She regretted not really having anything to offer in return, noticing Chara eating one as well.

Frisk asked about the candy. "How many of those do you have?"

"I had five." Chara replied. "I have three left now. But that's okay." She sighed. "I thought I saw some sort of buildings off that way and..." Frisk was staring at her. "why are you staring at me like that?"

Frisk was searching her mind for an answer to two things really. One, Chara looked familiar. Not just familiar, as in 'sort of like' someone you'd met. No, this was...a definite feeling. Frisk knew Chara...somehow? Had seen her before. Had to have.

Yet, it was all a blank. Just static thoughts, and scratching irritation. But there was something else she was forgetting. It was...important, but her head hurt a lot. And she couldn't quite think of it. Frisk noted she would have to try and remember soon. She didn't know what it was about, but it was important, she knew that much.

Snapping from her thoughts, Chara was staring at her. Frisk replayed the sentence she had been asked, while putting back up her hood. Managing a smile, nervous to a fault. Crap, she didn't know how to respond to that. How to convey this set of thoughts. So, she went with her instincts.

"Oh, heh. Just noting that you...have very pretty eyes." Frisk commented, thinking to herself that her instincts were garbage. "They're kinda shiny ya know, i-is what I mean?"

"Thanks?" The purple-eyed girl asked in confusion. "Do you always go around flirting with people you don't know, after you've nearly died?"

"Kinda. It's a nice hobby." The red eyed girl noted with a smile, despite swallowing hard. "It's uh...keeps things interesting. Right?"

"That sounds like a dangerous hobby." The purple eyed girl cautioned. "You...really shouldn't do that."

"If I didn't, I wouldn't have met you." Frisk winked.

"S-stop that!" Chara groaned tiredly. "This is serious."

Frisk managed to regain control of her defensive instincts. "Sorry, just...trying to lighten the mood a little. I guess."

"I...get that." Chara sighed. "Let's just focus on trying to find help, alright?"

"That's probably a smart idea, honestly." Frisk admitted, adding, looking in the direction her counterpart had pointed out.

With the newfound human on board, alongside dozens and dozens of questions lingering in the air, Chara turned to face the buildings in the distance. She hoped they were buildings. But it also left her curious. What kind of beings would dwell in this kind of dark?

Side by side, they began walking. A bit anxious at the prospects ahead of them. Rain pouring across this field of dread, and nightmares.