The revelation about the Caretaker was a bit of shock, in its own right. The peppy young warrior, trying to become someone great and respected. Now resided in...ruins, that were miserably hot. Seeming to be caring for monsters who had forgotten their kindness.
Tera had thought so highly of her. Believed so greatly in her. What happened to bring her here...of all places.
But this was just the first set of questions she had sought an answer to. Chara was left wondering after her revelation. Asking herself another question.
How long...had she been dead exactly? The length of time had never been certain, to her. Usually, she opted not to think about it. To push it from her mind, and ignore it as much as possible. But now...now it left her anxious.
When Tera was around, they were both children. And now, Undyne was fully grown. Bigger than her, all grown up.
Her own whisper chimed in. "W-wait, how long as she been staring at us?"
Undyne was indeed staring. Looking curious, at the girl. She searched her mind for what had been said. She hadn't been paying even an ounce of attention.
"What?" Chara asked, snapping from her thoughts.
"You kinda stopped there for a minute." Undyne commented, adding. "You okay, kid?" She smiled some. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
The girl shook off the thoughts. "I'm okay. Just uh...you reminded me of someone, for a moment." She explained. "And...hey-" She let out a breath. "about what you said. I'm sure you family misses you. I mean, c'mon, you're awesome."
The Caretakers expression was briefly a smile, then a frown, and then somewhere in-between. "Thanks kid."
The next room, wasn't a grand departure, save for a couple noticeable things. It seemed to have staircases on the sides of it, that went to lone platforms. Like big squares with rocks being the only thing she could make out on them.
Ground floor, however, had some kind of puzzle present. There were a couple of switches, and rocks. Not the most complicated in appearance.
"So, what do you do here?" Chara inquired.
"Eh, this one is, honestly pretty simple. Just about movin some rocks to the right place." Undyne reasoned. "If you want you can give it a go. I got a little lazy, so it's not exactly fatal, or anything."
The girl looked on curiously, and then started over to the first set of rocks on the ground floor. There were two there, with four buttons. The two rocks having two buttons each. One which had an X, and the other that had a Triangle.
Her own whisper suggested. "We should push them onto the X spaces."
Chara debated this. It could just as easily be the triangle ones. She decided to humor her thought however, and pushed against the rocks. Having to push against them with her shoulder. Getting them to slide over, and onto the spaces.
When that was done, nothing happened. "I have to push the ones up there, don't I?" Chara asked.
"Pfft, yeah ya do. I may have gotten lazy, but I didn't want to make it 'too simple' heh." Undyne suggested. "C'mon kid, you know you've got this."
The girl proceeded to one of the staircases. Wandering up, and on to a platform. Similar to the ones on the ground level, this rock was placed next to two switches. Glancing across the divide, she noted the other one had the same thing.
It seemed to her that there must be a hint somewhere she was missing. Looking around through the dim-light, her focus fell on the door leading out. It had a couple symbols painted across the top of it.
The pattern seemed to be an X, a Triangle, another Triangle, and an X. This was obviously the solution she needed. She noted it would have been wiser to have checked it before moving the last two rocks.
Her own whisper sighed. "Shoot."
"It's fine." She muttered back. "Not too hard to fix."
With what she believed to be the correct pattern, she pushed the one on the platform over onto an X. Headed down the stairs, pushed the other two onto triangles. And then headed up to push the last one, onto an X.
Once she did so, the door forward creaked, opening for them to progress.
"You'd make the eld-errr uhm, you did a great job." The Caretaker watched her. "Nicely done punk."
"Thanks." The girl ran back down. "How many more are there?"
"Eh, only one directly ahead. And then there aren't anymore for a little while." The woman admitted. "Yeah we uh...well this is a lot of work." She snickered. "And breaks are union mandated, so I've been enjoying that instead of fixing more up."
"Union?" The girl asked.
"You'll understand when your o-" The woman trailed. "uhm, c'mon. Next room."
The last space they came to, the last puzzle was...three doors going forward. With a single lone path leading across some hot water filled divide towards them. With spikes below, and slots on the side of the wall, that seemed like they'd shoot arrows or something at whoever tried to cross the bridge.
Chara could not help but feel like the difficulty had suddenly, and violently spiked for no real reason. This was like...a death trap one found in ancient ruins. Or semi-ancient ruins. Or the homes of people who were definitely evil and had nothing better to do than design elaborate death traps.
The Caretaker looked it all over, and then glanced back at the girl. After a second she stepped over to the nearby wall. Pushing aside some of the withered flowers that concealed something in the darkness. Pulling a hidden lever. The spikes in the water lowering, the holes in the wall sealing, and one of the doors opening.
"Oh, you didn't want me to do it?" Chara asked.
"Eh it's a little hazardous is all." Undyne reasoned. "I'm...not gonna make you run through that. I'm not...cruel...I-" She trailed a little, before starting across the bridge. "C'mon kid, I wanna show you something."
Filled with curiosity, and noting that once more the fish-lady had trailed off, she followed along. Heading through the door, briefly wondering what was behind the other ones. It would be a thought she was certain she wouldn't consider again.
Following after Undyne, they entered in a large round room.
Her own whisper commented. "That's a lot of stairs."
She was forced to agree with herself. In said room was a massive winding staircase, that rose, and rose. Light pouring down from somewhere up above. A vast contrast to the darkness of the spaces leading to it. Giving the room an otherworldly feel.
"Wow." Chara muttered. "That's uh..."
Undyne glanced, and said. "Yeah, it's...it's a lot of stairs." She withdrew her spear. "Remember how I mentioned having a hideout?"
"Mhm?" The girl replied, watching her motions curiously.
"Well-" The woman smirked. "here we are."
The spear pierced through some of the, less withered flowers that lined the wall. Turning, creating a clicking sound like a key. The result being the wall beginning to slide open. Much to the general awe, and surprise of the girl watching.
"That's not a hideout. Y-you have a whole secret base!?" Chara exclaimed. "That's so cool!" She noted, as they proceeded in. "Oh wow...that's...really cool."
The interior of this secret base wasn't specifically 'huge' or anything. But it wasn't precisely small either. It was like a bedroom, that had been made into a whole little house.
Her own whisper noted. "Don't they call those studio apartments?"
She wagered the thought was right. Returning her focus to this place. It had a large, comfortable looking couch acting as a bed, that took up a decent portion of the space. With a fridge, microwave, and small kitchen counter behind it. With a small walkway in-between them. And in front of the bed, was a little TV, with a bunch of VHS Tapes, and an old VCR.
It was also kind of cold in the room. Well, not cold per se, but colder than the rest of the ruins had been. It was like having the ac on, during a hot day.
"Welcome to my personal oasis." The caretaker said, motioning to it. "It's nice to have a place away from the outpost now and then. When you just need a break from people." She reasoned.
"You don't have to justify needing a break." The girl assured her. "It's...okay to feel tired sometimes. We all do, right?"
"I...heh. You'd be surprised how many people don't believe that. But uh...thanks for the vote of confidence kid." Undyne sighed. "The uh...this place it's...it's a little small but, hey, it's here. So, make yourself at home."
The girl complied, looking around at the various things. Before turning her focus to the fridge. She stepped closer to it, glancing back, to see she was given a thumbs up. Interested in the prospects, she opened it.
Turned out, it was a cold fridge. For some reason, she had been expecting it to be hot. But this was better.
The contents consisted of some bottle of sticky yellow soda. A container of some off-brand cold cocoa. And what seemed to be lasagna of some kind, in a little container. The girl picked up the cocoa, and the lasagna. Closing the fridge afterwards.
"Thank you." Chara commented, asking. "Are we...do you wanna watch something?"
"That sounds great...but-" Undyne considered something. "Actually...I've gotta run up ahead, kid. Ya know, talk to a few people, make sure everyone's gonna behave, that kinda thing."
"Who are we talking to?" The girl asked. "Is it...the Muffet lady, or?"
"Maybe a bit. She gets tired of me checking in, but ya know. It's kind of my job." Undyne sighed some, and crouched to be more eye-level. "But, not just that. And for the rest...well, this is just a me kinda thing. It'd be cool if you could hang out in here for a bit until I get back, maybe?"
"Are you okay?" The girl asked. "You seem nervous...it's, it's not like bad guys or anything is it?"
"Maybe a little bit." The woman sighed. "So, I need you to hang out here for a bit. It has air, thanks to magic. And uh, there's a switch by the wall. You can pull that to close the door. If...anyone comes along who isn't uh...friendly." She noted. "Which, I mean..."
"What if you don't come back for awhile?" The girl asked, feeling an odd distress.
The woman dug around in the pocket of her pants beneath the robes. "Here, I've got an idea. I confiscated this phone from someone who was playing pranks on me." She explained, checking it briefly, before holding it out. "If anything happens, or anyone shows up who isn't...ya know, me...you give it a call, and I'll come running back, okay?"
"You aren't...gonna get hurt are you?" The girl asked, feeling unnaturally anxious about all this. "Undyne I-" The feeling was like deja vu. "how do I know you aren't just going to leave me here?"
"Fifteen minutes. Alright?" The woman offered her pinky. "Pinky promise on it even." The girl hesitantly accepted it. "Then, I'll come back, and we'll just hang out and watch a show for awhile. Before continuing, okay?"
The child managed a smile. "Okay. Just...please don't just leave for long. I don't...like being alone."
The woman smiled. "No worries kid. I'll be back before you know it. Oh, and there's a remote over there if you wanna watch something. It's mostly anime, but it's pretty cool stuff."
"I like anime actually." Chara admitted. "Like Salt and Hound."
"That's niche. Heh. Just uh, stick to the stuff on the top shelf okay. If it says M, don't touch it." Undyne requested.
"Be safe, please." The girl requested.
The Caretaker let out a little sigh. "I'll do my best. See you in a couple minutes twerp." She gave a slight wave, while starting out of the room. "Oh, and the uh, that drink in the freezer isn't for kids." She noted. "It'll make you sick, so...don't drink that." She then added. "And change out the show okay. That one's meant for grownups. Got it?" She pointed. "Not responsible if you don't, and get nightmares."
Chara gave a thumbs up. The warrior woman letting out a snickering, as she continued her trek out. The girl for her part, watching her go. Feeling a little bit conflicted about it.
"I mean-" Her own whisper began. "I really doubt anything here could even be a threat, to Big Sis."
"Probably not?" She muttered back, going and plopping down on the couch. "Ow."
She forgot about the sheathed bat. Taking a second to take it off. And place it at her side, on the couch.
"Don't we need to take out the movie?" Her own whisper asked.
"We should, honestly." She reasoned.
There was a silent moment that followed. As she carefully picked up the remote, and clicked on the TV. Giggling a little at her own mischievousness. The VHS, seemingly rewound, began to play.
The girl taking a minute to sit, eat, and drink. Admittedly, she felt she should have heated up the lasagna. But it was okay cold. Not great, but okay. The cocoa at this point was just chocolate malk. Sadly it didn't take very long for her to run out of that.
The show she'd put on appeared to be the first episode of some show called 'UnderLord.' A rather violent and mature kind of show, compared to the ones she was used to watching. Though, she knew the kind it was immediately. Isekai. A genre her brother really liked.
In it, some sort of human reincarnated into a monster. And led some sort of evil empire, or something. She tried to follow along, but was too busy wondering how hard it was to draw all these things, and people.
Her own whisper let out a comment. "G-goodness...that lady is uhm...a bit impure."
The girl had gotten to some scene involving an angel lady. Apparently she had an infatuation with the protagonist. And was being rather lewd in the things she was saying to him. The girl hastily pausing the vcr.
"S-she uhm...really seems to like him." The girl commented.
Chara was left blushing hard at some of the things she heard. Feeling really embarrassed. Her mind briefly swirling with the image of the angel lady. Finding her, really, strangely pretty.
Her own whisper let out a gasp. "N-no way. She's an angel. A-and...she's not a good person."
She wasn't usually a fan of angels, as they were often creepy and bad. And her thought wasn't wrong. The lady wasn't really a good person, in fact she was kind of evil. But it didn't completely bother her. Though, she didn't quite understand why.
She wagered that was a problem for future Chara to figure out. Clicking to end the show. She would just find another.
However, no sooner had the screen turned dark, than she noticed a reflection in the TV screen. Resembling the non-human lady from the shop, standing behind the couch. Eyes meeting for a split second in the reflection.
Her own whisper panicked. "D-danger!"
The girl grabbed the bat, turned, and swung with it still in the sheath. Hitting...nothing. She looked around behind where she had been sitting. But there wasn't anyone there. Her soul shined before her all the same. The purple heart-shaped-object pumping in rhythm with the rapid beating of her heart.
The girl glanced back at the screen, but there was nothing. She looked around, and hurried over to the door. Looking out at the area. Nobody was present. She did realize, however, that she had left the door open.
"D-did you see that?" Chara asked.
"Yeah!?" Her own whisper replied. "It was that creepy lady. Right?"
"I thought...maybe?" The girl wondered if she had imagined that. "I uhm..."
"We should call Big Sis." Her own whisper suggested. "Right?"
The girl quickly fastened the sheath back onto her person. Repeatedly glancing around. Feeling a shiver down her spine. She dug the phone out of her pocket, fumbling with it.
This is where she discovered that Undyne may not have been the most thorough in her tired state. As she didn't have the number stored within it. The girl feeling her heartbeat all the faster.
Debating the next action she took, she considered sealing the room. However, she couldn't shake the idea that the stranger was still in the room somewhere. She scrambled to call any number she could think of. Hitting a bunch of keys that she hoped were the right ones.
Her own whisper noted. "We should go catch up with her. Maybe, possibly?" Her anxiety rising. "She can't be that far away, right?"
The girl got no answer. "Right, uhm, right."
She peaked around the corner, and out in the staircase area. Staying in the room, normally, may have been the safer option. But it didn't feel like it. Instead she pulled the switch, and hurried outside. Turning to watch the door close behind her. Sealing itself up, as though it was never opened.
Chara glanced around quickly, and asked. "H-hey...you uhm...can you keep an eye on uh-"
Her own whisper replied. "Yeah. I'll...watch our backs."
"Thanks." She sighed, looking at the staircase winding up.
There was only one real way to go now. And she certainly wasn't heading back the other way. At least not alone. The girl starting up the steps. Her hood back, and her senses on high alert.