Chapter 4

The sharp, needlelike air bit Frisk's cheeks and enveloped her in a blanket of cold. She wrapped her arms around herself instinctively as she took in her surroundings. There was white everywhere she looked.

"It's been a long time since I've seen snow." She shivered as she hugged herself tighter.

"I can't remember the last time I was here," Chara commented. The cold, it seemed, did not bother him.

Maybe, Frisk thought, he's as immune to touch as he says he is.

With no where to go but forward, Frisk continued walking. She had no idea where she was traveling, but someplace warm was a good start. Now only to hope she would not run into any Reds along the way.

Frisk and Chara walked down the only marked path in sight. Rows of pine trees and conifers lined the road and stretched as far as the eye could see. Snow fell from the top of the mountain, adding layers upon layers to the white blanket that seemed to go on forever.

A large tree limb lied on the path. Frisk tried to move it – "In case somebody else comes down this way," she told Chara when he asked why she was doing so – but it was too heavy for her to pick up. After dragging the limb halfway off the road, Frisk continued to walk forwards. She didn't make it many yards before a loud snapping sound echoed behind them.

Turning around, Frisk's heart caught in her throat at the sight of the heavy limb completely crushed into small fragments. She looked this way and that, but there was no one save her and Chara in sight.

"Do branches in the Underground break apart like that?" she asked her companion.

Chara shook his head. "Not on their own. I suggest you keep your eyes open."

A nod her only reply, Frisk turned back around and kept walking. This time it sounded as if they were being followed. Frisk snapped her head around again, but there was still no sign of anyone else. Then a dark figure emerged from the shadows.

"Run," Chara advised. Frisk didn't wait to be told a second time.

Frisk ran as fast as her long legs would carry her. The harsh air scraped against her, but she didn't stop. She had to keep running until she either found a place to hide or she lost whatever was following her.

It didn't take long before a bridge, large bars on either side, came into sight. Frisk pushed herself harder, racing to cross it, but she slipped on ice and lost her balance. Her face smacked into the icy road, her nose cracked upon impact, and she prayed her nose wouldn't start bleeding.

"Are you serious?!" Chara sounded more irritated than afraid. "Now is not the time to be the clumsy brunette, Stripes. Your life is in danger."

Part of Frisk wanted to snap at Chara that she was well aware of the danger they were in, but the rest of her wanted to get up and keep running. She began to push herself to her feet but stopped when she heard Chara make a choking noise. Looking up at him, she felt her chest explode with dread at the sight of Chara staring at something over her shoulder.

"Human," began a voice as deep as the seemingly bottomless chasm below. "Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand."

Not knowing what else to do, Frisk stood up and slowly turned. She ignored Chara as he ordered her to run. As much as her racing heart screamed at her to escape, Frisk knew that she was better off playing by this new monster's rules. Anything with a voice that scary was bound to be a true terror if she angered it.

With her eyes squeezed shut, Frisk thought it a miracle her hand found the monster's without first searching aimlessly through the chilling air. Fear consuming her every fiber, Frisk didn't take note of the thin, hard fingers that wrapped around hers. As she shook it, she remembered to give the other hand a slight squeeze .

PFFFFFTTT!

The sudden noise shocked Frisk into opening her eyes. Before her was a skeleton about as tall as she, grinning like the Cheshire Cat himself. The skeleton wore a black turtle neck, gray shorts, pink slippers, and a large, red hoodie with what looked to be light brown fur peeking out from inside the hood.

Chuckling, the newcomer let go of Frisk's hand, drew back his hood, and said, "The old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. It's always funny."

He waited for Frisk to respond, but she was so lost for words that all she could do was gape in a mixture of terror and confusion. The monster shrugged it off.

"Anyways," he continued, "you're a human, right? That's hilarious." Again, Frisk didn't reply. "I'm Sans. Sans the skeleton."

"I'm . . . Frisk," the girl finally managed to say. Tasting blood on her lip, Frisk realized her nose was indeed bleeding. Since this wasn't the time to treat an injury, all Frisk could do was plug her nose and breathe through her mouth.

"What are you doing, Stripes?" Chara asked. He moved to stand besides Sans since it appeared Frisk was not going to rip her eyes away from the monster anytime soon. "Now is not the time for pleasantries. Get out of there before a bloody nose is the last of your worries."

An answer formed on Frisk's lips, but she bit it back. She didn't want Sans to know there was another person present. Chara needed to be her secret, or at least until events demanded otherwise.

"Frisk, huh?" Sans said, entirely unaware. "I'm actually supposed to be on the watch for humans right now."

Frisk felt her spine turn to steel and her blood to ice colder than the surrounding air. A Red! Listening to Chara started to seem like the better idea.

"But . . . , y'know . . . ," Sans continued, shrugging, "I don't really care about capturing anybody."

Before Frisk could breathe a sigh of relief, Sans went on, "Now my brother, Papyrus . . . He's a human-hunting fanatic. Hey, actually," Sans looked off into the distance, "I think that's him over there."

Dread again washed over Frisk. If Sans noticed, he didn't show it.

"I have an idea. Go through this gate thingy."

"Are you joking?" Frisk tried to say, but the words were caught in her throat. If Sans didn't feel like capturing her, then he must have been okay passing the job on to his brother. As a Red, then perhaps all that mattered was getting a human soul regardless how the task got done.

Sans must have understood her strangled words, because he replied with, "Yeah, go right through. My bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone."

Without giving Frisk a chance to respond, Sans turned her around and began pushing her across the bridge. True to Sans words, the bars were more than wide enough, yet what truly caused Frisk anxiety was the tall figure in the distance that grew taller with each step forward she took. Her heart must have stopped beating.

"I told you that you should have ran," Chara said unhelpfully. "You brought this on yourself."

A snarky reply was on Frisk's tongue. It didn't matter if Sans thought she was crazy if she was going to be dead in a minute anyway, so Frisk decided to tell Chara what was on her mind. However, the words were jerked out of her when Sans came to a sudden stop.

"Quick," he said as he turned her body to the left, "behind that conveniently-placed clock."

True to San's words, there was a tall grandfather clock just sitting in the snow, next to what appeared to be a small station. The clock seemed to be just the right size for Frisk. She could hide behind it with ease, but only if she stood still. As wide as the clock was, it didn't appear much wider than her shoulders.

"What are you waiting for?" Sans pushed her forward. "Hide."

Frisk didn't wait to be told another time. With no plans to save herself in mind, Frisk rushed to stand behind the clock.

"Are you freaking serious?" Chara moved to stand next to her. "This could be a trap."

"Any better ideas?" Frisk, plugging her nose again, spoke quietly enough that she was sure Sans couldn't hear her. Chara's lack of response told Frisk all that she needed to know.

"Please keep watch," she told Chara. "Tell me what you see."

Rolling his eyes, Chara took a few steps away from the clock and watched what happened on the other side. "There's another skeleton," he said. "Much taller and skinnier than that comedian. What the . . . ? He looks like he's wearing a costume."

"What does it look like?" Frisk asked.

"Is this monster's fashion sense really that important to you?"

"I'm going to go out on a limb and theorize that the Reds wear the color on their clothing. If you don't want to describe the outfit, please at least tell me the colors of it."

Chara forced air out of his nose before answering, "Black and red."

"That's not what I wanted to hear." Frisk shivered where she stood.

"Sup, bro?" That was Sans. He sounded so casual. It was almost like an I-haven't-seen-any-humans-and-told-them-to-hide-behind-this-conveniently-placed-clock casual. The "almost" was what worried Frisk.

"You know what 'sup,' brother!" replied the second monster, Papyrus. His voice was much higher than Sans's, and whatever he wanted to talk to Sans about, he was not happy with the topic of interest. "It's been three weeks, and you still haven't recalibrated. Your. Puzzles! You just hang around outside your station! What are you even doing?!"

"Staring at this clock." Unlike his brother, who sounded like the very definition of the word "irritated," Sans seemed completely relaxed. "It's really cool. Do you wanna look?"

"Don't sell her out like that!" Chara hissed. Then, "Oh," he chuckled, "the tall one is pitching a fit now. Complete with throwing his fists around and stomping his foot. What a loser."

"NO!" Papyrus shouted. "I don't have time for that! What if a human comes through here?! I want to be ready! I will be the one! I must be the one! I will capture a human!"

"Careful, this one has it out for you," Chara told Frisk, the corners of his lips turned upwards. He wasn't necessarily smiling, but more like smirking. Whatever was happening on the other side of the clock, Chara found it amusing.

"What else is happening?" Frisk asked.

"Uh, the tall one is posing now," Chara answered. "He has one hand on his hip and the other on his chest. Wait, how's his scarf flying behind him? There's no wind!"

"Then I, the Great Papyrus," the tall skeleton continued, "will get all the things I utterly deserve! Respect. Recognition. I will finally be accepted back into the Royal Guard! No longer will the shame of the past follow me. Those who mock me now will ask. To be. My 'friend'! I will bathe in a shower of apologies and kisses every morning."

"Hmmm." Sans again. "Maybe this clock will help you."

"Sans!" Papyrus shouted.

"The tall one is pitching a fit again," Chara supplied.

"You are not helping! You lazybones! All you do is sit and boondoggle! You get lazier and lazier every day!"

"Hey, take it easy," Sans told Papyrus. "I've gotten a ton of work done today. A skele-ton."

"Oh, brother," Chara rolled his eyes.

"I thought it was pretty funny," Frisk said.

Shaking his head, all Chara replied with was, "Of course you would find it funny."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Sans!" Papyrus snapped before Chara could answer Frisk.

"Come on," Sans said. "You're smiling."

"I am and I hate it!" Papyrus shouted. He then sighed. "Why does someone as great as me have to do so much just to get some recognition?"

"Wow," Sans again, "sounds like you're really working yourself . . ." – the "wait for it" was almost audible – "to the bone."

Chara snorted in disbelief. Frisk snorted in humor. Papyrus shouted in aggravation.

"UGH! I will attend to my puzzles. As for your work? Put a little more backbone into it! Nyehehehehe!"

"He's walking away," Chara said then frowned. "Nope. He's coming back."

"Heh!"

"Now he's gone."

"Do you think it's safe to come out?" Frisk asked.

"Hmmm." Chara took a few steps forward. "The comedian is laughing to himself," he answered, "but it appears safe."

Chara's words were confirmed when Sans called out, "Okay, you can come out now."

With no hesitation, Frisk emerged from behind the clock and approached Sans. She stopped pinching her nose, and she was grateful to feel no more blood gushing out. "Thank you for hiding me," she said.

The comment must have thrown Sans off, because his body language stiffened and he leaned back just a little. He looked the human up and down before relaxing again.

"Don't mention it," he replied. "Now you oughta get going. He might come back, and if he does . . ." Sans winked, a surprising task considering he had no eyelids. "You'll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes."

"Then let's get out of here before that happens," Chara suggested. "Hearing more of those awful jokes is a fate worse than death, and I'm already dead!"

When Frisk didn't move, Chara added, "While you're still young, Stripes."

However, Frisk ignored Chara. She stood in front of Sans, wringing her fingers. Not only was she trying to find the words to say, but she was also gathering the courage to speak them.

Noticing this, Sans asked, "What's the holdup? Look, there's nothin' to be afraid of." He winked again. "It's just a dark cavern filled with skeletons and horrible monsters."

"That's the thing," Frisk answered. "It's not safe for me here. I know there are more than enough monsters who won't hesitate to kill me for my soul. Why did you hide me? Aren't you a Red?"

"Huh?" Sans looked down at his hoodie and back at Frisk. "I thought red made my eyes pop. Are you saying you don't agree?"

When Frisk didn't reply, Sans shrugged and said, "Look, kid, I'm not going to bother with anyone who isn't causing trouble. As long as you're minding your own business, I don't care what you do. Become a real pain, and I can promise that you'll be in for a bad time."

"What do you suggest I do?" Frisk asked.

"Are you insane?" Chara approached Frisk and glared at her. "Red or no, do you really think it's a clever idea to ask some random monster for safety advice?"

"What I suggest you do," Sans answered, completely oblivious to Chara staring daggers at him, "is to lie low and be seen as little as possible. I'll keep an eye socket out for ya, kid, but I won't promise to lend a hand if you get yourself into big trouble."

"Monsters dressed in blue are good for you. Monsters dressed in red will want you dead."

Remembering Madjick's rhyme, Frisk decided to ask Sans more questions until she either could think of nothing else to say or until Sans began to look irritated. Whichever came first. "So if I see monsters wearing red, make a run for it?"

Sans didn't think about it. "Pretty much."

"And if I see monsters dressed in blue?"

"Just because the Blues want something different from the Reds doesn't automatically make them your friend," Sans said. "However, you'd have better luck getting out of a fight with a Blue than you would a Red. Of course, a Blue would probably take you in to keep you from the Reds. All depends on the person."

"So if I say, for example, find a group of Blues, I can hide out with them until I'm ready to go again?"

"Shut up, Stripes," Chara ordered. Frisk ignored him.

"If that's the best plan you got, I don't see why not go for it." Sans shook his head. "Better get going. Papyrus could be back at any second if I don't start recalibrating my puzzles."

Frisk's eyes lit up, but Sans spoke again before she could say anything. "I'll be up ahead."

Instead of following Papyrus, Sans walked in the opposite direction. Frisk almost called out to him that he was going the wrong way, but she blinked, and Sans was gone. Frowning, Frisk wondered where the skeleton wandered off to.

"You are the stupidest of the stupid," Chara said, standing right in front of Frist so she couldn't look elsewhere. "Do you think just because he hid you that one time he's someone you can trust? Idiot! I sure hope that plan you gave him wasn't what you actually had in mind because he now knows exactly where to look to find you."

"Considering I have yet to meet any Blues," Frisk began, "I think he has a better idea where I can hide than I do. Now, what do you think? I don't suppose you have any ideas?"

"Sure I do, and it doesn't involve making friends with any Reds." Chara crossed his arms. "This is a kill or be killed world. You are wondering in the dark – every step you take could be forwards or backwards, and you wouldn't know the difference. For now, I say trust nobody, and get rid of your enemies any way you can."

"'Any way I can'? Chara, you aren't suggesting what I think you're suggesting."

"Kill or be killed, Stripes."

Mimicking Chara's posture, Frisk narrowed her eyes at the boy and replied, "I refuse to succumb to that level. Toriel always taught me to be kind, and I will honor that teaching. Just because I can be terrible doesn't mean I should, Chara."

"And if you should?"

"I'll refuse."

Chara laughed without humor. "Thinking like that will get you killed."

"I'm not worried about that." Frisk turned around and began to continue forwards. "Let's keep going. If we keep walking, we should find somewhere to stay sooner or later."


The journey to find a resting place did not happen sooner. By the time night fell, Frisk, having used the snow to clean to blood from her face, was too tired to continue the search. Fortunately there was no sunlight in the Underground, meaning the road she traveled would not get any darker than it already was. There was no pressure to start a fire before light faded, but she still made one, and the temperature, although already freezing, was not bound to drop any further. It was through Frisk's internal clock, well-adjusted from the years of living in the Underground, she was able to tell that outside the mountain, night had fallen.

Pulling the blanket she had stuffed inside her pack closer to her, Frisk watched the flames as they danced along to a song she could not hear. The crackle helped put her mind at ease. Heat from the fire kept her from getting too cold from her lack of motion. She leaned against the tree and took in a deep breath. It was almost nice to be there right in that moment. Only the company kept the experience from being an enjoyable one.

"No offense," Chara said, sitting directly across from her, "but you are quite boring. Is there not anything for you to speak about? No topic you wish to converse with me?"

Frisk shrugged. "I'm sorry. I'm just tired." She looked at Chara and studied his face. As usual, there was no emotion in his demeanor. Frisk suggested, "Why don't you tell me about yourself? How did you die? No, how did you come to the Underground in the first place? Toriel said that humans didn't fall often."

"They don't," Chara replied. "I was the first human to fall."

Eyes widening as her body angled forward, Frisk asked, "Really? You're the first? How did you fall? When did you fall?"

Chara answered, "I'm not so sure of the 'when' part. I lived for eight years, but everything after my death only exist in bits and pieces. Toriel never wore the locket regularly, although she did wear it often enough until she adopted you." There was no denying the anger laced in Chara's word in that last statement. "However, I am certain enough to theorize that chronologically, I am old enough to be your grandfather. Great-grandfather, perhaps."

"You must get very bored when the locket is not being worn," Frisk mumbled. "I can't imagine being surrounded by people and having no one to talk to."

"Your imagining my experience of this state wrongly," Chara replied. "First, Toriel was never one for company – you should know this already. How often did she have guests over?"

"Never, or at least not that I can recall at the top of my head."

"Second point, and this I am most grateful for, but when there is none to wear the locket, it is as if I don't exist."

Cocking her head, Frisk asked, "What do you mean by it's as if you don't exist?"

"Exactly that – as if I don't exist," Chara answered. "I'm only conscious when the locket is being worn by a being with a soul. If you were to take the locket off now, not wear it for a month, and put it back on, no time would feel to have passed for me. Of course, there is the side effect of distortion, but it truly makes no difference to me if you took off the locket for a minute or a year."

"That's . . . interesting." Frisk pulled the blanket closer to her body.

"It's also the reason Toriel probably didn't feel too guilty about not talking to me much after she took you in." Again his anger was evident. "Had I been cursed to always be aware of the world around the locket I am forever bound to, I would have gone mad decades ago."

Hardly aware of what she was doing, Frisk rose her hand and wrapped her fingers around the cool locket. It saddened her that anyone would be trapped with such a fate as Chara's. The anger and bitterness he wore had to be a product of his circumstances. Frisk wondered who Chara was before his death and how different, if at all, he acted in death than in life.

"Stop pitying me," Chara ordered after Frisk failed to reply. "I have had more than enough time to accept my fate. The last thing I need is some human to feel sorry for me."

"Sorry." Frisk, not knowing what else to say, dropped the locket. No other words came from Chara. With nothing but the crackle from the fire to break the silence, Frisk rested her eyes as she leaned her head against the tree. In a state of half-asleep, Frisk saw a star floating in front of her. She reached out, and heard the familiar beep it always made.


If she slept, it wasn't restful. She opened her eyes to find herself in the same position she had been in after she finished speaking with Chara. Only the stiffness of her muscles and the absence of Chara was her proof that she had been asleep for some time.

Her fire was low and barely burning, so Frisk kicked snow on top of it to put it out. After a minute of stretching her tight muscles, Frisk looked around for Chara. He was nowhere in sight. Frowning, Frisk began to search for him. She recalled that he could only be so far from the locket, giving her no reason to fear losing him for good, but she thought it would be polite to find him first before continuing her journey.

Frisk searched through the trees and behind every pile of snow. No sign of Chara. She furrowed her brows. Wherever Chara wandered off to, it was no place close.

Deciding to get back to searching for a town of some sorts, Frisk ventured forward. She would find Chara eventually. Or he would find her. Either way, it would only be a matter of time before their paths would be reunited.

Sure enough, she had walked for no more than five minutes before she found Chara standing still in front of what appeared to be a sentry station. It was similar enough to San's for her to know what it was, but it clearly was someone else's. Someone who would not be likely to spare her. Frisk felt her heart rate increase.

"Where you here this whole time?" Frisk asked in a whisper. She didn't see anyone save Chara around, but she didn't plan on risking her voice carrying to somebody who could be nearby.

"Not really," Chara answered, his voice normal volume. He shrugged. "After you fell asleep, I thought I would journey ahead. Of course I couldn't go far, but I knew you were awake because I noticed that I was able to go farther and farther."

Frisk rose an eyebrow. "You knew I was coming, yet you continued moving forwards anyway?"

"I was scouting ahead, looking for danger. What? That's good enough to get a 'thank you' from your majesty, isn't it?"

"Fine. Thank you. Now did you find anything?"

Nodding his head toward the station, Chara said, "Just this."

"Anyone behind it?"

"Do you really think I took the time to lean over this pathetic, ugly station just to see if someone was behind it?" Chara wrinkled his nose. "I have no need to do such a thing."

"Well, Chara, I would like to know if we're alone or not." Frisk put her hands on her hips. "I'm the only one who can see you, so it would be safer for you to check than it would be for me."

Rolling his eyes, Chara said, "In case you have forgotten, Stripes, I am your guide. All I'm supposed to do is get you out of here. Anything else is not in my job description."

With a slight shake of her head, Frisk decided that it would be better to not argue. She could check herself, but that was not a risk she wanted to take. Instead she walked as quietly as possible past the sentry station. Blood rushed through her ears, her heart louder than any drum she had ever heard. There was probably nothing to fear, but Frisk would have rather been safe than sorry.

"Did something move? Was it my imagination?"

Frisk froze mid step. Those words did not come from Chara's mouth. The speaker was one whose voice Frisk did not recognize.

"I can only see moving things."

Riddoch syndrome. Frisk remembered learning about ocular affections in one of Toriel's health science books. Choking back on the scream that rose up at the realization, Frisk forced her stiff muscles pumped with blood like ice water to remain as still as possible. As bad idea it was to remain only a yard away from an enemy, running would be a worse one given the circumstances.

"If something was moving," the voice continued, "for example, a human . . . I'll make sure it never moves again."

Against her better judgement, Frisk rotated her head slightly. She had to keep from dropping her jaw.

A dog! The last time Frisk had seen a dog, she lived on the surface. To see a dog now – even an anthropomorphic one – was a bigger surprise than if the monster had been the most ridiculous thing she had ever seen.

The dog had white fur and a bushy tail. He wore leopard print pants, a pink tank top, a black mask, and a red scarf around his throat. Wielding twin blades, the dog emerged from behind his post and sniffed the air.

"Who's there?!" he barked.

Remaining practically motionless, Frisk looked to Chara for help. He could move and talk all he wanted: if anyone was able to find a way out of this situation, it was him. However, Chara seemed uninterested in helping.

"Maybe if you play fetch with him, he will leave you alone," Chara suggested, and the smirk on his face told Frisk that Chara understood his advice was unhelpful.

She furrowed her brows and pulled the corners of her lips downwards, using her facial expressions to communicate with Chara. Replying in the same way, Chara narrowed his eyes and pinched his brows together. Desperation growing by the second, Frisk allowed her panic to show.

The dog still sniffed the air. His sense of smell, which was supposed to be better than his eyesight even if it were not afflicted, seemed to be of no use to him. There was no denying the dog was aware he was not alone, but he could neither identify the new scent or tell from which direction it came.

"Where are you?" he asked, his voice just above a growl. Frisk wondered if the dog really was expecting someone to wave and answer, "I'm over here!"

Finally, after what felt like a long time of mental debate, Chara answered, "Throw something from your pack, and while the dog is distracted, make a run for it in the opposite direction."

It wasn't the best advice, but it was all Frisk had. Moving slowly, Frisk stuck a hand into her pack and felt around for something that not only she could live without but also could be thrown pretty far. She wrapped her fingers around one of the cans of food she took from Toriel's pantry before she left. As much as Frisk didn't want to lose any food on this journey of unknown length, the food would be of no use to her if she was dead.

Now moving quickly, Frisk threw the can with all her might. She froze as soon as the can left her grasp. All there was to do now was hope the dog would fall for it.

The trick worked. Frisk's movement caught the dog's attention, but his focus remained on the can as it soared across the sky. Now was the time to run.

Wasting no time, Frisk burst into a sprint and hoped to get as far away as possible before the dog could notice her. If he did, she would have to stop moving again. Frisk hoped that would not be the case. Certainly throwing a can across the way would not work a second time.

It didn't feel like too long when the dog called out, "There you are!"

Frisk looked over her shoulder just in time to see two blue blades hurling towards her. They were long and thin, and they were coming in fast. Dodging them seemed unlikely.

"I have seen this type of magic before!" Chara said as he ran beside Frisk. "Blue attacks won't hurt you as long as you keep moving."

All Frisk could do to reply was nod in understanding as she kept pushing her legs to carry her forward. The dog seemed to have no interest in chasing her; he was content in letting his weapons fly towards the human. It could have been her imagination, but Frisk thought she heard the dog say, "You won't be moving for much longer, human."

Whether the words were truly spoken or not, they acted as a prophecy for Frisk. She cried out when an excruciating pain sliced through her midsection, and she gagged on the blood that rushed up her throat and out her mouth. One second she was upright and running, and the next she lied in the snow. Inside her was no desire to inspect the pain that began in her stomach and spread throughout her body. Frisk already knew the blades had pierced right through her.

"Oops, silly me." Chara stood over her, a wide smirk growing upon his twisted face. "I think I may have gotten that backwards. Blue attacks are useless when you remain completely still. They can only cause damage to moving things."

"You . . . lied to me." Each word came out as a raspy gurgle. Tears, both of pain and betrayal, stung Frisk's eyes and ran hot down her face. She could see red – her blood – stretching out to stain the snow.

Chara knelt and looked Frisk in the eye. His smile didn't falter. "Did you really think I was going to help you escape? Did you really think I, the one who was left to be forgotten after you entered the picture, was to be trusted? You really are stupider than you look, Stripes. I was only pretending to help. The whole time I was truly just waiting for an opportunity to get rid of you, and here we are. Why, this actually happened faster than I was expecting."

Whatever Frisk was supposed to feel at this, it was clouded out by her pain and the darkening world around her. She knew death was coming. Soon she would be dead, and Chara would get what he wanted. It was enough to put a smile on Frisk's face. Chara's smirk fell and was replaced by a screwed up demeanor. Had Frisk possessed the energy in her quickly failing body, she would have forced out a humorless laugh.

"What's wrong with you?" Chara asked. "You look a little too happy to die."

"I told you I have a secret," was all Frisk answered.

"I don't see how having a secret helps you out of this situation," Chara said, his confusion not fading.

As she submerged into the inky abyss, Frisk used her last breath to whisper, "See you soon." Her last conscious thought was that she wished she could have seen the look on Chara's face when he heard her utter those haunting words.