Chapter 9: The Long Day
I feel bad for bringing this up to him, but I have to tell someone. Thought Undyne as she approached Asgore's house. It was a medium sized house, about the same size as Toriel's but not as big as his palace in the underground. Undyne knocked on the door and Asgore soon answered.
"Howdy Undyne, what brings you here?" Asked Asgore cheerfully.
"Hi Asgore, there's something I need to tell you about." Replied Undyne nervously.
"Would you like to come in for some tea?" Asked Asgore when he heard the hesitation in Undyne's voice.
"Yeah… sure." Agreed Undyne. When the two monsters entered Asgore's house, they sat down in the living room and Asgore handed Undyne a cup of tea.
"Alright Undyne, what seems to be troubling you?" Asked Asgore.
Undyne sighed because she knew he would figure out she had a problem before she could tell him. "Asgore… have you ever done something bad for the right reason and got nothing but regret in return?" Asked Undyne.
"You do remember my whole 'kill all humans' policy, right?" Replied Asgore.
"Oh… right." Replied Undyne before she explained to Asgore what had happened, with Papyrus's car accident, the weird dreams about Chara people had been having, and what happened when they opened Chara's casket. "-and that's pretty much it." Concluded Undyne.
Asgore sat in silence for a minute, not sure how to respond. Then he walked over to Undyne and pulled her into a tight embrace. Undyne quickly returned the hug and began to apologize, before Asgore interrupted by saying. "Undyne, while I'm not happy about what you did, I know you did it for the right reason. But I must confess, I also had a rather strange dream recently." Said Asgore as he released Undyne from his hug, then returned to his chair. "I dreamed that my son, Asriel, was crying about a monster that was hurting Chara, and a few minutes later a demon, wearing Chara's clothes approached me in my throne room. I tried to reason with it, but it raised a golden knife up to attack me. However, before it could I was suddenly attacked from behind, but moments before I died, I heard Asriel, begging for Chara to help him. I don't know what's causing these dreams, but it can't be coincidental. Have you told Tori?"
"Not yet, but me and Sans are planning to get everyone who's been having weird dreams together to tell Toriel tomorrow." Replied Undyne, when suddenly she received a text from Alphys talking about a weird dream. "And apparently that includes Alphys now."
Frisk walked back over to the bar and sat down next to Sans. "Heya kiddo, did ya have fun today?" Asked Sans.
"Yeah, it was great." Replied Frisk
"Alright then… So, why don't we talk about what's been going on with you lately?" Suggested Sans.
Frisk opened her mouth to speak but was quickly interrupted by Chara. "Tell him, and he'll be dead before you even know I took control."
"What are you talking about? I'm fine." Replied Frisk to Sans.
"Kid, I'm not in a very humorous mood, so don't fib-ula." Remarked Sans with a serious look on his face. Frisk flinched, then looked down at her hands. Sans sighed, then said "Look, I'm sorry, but kid… weird things have been happening, Papyrus's brakes being cut, you yelling at him… It's all left me a little rattled. If something is going on with you kid, I want to help. I know better than most what it's like to suffer in silence."
"Sans… I-" Frisk was cut off when Grillby walked back over and asked what she wanted to drink.
"Chocolate milk!" Requested Chara enthusiastically.
Frisk then had a brilliant idea and smirked. "I'll have a glass of chocolate milk." Said Frisk, making Grillby nod and move to go get it.
"Chocolate milk? Kid, since when do you drink that?" Asked Sans.
"What? Would you say it's out of-" Started Frisk.
"Don't you dare." Warned Chara.
"Chara-cter?" Finished Frisk.
"Huh? If that was a pun, I'm going to need some context." Said Sans as Grillby walked back over to the bar and handed Frisk a glass of chocolate milk.
"Don't worry Sans, I'm not putting on a Chara-de. It was just a reference to the book we read in mom's class. I think it might have something to do with how I've been acting recently." Explained Frisk.
"Wait, what book were you reading in Tori's class?" Asked Sans, trying to keep up with Frisk's train of thought.
"That's not what matters." Said Frisk. "What matters is, I really Chara-bout you."
"This is you're final warning." Said Chara.
"And I'm sorry that I yelled at Papyrus, but I'm going to be fine, trust me." Concluded Frisk.
"That's real nice of you to say, but it also sounds like you're implying something." Replied Sans. "When I said don't suffer in silence that wasn't exactly what I meant."
"You're one of the two smartest people I know Sans. If I were implying something, I'm sure you could figure it out." Replied Frisk.
"Kid…" Started Sans.
"Let's change the subject." Said Frisk as she tapped her fingers on her now empty glass of chocolate milk. "I've always wondered, how do skeletons eat anyway? You don't have stomachs."
Looks like that's all I'm going to get out of her for now. Thought Sans. "Well, you know how your soul breaks down any food you eat in an instant, and that's why it recovers your HP so fast? The entire skeleton body works that way. As soon as we eat it, the food gets broken down into pure energy and is stored for when we need it." Explained Sans.
After saying his goodbyes to Alphys, Papyrus began his long walk back to Snowdin town from the surface. However, while Papyrus was crossing through the center of town, he heard a familiar voice call out to him. "Howdy." Called Flowey the flower. Papyrus turned his head and spotted Flowey in the large flower patch that decorated the center of Ebott town. "It's me, your best friend. Flowey the flower."
"FLOWEY? WOWIE, I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU SINCE WE LEFT THE UNDERGROUND." Replied Papyrus. "WAIT A MOMENT… YOU'RE NOT PLANNING ON ATTACKING ME AGAIN, ARE YOU?"
"Hehe, No, nothing like that." Replied Flowey. "Golly, I'm real sorry about that by the way. I was going through something rough at the time, but luckily your friend Frisk helped me through it."
"WELL, I'M GLAD TO HEAR YOU'RE DOING BETTER NOW. BUT WHAT BRINGS YOU TO THE SURFACE?" Asked Papyrus.
"Oh, well I got tired of taking care of the flowers back in the underground. So, now I'm moving from flower garden to flower garden here on the surface." Explained Flowey. "That being said, there's something I want to talk to you about."
"OF COURSE, WHAT IS IT?" Asked Papyrus.
"Yesterday, I saw you and Frisk fighting in the forest." Explained Flowey. "I could tell Frisk wasn't herself, and I'm sure you could too, but have you told anyone else about what happened?"
"OH… WELL, NO. FRISK ASKED ME NOT TO MENTION IT TO ANYONE." Replied Papyrus.
"I see." Said Flowey. "The reason I asked is because, golly, it seemed like that other human needed some help. If you think you're up to the task, could you find a way to bring her out again? I'm sure it would really help her."
"I'M SORRY TO DISAPPOINT YOU FLOWEY." Said Papyrus. "BUT IT'S FRISK'S JOB TO HELP THE OTHER HUMAN NOW, AND I'M SURE SHE'LL DO A GREAT JOB."
Flowey internally groaned then said, "Well if you're sure she'll be ok, then that's good enough for me."
"I'M GLAD, NOW IF YOU'LL EXCUSE ME, I HAVE A LONG WALK AHEAD OF ME." Said Papyrus as he waved goodbye and began walking back towards Mt. Ebott.
"See ya later Papyrus." Cheered Flowey, That idiot. If I could just get Frisk to turn into Chara for a few seconds, I'm sure I could get her to reset… I wonder, if I can't convince her to change, maybe I could force her? Wondered Flowey as he began to smirk deviously.
Sans and Frisk sat at the bar in Grillby's, both laughing hysterically. "Ok, now I've got one." Said Frisk. "What do you get when you freeze a volcano?"
"I dunno, what?" Asked Sans.
"A snow-cone." Replied Frisk, making Sans burst out in laughter.
"Hehe, hey Grillby, how about another bottle of ketchup?" Requested Sans.
"I think you've had enough for one day." Replied Grillby. "It's getting late, you still have to take Frisk home, and frankly you both look exhausted."
Sans and Frisk exchanged a quick look and saw they were both slightly disheveled, and they had fairly dark bags under their eyes from how little they had been sleeping. "We look awesome." Replied Sans. "But you do have a point, I wouldn't want Tori to wine about me showing up completely drunked-on. So, let's head home kiddo. Come on, I know a short cut."
"Hi mom, we're back." Said Frisk as she and Sans entered Toriel's house.
"Greetings my child." Said Toriel as she bent down and hugged Frisk. "Now it's getting late my child, why don't you go get ready for bed." Instructed Toriel. Frisk nodded then walked upstairs to her room. "I'm sorry you didn't win Sans." Apologized Toriel.
"Oh, it's fine Tori. It'll take more than that to rattle me." Joked Sans.
Toriel chuckled and said, "Well I'm glad it hasn't dampened your spirits, but I'm still not sure how I feel about Frisk going on a date with that robot."
"I'm sure she'll be fine." Said Sans. "Mettaton would have to be nuts to try anything on her."
"Alright… Sans, do you have any plans for the evening?" Asked Toriel shyly.
"Actually, I was planning on going to talk with Alphys. Why do you ask?" Asked Sans.
"Um… no reason, I was just curious." Replied Toriel, slightly disappointed. Sans picked up on the disappointed tone but decided not to press it any further.
"Tori, before I go, I figure I should tell you… Me, Undyne, and Papyrus have something we need to talk to you about tomorrow." Said Sans. "Until then, do me a favor and be on the lookout for anything strange."
"Alright, I'll keep that in mind." Replied Toriel.
"Well, I'll see ya later." Said Sans before he used a shortcut to exit.
Frisk stood in her room getting ready for bed, when suddenly she felt a chill down her spine. Chara had done this often enough now for Frisk to know what was coming next. Chara, now in a ghostly form, stepped out of Frisk's body and began to walk around the room. "Hey Chara, still mad about what I said to Sans?" Asked Frisk.
"I don't get it." Said Chara as she turned to face Frisk. "Why do you trust that lousy comedian so much? During the genocide run he even killed you thirty-seven times. You should be afraid of him!"
"Lousy comedian? You mean Sans?" Asked Frisk.
"Of course… who else could I have been talking about?" Asked Chara.
"Sorry, it's just… well, I really like Sans. How could I not trust him?" Responded Frisk.
"Really? You like him? That's it?" Questioned Chara.
"S-so what!? You have a big crush on Asriel!" Retorted Frisk, making Chara blush violently.
"W-what!? T-that's different! Azzy would never hurt me. He's kind, peaceful, he cares about me more than anyone else, and I care about him too. So, over time we just started to love each other, got it?" Explained Chara nervously.
"Hehehe, Yeah, I got it." Replied Frisk with a giggle. "I trust Sans as much as you trust Asriel. I know Sans wouldn't hurt me unless I really deserved it, like I did in the genocide run."
"Fine… but if the comedian tries anything, I'm going to use a true reset. Got it?" Asked Chara.
"Alright, but that won't help you much." Pointed out Frisk.
"We'll see." Said Chara as she placed a hand on Frisk's shoulder and re-entered her body.
"Hey Chara, what is it you're after now anyway?" Asked Frisk.
"The same thing I've always been after." Explained Chara cryptically.
Alphys finally made it home from the hospital and was sitting on her couch, about to start watching anime, when suddenly Sans appeared next to her. "Heya Alphys." Greeted Sans.
"AAAHHH!" Screamed Alphys as she fell over. "Sans, will you stop doing that!?" Requested Alphys.
"Probably not." Replied Sans.
"Well, what do you want?" Asked Alphys.
"Actually Alphys… I just had the strangest talk with Frisk, and I hoped I could get your help." Explained Sans. Sans quickly began to explain everything that happened during his talk with Frisk at Grillby's. "At first I couldn't make sense of any of it, but I then I remembered the way she emphasized the word 'two' when she said I was one of the two smartest people she knew, and I figured she was telling me to ask you to help me figure this out." Concluded Sans.
"Well, that's certainly a lot to take in… but was there anything else she did that was out of the ordinary?" Asked Alphys.
"Now that I think about it, yeah. When we finished talking about that, her glass of chocolate milk was empty, but I don't think she ever took a sip." Said Sans. "Then she asked about how skeletons were able to eat, but I think she already knew the answer."
"I see… 'out of Chara-cter' 'Chara-de', those would imply she isn't herself, but she said 'Chara' was a reference to the book they read in Toriel's class, and that book doesn't contain the word 'Chara' at all." Said Alphys.
"Hmm, I think I may have an idea of what 'Chara' is supposed to mean, but what book was she reading in Tori's class anyway?" Asked Sans.
"Well, I thought she would have told you." Said Alphys. "The last book the students read in Toriel's class was 'The Soul Eater of Ebott' it's one of my favorite books that isn't a manga. It's an old tragic love story about a demon and an angle who fall in love despite all odds. They were actually reading it because it's the story that inspired the rumor that those who climbed Mt. Ebott would never return." Explained Alphys. "I actually have a copy here we can read." When Alphys finished she went over to her crowded bookshelf and pulled out a book with the title 'The Soul Eater of Ebott'.
"Alright, I guess it's worth a shot." Said Sans. "After all, it sounds like a novel idea."
"Really? A book pun?" Asked Alphys as she opened the book to the first page.
"What? Didn't it tickle your spine?" Joked Sans. Alphys sighed and began to read.