The long, silent elevator ride was almost unbearable.
Chara couldn't find the words to say, though. Soon they'd come face-to-face with the missing half of their family. Who couldn't even see them. They were bracing themself for heartbreak, but there was no amount of preparation for this. They still weren't even sure if they wanted Frisk to tell them they were here.
Frisk decided, as the elevator came to a halt, that now was the best time to ask what had happened back there with Undyne. They shook their head, wanting to banish the thought of it from their mind. "I... I lost my temper. That's all. I ended up following her back home because... I was worried since she stopped chasing you, you might be..." Their voice shook a moment, but they sighed. "I don't want you to get hurt, Frisk."
Frisk held up their phone, which only said, "I don't want you to be hurt, either." Chara reminded the living child they were a ghost, and would probably be fine.
Probably.
To say nothing of the emotions they were feeling.
They stepped off the elevator, into the grey, empty hallway. Frisk stopped at a dead end to save before moving into... an empty, quiet city. "That elevator would take us directly to the throne room, but..." Chara hesitated, looking in the other direction. "My house... it's that way." And down the empty streets they went, in silence...
Until they found it.
New Home.
While Frisk hesitated outside, Chara ran in immediately, looking at the familiar interior. It looked... exactly like New Home, to be honest. But the color was gone, the only thing standing out a vase of... golden flowers on the other side of the room. Their eyes widened as they rushed over to look at it, wondering... where had them gotten these? Was it from the Ruins? Had Mom given them to them before abandoning them?
Frisk walked inside and looked around, looking deep in thought, as Chara moved to go look at the note by the stairs. Why was it blocked off? "We... we have to go find the keys. C'mon, hurry!" That said, they turned to run down the hall, leaving Frisk to follow slowly behind.
Inside their room – it looked untouched. Very clean. But just the same as they'd left it... "Ri?" they called out, despite the fact he wouldn't be able to hear them, before noticing on the ground... two boxes. As Frisk entered, they turned to say, "Hey, can you see what's in those?"
Frisk immediately shook their head.
"Wha? What's wrong?" The living child passed them, picking up one box despite their denial, and went to sit on the bed with it in their lap. They stared at the box as Chara rushed over to them, asking, "Frisk, why are you being weird? C'mon, the sooner we're done looking around the sooner we'll see Dad and Ri! They're... they're downstairs in the throne room together! I know it!"
But Frisk shook their head again, holding the box close to them. They looked... sad. They looked scared. They weren't sure what to think. And neither was Chara. "Do you... do you know what's in the box?" Another shake of their head. "Then what is it?"
They pulled out their phone, typing only, "This is what I was sensing."
"So? Open it!"
More typing. Slowly, too slowly, it was driving Chara insane. They didn't need Frisk to go with them, in the end. They could go and see their family on their own. But they wanted Frisk to be there, and so... they would wait. Though they weren't sure how long they could.
"Now that I'm beside it, it feels so sad. So mournful, like a hurt child."
This description... scared Chara, too. What exactly was inside the box? They couldn't really feel anything coming from it, but... should they open it? Yet despite the description, their fears, their denials, Frisk finally without prompting began to open the box. And inside... was an old friend.
A heart-shaped locket.
Their fears immediately melted away, and without thinking they reached to snatch it from Frisk's hands. To both of their surprise, it worked, but neither could dwell on it – Chara hardly reading the definite "Best Friends Forever" on it – before Frisk's soul, without warning, came out of their body.
Chara, locket in hand, collapsed onto their knees without warning.
And two faded, ghostly monsters appeared in the room with them, beginning to speak just as Frisk rushed to move to Chara's side, trying to figure out what had happened.
"A long time ago, a human fell into the ruins," one spoke. Chara's eyes were wide and... empty. Their tight grip on the locket began to freeze it shut. "Injured by its fall, the human called out for help." The monsters changed formed, into different monsters, but continued to speak. "Asriel, the king's son, heard the human's call. He brought the human back to the castle."
A whisper barely escaped Chara, a broken, shaking, "As...ri...el...?"
"Over time, Asriel and the human became like siblings. The King and Queen treated the human child as their own. The underground was full of hope."
And they began to cough, arms moving to cover their face, crumpling further to the ground in supposed agony. Frisk tried to get their attention, but nothing worked. They could only listen.
"Then... one day... the human became very ill."
The longer they coughed, the more Frisk noticed... beneath them, the yellow petals. Tainted with red.
"The sick human had only one request. To see the flowers from their village. But there was nothing we could do."
Their coughing slowed to a halt. Their whole body shook.
"The next day... the next day..."
It became dead silent for a moment, one horrible moment.
"The human died.
"Asriel, wracked with grief, absorbed the human's soul. He transformed into a being with incredible power. With the human soul, Asriel crossed through the barrier. He carried the human's body into the sunset. Back to the village of the humans."
And finally, more coherent words, choked sobs escaped from Chara. "Don't go... don't go... don't leave me..."
"Asriel reached the center of the village. There, he found a bed of golden flowers. He carried the human onto it."
"Don't go to that place, Ri..."
"Suddenly, screams rang out. The villagers saw Asriel holding the human's body. They thought that he had killed the child."
"Leave them... we don't need them, we..."
"The humans attacked with everything they had."
"We can still go home..."
"He was struck with blow after blow."
"We can still be happy..."
"Asriel had the power to destroy them all."
"But I... that wasn't... what I..."
"But... Asriel did not fight back. Clutching the human... Asriel smiled, and walked away.
"Wounded, Asriel stumbled home. He entered the castle and collapsed."
They were silent. They slowly looked up, eyes still empty, vacant. Still clutching the locket, eyes wet with tears. Even when Frisk moved in front of them, they did not respond, looking right through them.
"His dust spread across the garden."
And all their fears were realized.
"The kingdom fell into despair. The King and Queen had lost two children in one night. The humans had once again taken everything from us. The king decided it was time to end our suffering. Every human who falls down here must die. With enough souls, we can shatter the barrier forever.
"It's not long now. King Asgore will let us go. King Asgore will give us hope. King Asgore will save us all.
"You should be smiling, too.
"Aren't you excited?
"Aren't you happy?"
Without warning, the ground beneath Chara started to crumble. The room around the children began to collapse, revealing not the house supposedly around them but instead a familiar black abyss. Static engulfed the nearby, unopened box. Frisk looked around desperately, not having a clue as to what was going on, barely able to hear the monsters' final words as white noise engulfed the area, causing them to cover their ears.
"You're going to be free."
