Peter and Chara lay back, still giddy after the success of the performance. After a few moments, however, Peter got up to explore.

"There's nothing really around here." Chara said, slightly annoyed. "C'mon, we should get going."

Peter was caught up in exploration. Down one corridor was a piano. He messed around with this for a bit, then went down the other corridor with Chara floating after him.

As Peter got back on track, it began to rain. The sound of felt harsh and cold. A few droplets were all that came, at first, until the two came upon a statue under a patch of light from the Overworld. Rain spattered on it, and it clearly had sat here for some time. It looked... sad.

"What are you doing?" Chara asked, impatient. "It's just a statue."

Peter continued to stare. "For some reason I can't figure out... It feels the same as this whole place feels. Sad. Alone. Hopeless..."

"It's a wet statue." Chara tapped her foot on air.

Peter had a thought. Taking the umbrella he had, he extended it, and carefully placed it over the statue. It was a perfect fit.

"Really?" Chara asked. She opened her mouth to comment further, when a strange thing occurred.

Inside the stature, a music box, which had been rendered unable to play by the rain, began to sound forth. The melody it brought was haunting and melancholy, filled with the joy of youth and the sadness of death.

Chara heard it and recognized it's song, and then recognized the monster the statue portrayed. Her eyes seemed to fill with memories of a time long ago, as they began to water with unbidden tears. How could they? She was dead. A ghost. A nobody. Why would tears come?

Peter looked over and noticed she was crying. Silently. As the tears dripped down her face, they dissipated. As the sobs left her throat, they we choked back by her voice. "Char? Hey, what's up?"

"He really did die, didn't he." She whispered through the sobs. "He died... and it was... my fault. " Angrily she wiped at the tears. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm crying. I'm not a baby, only babies cry..." Her train of thought was broken as she collapsed to the ground, unable to hold herself together any more.

Peter, shocked and saddened, realized he could feel a part of her emotions. Whatever connection they had went both ways, because he saw a tiny drop of an ocean of tears, felt the sting of a lifetime's worth of regret, held back a mountain of rage directed at humanity, but moreso at...

Herself.

Wishing he could interact with more than just words. Peter sat cross-legged next to her and let her cry out her pain and regret and hurt. He had no idea why she was feeling it, but he could feel how she did, and did not press. After a time, Chara felt as though she had cried all she could.

"... has it ever occurred to you," Chara whispered, voice hoarse and shaky, "In some deep recesses of your mind, that you must be one of the worst people on the planet?"

Peter sat back a bit, but he had the feeling her question was not aimed towards him. "Sometimes. On the bad days. When I mess up, and people die, or get hurt. My friends, my family... It's why at home, I usually wear a mask. That way... Nobody gets hurt because of my mistakes."

Chara looked at him in surprise. "... you do understand. I would never have thought it."

Peter leaned his back against the wall. "What happened to you? I'm no Sherlock or Dr. Strange, but I have the feeling all this... stuff you're feeling is connected to the guy whose statue this is."

Chara sniffed and leaned back to. "You're right, you know. I am a human. Or was. I lived in a village, I don't know how long ago. But it was horrible." She gritted her teeth. "It's how I know that, no matter how nice they seem, humanity is a cruel, heartless, evil species."

Peter nodded. "That's true. I've seen many people over the years, and our hearts hold a great darkness-"

"Some more than others." Chara spoke bitterly. "I... I wanted to wish it all away, so I climbed MT. Ebott. No one who climbs the mountain ever comes back, you know. But... I tripped, and I fell down here. I would have died, had it not been for him."

She sniffed again and gestured towards the statue, letting her gaze linger on it. "Asriel. He was the most sweet, most kind, most amazing person I had ever met. And he wasn't even a person, he was a monster! He helped me to his house, and his family took me in..."

That's when it clicked for Peter. "The horns on the statue... Toriel really was your mom, wasn't she."

"She was the closest I ever had." Chara nodded. "And I was happy. But I knew, deep down, that I was some kind of monster myself. That's what the people of the village had said. I have the red eyes to prove it."

Peter shrugged. "IDK, I've seen some eye colors over the years. Yours are no where near the "red of evil.""

"Regardless. But I knew the sadness of monsterkind, that they longed to be free. So with the help of Asriel, I launched a plan to free them. I let myself die, so he could absorb my SOUL and cross the barrier. He was scared. I shouldn't have gone through with it, I wouldn't have if I knew..."

"So... that's how you died?" Peter asked tentatively.

Chara nodded. "Yes. I poisoned myself. No quick out for me. But what we did... What I wanted to do... Asriel was too kind. He was better than me. And he payed the price. He died because of my actions. I killed the sweetest SOUL to ever inhabit this world. And to top it off? I had killed myself along with him."

She punched the wall. Nothing happened, but she didn't care. "It was selfish. It was so very, VERY selfish! I didn't face the consequences, I didn't live with what I had done, no, I killed my best friend in the whole world, and then I DIED. I. DIED. I wasn't brave enough to do anything myself, I had to drag him in. And I killed him. And I was dead."

Peter gave a small start. "So... when you called yourself a demon back at Papyrus'... It's because-"

"That's what I am." Chara spat. "A demon child with eyes red as blood and a knife sharp as starlight. A terrible being bringing harm to others and herself no matter where I go. A cold-blooded killer."

"That's... that's a lot to unpack."

"And then I woke up, and I was HAPPY. I was happy to be alive. Can you believe that?" She buried her face into her knees. "But then I realized you were a human. I hated you so much. But then I found out you're kind, like Asriel, and I hated myself more. In times of excitement, I can forget, but I always need to move on, because in the silence of the rain..."

She looked at the statue. "I remember."

They sat a while, in silence and rain, as the music box chimed on.

"You know..." Peter took a deep breath. "I've died before."

"Really?"

He nodded. "Last year... well, six years ago, a really bad person managed to kill half of all life in the universe. Including me. Then, I got brought back. But during the battle that ensued, my best friend and mentor... my father figure, really, he sacrificed himself to make sure we all stayed alive." Peter stared at the wall. "For a long time, I felt guilty. If I had just fought harder, tried harder, been... better. Then he wouldn't have died."

Chara looked at him, confused. "You mean... you don't feel that way anymore."

Peter shrugged. "It still comes, in times like this... But I realized something. Even if it was my mistake, he would want me to do better next time. To be better. So that, when I get knocked down, to always get back up."

"To stay determined." Chara spoke softly.

"Yeah." Peter hovered his hand over the outline of her shoulder. "I think it's true, you've done some terrible things. But others made choices too. And if stay in this funk, and don't try to do better... then it was all for naught, and you'll make the same mistake again."

Chara looked unconvinced.

"Char, listen. You're still a child." Peter shrugged. "I still am too. We make mistakes. And sometimes... those mistakes cost. A lot. But a wise man once told me that with great power comes great responsibility. And part of that responsibility means admitting your mistakes, and striving to do better. To be better."

He stopped a moment. "And, for the record, you didn't let me finish. There's a darkness in the heart of humanity... but also a capacity for great light. You just need to look outside yourself and the people around you."

"... to what?"

"The One Above All?" Peter suggested. "Thor told me about Him. A bit, at least. I'm not sure myself."

They sat in silence for some more, til Chara leaned her head against Peter's shoulder. He couldn't feel her, but she leaned there regardless. "Thank you." She whispered.

Peter sat up as an idea occurred to him. "Hey, what if we played Asriel's song on the piano! It must be there for a reason."

Chara sat up, wiped her eyes, and nodded. "That sounds... it sounds like a good idea."

They walked over to the piano, and Chara taught him how to play the song. "It was one of his favorite tunes." She explained as he played the tune. "Every monster has a favorite song, I think. Sometimes, when you FIGHT them, you can hear it faintly."

"Huh." Peter said as a nearby passage opened. "That's interesting." He walked into the passage, silence deafening.

Chara's eyes opened wide as they looked at an orb on a pedestal in the middle of the room.

"Oh my." She gasped. "I... I think that's a legendary artifact."

"What?" Peter went to pick it up, but found he could not. "Odd."

Chara looked confused. "It says you can only pick it up if you don't have a dog in your pocket."

Peter looked, and sure enough, for some reason, that dog from Papyrus' house was in his pocket.

"What?" Peter carefully pulled it out and put it on the floor.

Suddenly, it sprang to life, vibrating uncontrollably as a funky tune began to play. It was the same song from when Peter had fought Greater Dog. It seemed very... ridiculous. Chara and Peter watched in shocked amazement as it flew to the artifact, absorbed it, and flew away through a wall.

They turned, looked at each other, then back at where the artifact had been. They both then burst out laughing.