Author's note:
In case you clicked the link on the last email to appear in your inbox, this is the second chapter I released today for this story. Make sure you've read Chapter 13 first.
Chapter 14: Burned Bridges
Chara pressed her head against the window. The glass vibrated as the bus drove, rattling her brains and numbing her skin. It could not keep her thoughts at bay, though. Over and over, those harsh, angry words she and Frisk had thrown at each other replayed themselves.
"Chara! Where do you think you're going?" Asgore exclaimed as she crammed her things into her bags.
"Home," she answered through gritted teeth.
"Why so suddenly?! What about Kris and Frisk? Shouldn't you tell them first?"
"It doesn't matter. They're better off without me anyway."
She screwed up. She had royally screwed everything up. First that damned Undyne blew the lid on her dealings with the Spectres, then Chara took it all out on Frisk. The things she had said… There was no way that she could take them back. By now, Frisk would have told Kris and Asriel about the whole ordeal. She probably hated her.
"That is not true," Asgore tried to reason. "I understand that things may seem bad now, but I'm sure that if you go and talk with Frisk again…"
"Talking is not going to fix this," Chara snarled. It felt like she could shatter apart at any moment. She slung one bag over her shoulder and held the other under her arm. "I'm sorry, Asgore. But nothing good was ever going to come out of being here. I should have known that from the start."
"Please don't go, Chara," he pleaded. "Think about your siblings! Running off without at least saying goodbye is going to hurt them!"
'It's better than if I stay here.' Chara pushed past Asgore. He followed her down into the shop for all the good that did him. "Thanks for letting me stay, Asgore. Take care of yourself."
"Chara!" But the bell rang over the door as she left and never looked back.
The sun was setting when they pulled into to the bus station in Ebott City. By the time she reached her block, the sky was pitch black. Several streetlamps were either burned out or flickering on the cusp of death. The tyres of a car screeched in the distance as someone turned at speed. A sour stench wafted on the wind from the polluted river due north. Chara took it all in. She was home again.
What would Mew Mew say if Chara showed up at the apartment unannounced? Things between them had barely ended any better than with Frisk. Chara stood outside the building. Her thoughts spun their wheels as she stared at the door. What was she even doing back here? She was even less welcome than at the Dreemurr house. Shoving her keys back into her pocket, Chara picked up her bags and shuffled away.
"Chara?"
She stopped. Chara's breath caught. Gingerly, she turned around to see Mew Mew behind her. Mew looked stunned. Her tail curled behind her legs. Chara felt her throat turn dry when she made a flimsy attempt to say something.
"Hey…"
"You're back," Mew Mew whispered. Chara struggled to answer before Mew gave a small smile. "You should have called."
"Sorry… I was dealing with shit," Chara mumbled. "Didn't think to."
"How'd things go in Hometown?" When Chara did not respond, Mew Mew's ears drooped. "Not great, huh?"
"You could say that."
"Where the hell were you wandering off to? You just got here. Weren't you at least going to drop your things inside?"
"I… I don't… um…"
Neither of them could maintain eye contact. Chara felt that she should leave, yet her feet were rooted to the spot. If not here, then where else was she going to go? Two repelling forces crushed the life out of her.
"Hey," Mew Mew mumbled. "Do you wanna… get something to eat?"
A jukebox sang in the back of the bar. While not as glamourous as many other establishments in the classier parts of Ebott, this place had its own special charms. One was its surly, cop-hating owner who'd sympathetically shelter any Spectre who got the fuzz steamed for whatever reason. The second was that the bar served the best-damned nachos in the precinct.
Hot cheese stretched from the chip that Chara hoisted from her plate. She shovelled it through a generous amount of salsa before cramming the lot into her mouth. 'Habanero peppers, burn my troubles away.'
Across the booth, Mew Mew drank deeply from her dark ale. "So," she began, "I'm guessing it's because shit went down, but I'm going to ask anyway. Why did you come back? I thought you were pretty set on spending time with your family."
Chara prodded at her food. "My brother and sister found out what the Spectres are really about. It freaked them out, as you could expect. Frisk said things. I said things. I then decided that they were better off without me in the picture. So, here I am."
"Damn, girl…"
"Hometown's police called me in today," Chara continued. "They wanted to know about Jacko and his guys. I heard they stole a couple of cars from a dealer."
"Yeah, I know about that," Mew Mew said in a low voice. "Don't worry. Those dumbasses are hiding out until the heat dies down."
"That's all I need to know," Chara chirped, taking a swig from her beer.
"How many times have I told those morons to wear masks when on a job?!" Mew ranted. "It's like every other week that one of them gets busted!"
"Without a doubt, you and I the only ones with more than two brain cells to rub together." Chara and Mew Mew clicked their glasses to that.
"Though, the boss isn't too bad, either," Mew credited. "Speaking of, it's good timing that you're back in town. Ol' Neckrow wants the whole crew on standby."
That was unusual. "Think something big is coming?" Chara asked.
"No clue. I don't ask. If he wants me to sit on my ass for a bit, I'm more than happy to oblige." Mew Mew reclined in her seat, kicking her legs along the booth.
Chara nodded. Typical Mew Mew. "Did I miss anything else while I was gone?"
"Not really." Mew Mew finished her glass. "Life's been pretty dull without you. Sure, I've made some mischief here and there, but it all felt kind of hollow. Wasn't sure what it was exactly."
"I see," Chara muttered sullenly.
"Hey, Marvin! Can we get two more over here?!" The bartender signalled back to Mew Mew. She returned her attention to Chara. "So, anything fun happen while you were on vacation? Sure, everything went belly-up, but there's got to be something you were doing over the last few weeks."
As they received their second round, Chara spun the few stories that she had to offer. Mew laughed at a few. It felt good to joke and curse as crassly as Chara wished. Kris's family were a bunch of faithful prudes, and his mother owned a glare that could whip proper manners into the devil.
They staggered home from the bar hours later. Arm around each other's shoulders, Chara and Mew Mew cackled loud enough for their voices to echo through the empty streets. Chara couldn't remember the last time she felt this great.
"I'll say it again, Char," Mew slurred. "It's really awesome having you back."
"I know right? I've missed the hell out of this place."
"Who needs Hometown when you've got the backstreets of Ebott City to call home?"
"Nobody! That's who!"
"Scream it, girlfriend!" Mew Mew laughed. They soon reached the corner near their building. "But shit… seriously, Chara. I've really missed you. It hasn't been the same at all since you left."
Chara sighed. "I missed you too, Mew. I'm sorry I went off without telling you first. That was a dick move."
"Hey, don't worry. Just… give me a head's up next time, okay?"
"Sure." It didn't feel like enough to simply leave the matter there. "I really do feel shit about the whole thing, you know. I mean, you're my best friend, Mew. I don't know where I'd be without you."
"You could have found another way through life and gotten something better," Mew Mew shrugged. "You're a human. You've got that advantage, at least."
Chara scoffed. "To hell with humans. All the ones I've met are scum and I'm disgusted to share the same gene pool with them. I wish I was born a monster like you."
Mew Mew rolled her eyes and snorted. "You sure about that? Immortality is boring as hell if you don't have someone to share it with. Then if you do and have a kid, it's gone in a snap. You grow old and you die, even if you're a ghost. Makes you wonder what the point of it all is."
"Who'd want to live forever in a world like this?" Chara countered.
A soft smile brightened Mew Mew's face. "It's not so bad, so long as there's someone like you in it."
Something then sobered Chara in an instant. Her heart stopped as she felt Mew Mew's lips press against hers. Mew opened her eyes with a jolt and leaped away from Chara. They stared at one another in abject horror.
"Ah! Sorry about that!" Mew yelped. Her face reddened like a tomato. Swallowing sharply, she made an awkward smile as her hand scratched behind her head. "You know me. Mew Mew Kissy Cutie likes to kiss everything and everyone. Sometimes this body just has a mind of its own, you know. Haha…"
She flinched as Chara stepped forward and kissed her. Chara chose not to think. She found something that she didn't realise she wanted and simply acted. Mew Mew then relaxed. She placed her hands onto Chara's shoulders and pulled her closer. Chara's tongue glided over Mew Mew's smooth, plastic one. It tasted strongly of booze. She didn't care.
All the problems in her life melted away under Mew Mew's soft touch.
Author's note:
Well, there it is. The ship that nobody was asking for.