Hi. This, is a chapter. You should read this chapter.

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Chapter 11: Puns, Pianos, and Stories.

I was back in the void, with HER. I should've known that she would try something like this. It briefly crossed my mind, but I didn't think about it much. "What do you want Chara? I don't want to be here long." I was actually getting impatient with her.

No answer. Was she even here?

I tried calling out again, "Chara, if you're here j-just show yourself. Who else would bring me here?" I was starting to get nervous, she would've been taunting me by now.

No answer. I was about to call out again, when I felt the knife go through my chest. I looked down at the now bloodied knife, and noticed that it had narrowly missed my soul. The pain that went through me was the worst that I had ever experienced, and it made me drop to my knees. Now Chara responded, "Heya partner~! Why are you telling Sans all of your juicy secrets? Y'know, about me and the other resets?" She was not happy with me.

I was on one knee, trying to get up. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe because I need a little bit of help to stop you, y'know?" I had to say that through clenched teeth so I wouldn't cry out from the pain.

Chara had that murderous look back in her eyes, "Well that's against the rules, you can't get help from anyone. You have to take me on yourself, or else."

I couldn't get up, so I had to stay on one knee. "You never gave me a set of rules, and even if you did, I wouldn't remember them. So you can give me some rules now, but with one exception." Chara was curious about my proposition, so I needed to make up a good excuse for the next part." Sans gets to know anything that I want to tell him. It won't be interesting if he doesn't know anything, I mean, you'll get bored of him just hating me. If I tell him things about what's going on, the story will get better. Right?" It was a big risk saying this stuff, but I didn't care.

Chara seemed to be thinking before finally saying, "Ok, I'll do this one thing." A smile spread across her lips, "But I get to increase the torture, with tricks. And you can't tell anybody about it, not even Sans. I get a perk since you get a perk." She wasn't going to listen to anything else I came up with.

I considered my options, this was the best. "Ok, then we have an agreement. Now what?"

"Well, I'm being nice by doing it this way. I'm gonna show you the resets, remember? I just thought I would be a little nice this one time, instead of making you relive it in front of everyone." A grin spread across her face, "Ready, partner?"

Ten resets. That's how many she showed me before I woke up screaming. It was the middle of the night, and my screams could probably wake up everyone in Snowdin. I immediately took in my surroundings, and tried to calm myself. I didn't want to wake anyone, so I needed to calm down.

I was gasping when Sans came down. "frisk, calm down. tell me what happened, before you wake anyone else." He was sitting on the couch with me now, trying to calm me down enough so I could talk.

I was shaking badly and couldn't stop, I was still taking really deep breaths, and I was crying. It was hard to speak in my current condition, but I managed some words. "Chara... hurt me. Then showed resets... it was bad." I didn't even notice that Sans was holding me close, trying to comfort me. I buried my head in his sweater and took a deep breath. He smelled like wood, Grillby's, and ketchup. Surprisingly, it was comforting to me and made me feel better. We stayed like that for a while until I finally calmed down, and spoke. "Thanks. I should've dealt with that situation better. Sorry I woke you up, you can go back to bed now."

I got up from the couch, and went to the bathroom. I flipped the light switch, turned on the faucet, and splashed water onto my face. It was cold, and exactly what I needed right now to bring me back to my senses. I put my hands on the sink, and hung my head. How was I supposed to stand up to Chara when I couldn't even last after a couple of resets? I looked up into the mirror, the girl staring back at me looked exhausted. As a matter of fact, I also looked sick. I was pale, looked frail, and was breaking out in a cold sweat. I opened my eyes quick to see that they were pretty dull compared to their usual bright amber color.

And of course, SHE appeared. "Hey partner! Like my new trick? These types of tricks can make you sick enough to die, make you feel unbearable pain, make you insane, just stuff like that. Pretty cool, huh?"

I glared at her as best I could, "Seriously? Don't you have better things to do? You are being such a-" A wave of nausea washed over me. I felt something rising up in my throat, a bitter taste in my mouth, and a choking feeling of being sick. I rushed over to the toilet, and I hurled.

Chara was doing this on purpose. "Oh by the way, if Sans asks what's wrong, just say it was something you ate. Remember, you get a perk, and I get a perk. Buh-Bye~!" And then she was gone. Guess getting sick falls under torture with tricks. Well, it worked.

I was at the toilet for what seemed like forever, until Sans came in. He came over to the toilet with me, held my hair back, and rubbed my back. "you ok kid? you've been in here forever. are you getting sick because of the resets, or is it... y'know, her." He was a good guy, I wish I didn't have to lie to him.

I sank onto the floor holding my stomach, "Nah, just something I ate. Thanks for helping out, but seriously, go back to bed. I'll be fine on my own." I managed a small smile, hoping he would believe me.

But he didn't believe a word I said, "ok, guess we'll do this the hard way. you can either tell me the truth, or you'll have to sit through my hilarious puns and jokes. which will it be?" Seriously, was he purposely making me fall for him?

I was starting to get a little annoyed though, can't he just take the excuse? "Sans, I'll be fine. Just go up to-"

"wrong answer kid. prepare to be bombarded with puns!" he picked me up, and set me in the bathtub.

"Oh no, my only weakness... bathtubs! So, what punny puns are you going to attack with?" Now that I had something to do, I didn't feel as nauseous anymore.

"welp, there are a skele-TON of them! that was pretty humerus, right? and i know, i'm a bonehead." He was going to go all out.

I bit my lip to hold back my laughter, I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing me laugh yet. "Is that all you got?"

His usual grin got even bigger. "y'know, i don't know if i should put a little more BACKBONE in these jokes. but then again, it is TIBIA expected that i'll get lazy and not try as hard to tickle your funny bone. ok, are you up for some jokes now?" I had held back my laughter this long, I wasn't backing down. So I nodded my head in response. "ok. why are skeletons so calm?"

I took a deep breath, "Why are they so calm?"

"because nothing gets under their skin!"

Oh boy, this is going to be hard. I'm a sucker for puns and bad jokes.

"why can't skeletons play church music?"

"Why?"

"because they have no organs."

It was really hard to hold back to the laughter. I needed to get out of this, "Can I ask you some questions?"

"shoot."

My mind was blank... "Um, what's your favorite instrument?" Wrong question!

"the tromBONE, of course."

I giggled some, "Nevermind. Just, shut up." I was going to lose this battle.

"ok, i'm gonna say all of the jokes on my mind, and then the answers. ready?" We both took deep breaths. "why don't skeletons fight each other? they don't have the guts; papyrus doesn't like my hotdogs. probably cause he doesn't have the stomach for it; why are graveyards so noisy? because of all the coffin; why did the skeleton want a friend? because she was feeling bonely; what does a skeleton tile his roof with? shin-gles; what do you do if you see a skeleton running across a road? jump out of your skin and join him; everytime i hear a skeleton joke, i feel it in my bones; who was the most famous skeleton detective? sherlock bones; how do french skeletons greet each other? BONE-jour; do you give up?"

I was dying from laughter, I literally couldn't breath. "Truce, truce! *Gasp* I don't even know why *Snort* I'm laughing at your jokes!" I was just lying in a bath tub, laughing at really bad jokes and puns. What was happening to my life?

"so, ya feeling better? i mean, you're laughing pretty hard right now." he was concerned about me, he really was too sweet.

To answer his question, I got out of the bath tub and dragged him to the living room. "I'm fine. You really should get some sleep y'know." I was sitting on the couch, now petting a dog. "Hey, where did this dog come from?"

Sans sat down beside me. "dunno, it's not mine. and you need sleep too, ya look horrible." He took the dog from my lap, and put it on the floor.

"Hey, I was petting that dog!" I turned on Sans, "You want me to get some rest? Fine, but you have to stay with me. And, you have to answer any question I ask." I thought that was punishment enough.

Sans feigned terror, "oh no, questions. my only weakness, you monster!" He faced me, "do your best."

I was serious about this. I wanted to remember all of this, so I got out my voice recorder. "Ok. I'll be using my voice recorder to document this historic moment, any questions?" He shook his head. "Good, let's get started."

After about a thousand questions, me and Sans somehow ended up watching TV, playing video games, and just talking. It was now eight, and I was at Grillby's with him. "So the one question I never asked was this; Do you have to keep an eye on me forever? I mean, if I'm going to be living down here, wouldn't it be easier to trust me?"

Sans took a swig of the nearest ketchup, "i promised undyne and alphys that i'd keep an eye on you. so, what are we doing today?"

I ate some of my fries, "Can't you break you're promise? Hey, what're they doing with the jukebox?"

Sans ate some of my fries instead of his own, "i never break promises. it looks like grillby's finally replacing it with a piano. he's been talking about doing that for years, but never really did it till today. but, no one here knows how to play it."

I almost choked on my food, "Seriously? I love the piano, come on!" I grabbed Sans' hand, and ran to the piano. It was beautiful, and I was gonna play it.

"what, you have some hidden talent? go on kid, show me what ya got." He didn't know that much about me, so he was naturally curious.

I was a little nervous, but when my fingers gently went over the keys, I knew I had nothing to worry about. In no time at all, my fingers were professionally gliding over the keys, making beautiful music. I was playing Rockin Around the Christmas Tree, it was one of my favorite Christmas songs from the surface. And since it was nearing Christmas, the song seemed fitting. I was so lost in the music, that I only noticed that I was singing along when the song ended. I had looked up from the piano to see every monster at Grillby's quietly staring. I was scared that I had done something wrong, when two people started clapping, Grillby and Sans. Grillby seemed happy that I had shown my talent, and Sans looked proud and awestruck. Come to think of it, everybody had the same reaction as Sans; awestruck. Soon, everyone was clapping and asking for an encore.

I felt a light blush coming on, "Um, okay. Any requests?" They probably had some favorites too.

They didn't really care, so I just picked Christmas songs that I'd heard. Like Jingle Bells, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Carol of the Bells, and Mel's favorite, All I Want for Christmas. Some of the songs were ones that some monsters knew. I also played Merry Christmas, Kiss My Ass (Which the crowd found hysterical, especially Sans), Yule Shoot Your Eye Out, and Fools Holiday. I paused to eat some more fries at one point, then went back to playing more classic, and a few pop Christmas songs. It started feeling like this was the home that I never knew, that this is where I belonged.

I played for another hour before I had to leave. "Sorry, but I have to see my sister, I promised that I'd visit her." Before I left, I got a milkshake for Mel again, she didn't get to enjoy the other one.

Everyone at Grillby's said goodbye, and me and Sans started walking to the ruins. It wasn't long before he started asking questions, " you played really well back there. where'd ya learn how to play like that?"

"Well, I learned from a friend of mine. He taught me how to play the piano, flute, and other instruments. He also taught me some other things, but that's a different conversation." I glanced at Sans, he was trying to figure me out. "You can ask me more questions, if you want."

"thanks. so, what else did your friend teach you? why did he teach you?"

"Well, he taught me most of the things that I know today. I hadn't gone to school yet, which was bad for a girl my age. So he taught me until he enrolled me in school. He had to work a few more jobs to pay for it, but he did it. Honestly, I don't know why. I was just some girl who played the piano at a church, and he kind of took me under his wing. And, that's about it."

Sans seemed to think about this for a moment. "why didn't your parents put you in school? where were your parents at the time? why did the guy take you under his wing?"

"As I said, I don't know why he took me under his wing. He was a nice man, and he just wanted to help me out. As for my parents... they're another story for another time."

"ok. so what about mel, did she go to school? and if you spill your life story, i'll spill mine."

"No life stories are being shared. You don't need to know mine unless we get to the surface. And Mel didn't go to school because I couldn't afford it, and I didn't want to ask the janitor for anything else."

"janitor?"

"Yeah, my friend was a janitor. He was a little rude when we first met, but he got nicer over the couple of years we spent together."

"so when can i meet this guy? i wanna thank him for helping you."

I looked at Sans, he was being honest. "Um, you can't. He died a few years ago, a fatal gunshot wound is what did him in." I hung my head. Thinking about it hurt, he was a father figure to me.

Sans seemed to sense that something was wrong. "you okay? i'm sorry if that kinda rubbed salt in the wound. it sounds like he was a good guy, glad you met him."

"Me too." Sans had no idea what that janitor did for me. I looked up from the ground to see the ruins a few feet away. "Well, we're here. You should go spend some time with Papyrus. I'm gonna be here for two nights, then I'll take a day to hang out with friends, then I'll spend the third night here."

"what about when chara pays you a visit? i don't think tori will take it too well when you wake up screaming."

I winced when he said that, "I'll figure something out. I'll be fine, promise." I actually had no idea what I was gonna do, I didn't exactly tell Sans that Chara could pay a visit anytime. "Besides, I'm not as fragile as you think. I'll see you later, okay?"

"okay. but if what chara does to you gets bad, you should get me. got it?"

Was he always going to be this protective? "Got it. Bye!"

I stepped inside the ruins after waving goodbye to Sans. "I'll be fine without him, even if it gets really bad," I reassured myself.

Then I felt the all too familiar feeling of someone appearing, "Will you really be fine, partner?"

She increased the number of resets this time. Fourteen is the highest she would go for the day. I was still at the entrance of the ruins, but I was crouching with my head in between my knees. I wasn't screaming, but I was feeling really dizzy.

"Bravo partner, you didn't scream this time! Maybe you'll be able to ignore me in the future." She was sarcastically applauding me.

"Yeah, maybe." I took a few deep breaths before standing up. "So you should probably increase the number of resets, that'll make me scream for sure." I checked my phone quick to see that it was nine fifty five. I wasn't late yet.

Chara felt bored. "So when are things going to get interesting? You said-"

"I know what I said, and I don't know. Things will probably get interesting when we get to the surface. Well, when they get to the surface." I felt like Chara wasn't going to leave this time.

I was almost to the house when Chara spoke again. "So how are you going to get to the surface? Will you be able to sneak to the castle?"

"I'll have to prove that I can be left alone for an hour, maybe two if I'm lucky. And sneaking isn't an option right now."

"What about Mel, can we use her soul?"

"What the heck?! No, she's my baby sister!"

"Sheesh, it was only a suggestion."

"You're not leaving this time, are you?"

"Nope. I wanna be there for everything you say. Sometimes the connection gets disrupted, and I miss some of the things you say. When I'm with you, I don't miss a thing that you say."

"Okay, I guess I'm stuck with you. But if you're gonna stay, you have to behave. Which means no tricks or resets, but you can say anything you want."

"Seriously?! Ugh, fine. But you better make sure we get out of here soon."

"I'll try. Now try to be good, this is my family that we're visiting."

"But they can't hear me. What's the point?"

"I can here you, and I can react to the things that you say."

I went up the stairs, and went looking for Mel and Toriel. I found them both in the kitchen, pulling a butterscotch pie out of the oven.

Mel spotted me first. "Frisk, you're early! Are we going to play and make some monster friends?"

I smiled at her enthusiasm, "Of course! And maybe we can draw some pictures for mom?"

Mel gasped, "Why didn't I think of that?! Come on, we need to get started!" Mel started dragging me toward her room.

"Wait, don't you want your milkshake?" I was surprised that she hadn't noticed it yet.

Mel took the shake from my hand, and put it in the freezer. "The milkshake can wait, we're on a mission!"

Half of me was out of the kitchen when I looked to Toriel, "Um, love you mom!"

Toriel chuckled at Mel's enthusiasm, "Love you too dear. Have fun!"

I managed to wave a quick goodbye, "Will do!"

I was halfway done with my drawing when Mel finished. She had drawn the same thing as me; Toriel and Sans telling each other bad jokes, and me playing with her.

Of course, she liked mine better. "Yours is so much better than mine! It looks like it was drawn by the bestest artist in the world!"

I took her drawing and in the corner wrote, {By the bestest artist in the world: Melody} I handed her the drawing, "But yours is the awesomer one, mine just looks good because I'm older. Yours looks the best because your younger."

She made out what I wrote the best she could, "I believe you. So, when do you think you'll be done?"

I looked at my progress, so far I had Sans and Toriel laughing at stupid jokes. "I'll be done in a little bit. But right now... pie break?"

Mel took my paper and put it on the bed, "Pie break... race you!" She ran out the bedroom door.

I chased after her, "Cheater! You had a head start!"

"No, you just weren't prepared!" She called back.

She beat me to the kitchen, but I beat her to the pie. I got my slice first, and then I got her a slice. We ate our pies as quickly as possible, and went outside to get a break from the house. We introduced ourselves to any monsters we hadn't met yet, and messed around. We eventually made it to the bed of flowers where I made us some flower jewelry. We put the flowers on, and pretended that we were the princesses of nature. We pretended to be princesses until we got back to the house, it was supper time by the time we got back.

Mom dished out some type of meat with mashed potatoes, and carrots. I got me and mom some water, while Mel enjoyed the milkshake. Mom decided to start a conversation, "I hope you like living in Snowdin! How is it there?"

"It's nice there, a lot of fun when I get to play the piano at Grillby's. Do you think you and Mel could come over sometime?"

"I'm glad that you enjoy it there. And I think we can visit, as long as no one comes after you guys." Mom seemed worried about monsters who'd want to hurt us.

"Oh, no one would dream of hurting us. Everyone in the underground is my friend!" I thought to how I just left Asgore waiting. "Well, I would've liked to get to know one person."

Mel's attention was on her food and milkshake, so she wasn't paying attention to the conversation. Mom spoke again, "And who was that person dear?"

She was taking a sip of her water, "Well, I had a small conversation with Asgore when-"

Mom choked on her water, "Sweetheart, did you say... Asgore?"

I slowly put my fork down, "Yeah, King Asgore. He's a really nice guy, I don't know why you left him."

Mom rushed over to my side, "Frisk, why did you talk to that horrid man?! Never mind, I forbid you to go near him ever again. You should know better than to-"

"To what, exchange a few words with him? Mom, he didn't like killing those kids. He started hating himself when he killed the first one, and then you left, so he started hating himself even more." I was going to continue, but I noticed that Mel had gone completely still. "Um, actually, we should talk about this some other time. When Mel's not in the room."

Mom managed a small nod, and we went back to dinner. Mel filled up the silence with mindless chatter, until it was off to bed. We both said good night to mom, and went off to bed. We both got into our pajamas, and snuggled into the bed.

Mel was laying on my arm, staying close to me. "Why didn't mom want you to talk to that man?"

"It's... complicated." I chose my words carefully, but decided to tell her the story. "Asgore was mom's husband. They both had a little boy named Asriel, then they had a little girl named Chara. Chara fell down here like us, after a while, Chara got sick and... went to heaven. Asriel was really sad, and accidentally soaked up her soul. With her soul, he was able to carry her to her village on the surface, that way she would be able to see the flowers from her village. The villagers there were scared of Asriel and attacked him, when he came back home, he went to heaven too. After that, Asgore wanted to break the barrier for his children and the monsters, but the only way to do that was to take seven human souls. After he took the first, maybe second soul, mom left him."

"Why'd she leave him if he was doing it for his kids and the monsters?"

"Well, she was against sending little kids to heaven. She didn't like it, so she left. I don't know what happened after that." I actually did, but I'd tell her when she was older.

"Ok. Thanks for telling me Frisk. Goodnight, love you." Mel was really sleepy.

I was starting to get sleepy too. "Goodnight Mel, I love you too." I closed my eyes, but opened them again to say, "Goodnight Chara."

I went to sleep easily, ready to start the day tomorrow. And surprisingly, Chara wanted to start the day tomorrow too. But for a special reason.

Hey, the chapter's done. I should start planning future chapters.

Welp, see ya later!