Been a while, huh? Had a lot of stuff going on in my life and I wasn't able to write at all. Even now, this chapter was fighting me that whole way through and I'm not really all that happy with it, but I wanted to get something out. It probably seems a bit rushed, but that's mostly because I figured that if you're reading this, then the you the backstory of the Undertale game and don't need to be given exposition on what you already know, so I jumped to the relevant stuff. That said, maybe I'll rewrite this chapter at a later date, but for now, please enjoy.

Chapter 4

Chara hadn't seen Asriel since the group of three had entered the house- no, their old "Home." Everything was as the human remembered it, right down to the yellow flowers strewn here and there to give the residence a friendlier vibe, and a stark contrast to the gloomy scenery outside. The only thing out of place was the monster sitting their opposite at the dining table, all smiles despite the constant tears staining the fur of their cheeks.

"Are you all right, my child?"

Chara barely held back a flinch at Toriel's word choice. God, the monster even sounded like their mom. "I'm, uh, fine," Chara clumsily dismissed, red eyes looking at everything but the woman. Too many emotions were churning inside the young human, so many questions begging to be blurt out, but Chara forced them all down, opting instead to fidget with their red heart locket dangling from a gold chain around their neck.

Toriel didn't look convinced by Chara's answer, but decided to move the conversation along anyway. "Are your bandages staying in place? Not too tight?" When they had first stepped indoors, the monster had applied some first aide to Chara's numerous scraps, healing them back to full Hit Points (HP).

"They're good." The answer was curt.

A couple of uncomfortable seconds passed between them before Toriel sighed. "I am sorry, young one. In my rush to bring you here, I have neglected to explain anything. You have Fallen into a foreign land and are now talking with a scary monster; it is no wonder that you are frightened."

That caught Chara's attention: it seems Toriel had mistaken their apprehension for fear. Whoops. Still, the human couldn't help but smile a bit at the goat's words because Toriel was probably the least frightening person in existence – except when dad tried to sneak an extra piece of pie. The look of panic on Asgore's face whenever he got caught never failed to get a chuckle out of the Chara.

At the memory, Chara could feel some tension leave their body and they shifted into a more relaxed pose. As if in response, Toriel eased back into their chair looking much more relieved. Chara spoke, "Then would you mind answering some questions?" Time to gather some information.

The goat monster perked up at this and a smile graced her features. "Of course not! If you have any inquiries, I will certainly answer them to the best of my abilities. Is there anything in particular you wish to know?"

Why don't you recognize me? Where's dad? Why does this place look abandoned? Why are you crying? "Are there others here besides you?"

"Ah, that's right. You Fell a bit farther into the Ruins than the others." At Chara's confused look, Toriel went into more depth. "There have been seven other humans to Fall before you, my child. Usually, the children Fell all in the same spot, in the beginning of the Ruins, before all the traps. You, however, Fell right outside my house and therefore could not have possibly met any other monsters who live down here." Well, that wasn't quite right; they didn't Fall so much as "blip back into existence," but Chara wasn't about to needlessly complicate things. Plus, there were other, more important matters to worry about.

I was the first to Fall, but apparently there have been six others? How much time has passed since Asriel and I died? They asked their next question, "You keep calling this place 'the Ruins.' Why?"

Toriel's expression darkened for a beat before they replied. "Due to… reasons, most of the monsters have moved to a new capital, New Home, that's closer to the barrier keeping us Underground. This place, the old capital, has since been known as the Ruins and Old Home."

"…" Chara could there was more to the story that Toriel wasn't disclosing. They couldn't push it without drawing suspicion though, so they shelved that topic for now. "So, there are monsters in the rest of the Ruins, but you said there were seven other humans before me; where are they?" Knowing mom, if they were around the Ruins, I definitely would have seen them by now. So if they aren't here, did they pass on from old age or…?

It was Toriel's turn to look uncomfortable. Their smile turned sad, and they couldn't meet Chara's gaze anymore. "You certainly cut right to the chase, don't you, my child. You remind me of one of the previous children." The goat monster folded her hands while taking a shaky breath. "Of course. It is only natural that you would like to know where others of your kind are…"

Chara frowned. She's stalling. The human couldn't help but notice the tears streaming down Toriel's stained cheeks increase in volume, pouring onto her perpetually damp and worn-out tunic. As the seconds ticked by, droplets started to float upwards from Toriel's soaked feet, bobbing and drifting protectively between them and around the goat's form. The heavy atmosphere started to seep in from outside, causing the human to become acutely aware of both their surroundings and the feeling of impending danger.

In the heart locket, the human could feel their soul pulse in response to the mounting amounts of magic, as if a Fight was about to start. Could this have been what Asriel was talking about? A monster's "hurt" manifested into a living form? Did that mean this topic was somehow connected to the pain Toriel was feeling? In any case, Chara wasn't quite ready for a Fight, so they quickly scrambled to change the subject. "Um, I'm feeling a bit tired," they blurt out the first thing to come to mind. "This is a lot to take in, and it's starting to get to me. Can I rest a bit?" Well, it wasn't a complete lie – this was all quite a bit for the young human to take in, and they wanted to prepare before doing anything drastic.

"W-what?" Clearly taken aback, Toriel sputtered at the topic change. "Oh! O-of course!" The monster's mood quickly shifted gears, donning a welcoming smile. "There is a spare bedroom down the hall that you can use. I was going to show you later, but if you are tired now, then I shall not keep you up. Sleep well, young one."

Chara nodded their thanks before heading down the hallway. Now where did Asriel get off to…