The room was dark, but Chara still knew whose it was. The stench of alcohol wafting through the doorway. No, please. Not here. Not here again. Unfortunately, that's not how the world works. There was the unmistakable sound of clumsy footsteps as the door burst open. Light filled the room, spilling over decaying carpet and half eaten blankets. It touched Chara's skin, no longer milky pale from years underground, but black and blue from previous nights. Chara couldn't believe it, they were back here. Back in this hell-hole.
"Demon child, what kind of kid sits in the dark, jus staring at the door!" a voice slurred and in stumbled a broom-stick of a woman. She was tall and skinny, covered in a loud blue and yellow dress with big green pearls. Her hair was wiry and stuck out in all directions like it was attempting to escape from her head. She stumbled forward and grabbed Chara by the neck.
"The devil sent you to me to test my faith, did he not?!" she snarled in a voice dripping with venom, eyes as dark as the dead of night.
"I-I'm not a demon!" Chara choked out, voice trembling and dying in a way that was all too childish, but then again that's all Chara was. A child. A child with glowing red eyes, a child who was the spawn of satan himself. At least that's what all the other humans said.
"Don't lie to me child!" the woman roared and shook Chara, squeezing their neck tighter. Chara choked and clawed at their neck.
"Sh-Shut u-up!" they coughed out and wriggled as their vision swam with black dots.
"Demon!" the woman snarled and smashed Chara against the wall, "Demon!" the woman repeated and again they made contact with the wall. The process continued until the world went black.
Chara sat bolt upright, sweat pouring from their brow. Heart racing a million miles an hour.
"C-Chara?" a voice whispered and the teen whipped around at the speed of sound, there stood Asriel, just as they remembered him. Soft white fur, big oaken eyes, gentle features, hole through his chest.
"Asriel!" Chara shouted and ran to him, but found their feet stuck to the ground, they looked down only to find themselves buried knee deep in a thick red liquid. Asriel stood a few feet away, already crumbling into the red froth.
"Wh-Why?" he asked as he crumbled, "Why did you let this happen?!" he shouted as his face began to crumble.
"Asriel!" Chara shouted and tried to launch themselves forward, fear pounding through them, but the red liquid held them, now up to their waist.
"Why did you let me die?!" he whispered as he was left nothing more than dust.
"No!" Chara shouted too last did they realize they should've held their breath, the red liquid was rising, and it rose to bury Chara in it. Rose to drown Chara in their own blood.
"Chara! Chara!" a voice whispered urgently in the soldier's ear and they sat up at the speed of light, smacking their skull right into that of Frisk.
"Ow," They muttered rubbing their forehead, "What the heck were you doing leaning over me like that?!" Chara barked and glared at the younger human. Frisk looked worried.
"You were crying in your sleep, a-and then you started screaming, a-and… and then you stopped breathing.." Frisk stuttered out, sounding just as shaken up as Chara felt, but they weren't about to let some kid see past their armor. They huffed.
"I'm fine," they growled and tried to stand, but their legs only shook and gave out again, Frisk was there in a flash, and setting them back down in the bed, like they were a small child. How this kid was strong enough to carry a teen who was so much taller than themselves puzzled Chara, or maybe they were just trying not to think about the nightmare. Asriel. Chara felt an involuntary tear slip down their cheek and rushed to wipe it, praying Frisk hadn't seen it.
"You most definitely are not fine," Frisk muttered and placed a hand on their forehead.
"Hey!" Chara protested, but almost immediately froze when Frisk touched their forehead. Frisk's hand was like ice, and it chilled Chara to the bone just from the short contact. Frisk's eyebrows did their disappearing act into the child's bangs.
"You're burning up, must be an infection," they muttered and ran out the tent flap before Chara could even ask what the heck an infection was. Frisk came charging back in not a full minute later, holding a bucket and rag. They set the bucket down next to Chara's cot and placed the rag on their head. It was so cold it stung against Chara's skin. They hissed and batted the rag away, but Frisk just put it back.
"What the hell are you doing?! Trying to freeze me to death?!" Chara complained and Frisk shook their head.
"You have a fever, I'm trying to keep it from getting too high and causing brain damage," they muttered and Chara just gave the medic a weird look.
"Temperature can cause brain damage?" Chara asked and Frisk blinked.
"Yeah, if your head gets too hot it can cause brain cells to disintegrate," they said, sounding as if they were confused.
"Oh, also, what the heck in an infection?" Chara asked and Frisk just stared at them for a solid thirty seconds.
"You know almost nothing about human anatomy, do you?" they asked and Chara shook their head.
"Not a clue." they answered and Frisk chuckled lightly.
"Well, put simply an infection is when bad stuff gets in your wounds, it can make you very sick," they explained, and Chara got the impression they were resisting the urge to burst out laughing, and they glared at the kid.
"Don't act like I'm an idiot, it's not my fault that I was raised by monsters who know even less about human anatomy than I do. I had to explain to them what the heck blood was, and they think it's weird that humans have a red 'life liquid' that must be kept in them at all times," Chara burst out, and Frisk couldn't hold back their laughter anymore.
"Life liquid?" they choked out between laughs, and Chara glared.
"Yes, 'life liquid'" they growled and Frisk swallowed another round of laughter.
"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh," they whispered and wiped a tear from their eye, "I-It's just. How much do you know about human anatomy?" they asked and Chara's face flushed, not just from the fever.
"Thrdgrdscnnnsecss" they mumbled and Frisk blinked.
"What?" they asked and Chara's face turned a brighter shade of red.
"Third-grade science class!" they burst and Frisk stared at them, er, faced them for a moment, appearing stunned.
"How old were you when you fell into the underground?" they asked and Chara huffed.
"Nine, did you think I was joking?" they mumbled, and maybe it was the fever making them feel dizzy, or maybe it was the look of sheer empathy, not pity, but understanding on Frisk's face; Chara felt their guard slipping down.
"I thought you were exaggerating," Frisk mumbled and placed a hand on Chara's cheek, their hand still felt like ice on Chara's skin, but they flinched less this time.
"Your fever is getting worse, you should try and rest," they advised, and the thought of more nightmares was enough to ensure that Chara would be awake all night.
"No way, I am not having any more of those nightmares," they meant to whisper to themselves, but Frisk heard and frowned.
"Trust me, I get nightmares too, but you still have to sleep, or your fever will just get worse." they tried to reassure, and Chara huffed.
"Your 'nightmares' are nothing like mine, that I can assure you," they snarled in the medic's face, but again was struck with the realization that Frisk didn't even flinch.
"Are they? Tell me Chara, do you ever dream of the whole world chanting you are a demon? Do you dream of those who you need support from destroying you? Do you dream of tearing yourself apart from the inside out? Do you dream of ending it all for yourself?" they asked and Chara stared at the child. That sounded hauntingly similar to their dreams, so much so they felt themselves inching backward on the cot.
"How did you get all of that from me saying I had nightmares, and a little crying in my sleep?" they asked, and the Medic's face darkened.
"I didn't, that's what I dream of," they whispered and tucked Chara in. "Rest,"