Frisk follows Toriel through the Ruins, pretending to be watching closely. Internally though, they try to coax Chara out of their foul mood.

'Chara, is it just because we were so close to getting Azzy to believe us?' They whisper in their mindscape.

'...maybe.'

Frisk half-smiles. 'It's okay, we also meet him at the end of the Ruins, remember? We can try again then.'

Chara sighs, feeling perhaps just a little bit better. 'Heh…What about you, Frisk? How do you feel about this plan?'

'What?'

'Y'know, we might die and all…'

'I…'

'...'

'I just-' Frisk murmurs. 'I just want everyone to be happy.'

'Typical… You need to think about yourself. How can they all be happy without you?'

'I don't- They'll be fine without me. They never needed me here anyway. I'm just messing things up.'

'Frisk, that's not-'

"Hello? … hello? My child, are you sure that you are fine?" Toriel says. Frisk jerks, realising they blanked out again. They nod mutely.

Frisk makes their way through the rest of the Ruins, reaching the point where Toriel leaves them. They welcomed the silence. It was a pleasant change from Toriel's constant fussing. Not that they disliked her; it was just became too repetitive after so many runs.

After a while, they reach the Faded Ribbon.

'If you're cuter, monsters won't hit you as hard.' Chara tells them, a hint of sadness lacing their words.

'...Chara? If you don't mind me asking….'

'Yeah?'

'...what was it like on the Surface for you?'

'...' Chara goes silent. 'Well…'

'Mm?'

'It… Asriel... He already told you...I… didn't climb Mt. Ebott for a very happy reason, right?' Chara says, slightly uncomfortably.

'Umm, yea… Chara, it's okay if you don't want to tell me.'

'N-no, it's fine, I'll have to tell you sometime anyway… haha…'

'If you're sure…'

'Well… In short… My parents weren't very nice people. My dad would almost always be drunk, and my mum was on drugs, and smoked a lot. She was always telling off Dad for drinking, but he didn't see why he should stop if she wouldn't stop taking her drugs.'

'Oh…'

'But before that… When I was smaller… My mum was nicer, and would sometimes buy me little things, like ribbons and sparkly rocks.'

'That sounds…'

'It just… wasn't very nice, and… I don't really like talking about it... ' Their mood darkens.

'Everything's okay now.' Frisk murmurs, recalling their own childhood.

'I guess…'

'But at least you met Asriel, right?'

'Mhm! It was the first time I had a… proper… family…'

They realise that they've stopped walking again. Frisk continues. Both of them walk in comfortable silence until Chara speaks.

'Hey Frisk. What's your favourite book?'

'...What?'

'You heard me. What's your favourite book?'

'Umm… I dodn't really read books.'

'You don't?!' Chara seems offended. 'How could someone not read BOOKS?!'

Frisk shrugs. 'I don't find them… interesting…' They trail off...

Chara drifts off dramatically into an imaginary sunset. 'I'm not friends with you anymore.' They say huffily.

'W-what?!'

Frisk absentmindedly buys a Spider Donut, a Cider, and moves on. They have a faint smile on their face despite what Chara said. Before they know it, they reach the Toy Knife and Toriel's house.

Oddly enough, Chara still hasn't said anything yet.

'Is not reading books that big of a deal?' They wonder as they walk towards the tree where Toriel always finds them.

'YES, IT IS A BIG DEAL.' Chara shouts. But then they giggle slightly. 'Teehee. I'm not that mad. Although, when we do get to the Surface, I'm definitely showing you some amazing books.'

Frisk nods. 'Ok!'

"Oh dear… that took longer than I thought it would…" Toriel mutters, hastily walking along the path. They wait silently, watching as she raises her phone to her ear, only to realise that they were already there.

"How did you get here, my child? Are you hurt?" She says anxiously. They mutely shake their head. "Not a scratch?! Impressive! But still… I should not have left you alone for so long. It was irresponsible of me to try and surprise you like this."

'Haha… typical Toriel…' Chara murmurs softly, thinking of… something… a long time in the past.

They enter her house, and sit on their bed in their newly designated room. Frisk brushes their gaze over everything before closing their eyes. The sleeping was always the hardest part. The first time they fell, they were so exhausted that they were asleep almost immediately.

And if they didn't sleep, they would miss the slice of pie.

'Hmmnnn…' They murmur softly just before they fall asleep.

Frisk's eyelids flicker and for a moment-

-It seems like something else is in the room-

Something dark and shadowy . . .

~o~

AN: These chapters are kinda shorter than my regular chapters. This is, um… not something I update regularly. XD