"Now, I hate making promises – and this woman, I didn't even know her name. But...someone who sincerely likes bad jokes has an integrity you can't say 'no' to," Sans said, winking.

As usual, Frisk stayed quiet, preferring to listen rather than to speak. The near-constant grin on Sans' face faded, and he began to spoke in a lower, more serious tone.

"Do you get what I'm saying? That promise I made to her...you know what would have happened if she hadn't said anything?"

Frisk shook their head.

"Buddy. You'd be dead where you stand."

Something flickered across Sans' eyes. For a brief moment, the light behind his eye sockets seemed to dim, almost disappearing, so that it looked as if his pupils had vanished. Frisk felt a chill go down their back. They blinked several times, wondering if Sans meant what he was saying, or if this was just another one of his jokes. If it was, his humour had certainly taken a rather dark turn.

"Well, that's all," Sans said, white lights reappearing behind his eye sockets. "Take care of yourself, kid, 'cause someone really cares about you."

Sans placed his hands into his pockets and began to walk towards the restaurant exit. As he passed by a table, he suddenly stopped. He turned their head, glancing around at everything, as if he had sensed something strange. Frisk caught on quickly to what was happening. Sans must have sensed the presence of Chara, who was probably hiding somewhere nearby.

After a few seconds of searching, Sans turned back to face Frisk. He cracked a slight smile, shrugged, and continued on his way.

Once Sans had left, Frisk scanned the room, making sure that there were no cameras around. It was fortunate that the MTT resort's restaurant was so ridiculously expensive. If Alphys had tried to set up cameras in here, she probably would have had to make a reservation just to claim a section of the wall, or the ceiling.

As expected, Chara crawled out from under the table that Sans had stopped beside. There was an unusually frantic look on their face. It was the first time that they showed any emotion that even remotely resembled fear. They walked up to Frisk and slammed their hand down on the table.

"How could you let him say that and get away with it?" Chara said, baring their teeth. "'You'd be dead where you stand'? That was a blatant threat! I can't believe you took it like it was nothing. Did you think it was just another one of his bad jokes?"

Frisk lowered their eyes. It wasn't like that at all. They were scared, and if they had had the courage, they would have confronted Sans about it.

"They sensed me, too," Chara continued, their tone becoming enraged. "I thought he was going to attack me while I was hiding under the table. You should have struck him when you had the opportunity. Friend or not, Sans just tried to threaten you, and you can't let him get away with that. He may look strong and act tough, but I doubt he stands a chance if you attacked him by surprise."

Chara grinned. "Yeah. You could probably take him down in a single hit. If not, then I could come in to finish him off."

Frisk took a deep breath. They wanted to tell Chara that everything that they were saying was completely ridiculous.

There was no reason to start a fight with Sans, especially when they were in such a populated area, where many people would have noticed a human violently assaulting a monster. Sans was probably much stronger than he appeared, and there was no telling what he could do if he was ever antagonized. Undyne would be terribly disappointed in them after they had shown her their mercy and friendship despite her attempts to get them to fight. Even if they did somehow manage to kill Sans, they would have ended up committing the ultimate betrayal to Papyrus.

"You wasted your chance," Chara said, turning away with a disappointed sigh. "You've wasted every opportunity you've had to kill and grow stronger. You'll never defeat Asgore like this. He'll crush you, just like he did with every other human that came down to this world."

There was just the slightest hint of doubt in Chara's voice as they reached the end of their sentence.

Frisk stepped towards Chara. They couldn't stay silent and let Chara belittle them forever. They would have to say something, eventually – and, now, in such a populated area where they were so visible, there was no better opportunity. This was their chance. But, as they opened their mouth, Chara turned back towards them, putting on an ominous glare. Frisk froze, feeling their courage melting away.

No, not again. They couldn't keep letting Chara have the upper hand over them. Chara was just a kid, like themselves . There was no sense in being so scared of them.

This time, instead of succumbing, Frisk forced themselves to stare back into Chara's eyes. Slowly, but steadily, they took another deep breath. The words that had been stuck in their throat became unfrozen. They felt their voice returning again, empowering them.

"Y-you're wrong," Frisk said. The sound of their own voice, so weak and diminutive, was surprising to hear after they had stayed silent for so long ago. "You're wrong, Chara."

"What?"

"I said, you're wrong," Frisk repeated. "I'd never kill anyone. No matter how hard anyone tries to hurt me, or how badly they want to kill me, I'll never fight them. I'll always show mercy."

They could feel courage and determination welling up from within them, and they raised their voice.

"A little flower once told me, 'In this world, it's kill or be killed'. I don't believe it one bit. So, I'll never stop being a pacifist. I'll find a way to solve everything peacefully, even if it costs me my life."

Chara didn't respond.

For a while, Chara remained silent. Then, they turned away, staring at the ground. Frisk breathed in deeply again to calm themselves down. They had said everything that they wanted to say. If Chara couldn't accept it, then there was nothing more that they could do.

Nearly a minute passed, and neither of them said anything to each other.

Finally, Chara looked back up at them. The expression on their face was remarkably different than before. It was no longer so furious, so hateful. Their eyes had almost a sullenness in them now, but, at the same time, they seemed more sincere – more genuine – as if all their anger from before had merely been a mask. More than anything, they looked sad.

"Of course," Chara said at last. "Of course you'd think that way."

Frisk tried to muster up a smile. "It's worked out so far."

"But it won't last." Chara closed their eyes. "You don't know what's in store for you, Frisk. If you keep going on like this, if you keep moving forward towards the Core...eventually, you'll reach the capital, and then, you'll learn everything. Asgore will send his servants to speak to you. They'll tell you everything about this world, about what happened in the past, about why...why they're so desperate to gather the seventh and last human soul."

Chara shook their head. "Once you hear everything, you'll find out about what happened to me, too."

Frisk nodded slowly. "I understand."

"No, you don't understand. After that, you'll face Asgore, but it doesn't matter whether or not you fight them. There's someone...someone who's even more powerful than Asgore, someone who won't be willing to let you through, no matter what. Even if you find a way to settle things peacefully with Asgore, you won't be able to get past this person without fighting."

"Who is it?"

"It's...it's an old friend," Chara replied. Their voice grew nearly choked, and they lowered their head even further. "A person very much like myself."

Without saying any more, Chara turned their back to Frisk and began to walk away.

"Wait!" Frisk called out. Desperation came through in their voice, and they felt themselves becoming and sounding weak again. "Chara, who is this person? And – who are you, exactly?"

"Frisk," Chara whispered, still walking away, "I'm someone who isn't even supposed to be alive."

"Chara!"

Chara stopped for a moment. But, as they started to speak, their back remained turned against Frisk.

"You know, Frisk...the way you've done everything up to now – it's really been surprising. I thought you were weak, and a coward, for choosing not to fight. But, in a way, I can see how you're becoming stronger. You know how to make friends. Every person that you've come across has walked away with something new, something perhaps...hopeful. Maybe, in the end, they'll all come around to help you, too."

Chara tilted their head to give Frisk a sideways look.

"Before you go face Asgore, there's something else that you should do. Go back and find the people that you call your friends. See if you can get them to talk to Doctor Alphys. If it's possible...give Doctor Alphys' lab a visit."

Then, Chara continued walking towards the exit of the restaurant, before turning a corner and disappearing into the shadows.

Author's note: Thanks for all your reviews and support so far!