Lunch time was over, and normally, Frisk would be heading to campus with Chara to receive their daily tutoring. Today, however, their tutors were taking a day off, and Alphys had no lectures to deliver at the university. As a result, they were free to do whatever they wanted when lunch was over.

All that talk about timelines disappearing and the genocidal Frisk was still making Frisk feel worried. They wanted to ask Sans and Alphys about it more, but both of them were busy working in their laboratories. It was the first time, actually, that Frisk had ever seen Sans working so hard on something. He seemed concerned for once. And, if something was bad enough to require Sans' attention, it certainly didn't spell out good news for everyone else.

"Hey, Frisk," Chara said as they got into the building elevator, "Do you want to see what's on the basement floor?"

There was that curious, yet innocent look on Chara's face that Frisk had started to associate with impending trouble.

"Both Alphys and Undyne told us to stay out of there."

"...And what happened the last time Alphys wanted to hide some place from everyone?" Chara said, their smile turning sly. "I think we could find something juicy if we take a look."

"Is 'juicy' really the right word for it?"

Chara shrugged. "It could be. Only one way to find out."

They pressed the basement floor button on the elevator menu.

"Hey!"

"What?" Chara said, turning towards Frisk. "I'm just interested. Any place that people tell you to keep out of is a place that warrants a peek, don't you think?"

"...Fine."

Despite Frisk's tendency to be on their best behaviour at all times, there was nevertheless that desire in them to explore the unknown. It was the same desire that took them up Mt. Ebott, the desire that made them leave the safety of the ruins, and the desire that took them into Alphys' True Lab.

When the elevator reached the basement floor, the doors opened up into a dimly lit room. It was full of crates and shelves containing more boxes, leaving barely enough space for them to move. An oddly earthly smell of dirt was in this room, and when they walked on the floor, the sound that came from beneath their feet was hollow. In a corner, there was a high stack of crates, surrounded by an area of the floor that was covered in dirt.

"This just looks like a storage room," Frisk said.

"Yeah, it does," Chara replied. "We should just turn back, right? Nothing suspicious in here, nope!"

The smile on Chara's face made it obvious that they were still interested.

"Why do you want to sneak around so much?" Frisk asked.

"...Hey. Haven't you been wondering about what Alphys and Sans have really been doing?" Chara began, their tone growing more serious. "This whole laboratory feels kind of secretive. Other than your friends, none of the monsters working here ever talk to us. Also, they always make us leave for campus right after noon. What do you think they do in here while we're gone?"

Chara walked towards the tall pile of crates surrounded by dirt. When they kicked some of the dirt aside, they suddenly started to stare at the floor.

"I think there's something here," they said.

Frisk walked to stand beside Chara. The crates were placed on top of a square segment of floor that had iron hinges at one of its edges. Chara cleared a bit more dirt with their shoes, and then pushed aside the crates. The crates revealed that they had been covering a trap door. Frisk's eyes grew wide.

"I knew it!" Chara said, bending down to touch the floor. "There was something hidden in here. I wonder what's below this?"

"You think it's a good idea to check it out?" Frisk asked.

Chara's smile twisted into a more serious, more determined expression. "Come on, it can't hurt. I thought you were the one that liked exploring new things, Frisk!"

"I can't believe you want to explore this place, though."

Chara slid their fingers down the tiny space around the trap door and hoisted it up, revealing a big hole below. There was a ladder leading directly down. Peeking through it, Frisk was surprised to discover that there was a fair bit of light in the room below.

"I don't buy what Sans and Alphys are telling us," Chara said, to Frisk's surprise. "I mean, maybe what they're saying is true – maybe the timelines really are disappearing, and they're worried that we might disappear, too. But, don't you think that they'd still be a bit more upfront about it? If you ask me, they're still concealing something from us. Every day, it feels like...we're being monitored, like we're part of some experiment."

It had never occurred to Frisk before to feel this way about their current situation. They were surprised, too, that Chara would be so perceptive, and so willing to step outside the bounds placed around them to attempt to discover a deeper truth. But, then again, it had been Chara back then who told them to check out Alphys' True Lab, and it had also been Chara who first climbed Mt. Ebott, and it was still Chara who had been daring enough to throw their own life away in an attempt to free all the monsters from the underground.

Chara wasn't lacking in determination at all.

"It's bright," Frisk said. "You want to go down?"

For a few seconds, Chara simply stared down into the hole.

"Now I'm really curious about what's down there," Chara said.

"Do you want to go first?"

Chara turned to face Frisk, smiling. "So, you're coming with me?"

"I'll go wherever you want to go."

"...Thanks, Frisk. You're too sweet."

Chara patted Frisk on that head, earning them a little nudge on the shoulder in response. They giggled a bit. Then, they spent another moment looking down the hole, before beginning to descend the ladder.

When Chara reached the bottom, Frisk could hardly see them. They decided to go as well.

To their bewilderment, the room at the bottom wasn't so much a room as it was actually an enormous cave, with long passages stretching out to both their left and their right. Looking down these passages, they saw further lights in the form of electric lamps that had been hung upon the wall. However, neither direction had any end in sight. The smell in the air was like that of the cave at Mount Ebott, though the air here was noticeably dustier. All their steps created loud echoes that continued for a long time.

It was also cold.

"...Okay. I admit – I wasn't expecting anything like this," Chara said. Their voice rang for a while, bouncing down the halls.

"What is this place?"

"I don't know. Looks like a bunch of tunnels." Chara made an inquisitive face, turning their eyes upward. "But, there's lights, so people have probably been going down here."

Frisk walked to stand close beside Chara. If something bad happened down here (like the lights going out) the last thing that they wanted was to become separated.

"Why do you think they'd build tunnels?" Chara asked.

"Maybe they were trying to dig for something," Frisk guessed.

"Underneath the laboratory, though?"

Frisk shook their head. "Your guess is as good as mine. Do you want to keep exploring, or should we head back up?"

Chara took a step forward. Frisk grabbed their arm, but recoiled when Chara turned and gave them a little grin. Chara raised their hand to their mouth to stifle a giggle.

"Are you scared, Frisk?"

"I'm not!"

"Then why did you just grab my arm like that?"

Frisk didn't want to explain why. It had happened by instinct.

"Here. You can take my hand," Chara said, extending their own hand out to Frisk. "I'd...ummm, rather have you walking by my side, too, to be honest."

Nodding, Frisk took Chara's hand and smiled. "Okay."

"Which way do we want to go?"

Frisk glanced down both ends of the hall. "Any way works."

"Okay. Let's go right."

A familiar sensation of venturing into the unknown dawned upon Frisk as they began walking. Unlike when they went on their journeys before, they weren't alone this time. They had Chara with them. This made them feel safer, though it didn't do much to lessen the anxious feeling of unease that they had acquired. The deeper that they went into the tunnel, the more foreboding the whole place began to feel. It was definitely like the True Lab all over again, with one major difference.

This place was much quieter.

Back in the True Lab, they had heard noises everywhere they went. Noises like shuffling, or whispering, or crawling, or low moaning. Here, the entire cave was silent. Their footsteps made the loudest noises as they walked. Only the lamps hanging upon the wall gave them any indication that people had explored this tunnel before. They didn't know whether they preferred this, or the True Lab.

Eventually, they arrived at a fork in the road. The tunnels split off into two different directions, and there were lamps hanging on the walls in both of them.

"Which way now?" Frisk asked.

"Both paths look identical," Chara replied, squinting their eyes. They spent a moment looking down both of them. "I think there's more light coming down the left tunnel."

"Let's remember where we came from," Frisk whispered nervously. They stepped down the left passage, then turned around to look back behind them.

"Right," Chara said. "So, on our way back at this intersection, we turn right."

"How deep do you think these tunnels go?"

"I don't know. Maybe they loop around in a circle."

"Why would there be so many branching paths, then?"

Chara shook their head. "Don't ask me. I'm as clueless about this place as you are."

Frisk had a feeling that, if Alphys were to find out that they had gone down here, they would end up getting into big trouble. They felt certain now that there was something in these tunnels that they probably weren't meant to see. Why else would Alphys take such measures as to hide the trapdoor entrance into the cave?

As they went down the left tunnel, the passage slowly became tighter, and the ceiling grew lower. The lamps also became more spaced out from each other, and it wasn't long before there started to be segments of the hall which were nearly completely dark. For these segments, Frisk and Chara walked closely together, holding each other's hands. Even Chara started to grow nervous, their expression becoming more and more anxious the deeper down the tunnel that they went.

Eventually, they arrived at another intersection. This time, it was a four-way junction. Chara groaned and let go of Frisk's hand to lean against the wall.

"We're in a maze," Chara said in a frustrated voice. "There can't possibly be this many split paths in a cave."

"These tunnels do seem manmade," Frisk replied.

They glanced quickly down each path. Once again, the paths stretched too far for them to be able to see if any of them came to an end. There were still lamps in each hall, but now they were in few enough quantity that the halls were, for the most part, dark.

"Should we turn back?" Frisk asked.

"I'm starting to consider it," Chara said.

Something caught the edge of Frisk's eye. They looked down the right path and noticed that, in the distance, there were stairs. The stairs seemed to be going down.

"There's stairs over there," Frisk said.

Chara seemed interested. "You want to check that out?"

"I'm sort of curious."

"Yeah. If we don't find anything, or if we get to another intersection, then we should turn back."

"Okay."

Frisk took a step down the right path. "So, on our way back, we turn left here."

"Left, and then right," Chara said.

This path was even darker than before, and also very narrow. When they reached the stairs, they were dismayed to discover that it went very far down – too far for them to even be able to see the bottom. As usual, lamps hung upon the walls. Still, it was frightening. Frisk felt the urge to turn back.

"That looks...deep," Frisk muttered.

Chara tried to put on a brave face, but their shaking hand – which Frisk was still holding – revealed their obvious fear. Still, Chara nodded.

"Come on. We've been through worse before," Chara said. "This is just a tunnel, right? It's not like there's monsters here actively trying to kill us."

"I just feel like...we're going to get into trouble," Frisk said.

Chara sighed, lowering their head and closing their eyes. "All right, fine. We can turn back, if you want."

"I didn't say that we should turn back."

"You sure look like you want to."

Frisk steeled their expression, putting on a confident smile. It was obviously fake, but they didn't want to appear weak.

"Let's just see what's at the bottom," they said.

Chara nodded. "All right."

Slowly, they began descending the stairs. The ceiling sloped down along with the floor, giving the impression that the path had obviously been constructed by someone. The passage was narrow enough that the light from the lamps on the walls actually made the descending hall very bright. However, the place was still completely silent. Frisk could hear their own heartbeat, and their breathing, along with Chara's.

The stairs seemed to go on forever.

"Seeing how far we're going, we might end up back in the underground," Chara said, laughing a little.

"...I wouldn't be surprised if that's what we actually see."

Frisk looked behind them. They could no longer see the top of the stairs.

"Ummm, Frisk?" Chara said, turning to look at them. "You know, I've been wondering. How did it...feel when you first went down into the underground?"

"Kind of like how I feel right now, I guess," Frisk answered. "To be honest, I got really scared at first when I saw Flowey talking to me."

Chara laughed quietly. "I'd also be scared by that."

"And he tried to kill me, too!" Frisk rolled their eyes. "But then, Toriel came. I was afraid of her at first, because she was so big, but...she was also really nice, and I guess she earned my trust very quickly."

"But you still left the ruins."

Frisk nodded. "Right. By that time, I was starting to think that monsters weren't so bad. A few of them attacked me, but I was always able to make them leave peacefully. I even cheered up a sad ghost!" The memory of their encounter with Napstablook made them smile. "So, I wanted to find out more about this world. I wanted to learn more about the monsters. That's why I decided to leave."

Chara scratched their head. "And...you had me with you, too."

Frisk turned their eyes away. "Yeah. I guess I started to hear your thoughts in my head around that time."

For a moment, Chara looked like they were very embarrassed. Then, they became silent.

"Chara?"

"I'm...I'm sorry about that."

Frisk put their hand on Chara's shoulder. "It's okay. I've never been mad at you."

"I know."

Another pause.

"...Frisk."

"Yeah?"

"When I first went into the underground, I...I wanted to die," Chara said in a quiet voice. "But, when I fell on the floor and I realized that I was still alive, I just couldn't take it anymore."

"I started screaming. It was so painful. My body was bleeding, and I couldn't do anything to stop it. I just wanted it to end. I wanted to die without having to feel so much pain. I hated the world for leaving me alive, for...making me suffer to the very end."

Chara stopped walking to lean against the wall. They closed their eyes and sighed.

"I thought I was so hateable, that even the universe despised me."

"Chara-"

"But then, Asriel came. He came and asked for my name. Then, he lifted me up, and brought me over to...mother, who healed my wounds. I really didn't expect that. I didn't know how to react, either."

Frisk stayed silent, listening.

"I guess...I guess I was scared, too." Chara laughed half-heartedly. "It's really strange, when I think about it. That was so long ago. So much's happened since then."

They turned to face Frisk, and smiled. "Here I am, now. I'm only a few years older than I was back then, but...things are completely different. I don't want to die anymore. I want to keep living life, and it's only b-because – i-it's only because I have you."

"...Chara," Frisk whispered, leaning towards them. "You're a good person. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. And, if you ever need comfort, I'll be here for you."

"I know, Frisk. I didn't mean to get so emotional."

"It's fine, Chara. You've been through a lot."

Chara shook their head. "Frisk. I really do love you."

That made Frisk smile. "I love you too, Chara."

Chara's eyes turned away. "Okay. Whatever. Let's just find out what's at the bottom of this place so that we can get out of this dump."

Frisk giggled. "All right."

As they descended further, Frisk became aware of a low rumbling sound in the background. It was very distant, but it seemed to be getting louder. They felt like this was the first sound that they had heard from this place (other than themselves) in ages. However, they refrained from mentioning it, wondering if it was just a trick of their own imagination.

"Is that...the subway?" Chara asked suddenly.

Frisk stopped. "What?"

"That sounds like the city subway," Chara continued. "You hear that, right?"

"You mean, the rumbling noise?"

"Yeah. Remember how the subway sounds when it's coming towards your station? It's...kind of like that."

Now that Chara had mentioned it, Frisk realized that it did sound very much like an incoming subway train.

Sometimes, when they wanted to explore the city, or when the chauffeur wasn't available to take them to campus, they would take the city subway. Chara often came along with Frisk, and Frisk was surprised that Chara recognized it faster than they did.

For no particular reason, Frisk tapped the ceiling of the hall with their fingers. The sound seemed to be coming from above them.

"We've gone below the subway," Frisk whispered.

"That means these tunnels go below the entire city."

Frisk gulped. "Maybe we should just head back."

Chara glanced behind them, and then turned back to face Frisk.

"We've been going down these stairs forever," Chara said. "Let's just go see the bottom, okay?"

The rumbling sound started to fade. Then, it became silent again.

"All right, let's just hurry."

They continued descending the stairs, quicker than before, until finally an end came in sight. Frisk realized that they must have been walking down for at least five minutes. The stairs ended at flat but rough stone floor, and the passage grew wider. Just one lamp down here provided light to illuminate the hall up ahead. Looking forward, Frisk grew disheartened when they saw yet another fork in the road.

"Okay. I've had it. Let's go back."

Chara seemed much more willing to comply this time. "You're right. This is just bizarre."

"What if Alphys discovered that we went down here?"

"We'll just explain that we were curious. Also, we'd need an explanation from her for all this."

"...Yeah, I suppose."

They started going back up the stairs. The rumbling sound came again, and then faded within a minute. It was definitely the subway.

When they finally reached the top of the stairs again, Frisk started to feel an odd sensation that...they weren't alone. They didn't know how they realized this, but it was like something was constantly moving around them. Like shadows at the edge of their vision that disappeared every time they went to look in their direction. However, when they tried to rationalize it, they realized that it didn't make any sense. There were no shadows but the ones cast by the light that came from the lamps. These shadows weren't moving, and the only ones that did were their own.

It was probably the darkness of the cave getting to them.

At the top of the stairs, they walked back to the intersection.

"So, here, we go right," Chara said. "And then-"

"Right? You mean left," Frisk interrupted.

Chara turned around, their expression apprehensive. "I thought it was right, then left."

"No, it was left, then right."

"...Are you sure, Frisk?"

"I'm absolutely certain."

Chara stared down the path to their left. "Okay. I think you're right. This way looks more familiar to me."

Frisk raised their feet and was about to take a step forward when suddenly they froze, stopping dead in their tracks.

They heard footsteps in the distance.

Chara turned to face Frisk, fear written all over their face. "What do we do?!"

"Shhh!" Frisk replied, pulling Chara on their arm. "Let's hide and see who it is."

They listened until they ascertained that the footsteps were coming from the passage directly in front of them. As quietly as possible, Frisk and Chara walked into the tunnel to their left. Then, they pressed themselves up against the wall, with Frisk closer to the edge of the tunnel. Frisk leaned their head slowly to their left to take a peek out.

Someone was heading towards them. Their shadow was appearing on the walls.

"Who is it?" Chara whispered.

Frisk didn't reply. The person was coming closer. Any moment now, and they would arrive into view.

"Frisk?"

"Shhh."

Frisk leaned out just a bit further to get a better view.

When they saw who it was, they felt the blood draining from their face.

Appearing through the darkness was a figure who was only as big as a child. The figure had long and unkempt dark brown hair, and they wore a blue sweater with purple stripes as well as dark blue pants. Their arm was raised, and clasped within their hand was a long and sharp dagger. The tip of the dagger gleamed in the light of the surrounding lamps. There was a strange smile on their face. A smile that seemed almost deranged.

"...Frisk?"

Frisk didn't know what to do. They simply stared at this figure, frozen, as they approached ever closer. The smile on the child's face was getting wider, too. Something gleamed in their eyes.

"Frisk!"

"Chara, it's...it's me," Frisk replied finally, turning their head away.

Chara looked at them as if they had gone crazy. "What?!"

"It's me!" Frisk repeated again, their voice terrified. "Chara, let's just get out of here. I don't – I don't think I want to talk to...myself."

"What did you see?"

Chara was about to peek out behind the wall as well, but Frisk stopped them.

"No," Frisk said. "Don't let them see you. Let's just run."

"Frisk. How can you be seeing yourself?"

"Just trust me!"

"...Are you serious?"

Frisk peeked out at the figure again. There they were again. A splitting image of themselves, wearing the exact same clothing that they had worn when they were journeying through the underground. The only difference was the expression on their face. The child's mouth was twisted in a smile that was absolutely...atrocious. That was the only word Frisk could think of to describe it – the smile, and their eyes, which had a depraved glare in them. Just seeing that face made Frisk shiver (as if they weren't feeling enough goosebumps from meeting their clone already).

But, there was something else, too.

It had been difficult for Frisk to pinpoint what...exactly about this figure made them so horrifying. The smile was bad, as was the dagger, and the general feeling about them, but none of that compared to what had caught Frisk's eye. After the initial shock of seeing this clone, they had lost track of what was behind the child's body. It was something that, at first, had bothered Frisk tremendously, and only now that they had gotten a second look – with the child being much closer – that they came to realize what it was.

The child had an impossibly long shadow.

Behind their back, their shadow stretched...endlessly. Not only that, but it grew larger, too. It stretched out along the walls, encompassing them, covering them entirely. There was no light behind the child. All the light that was supposed to be emitted from the lamps had disappeared. The more they stared, the more they believed that they were looking into complete darkness. The shadow behind the child was a pool of black.

"...Run," Frisk whispered again.

"I just want to get a lo-"

"No," Frisk urged.

They were barely able to get enough of a hold on themselves to be able to feel their legs again. Then, Frisk grabbed Chara's arm and started running.

They hoped with all their heart that the child hadn't seen or heard them.

They ran faster than they ever had before in their life. Not once did they look back. Chara caught on quickly, and began sprinting as well. They still seemed confused, but Frisk had no time to explain. All they needed to know was that Chara was beside them. The last thing that they wanted was to accidentally leave Chara behind with that...thing.

At the next intersection, Frisk followed their intuition and darted to their right.

"Don't stop," Frisk managed to say to Chara while running. "Just keep running."

"Why? What did you se-"

"Just keep running!"

It took them several minutes to run back to the entrance of the tunnel, where the ladder was. By then, Frisk was completely out of breath. They keeled over and grasped their knees, panting. Still, there was no time to waste. They had to get back up.

To Frisk's horror, Chara collapsed to the floor. They quickly took Chara's hand and lifted them back up, but Chara could barely stand.

"You go first," Frisk said, still panting and pointing towards the ladder.

"I can't climb right now," Chara replied. They coughed and took in several deep breaths.

"Just go! I'll support you if you fall!"

"Frisk, what did you see?"

Instead of responding, Frisk grabbed Chara around the waist and hoisted them onto the ladder. They were surprised at their own strength. However, at the moment, they were completely terrified. No matter what, they could not stay down here. They would get them and Chara back up if it was the last thing they would ever do.

"Frisk-"

"CLIMB!"

Chara took their first few steps up. When there was enough space, Frisk put themselves on the ladder as well. Both of them climbed until Chara reached the trapdoor at the top. They pushed on it, but the door remained firmly locked.

"HEY!" Chara yelled. "Open up!"

"Oh my god, it's them!" Came Alphys' voice in reply.

The door opened up, and bright white light streamed through. Chara was lifted out of the ladder by Alphys, and then she helped Frisk out. Immediately, Alphys shut the door and locked it again.

"Frisk! Chara! I'm so glad the two of you are safe!" Alphys said, hugging both of them.

At that moment, Frisk didn't know what to do or say. They felt Alphys' arms around their body, and then Chara's, but, for some reason, they couldn't move. They were completely paralyzed.

There were others in the room, too. It took a while before they registered that Undyne and Sans were also there, and they were all hugging them as well.

"...Frisk, your face is white," Alphys said at last. "Tell me. What happened down there? What did you see?"

Frisk opened their mouth. No words came out.

Their head felt dizzy. The world was spinning. They thought they would collapse at any moment.

They heard a sound like crying. They realized, as they fell to the floor, that it was Chara's voice, and they were saying something like 'it was my fault, please don't get mad at Frisk'...

And then they heard a thud, and everything went black.