Sans teleported into Grillby's, a little annoyed at himself. His younger brother had run off when he was busy talking with Lionheart, and Sans couldn't find him anywhere. Gaster hadn't seen him, nor did anybody in New Home. The older skeleton had expected Papyrus to run through the lower Hotland neighbourhoods but evidently he'd taken the shortcut through the Core. How many times had he told him not to take shortcuts through their father's invention? It was dangerous in there, power surges and smoke and toxins hung in the air like the poisonous gases they were. Papyrus could be dumb sometimes.
Sans had looked all over the lab for him, but found that the small skeleton wasn't hiding in even his best hiding spots. There was no skeletons in the closet to find. The blue skeleton had even gone down into the True Lab to ask Gaster about it, but even if Papyrus had been there the Royal Scientist wouldn't've seen him. He was too focused on making tweaks to the Determination Extraction Machine to even notice anybody going about him. But even if Papyrus was here, which he mostly likely wasn't, he wasn't there anymore.
Next Sans tried to get into Undyne's neighbourhood, but was welcomed by a fire of ectoplasm by two very angry-looking ghosts. They screeched, shrieked and screamed so loudly they blew out Sans' inexistent eardrums. He tried teleporting to the front of Undyne's door, but even that seemed impossible. The ghost cousins had gone into a rage, infuriated by something, or someone.
Sans knew what had happened. Both of the ghosts had gone unstable. It was quite easy for a soul to go unstable, though his own soul kept its stable status always.
When a soul went unstable, the monster or human's power became amplified. It sounded like a good thing, and it would be if it wasn't for the other detail of unstable souls. Those souls... they lost all feeling of morality and if extremely unstable they could even forget who they are. Gaster's soul had gone unstable once or twice, but that was just on the brink. The ghost cousins were furious, and by that logic, unstable.
There was nothing Sans could do for them now. They were together, and they would return back to stableness once they've calmed down.
Just what had infuriated them so much to cause them to loose themselves this way?
And Snowdin was swept away by a blizzard, making it all the more difficult for Sans to look for Papyrus. He'd have to wait out the storm if he wanted to search the one place where Papyrus would most likely be.
So instead Sans decided to wait out the coldness in his favourite place in the winter town. Grillby's Diner.
But what he didn't expect was the sight of the golden-maned Royal Guard Captain to be sitting at the front counter, deep in thought while he absent-mindedly chowed down the jumbo burger. Why was he here?
Sans sat down next to him, careful not to disturb his train of thought. He might be contemplating his next move to catch the human. He held up three fingers at Grillby's, and the fire monster man nodded his head and disappeared to the back.
"What do you know of Patience?" Lionheart suddenly asked after a moment of silence.
Sans shouldn't've been as surprised as he was. Due to the 'Missing Papyrus' fiasco he'd forgotten all about Ashby and that he had told him all about her. He nodded his head firmly.
"What I told you, she's innocent, fast and has a strong allegiance with monsters around her."
Lionheart shrugged his massive shoulders. "You've been watching her for a while, haven't you?"
Sans blinked. How did he know...?
His friend took a bite out of his burger before answering Sans' question. "You're protective of your little brother, everyone knows. You keep track of who he's friends with, and no doubt Patience was one of his few friends."
There was something about Lionheart's tone Sans did not like. Usually he himself had that effect of fear, but for as calm and relaxed the lion seemed to be, he was too calm for Sans' liking.
He knew Lionheart ever since they were little- they played together in the valleys on the surface before the war. And if he knew anything about his life-long friend, was that he was never calm. He was always booming, laughing and cheering, happily or angrily. If there was a word to describe Lionheart, it was loud.
Lionheart was not calm. Lionheart was not focused. Lionheart was not quiet. He didn't do meditating, he didn't do thought out missions, he didn't ask much questions.
The Captain of the Royal Guard was known for his quick attacks and unbeatable process in battle. When Bravery mowed through the sentries over three decades ago, Lionheart did not hesitate to jump to battle with him. He did not plan out his attack. He had only one plan- attack. And somehow, just somehow, Lionheart's courage outdid even Bravery's. Now the wretched orange soul was locked away in Asgore's castle with the others, waiting for the last two. The only human death Sans was genuinely sad about was Amanda's, the cowboy woman with the Justice soul that Sans had grown quite friendly with before she stupidly tried to take on Asgore. But that was beside the point.
Lionheart did not plan ahead. Lionheart was now.
"He's my brother Lionfart," said Sans after his moment of doubt. "Of course I worry about him. He's gone missing and I don't know where he's gone."
"Such a shame," Lionheart mumbled, continuing to eat.
Though there was no sympathy in Lionheart's tone. Only coldness. The skeleton was a little taken aback by his total lack of emotion- usually Lionheart would show concern if something was wrong with Sans' life. He had told him about Papyrus' struggle and Gaster's distance, and each time Lionheart was a source of comfort.
So why was he so cold and distant now?
Eventually, when Sans had taken a sip of his beloved ketchup, he couldn't help the question that was gnawing at him.
"What the heck is up with you man? I know I've told you about Patience, but-"
"The brat had escaped before I could get to her," Lionheart answered his question before Sans even got a chance to finish. "They are somewhere in Snowdin, the two ghosts... told me."
"They?"
"Patience, the wraith girl and your brother."
Sans shuddered. So Papyrus warned them... Drat! Why did Sans bring him to his conversation with the captain? Of course it would be hard on the little skeleton to take in. He didn't want any harm to come to someone he'd quarrelled with a few moments before. Why must he be so kind-hearted?
He should've left without a word and now Papyrus would be safe and the Ashby would be gone.
So that's why Lionheart was so concerned. Papyrus had gone and warned those girls! He was concerned for Papyrus' safety.
"Drat this storm," growled Sans. "I'll come help you if my brother is in danger."
"No."
Once again Sans was taken aback. "What?"
Lionheart's amber gaze turned towards him. "Sans you have one health point. You may be fast. You may be agile. You may be powerful." His side teeth showed. "But you can't dodge forever. You can't stay awake forever. One hit and you're gone."
The skeleton shuddered.
"That human is dangerous. She has a murderous fish at her side, and now your brother- who may I say is stronger than you ever give him credit for." Lionheart flattened his rounded ears. "Those three children are willing to fight to the death. They are willing to give all their blood and sweat for the others. If one dies, the whole trio falls apart."
"What are you saying?"
Lionheart hesitated for a moment.
"Separate them," he eventually said. "It will be a difficult task since they know I'm after Patience and no doubt they will stay together like glue. But nothing is too difficult to me."
But something was wrong. So happened to be that Sans was one of the monsters that knew how to weed out lies between dialogue, no matter how well hidden.
Whatever Lionheart was planning, it certainly wasn't separation. What was it to him if both Patience and the wraith were killed? The price of one monster soul was small for such a powerful human soul. And if Lionheart would be forced to he would have to kill...
"Well, you do you, pal," Sans shrugged, pretending not to be bothered by Lionheart's sudden change of personality. "I won't get in your way. Just make sure Papyrus is safe."
Lionheart dipped his head. "I'll do everything in my power to get Papyrus away from Patience."
There was that hint of lying again...
But Sans lied too. He had said that he would not get in Lionheart's way.
The snowstorm raged for three whole days. The wind howled angrily and the snow continued to pelt at every exposed thing it could touch. At some points all you could see was pitch white, not able to distinguish even your own nose.
Coldness... It was so cold...
But by some strange miracle the three hiding in the sentry post had survived. Their souls were still beating- the organs were still functioning and the magic was still working.
They had lived off of the condiments they had found in the sentry post. Not ideal, but able.
Their body heat had severely decreased, but it was still there, shared between the three. It was all there was to need.
The snowstorm ended as quickly as it came. With no warning and instantly. The last few snowflakes fell and once again there was silence.
Like usual, Undyne was the first to wake. The fish shook any frost from her scales and tore herself away from the firm grasp of her two sleeping friends. A soft gasp escaped from her, and two major emotions flooded her.
Happiness and fear.
Happiness because they could finally move again. Fear because so could Lionheart.
"Rise and shine you two!" Undyne yowled at them, clambering out of the sentry station to stretch her contracted muscles. Being cooped up in such a small space for such time was not good for muscles.
"It's not snowing anymore?" Papyrus followed her lead. Thankfully he didn't have the problem of still muscles, mostly because he didn't have any. But instead his joints were a little stiff, and soon he too was stretching with Undyne.
Tess on the other hand sat on the sentry station and began to drink the remains of ketchup they had not finished. Her silver eyes watched the two monster children sadly, as if contemplating.
"You... You guys don't have to come with me," she said finally.
The fish bared her teeth at her. "What are you blabbing about Tessy? Of course we're coming with you! You're a weak human, and you need monsters to protect you!" Papyrus gave a chuckle in his signature laugh to emphasise her point.
But the human shook her head. "You have duties though, families that are worried about you. I... I just fell down here and messed everything up! I've got nothing down here except my own skin. Undyne you have school, your house and Mettaton and Napstablook to take care of. You have your whole life before you, a great future on the surface if you ever get there! Papyrus, your family is probably turning the whole underground inside and out looking for you! Are you willing to throw it all away for me?"
Undyne nodded her head instantly, though Papyrus took some hesitation.
Tess shook her head again. "Why would you? All I am is an obstacle. Maybe I should let Lionheart kill me and take my soul- at least that way you'll be only one away from taking down that wretched barrier."
"Pass the ketchup," was all Undyne said. Tess wordlessly tossed her the bottle. The fish caught it and took a massive swig of it as if drinking alcohol.
Though the skeleton began to get worried. "You're not thinking of letting her commit assisted suicide, are you Undyne?" he asked her urgently.
Undyne didn't answer at first, just kept drinking.
"This whole evacuation was stupid!" Tess threw her arms in the air. "You two are in trouble because of me, and you're throwing away future just for some filthy human being. You know that right? I am the most worthless character this stupid game has to offer!"
Finally the fish stopped drinking. She took the bottle away from her lips and held it out to Papyrus. "Hold my beer," said she.
"That's not-"
"Just hold it!"
Confused, Papyrus took the red bottle and watched worriedly as Undyne marched up to Tess.
"You want to see how worthless I can be?" Undyne yelled at the human, fins pressed tightly against her head in anger. Tess flinched and shrunk away from her, but Undyne had jabbed a finger close to her face so all she could really do was lean slightly back. "My own mother left me and my dad for his brother! She didn't give a damn about me! The kids in school, they hated me for reasons I didn't even know! When it comes down to stuff, I can barely do anything! All I'm good for is war, that is it!"
"Undyne that isn't true! You're-"
But Undyne wasn't finished. "You know what, I actually thought of turning you in to Asgore so that perhaps we monsters could be one step closer to the surface, but I didn't! You get that Ashby? I. Didn't. Turn. You. In! Imagine all the glory I would face if I had gotten a human to Asgore, but I turned it all away."
"Shut up!" Tess yelled back at her, tears glistening at her silver eyes. "Please, shut up!"
"No I will not shut up!" Undyne made an inhuman growling noise. "You know how lonely it was without you or Papyrus? Very! I was alone! All alone!" She shook her whole self. "Now what? Was that all for nothing? You were a big part in bringing the three of us together, and now you want to throw it all away?"
There was rage reflected in Undyne's golden cat-like eyes.
"You are not turning yourself in to Asgore or god forbid Lionheart! If you do, you'll have to fight me to the death first!"
"Undyne I'm not gonna fight you to the death!" Tess yowled.
"Be quiet!" Papyrus tried to shut up the arguing duo. "We're wasting time! Lionheart will be here any moment."
"Go home Papyrus! Go home Undyne!" the human shouted, not paying attention to Papyrus at all. "I won't let you guys come with me!"
"Yes you will!" Undyne snapped loudly. "We're coming with you whether you like it or not!"
"Stop arguing for christ's sake!" Papyrus shut up the girls at last by raising his voice slightly. "The storm's stopped, and Lionheart's coming! Let's get going before he finds us and kills us all!" He panted after his outburst, and the trio once again fell silent.
They needed each other, whether they liked it or not.
Patience mumbled a quiet apology, and once again the three were on the move.
Undyne knew the way. She lead them away from the main pathways and through the dark and dank trees. She told them to step in her footprints so nobody could track them. If they just found one set of footprints they would think a sentry had gone for a stroll.
For a few minutes they travelled in silence, the air still around them so thankfully their scent would not carry on for any tracker to smell. Looked like the odds were on their side for once.
But suddenly Undyne stopped, barking the order of 'halt' to her compadres. Her fins flicked, allowing the two following her to stand at her sides.
They had come to a cliff, at least nine hundred metres in height, or depth because this was the underground. You could really see the edges of the underground's rigid walls, as well as every treetop. The winter underground forest was stunningly beautiful.
The lower level was completely uninhabited, due to being so far down that it was too dangerous to make the way down. The cliff was vertical and sharp with frost-shattered rocks, and most monsters could not make their way down there unless they had the power of teleportation or flight.
So happened to be that was where the trio were headed. But the problem was getting down the ring of cliffs. Neither Undyne, Papyrus or Tess had the power of teleportation or flight, so their only option was to climb down the vertical cliff, so high above the lower level it was ridiculous.
"How in the world are we gonna get down there?" Papyrus asked the question first, taking an instinctive step back away from the tall drop. "There's no way we can climb down a cliff that steep! Not to mention it's as high as something called Angel Falls! That's what the waterfall on the surface is called, right?" Tess nodded her head.
Undyne had not thought about that. When she went down there with her father, he had engineered makeshift wings that allowed him to glide. Now those makeshift wings were somewhere Undyne did not know where. But sure as hell she wasn't going back for them now.
But Papyrus was right. They couldn't climb down such a cliff.
This was a dead end.
"Can't you two make a staircase with your fancy powers?" Tess piped up suddenly.
The two monsters stared back at her. Of course!
Though it would be dangerous. One false step and they could fall to their deaths. Best not to think about it.
The fish snapped her fingers, and ten blue spears emerged from the side of the cliff in a staircase. Papyrus clapped his hands and a further five bones appeared in the same manner, extending the stairs further.
This was going to be a long climb down.
Like usual, Undyne went first. There was nobody more sure-footed than a sea wraith like Undyne. Her hands grasped onto the rock next to her as she went down step by step, hearing the hyperventilation of the human scaredy cat behind her. She could even hear Papyrus' fearful stammering- "don't look down, don't look down."
She herself was a little scared. A fall like that could instantly kill anyone, no matter how high the health points.
When each of them were standing on bones, Undyne's spears shattered into nothingness. Instead the ten spears continued the way down. There was no way back now. When they stepped on the spears, the bones disappeared and then reappeared at the other end.
So the pattern grew on for quite some time, and the three young children were steadily making their way down. Eventually the way up was equally as high as the way down. Halfway down... they were going to make it!
The wind picked up again, and Undyne had to brush her long red hair away from her face to see where she was going. Didn't help that the wind blew at their backs, urging them to go faster.
Suddenly Undyne's foot twisted so her ankle hit the glowing blue spear. She gasped and stumbled, losing her grip on the rocks next to her. She swayed at the end of the spear, leaning back over the edge. She would've managed to regain balance if it wasn't for one thing.
The forgotten bag on her back.
Before they left, Undyne had packed them spare clothes and dry food that they had completely forgotten about. It would've been useful back during the storm, but Undyne was a strong monster, and she forgot there was something on her back at all.
Now the extra weight aided the gravity in pulling her over the edge of the spear. Her feet lost grip and Undyne felt herself falling.
Her ears suddenly lost their sense of hearing as everything went silent around her. Her webbed hands flailed in a lame attempt to grab one of her spears, but her claws were far away from the safety. The glowing magic got further as Undyne's head pointed downwards, towards her downfall.
Suddenly a firm hand grasped her ankle, stopping her fall. Undyne looked up, dangling above certain death.
"It's okay, I've got you," Tess called to her, grasping Undyne's foot with both hands. "I'm not gonna let you die like that. Papyrus, help me up."
The skeleton lean over, shaking, and grabbed Undyne's other foot. The two pulled with all their might, and soon Undyne was back up on the spears, shaking from head to toe.
"Thanks guys," she stammered, trying to regain her cool after the fright of her life. But at least that proved one thing.
She could always count on her friends.
So they continued their way down, this time Papyrus leading the charge while Undyne stepped in the middle incase she stumbled again. Her breathing once again became steady, and Undyne regained her stability as with her confidence.
"Howdy!"
Papyrus screamed and fell back into Undyne, thankfully not to the side where the height was still a threat. Tess screamed too, but only because Papyrus screamed too. Undyne pushed Papyrus back up to his feet, but looked past his shoulder and her eyes set upon a familiar yellow flower, sprouting from the edge of the cliff like an out-of-place tree.
"You?"
"Why golly, why wouldn't it be?" the flower said with a warm smile. "Fancy seeing you three in a place like this!"
The three kids were dumbfounded to see him, and none of them managed to utter a word. The last thing they expected was to see a talking yellow flower sprouting high above ground at the edge of a cliff. How did he even know they were here?
"I just thought I'd pay you a little visit!" Flowey continued cheerfully, as if they were standing on solid ground and not so high up on a cliff. "Golly gosh, you three are brilliant!"
"What do you want?" Undyne asked with a snarl, trying to ignore the memory of Flowey breaking down the door. How effortlessly he'd done it. He could do the same with them. "And how do you know where we were?"
Flowey laughed a high-pitched laugh. "Greeting me with questions, I see? My you need lessons in manners my dearie." He snickered again. "What about the other two precious dears? Aren't you going to give me a warm hello?"
"H-Hello," Tess greeted him as he asked. "Nice view?"
Flowey looked to the wondrous view then back at the human. "Yes, I suppose it is quite nice. I remember I wanted to come down here with my sibling, but we had no way of doing so. Seems like you are more lucky than we were with our powers." The flower chuckled again. "But as to answer your questions, I was just passing by here, and I saw you climb down here as if it were stairs. Quite genius I would say."
Undyne and Tess had relaxed, but Papyrus was still tensed.
He gathered his courage. "What do you want flower? You wanted to steal the human souls from my dad!"
The girls shut up instantly.
"Ah, sharp as ever Papyrus," Flowey cooed, fluttering his leaves like wings. "I was trying to take a peak at what such power looks like! I've never actually seen such things before now!" His dead eyes fluttered towards Tess. "But no worries, my intentions are complete pacifist!"
"Really?" Neither of the three kids were convinced.
Flowey nodded his head. "Of course! I haven't seen this route of all my timelines, and I'm curious on how long you three will last on your own. But I need to have my own part in your little game!"
Suddenly large roots started to emerge from the cliff, tying themselves tightly together in a staircase all the way down to the ground. The three children looked down at the new set of stairs unsurely, then their eyes turned back to the flower.
"There! The way down is clear!" The flower said, using his leaf as an arm to bow to the children as if he were a butler. "Down this way children!"
But the children didn't move.
"How do we know you're not gonna kill us?" Undyne asked.
Flowey's eyes narrowed. "Because if I wanted to I'd have done it already. I would've killed each of you in a heartbeat, cuz I have already done it multiple times. For now, I want to see how fate had planned this to go, so no, you three will not die at my hands. Now come along before I change my mind."
So the children wasted no time and picked up their pace to make their way down, this time more secure on the stiff roots than their own fragile magic. How such a little flower could have these big tree-like roots was beyond comprehension, but neither Undyne nor her two friends asked the flower any questions in fear of him changing his mind. His tone was calm and friendly, but the words he said were horrible.
At least this strange plant was willing to help them.
Eventually Papyrus took his step on frozen ground again, and breathed a sigh of relief when the stability washed over him. Then came Undyne, and finally Tess, who were glad beyond words that they were once again standing on stable ground. The human fell to her knees then pressed her cheek to the snow, as if giving the earth itself a massive hug.
"Oh ground, I'm never leaving you again!" she stammered.
But Undyne didn't have time to pay her respects to the solid ground beneath her feet. Her eyes fluttered round the dark forest in interest, taking in the untouched beauty willingly. She ran a webbed hand across the bark of a tree, shaking the snow off it.
Nobody would find them here.
"This place is beautiful!" she gasped, willingly taking in the denser air that hung around down there. "We're totally hidden!"
"I'm never going back up to Snowdin," Papyrus joked, then promptly getting hit by a snowball. "Hey!" he growled playfully, and chucked over a snowball at the human, who was already covered in white.
Undyne laughed loudly, tackling them both into the snow. Their laugher echoed round the empty forest, as if the trees were chuckling along with them. Snow was thrown up into the air, and snowballs thrown. For that moment the children were back to being children, as if none of the world around them even mattered. The cold never bothered them, and they played around in it as carefree as dolphins played around in water.
Though none of the three children noticed the flower looking at them with pained eyes, as if he had longed for this very same scenario. He shook his head.
"As much as you are happy to be down here, I must tell you that you are not yet completely safe," Flowey interrupted, disappearing into the cliff and re-emerging from the horizontal ground, shaking the snow off his unfurling petals. "You must find a place to stay. Fortunately I know just the place you three can call home!"
"I thought you were never down here," Tess pointed out as the three children stood their feet and brushed the snow off their clothes. There was something about her that Flowey recognised as absurdly familiar, and he hesitated for a brief moment.
"With my sibling, no. Alone, yes." He nodded his head. "I can take you there. If you'd follow me please."
He disappeared below the ground, then reappeared a few metres off into the depths of the forest. "Come on then you three! It's not that far!"
"Where are we going?" Undyne asked it the next time it appeared.
Flowey gave her a warm smile. "An old hermit used to live here in isolation. But he was so old that he died of age some time ago. Now his house is empty and free for you to move into!"
"Yay!" Tess cheered, running along the snow as if it were just a mere heather-field. "This place is so pretty! I've never known this was down here!" A snowball hit her in the head, and Undyne and Papyrus joined her willingly, once again playing in the snow as if it were just in the enclosed waterfall neighbourhood. Flowey watched with a tortured glare, recalling the time when he was still Asriel and how he'd played with Chara in a similar manner.
History repeats itself.
It didn't matter that her hair was long and dark brown instead of shoulder-length and like melted chocolate. It didn't matter that her eyes gleamed like silver instead of shining like little rubies. It didn't matter that she was called Tess instead of Chara.
So that was why Flowey's instinct told him to help the three children. Alright, it looked like he was going to be doing a pacifist run this time.
In a few moments Flowey lead the kids to their destination.
There was a little cottage in the middle of nowhere, among the snow and dark trees. The house was docile, constructed entirely out of cobblestone and dark wood so it looked like straight out of a Brother's Grimm fairytale. A slow river ran by it, strangely not carrying any signs of freezing. In truth the river was carrying a hot current from Hotland. The river did a loop round the underground, how peculiar.
For now the cottage was dark and disused ever since the hermit's passing, but now it offered the children a place to stay. A perfect home for weary travellers.
"Oh my... it's beautiful!" each of the children gasped in awe, not believing that something so beautiful could be so undiscovered.
Flowey smiled genuinely at them. "The hermit left a key under the doormat."
Undyne wasted no time. She leapt up excitedly onto the porch, and reached under the doormat. Surely there was an ancient-looking key under there, one that looked like to castle entrances. Undyne held it up to the dim light of the snow to examine it before she put it in the keyhole and turned. The lock clicked and the door swung inwards.
The interior was basic and exactly what you'd expect from a hermit. Everything was so old-fashioned too. A stone fireplace was directly below the chimney, and the wooden floor had many upon many scratches at it. But for as old as the place seemed to be, it did have an entrance to another two rooms, a ladder to the attic and kitchen equipment as well as a sofa that was still holding up.
"Oh my..." Undyne breathed, letting herself into the cold place. It was all busted, unkempt and destroyed by time and, in Undyne's eyes, perfect.
She could hear the excited and awed gasps of her two friends as they came inside with her. This was their new home.
So the kids went to explore the house, eyes full of wonder while Flowey pushed through a mouse-hole and watched with great curiosity. Now he understood what Toriel and Asgore felt like.
"I bug this room!" Papyrus called, already claiming the leftmost room as his own. Undyne had done the same with the other room while Tess settled down in the attic. It took them a while, but once again the fire was crackling in the fireplace, filling the place with the smell of burning wood and welcomed warmth. Once again the abandoned hut burst to life with three new inhabitants.
While Undyne got to cooking some food, Tess turned to the watching Flowey. The flower was about to dig himself into the earth once again and find someone else to bother when the girl sat down cross-legged in front of him. The flower looked up at her.
"Thank you Flowey," said she. "You really helped us."
"Of course I did!" Flowey laughed. "Why, did you doubt me?"
Tess shook her head. "I just wanted to thank you. I don't know what we'd be doing now if you hadn't helped us."
"No need to thank me," Flowey shook his head. "I've done my share. Time for me to go. Bu-bye!"
With that Flowey disappeared off into the earth, to be seen again.
A few days later the three children had grown used to living in the lower level of the snowlands. The hermit who lived there before turned out to have a stash of food that was still within the expiry date. As for the surrounding area, only Tess dared to venture. Undyne had to take care of the house and Papyrus was too scared come with.
The little girl had ventured through forest all her life, on the surface and below ground. She loved this dark forest, and she already considered it her home. It was strange how quickly she could consider a new area her new home. Perhaps since she never had a proper home in the first place, she was able to accept the whole world as her home.
Once again she fled out into the open to explore her new surroundings. Tess would never wonder too far from home, at least not alone. Even when she did venture further out along with Papyrus and Undyne, they left behind a trail of river-stones so they would never get lost.
But now Tess wanted to explore away from the cliff. She had never been this direction before, but she was curious. What would she find here?
There was no life other than Tess in the forest. No snow dogs, no birds, no breathing. It was just as Tess had expected it to be. Cold and lonely. Even time itself seemed to hold its breath.
How beautiful!
The snow crunched beneath her feet with odd satisfaction. Her lungs tingled with the cold air as she breathed it in. A snowflake fluttered at her eyelash, and Tess blinked to set it free.
Perhaps this was the way only a child could see the forest. A child's eye was much better than adults gave them credit for.
So Tess went a little further, still making sure she saw the shining house past the trees. She could go a little further. She had time.
But suddenly something caught Tess' eye. Brown, green, yellow, red. That thing was colourful while all around was merely dark brown, dark and white. That thing was not a tree.
Slowly Tess turned her head towards the thing. Her silver eyes met those red eyes, and a chill went through her entire being.
The other child was no taller than Tess was, wearing a green and yellow striped pullover, shoulder-length chocolate-brown hair still around a round head. Tess could see the forest right through them, and the slight breeze had no effect on them. But the scarlet eyes were burning, not nearly as transparent as the rest of them. But that wasn't as frightening as the blatant fact that this child was not a monster. This was a human child.
They stared at Tess, and Tess stared back silently. The other child looked back to the cottage, then back to Tess, as if asking her something.
Tess looked at her feet, then back to the weird child. "Who are you?"
The spirit nodded. "We are kin."
Kin...?
"What's your name?" Tess tried again.
"I am Chara," said the child. They then gave her a warm smile. "Nice to finally meet you... officially."
Their hand outstretched into a handshake. They looked welcoming. Tess smiled back, and reached out to shake Chara's hand, but her fingers phased through the ghastly hand, unable to grasp it. Just like a ghost.
"Oh, right, I forgot about that," said Chara sadly, dropping their hand, disappointed. "But either way, it's nice to see you."
Tess looked back to glare at her new home, then back to Chara. "Were... were you one of the fallen humans?" she asked.
Chara sighed, then nodded their head. "I would tell you my story, but I'm afraid that's not that important. I've been watching you for a while now, and I must say we are so much like each other."
Tess nodded innocently and padded up to the spirit to sit down in the snow beside them. The spirit gave her a confused glare, but sat down next to her anyway. The girl waited patiently for the spirit to continue, and Chara gave her another puzzled gaze, then chuckled and carried on.
"You grew to love these monsters as much as I have," they continued casually, shifting to sit comfortably even though it didn't really matter for them. "I grew up with a monster for a brother, and you are growing up with a monster for a sister. Isn't fate artistic? History does repeat itself after all."
Tess blinked in understanding, though not understanding Chara at all.
"Watching you, was like reliving old memories, though with a twist. I like watching you Tess, it's just like watching a movie!" They shook their head sadly. "Please tell me you don't have anything against me cheering on your little adventure?"
Thankfully Tess shook her head. "I guess you could count it as an adventure!" She gave the spirit a toothy smile. "An adventure that'll end with us getting to the surface!"
Chara shuddered. "You... do realise that two more humans need to die for that to happen, right?"
Tess deflated. That hadn't occurred to her before. Would she really want two other innocent humans to die while she hid with her friends away from danger? If she never knew them, maybe she wouldn't be so sad about it.
"Yeah, I know, and monsters say it will be a while," said Tess. "Can you go through the barrier, with you being a spirit and all?"
Chara sighed and nodded their head. "I don't like to though. I much prefer it down here. Humanity was... horrible y'know. Seems like you and me were just unlucky enough to be born into this horrific bloodline. Abuse and terrible things run in our family, y'know."
The memories of Tess' father came flooding back. Those awful memories which she had been trying so hard to forget while down in the underground were beginning to surface again. She shook them away.
"But that doesn't mean our whole family is bad!" Tess said optimistically. "Take you, and me, and my brother! He was wonderful! He..."
Her brother was still waiting for her on the surface. Her promise to find him also surfaced.
"He's still waiting for me on the surface," she mumbled, but Chara didn't seem to hear.
They shook their head. "That doesn't mean I dislike them any less. Every goddamn human has a rotten side, even you and me. That's why I hate them all. I even hate myself!"
This time it was Tess who shuddered. "Do you hate me?"
Chara was so shocked they did not answer at first. They sighed sadly. "Not for who you are, but what you were born as. It is possible to hate a species. It's just like hating spiders, you are just able to do so without any remorse." They lay back down into the snow to stare at the rocky ceiling oh so far away. "But that doesn't mean I don't like you. I hate you, but I also like you."
"That doesn't make any sense!" Tess objected.
Chara chuckled again. "Oh please Tessy, where's the fun in making sense? It's what gives this world the unpredictable feeling! If we made sense all the time, everyone would know our next move." Her scarlet eyes turned to look at Tess. "But you don't make much sense either, young one. You were able to move on and trust others even though of what our treacherous kind did to you. I wish I could understand that."
A moment of silence passed, and Tess lay down in the snow next to Chara. It was cold, but it would only be for a little while.
"It was nice talking to you Tess," eventually Chara said. "I'll be watching your progress with great interest I guess." They closed their eyes. "Goodbye, forever."
With those words, Chara faded into the wind. Those scarlet glowing eyes remained for a while longer before they too disappeared.
"Goodbye Chara."
MISSING
NAME: Undyne the Undying
MONSTER BREED: Sea Wraith
DESCRIPTION: Blue scales with long red hair and cat-like golden eyes, strong and muscly for a small child. Last seen wearing a pale-yellow t-shirt and black leggings.
LAST SEEN: Waterfall, Northern Neighbourhood near the garbage dump.
IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THE GIRL OR HER LOCATION, PLEASE CONTACT NAPSTABLOOK OR METATTON AT 2 OR 3, NORTHERN NEIGHBOURHOOD, WATERFALL. THANK YOU.
MISSING
NAME: Papyrus the Skeleton
MONSTER BREED: Skeleton
DESCRIPTION: Tall, pale bones and long face with tiny black eyes with the ability of glowing red-orange. Last seen wearing a red hoodie and tall red boots.
LAST SEEN: New Home, Strange Alley at Captain Lionheart's house.
IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THE BOY OR HIS LOCATION, PLEASE CONTACT SANS THE SKELETON OR DR. W.D GASTER AT THE ROYAL LAB IN HOTLAND. THANK YOU.
MISSING
NAME: Tess Ashby
MONSTER BREED: n/a - Human
DESCRIPTION: Long dark brown hair and grey eyes. Last seen wearing a ragged patchwork jacket with ragged trousers and brown hiking boots.
LAST SEEN: Waterfall, Northern Neighbourhood near the garbage dump.
IF YOU HAVE INFORMATION ABOUT THE GIRL OR HER LOCATION, PLEASE CONTACT CAPTAIN LIONHEART AT 1866, STRANGE ALLEY, NEW HOME. THANK YOU.