Half-Tale: The Fallen

Characters are not mine. Half-Life and Adrian Shephard belong to Valve Corporation, and Undertale and Chara Dreemurr belong to Toby Fox. Please support the official releases.

Chapter 5 – Home

How strong is your will?


Adrian found himself lost in the depths of his mind, deep in thought, during his short walk back towards Toriel's home. The fact that he could be constantly being watched by the G-Man messed with him. Even in places where it should be impossible, it was impossible to know.

He doesn't know what he's fully capable of. For all he knew, the G-Man could be a God, bringing him out of that facility to save him for… what?

That uneasiness that he felt earlier, he supposed, was exactly that: the feeling of being watched. Every room, every area, every corridor he goes through, every encounter… is there any way of knowing for sure?

Without getting as lucky as he did when he witnessed a brief blur out of the corner of his eye when he gazed upon the grandeur that is Old Home?

He wanted to tell someone.

…though that exact mindset, he knew, was why the G-Man brought him to that place.

But now there were reasons why he couldn't tell anyone. He didn't know if that would cause more trouble for himself or the person he would tell it to.

The first person that came to his mind, obviously, was Chara. Being a ghost, she doesn't have many people to actually tell it to. But he wasn't sure if that would put her in any danger or not. And putting her in danger was definitely not an option. And that wasn't only because she was his guide either, although that was part of it.

The other reason was something he would never admit out loud.

It was driving him crazy. Far more than he thought it should; he's been through far worse. But now that he knew he's likely being watched compared to his uncertainty back in Black Mesa, there wasn't much to help his case.

But, considering all of that, does it really matter that much?

"I'm really overthinking all this, aren't I?"

A mild headache invaded his head, resulting in him putting a hand over his face. He supposed that now, just like before, he could really go for a cigarette.

Chara, in the meanwhile, floated alongside Adrian, curious as to what he was thinking about. Tilting her head, she beckoned for him. "…Hey Corp. You sure you're okay? You seem kinda… distant."

No response.

"Eh… Corp?"

No response yet again.

"You need to stop blanking out randomly. I know I do it sometimes too, but that doesn't give you the excuse to do it yourself, you know."

Chara brought her hand to her chin in exaggerated contemplation. She had some… drastic methods she could use to wake him up from his thoughts, like yelling directly into his ear like what he did to her a while back, but she decided against it upon seeing what they were coming upon, looking up and smirking. "…Never mind. Looks like I won't have to do anything."

"Oh my! You made it all the way here with such speed! I am impressed, young one," a familiar feminine voice suddenly said, breaking Adrian out of his thoughts instantly upon hearing it. She walked over to Adrian, greeting him. "I was just about to return to you, assuming you were already halfway through the RUINS. I suppose I underestimated you, hee-hee."

Adrian briefly looked to Chara, witnessing her smirking face. He then looked to Toriel, finally taking the G-Man issue out of his mind for now. He had better things to worry about, anyways.

"Ah, yeah… I guess so. In the military, we're kind of trained for this sort of thing, you could say. None of the puzzles were super difficult, just a little trouble here and there. Fell a few times into some flowers, met a few monsters, that kind of thing.

Chara pouted as she folded her arms, inserting herself in the middle of the conversation. "C'mon, Corp. Falling was necessary… I'm not going back to that argument. Debating you is annoying."

Adrian stifled a chuckle, trying to suppress it in front of Toriel. He masked it with a light cough, Toriel seeming none the wiser.

"I see… and I am assuming you didn't-"

"No, no. I haven't killed anyone if that's what you're wondering. I'm not like that."

Toriel breathed a sigh of relief, a certain tension within her seeming to release. She nodded. "Thank you."

She then walked back to her house and opened the door. With a smile, she shifted backwards towards it and lifted an arm, beckoning Adrian to enter. "Well, come on in! I'll bake you a pie while you rest; I'm sure you've been through a lot."

Adrian smiled beneath his gas mask and nodded. "What, am I going to say no?"

"What, are you going to say no?"

Adrian almost turned his head to shoot Chara a look, but knowing that would look strange, with Toriel watching him and all, he ignored the apparition and walked to the door, thanking Toriel for her hospitality, and entered the home.

Adrian has been in many homes. Whether he visited them or lived in them for a while, as a kid or otherwise, he's seen a lot of variation. Some houses were grander and lavish looking, having intensely grandiose decoration, while others weren't so fortunate, and were simpler. All of them never felt like a true home to him.

Toriel's home, however, was different. It was the absolute perfect blend of nice-looking, large, and yet homey.

The aura that welcomed him in was made apparent instantly with the warmth that accompanied it. In a sense, to Adrian, it was very overwhelming, but he didn't feel encumbered by it. Rather, he was more than willing to accept it as is.

He's never been in a home that felt more like a home than here, and he only just stepped foot in it.

Chara followed him inside, floating over him briefly before making her way to sit on a railing that lined a staircase to some sort of basement. She crossed her legs, cupping her hands on her face. "So, how do you feel?"

As Toriel was around, right behind him in fact, he couldn't answer right away; rather, he gave more of an indirect response that both described how he felt now and an actual answer to Chara's question.

"…Holy crap."

This was it; this was the reprieve he had been asking for.

Chara smirked. "Yeah… yeah I don't blame you."

After taking mental note of the descending staircase in front of him, he began advancing within the home. Taking a left, he bore witness to a large room, of which he assumed was the main living room. It wasn't anything exceptionally special: there was a dining table, a fireplace, a reading chair, and a bookcase. At the far corner of the room lied an entry way, of which he assumed might be the kitchen.

Although nothing truly notable, the warmth continued to have a chokehold over Adrian.

Toriel followed him into the room. "I hope this home is to your liking. I am aware that it is not much, but…"

"Don't say that. You have a great home, Toriel."

Toriel let out a slight chuckle, scratching behind her left ear in slight embarrassment. "I… I thank you, Shephard. I try my best in keeping up with the RUINS just as well as my own home, so it is nice to hear that my efforts have not gone unnoticed."

The marine nodded, putting his hands on his waist as he decided to take a closer look at the room in its entirety. Firstly, being curious as to what kind of books Toriel read in her spare time, he made his way to the bookcase. He took a book into his hand and read the book cover. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Huh…"

"Ah yeah, haha. I almost forgot about her obsession with…"

"Snails…?"

Chara floated above Adrian, tracing her translucent finger on the cover of the book. "There it is. 'Top 500 Facts about Snails'. She's had this book for such a long time… I remember her reading it to me when I was alive. It wasn't fun."

Adrian stifled a chuckle. He raised the book and half-heartedly waived it in the air. "Not the worst thing to get obsessed with."

Placing it back in the bookcase, Adrian turned around, meeting Toriel's gaze. He blinked.

And suddenly, he was on one knee.

"Shephard!" Toriel quickly made her way to Adrian, helping him back to his feet. "You must be very tired after your journey through the RUINS. I'll help you to your room."

"Jeez, Corp, are you okay?" Chara, with a look of concern that might have surpassed Toriel's, remained by his side. Naturally, she couldn't do anything to help, as she was a ghost only visible to Adrian and other ghosts, but she did what she could. "Don't force yourself. Mom'll help you to my- the room."

The overbearingness Adrian felt when he initially entered the house wasn't what he thought it was. It was the remaining adrenaline keeping him awake running out of steam, he supposed. He had a very strenuous day, more than anyone should have to experience. But this kind of weariness was different; it seemed like it was more than mere mental and physical tire.

He felt his SOUL faltering.

"I really am tired, huh?"

Adrian managed a smirk.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," Adrian managed to regain his balance, quickly nodding towards Chara. He then refocused his attention to Toriel. "I've, uh… I've had a long day. I'll be fine, but I would do better with some rest. Thank you, Toriel."

"No need to thank me, Shephard. Come, come," Toriel said, leading Adrian down the hallway to the first door on their left.

Upon entering, Adrian was met with a medium-sized room decorated with various children's toys, posters, wardrobes, a bookshelf, a few lamps, and the like. There were also two queen sized beds as well. He wondered if Toriel had another child, seeing the two beds. But he decided it wasn't of his concern for right now, opting to ask Chara about it later.

With some of his strength returned, the marine walked to the far side of the room from the entrance, inspecting the picture frame above the bookshelf. It was of two people: a younger Chara smiling and another goat-like humanoid, also smiling. He raised his head a little in thought. "That answers my question."

"Feel free to rest here for as long as you'd like – I'll make you a…" Toriel paused. "I never asked you, now that I'm thinking about it; do you prefer butterscotch or cinnamon?"

Adrian turned around without scrutinising the picture frame any further. "…Butterscotch."

"You do not have any sort of quarrel against cinnamon, do you? Perhaps an allergy?"

"...Uh, I don't think so. Why?"

Toriel let out a soft chuckle. "Oh… nothing."

She left the room, leaving Adrian 'alone'.

Chara, who had been obviously following along with her tether, remained quiet during most of the ordeal. She floated onto the bed to the right of the entrance, lying on it with her legs crossed. "Ahh, my bed. I haven't lied on this in a while. So comfy."

"…You can feel comfort like that?"

"In a way. It's more symbolic rather than me actually feeling it, you know?"

"Funny way to put it."

"Mhm," Chara sighed, closing her eyes and putting her arms behind her head. "You really need to take it easy. Surely the journey from the, eh, 'beginning' of the RUINS to Mom's house wasn't that strenuous. So, I'm guessing you were doing something before you arrived. What's your deal, Corp?"

"My deal is…" Adrian said, taking off his ammo pouches. He didn't want to involve Chara and tell her. Not yet. "I was involved in… something. Something big. Something very tiring and annoying, and… It's hard to explain."

"I get it. Tell me about it later, 'kay?"

"…Okay."

The marine moved over to the far corner of the room, where a lamp lied next to the leftmost bed. "This lamp is connected to something, right? An outlet?"

"Should be, yeah. Why?" Chara responded. She briefly turned her head to her right, opening an eye.

Her other eye opened instantly, locked in on his countenance.

"WHAT?!"

She witnessed Adrian taking off his helmet and gas mask, setting them aside on a table, as if it was nothing at all. She absolutely couldn't believe her eyes. Chara had already gotten used to seeing Adrian with the bulky, annoying, and distracting gas mask; she couldn't help but be surprised. She knew that she shouldn't be, as Adrian said that he would take it off eventually.

But still.

It didn't matter anymore anyways. She took all the time she needed to scrutinise his face.

Adrian's eyes were in full view. A wonderful amber-adjacent colour.

Curly, ruffly, blonde hair decorated his head.

Sharp jawline. Light stubble.

She felt her face heat up a little. It wasn't true heat, more-so an instinctual reaction that substituted actual feeling.

She had a tough time tearing her eyes off his face.

"Huh. Last I checked, I cut all of this off when I joined, and I kept doing so. Why do I have curly hair again?" Adrian brought his eyes up and saw Chara staring at him. "…Hey, I know this is the first time you've seen what I actually look like, but you don't have to stare that hard." His speech was clearer, too – more distinct. Now that he didn't have the mask on, his voice could be properly conveyed naturally.

Chara continued to say nothing, only staring intensely.

Adrian started to get embarrassed, scratching the back of his neck. "Uh… can y-"

"Shhh."

"…Wha-?"

"Shut up."

"Uh, why-"

"No talking. Give me a second, please."

Several seconds pass, with neither saying a single word.

"…Are you done?"

Chara let off a soft smile and nodded. "Yeah. Thank you."

"Oh-kay. I wonder what that was about," Adrian huffed and undid his PCV. He found a little outlet, previously being used by a lamp, that he believed to be able to support the cord he had. Running his hand down the vest itself, he took hold of the wire and its base and plugged it into the wall, where the lamp was.

He didn't know if it was powerful enough to charge it properly, but it was worth a shot.

P.C.V. Charging.

Adrian smiled. "There we go."

"Ooh, I forgot your vest made sounds. That's still super weird," Chara commented, still lying down after her impromptu staring contest with Adrian. "So… are you going to stop wearing that mask now?"

"Probably," Adrian took off his backpack and set it near the bed. He began ruffling through it, trying to find something. "I don't see much of a reason to anymore, with no hazardous material 'n stuff down here. Truth be told, I just did it to conceal my face from you 'cause I thought it would be funny."

"…Are you serious? That's it? You dick," Chara tried getting up but ultimately failed out of laziness. "I'd punch you if I could."

"Hah, I'm sure ya would, Chara," Adrian said absentmindedly. He continued ruffling through his backpack until he finally found what he was looking for. "There it is."

"There what is?"

"Nunya."

"…Nunya?"

"Nunya fuggin' business."

"Wow. Ha-ha, Corp. You should take some lessons from Sans."

"…Uh, who?"

"You'll see who I mean in a little while."

Adrian smiled, shrugging and pulled out a hard-book notebook. Donning a leathered face, the title of the book was spelled out in a bolded, sporadic font. "JOURNAL!"

"Whaaaat? A… DIARY? Wow, Corp. I never thought you'd be the type to have one."

"It's not a diary, Chara. It's a journal. Says so right here on the front," Adrian turned his head back to Chara, knocking on the book and then pointing at the bolded title. "Sometimes, I like… writing down what's happening or what happened in the past day or so. I haven't really been able to do that in a little while. Just something I picked up as a kid."

"…Corp, I think that's exactly what a diary is. Like, I think that's the textbook definition of a diary."

"Yeah, well… maybe. Not much else I could do when I was young, so I formed those kinds of habits."

"Oh? And why is that?"

Adrian took off his shoes, set them near the bed, and plopped down on the bed. This was something he felt like he hadn't done in years. He breathed the greatest sigh of relief he felt like he's ever breathed.

The marine took a moment to lie down before he properly answered Chara. He turned his head to his left. "Well, I moved a lot as a kid. Switched between schools a bunch in between middle and high school until I turned 18 and joined up with the military. Never was able to make too many friends 'cause of it, so I had to come up with my own fun."

Chara hummed. "I wish I could've moved as much as you. I wasn't… eh, so liked in my town, I'll just say."

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad, was it?"

"…You have no idea, Corp. The reason why I fell into the Underground wasn't for fun."

A brief, yet slightly tense moment of silence permeated the previously light-hearted conversation.

"…Shit. I shouldn't have said that."

Chara noticed his tension and chuckled. "…but that was a long time ago from now. I'm not really over it yet, and I do hold some qualms, in more ways than one, but I'm not going to direct any of that on to you."

"…I'm sorry for bringing it up, Chara."

"Don't worry so much about it. The past is… the past. I try and forget these days."

"I understand."


"Go to sleep, Corp."

"Nuh," Adrian yawned, picking the journal up from the floor and opening it. He admittedly was very tired, but he had things to write down, and reflect upon. He'd have plenty of time to sleep, he knew, so he wanted to stay awake for this one thing before he crashed.

Adrian, still in bed, reached back into his backpack to grab a pencil. He then took a gander at some of his older entries. His eyes darted to a very specific line in one of the entries he made before he made his excursion into Black Mesa. Something he completely forgot about.

"Hmm…'Several times throughout the day, I spotted him just watching me during training. I wonder what he's up to…'"

Internally, he facepalmed, now knowing who this actually was. The ever so elusive G-Man seems to have been watching him for longer than he thought. He tried not to think about it too hard. So, he picked up his pen, opened the next available page, and began writing a new entry.


Chara watched as Adrian scribbled endlessly in his notebook. She thought to pester him for a little while, pressuring him into telling her of what he's writing down, but she discarded that idea. Peering into someone's personal life, especially when they know you would be directly watching, isn't such a great idea.

…which is why she decided that she'd take a small gander when he's sound asleep. Surely, he'd have a page open that would let her see a little more into his mind.

About 20 minutes pass. Chara looked to her right again, as she had been doing periodically every 5 minutes, and saw Adrian's left arm slumped on the floor. The journal, now on the floor, luckily had a page open, specifically to the one he had been writing on.

Chara smirked. "Perfect. Now…"

Chara sneakily hovered above her bed and carefully floated across the room, over to the side of Adrian's bed. Knowing she couldn't affect it, she angled herself to be able to comfortably read what's on the current page. "…Let's see what good ol' Corp was writing about."

She softly read it aloud, making sure she wasn't reading too loud to awaken the marine.

"June 5th, 1998."

Chara immediately realised something was off. The month and day seemed to track, she thought, but the year was off course. "…That isn't even the right century. It's… eh, 2024, I think, last time I checked. That's almost 30 years from then. Corp doesn't look nor sound nearly as old as he should be if this is right."

She shook her head. "Eh, whatever. His handwriting doesn't look the greatest, so maybe I'm misreading… or something. Let's keep reading."

"The past day has been… nuts. And overwhelming. It's really hard to put into the right words, but I guess I'll try to explain it without having to go into so much detail.

Firstly, like what I said in my last entry, I started getting trained for some special mission in a facility: Black Mesa, to be specific. Well, I made it there. Barely. I crash landed and, before I knew it, I was trapped in there. Almost made it out a bunch of times, but… I had some complications. It wasn't great.

Somehow, some way, for whatever reason, I managed to escape. That G-Man guy pulled me out of there, and before I knew it, I was sent to some sort of UNDERGROUND, as Chara told me. Speaking of, I'm now being haunted by this ghost that only I can see… for the most part, anyways. A little hard to explain. She tells me that I'm her newest tether, and that she'll be guiding me through the Underground. She was… kind of annoying. At first, anyways. I've started warming up to her. She's… charming, I think. Snarky, but funny. Sarcastic, yet… cute.

She blanked out earlier when I asked her about her last tether. Seems like a touchy subject; I think I'll talk to her about it later."

Chara felt her face heat up, similarly to before, when Adrian talked, or doted on her in detail. This was definitely something she was not meant to be reading, but she wanted to read more. Shaking her head in dismissal, she refocused on what she was there for.

Tilting her head, she commented to herself. "He's not going into too much detail, but at least now I know where he was on the Surface: some kind of research science facility called Black Mesa. I wonder who this… G-Man person is, though."

She read the last few lines.

"Anyways, I go through a place called the Ruins with her, coming across creatures called monsters down here… I see some stuff… other things happen… Bah. Okay, this is a little too much for me to properly write down right now. I'm way too tired for this. Feels like I haven't slept in days. I'll update it later."

"And… that's all he wrote."

Chara wanted to know more. Obviously. She was incredibly curious about his backstory and what led him down here, but this one journal entry didn't add an incredible amount to what she already knew, though it definitely did add more to her knowledge.

What she knew so far now was that Adrian is a marine Corporal that was sent to a science facility called 'Black Mesa' for some reason, got trapped, and then was saved by some sort of 'G-Man' person. Then, sometime after that, he fell into the Underground.

The lack of information frustrated her. She knew she hadn't been very open about her past either, but it's not like she isn't unwilling to…

…though her reaction to Adrian's question wasn't very revealing either, so she couldn't blame him all that much. In any case, she figured that Adrian wouldn't tell her anything about it conscious. "Man, if only."

Unconsciously, she put her hand on the paper, attempting to flip it backwards.

Flip!

It worked.

Chara's mind blanked for a moment as she held the page in her hand. Naturally, she didn't feel it, but she saw her hand physically suspend the paper. She raised her hand off the paper and watched it steadily fall back onto the rest of the collection. She then took her left hand and tried the same thing.

It worked just as well.

"The hell?"

Her eyes raised upwards to Adrian but then fell to his hand.

Chara had a specific test in mind, something that would fully confirm what she thought.

She raised her right hand up, her palm facing herself as she then balled it into a fist for a second. Releasing it, she carefully hovered her hand towards Adrian. Specifically, to his left hand, the slumped one. Her hand was eventually a millimetre away from contact.

She pushed her hand forward, intending to grab his hand.

It phased right through.

Chara sighed, raising her head towards the ceiling. "Of course."

A sudden shift in Adrian's sleeping position startled Chara, prompting her to quickly make her retreat to her bed on the other side of the room. She had absolutely no idea what just happened. "…Why was I able to move that page? Why couldn't I touch Adrian's hand?"

"What else can I affect?"

She rendered herself into deep thought. "…I didn't bring it up 'cause of what was happening, but the same kind of thing happened earlier to a lesser degree when I… moved the gun Adrian was going to use to shoot Flowey. It was very slight though, and I wasn't even sure if I did that myself… but now it looks like I can actually move things. Albeit small, inorganic things, I think, but that's still leaps and bounds more than what I could do back when I was tethered to… Frisk."

Her curiosity got the better of her as she reached to the lamp positioned near her and flicked the light switch on. Her index finger didn't go right through it; instead, it stopped, as if she was corporeal again, and aptly affected the switch.

To accurately describe her incorporeality, there were two states that she had, of which she could freely toggle through. One was complete incorporeality, where she could phase through everything and anything to a degree. She couldn't be more than fifty meters away from her tether, though, so it was limited in that sort of way.

The other state was semi-incorporeality, where she could, for instance, stand on the ground without phasing through it, like she was a normal, corporeal being. However, she wouldn't be able to affect anything in any way otherwise. For example, if she wanted to get some chocolate out of a refrigerator. She could push against the refrigerator, pull it, kick it, punch it, whatever; nothing would happen at all. But she could still do these things without phasing right through.

And of course, she wouldn't be able to get the chocolate, let alone eat it.

Chara went back to relaxing on the bed, now lying down on it properly again. This new ability was certainly strange. She didn't know whether it was a new state or something entirely different, but it's a start. Not to mention this only beginning to happen when Adrian showed up, she had no idea how to react to it. Should she be happy? Afraid? Is this a sign of something?

In any case, she had a lot to think about. Her current situation, her future situations, Adrian, Sans, Asgore… etcetera.

…but she felt like she could do with doing something else. Something she hadn't done in a while, at least in her own volition. Sleeping. Maybe it would help with her thought collection, she thought. She was capable of it, after all; it's that she never needs to anymore.

It would also be a good way to pass the time.

Slowly, she forced herself asleep, closing her eyes gracefully as she entered the dreamscape realm, whisked away into REM sleep.

She saw blue right before then.


Chara woke up in a daze, her head feeling foggy and unfamiliar. Although in this disoriented state, it reminded her of the dream she had right before Adrian arrived, of the facility. But this felt different. As if she's somewhere she shouldn't be. Shaking her head, trying to gain any semblance of the sense of the situation, she raised and turned her head, her eyes darting around.

She wasn't where she fell asleep.

"…Where the hell am I? Where's Adrian?"

She tried to make sense of her surroundings.

Or rather, the lack thereof; there was nothing. Pitch black darkness engulfed her view, seeing nothing but her very own translucent self. She gripped her hand tightly, gritting her teeth. She felt a strong sense of unbelonging. As if entering a dangerous, highly restricted zone. "I… I shouldn't be here… but where exactly is here?"

She blinked, and suddenly, she was teleported into another place.

"…Huh?"

Her view was suddenly filled with the sensations of familiarity. The purple, bricked, walls and their viny encasings, the lightly contrasting pathway on the floor, the warm atmosphere… where she supposed she was, was now obvious. But something was different; off, even.

It wasn't so warm.

Chara turned around, burrowing her eyebrows. "Oh."

She was met with that sadistic smile she's so familiar with. The dust stained purple and blue sweater that has haunted her for years. Those dark, black, eyes primed to kill without remorse. Without fear. Without temptation.

Without mercy.

And one of immense, profound determination.

Swish.

Just one strike was needed to finish the job.

"Y…you… really hate me that much?"

It was precisely that moment in time. Or rather, a single moment that has happened many times. When Chara lost her indifference some time ago, she had begun the habit of weeping in silence whenever this moment happened. Every single time without fail.

But this time, she didn't. She just didn't feel the need to. This would have slightly concerned her in any other case, but she just felt… nothing. Was her apathy returning to her? Why is she there, witnessing this again for the trillionth time? Where was Adrian? Why is Frisk here?

Why? Why? Why?

Why.

The dizziness from before returned, coming back to overcome Chara. It still reminded her of the last time she had a dream… except, right as it began to overwhelm the young woman, it subsided in an instant.

She turned her gaze back to Frisk, who then looked back at her.

They had his face.

That sick, absolutely disgusting black substance flowed down Frisk's-no, his face. The cracks that splintered his face, specifically right above his right eye and below his left eye, was oozing the tarred liquid, a seemingly infinite source of it. This was far more than she's ever seen him do so, in previous, unfettered, encounters.

And yet, that smile remained, unmoving. That horrifying, putrid smile.

Chara hated him. But there was no getting away. There was no escape from someone who exists everywhere, and nowhere at the same time.

Chara wore a disgusted expression on her face.

"Sickening."

The entity turned around completely, fully facing Chara now. He still had Frisk's body, but the face was now completely different, similar to that entity. It seemed to attempt speech, slight vocalisations coming from where its 'mouth' was, but all that could be heard were groans. Suddenly, however, all sounds completely ceased. The buzzing, dizziness-inducing audio that had previously irritated the first fallen disintegrated into nothingness, leaving an empty, deafening silence.

It all happened so quickly; Chara couldn't help but feel disoriented from all the changes. "What the fuck do you want?!"

He began making arbitrary hand symbols. Using Frisk's body as a vessel, he tried to communicate that way. Chara was all too familiar with this sort of speech, though she didn't know what he was saying. It wasn't sign language; she would know if it was, since she did know that, at least a little. But the motions he was making – it was completely unknown to her.

The entity, sensing Chara's confusion, ceased all motions.

A loud, booming voice infiltrated her mindscape.

"Beware the man in blue. He… is no man, nor monster."

"What?"

There was no way this was happening. Him of all people warning her of some guy in blue? Someone who isn't a man or monster? What is that even supposed to mean? She gritted her teeth in anger, yet she was more confused than anything. "What the hell are you talking about? What guy in blue?"

"You… will see. I cannot stop him. Do not fear the creatures of green, and short of two eyes."

None of this was making any sense to Chara. It's as if he was speaking in riddles. Creatures of green? Short of two eyes?

…where even was she?

She opened her mouth to say something to the entity, but nothing came out. She blinked, and he was gone. She was alone in the now seemingly endless corridor.

She blinked again. Darkness resumed its appearance in the surrounding area, becoming as pitch black as it was before. Dark, darker, yet darker.

This was very overwhelming for the young woman.

"Hello? Can anyone hear me? Fuck! How the hell am I going to get out of this mess…"

A voice. A familiar one, at that. A voice she hadn't heard in a little while. But it was easily recognizable as it's one she's heard many times.

Chara looked around and saw them. Her previous tether, just sitting there in the middle of nowhere, engulfed within the darkness. And, as it turns out, it seems that they are unwilling. She looked around once again, familiarising herself with the darkness.

It was what she thought it was. The Void.

Chara was curious. She floated over to them, who was looking out to the darkness in obvious annoyance. She waived her hands in front of them, trying to gain any semblance of a reaction to confirm her beliefs.

Nothing. Frisk didn't even seem to bat an eye.

"Yeah… yeah that's what I thought. Bastard."

"That fucking blue suit. That fucking briefcase…" Frisk gritted their teeth and scoffed, forcefully throwing their head up in agitation. "Now I'm stuck here with no way of getting out. What the hell did I do to deserve this shit?"

"…What the hell kind of question is that? Everything. You did everything to deserve this 'shit'."

Rage built up within her. "The audacity of that fucking bitch. To ask themselves what they did to deserve is utterly disgusting. Yeah, it's not like you constantly kept the Underground in a constant fucking time loop of consistent death and destruction. Oh no, it's not like you killed everyone and everything I ever loved thousands… upon THOUSANDS of times."

She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, rage boiling within every fibre of her incorporeal being. It was bad enough for it to just happen, but it was even worse for Chara to be right in the center of it, witnessing every single moment of every single kill.

This human-, no, creature was the primary reason why she hated humanity so much more than she already did.

Chara wanted to kill Frisk. Permanently. Rid the world of their presence forever. And then reset and do it again. And again. And again.

And then purge the rest of the Surface world to make way for its rightful rulers: the monsters.

It's all she's ever wanted. All she's ever dreamed of.

But then his image came up in her mind.

Adrian.

She couldn't stay mad for long, for whatever reason


Chara woke up in a cold sweat, for real this time, maintaining that same daze she seems to have been getting recently when she wakes up. However, this one was certainly less intense than the one she had in her dream. Breathing heavily, she gasped for breath, knowing that she doesn't need to. It was still a little cathartic for her. "A… a dream. But it felt… so real. Damn."

"Hey, Chara! You okay? That was some tossing and turning you were doing in your sleep."

She turned her head to her right, seeing Adrian with a piece of butterscotch-cinnamon pie in his hands. "Mornin' to you too, Corp. Yeah, I'm okay. Just a little night terror; we all get them now and then."

Adrian went to sit next to Chara, who then sat up properly in her bed. "Didn't even know you were capable of sleep. What'd ya dream about?"

"…" Chara sat there in thought, contemplating whether or not she should tell him. She supposed that it wasn't that important, or something that concerned him, that it would warrant a conversation, especially with him showing up.

The moving objects part, however, was something she did want to share as soon as possible. "Never mind me; how'd you sleep?"

"Never better," Adrian said, placing the plate on his lap and leaning backwards. "Best rest I've ever had in my life, easy. Doesn't look like you had the same luck, though. Are you sure you're okay? Seemed like more than a little night terror."

"What're you, my mom? I said I was fine."

Adrian chuckled a little. "…If you say so. Just making sure."

He took picked up the fork on the plate and stabbed a small piece of the pie. "Mmmh, so that's why she asked me if I was allergic. Never knew the combo of butterscotch and cinnamon would be this good, let alone in a pie… I don't even like pie."

"Well… not only that, but Mom is just an amazing cook in general. I would almost tell you to stay here, but we both know that you've got some underlying goal in mind."

"Ye-up. Can't change it. Got all the time in the world, though," Adrian nodded. He was curious on one thing, though, that he noticed. "…So. You can sleep? How's that work?"

Chara got up from the bed, sitting to the right of the marine. "Just as well as anyone else, mhm. Before you came along messing everything up, I only really had a few of them at a time. Very rare thing. None of them meant anything, though. Only lately, when you showed up, I started having them more… that's about it."

"I see… Must be weird to sleep as a ghost, huh? I mean, you don't feel anything, right? So, you would just be pressing up against nothing."

"Ehh…" Chara began, clicking her teeth. "If I'm up against a wall or something, I'm able to choose whether I can press up against it without phasing through, or just phase through it. It's a pretty nice ability that I found out about a while ago. Makes me feel… a little more alive, you know?"

Adrian raised his eyebrows momentarily. "Huh. Interesting. But you still can't affect things, surely."

"…Well, check this out?" Chara giggled, standing up.

"Wha-"

The first fallen extended her arm toward the plate and took up the fork Adrian was holding and held it in front of her, taunting the marine. Shen then stabbed the pie on Adrian's plate, taking a small piece of it and then ate the piece fully. "Mmmh. Pie. Some chocolate would go nice with this… even though I can't taste it."

Adrian sat there, trying to process what just happened. He did just wake up not too long before Chara did, so he admitted he was still groggy after having the best sleep of his life. So, for a moment, he was reactionless.

He knew Chara was a ghost. Ghosts can't affect real, actual objects and things. And yet, right in front of his eyes, he witnessed Chara do just that. And not only that, but she actually ate the piece of pie. What would that even look like? Where did the pie piece go? Did she actually eat it, or did it go somewhere?

Eventually, he gave a reaction.

"That… You couldn't do that before, could you?" Adrian asked, chuckling a little in disbelief. He squinted his left eye. "Other-uh… Otherwise, you would've been doing that before whenever I accidentally drew my pistol at someone."

Chara nodded. "Yeah, well, last night, I-"

Right as she was going to continue her sentence, she was interrupted instantly by an assortment of loud thumping noises, running down the hallway. Adrian turned his head to the door; he knew it was too fast to be Toriel (from what he's seen, anyways), and she doesn't seem like the type to rush in that manner.

But the steps were so familiar.

Adrian let out a soft smirk, staring at the door.

Chara, also knowing who it was, groaned in annoyance, laying back down on the bed. "Right as I was going to tell him… of course it's that thing who shows up."

Spore headbutted the door, breaking it open instantly as the hinges barely held on. It hopped on Adrian's lap, gurgling in joy as it has found its owner once again.

"Erm, little creature! Don't bother the… man?" Toriel shouted lightly, running after Spore in the hallway. When she reached the doorframe, she sighed, seeing Spore on Adrian. "I am sorry, Shephard. I found him in a corridor, wandering about aimlessly, so I brought him with me back home. I did not think he would be this rowdy."

Adrian rubbed the little alien's head a little. "Awh, don't worry. I know this little guy. He was with me when I fell down here." He smiled, though it quickly disappeared as he sucked in his cheek. "Huh… Toriel. You said you brought him with you? Like, you physically picked him up and stuff?"

"Yes, that is correct – why?" Toriel asked, raising an eyebrow in slight confusion.

"…Is he a bother to you?"

"No, not really. Although he is rowdy, he is quite fun and fascinating… though I am also uncertain of its eating habits. It seems to have a partiality to cinnamon-based foods. It also does seem to be repulsed by butterscotch, however…"

Adrian nodded, looking down at Spore. No one other than himself has been able to even get close to the creature without getting an electric blast to the face. Although he was really attached to Spore, he admits that he hadn't really been able to get a good grasp on him. It made him question whether he was a good owner to him…

He shook his head. He knew he'd have to make a call, or else he'd be on this decision forever.

Sighing, he spoke up. "What do ya think of keeping him here in the Ruins?"

Toriel's eyes lit up as she smiled. "I would be thrilled to house him. It would definitely be nice to have a little companion of my own – I do get lonely from time to time… but are you sure? He seems quite partial to you as well, so I do not wish to just take him away from you like that, Shephard."

Adrian shook his head. "Nah… nah, you'd do a way better job of taking care of him than I ever would. His name is Spore, by the way. He's a little… feisty, and he probably won't play well with others, but… he's helped me a lot. Besides…"

He took a small glance behind him quickly, trying to make it look as natural as possible. Chara was intently listening into the conversation, her crimson iris' seeming to glow. He knew she disliked him, for whatever reason, but it was a win – half win situation anyways. Spore gets a new permanent home with an owner that will actively look after him, and he gets put out of any potential danger that he might have had to face sometime later.

Chara won't have to worry about him either anymore, too.

"I think he'll help you a lot, too. As long as you let me visit from time to time, then I'll be right as rain."

"Then it is settled," Toriel said, smiling as Spore jumped from Adrian's arms into hers. "I will be in the living room for when you are ready to go. I am aware that you do have a goal in mind, that much is obvious, so I will not stop you. I will guide you to the exit; there, I have a little test in mind before you go."

"A test, huh? Interesting…" Adrian cracked his knuckles in anticipation. "I'm not really in that much of a hurry, but I got it. Thank you."

"It is my pleasure, young one."

With that, Toriel and Spore exited the room, leaving Adrian 'alone' once again.

Chara, who had been twiddling her thumbs a little during the entire ordeal, snickered. "…how'd you figure that I didn't like Spore?"

"It's obvious," Adrian replied, leaning back on the bed, extending his arms outwards. "Why do you hate him so much, is my question."

Chara shrugged. "He's creepy, always looking at me with that one, big, eye, the fact that he's always everywhere all the time, and… y'know. The fact that he's an ALIEN! That alone literally flipped over my view on space and everything."

"Was freaky the first time for me as well. But… I got used to it real fast."

"Oh yeah? Why is that?"

"Hard to explain."

"Okay, I'm assuming you can't tell me about it, right?"

Adrian shook his head.

"Can you at least consider telling me a little about it sometime?"

"…I'll think about it."

"Hey," Chara crossed her arms. "I'll take what I can get."

She floated off the bed and suspended herself in midair, floating in front of Adrian. "Ready when you are, Corp."

"Weren't you going to tell me about how you can pick up things now?"

Chara nodded, shrugging. "Eh, I'll tell you when we get out of the Ruins."

"…Sure."

Adrian carefully stuffed his gas mask into his backpack, deciding to bring it along even though he might not be using it again. Better safe than sorry, he thought; there's no telling what lies in the depths of this… Underground.

As well as he could tell, anyways.

He reached for the cord and unplugged his PCV vest from the wall, which has been blinking a semi-bright green colour to indicate the completion of its charging. Strapping it back on, he grabbed his helmet and strapped it on his head. "Safety first."

P.C.V. Redeployed. Fully charged. Ready for combat.

"Am I forgetting anything…?" Adrian asked himself, putting both of his hands on hips and looking around his bed. "Gas mask… backpack… helmet… vest… gun…?" He patted his sides, feeling nothing metallic. "Where the hell's my gun?"

"Right… here…" Chara held the M1911 up with both of her transparent hands, seeming to have a tough time maintaining her grip on it. "Why is this so hard to hold? It's not even that heavy… I think."

"…Maybe because you're still a ghost," Adrian took the gun from her and holstered it. All his weapons except for the lone M1911 seemed to have been stripped from him when he arrived in the Underground, so he managed. "You might be able to affect things now, but definitely not something like this yet."

"Yet implies I'll be able to do that sometime later."

"I don't know. I'm just guessing; I have no idea how all that works."

"Yeah, yeah… what do you even need that gun for? I thought you weren't going to shoot anyone anymore."

Adrian chuckled. "Y'know, guns aren't just for shooting people. I can also just shoot things. Besides, you never know when I might need it. I don't think I'll need it, but I've learned that sometimes, what I think, doesn't matter."

"Uh-huh, well, I better not catch you aiming that thing at anyone, or I'll… uh, knock that gun out of your hands. Yup, mhm. Don't tempt me, Corp," Chara smirked. Folding her arms as she floated back to sit on her bed.

"Ya got me, Chara," the marine said, raising his arms in defeat. He then grabbed a medium sized hydro flaskfrom the side of his backpack and took a large sip. He hadn't realised how thirsty he's gotten. And how hungry, now that he was thinking about it. "Ahh, alright, let's get outta here."

Adrian exited the room, Chara following not too far behind him. He stopped right as he left, however; earlier, he saw a mirror somewhere earlier, and he was curious about something. So, instead, of taking a right, he took a sharp left, walking to the edge of the hallway.

"You know, the living room is that-away," Chara said, deadpanned, pointing her thumb behind her as she pocketed her other hand.

"I know, but I want to see something…"

Seeing the mirror, he walked right in front of it, putting his hands on the cabinet in front of him. He took a deep, long, look at himself. It was him, obviously, but something felt a little different. Physically, he was the same. There were no new wrinkles, pimples, acne, anything. He still had the slight stubble on his face that he's always had.

Adrian took off his helmet and ran his gloved fingers through his fluffy, blonde hair. "That is different."

When he enlisted in the military, he had to shave his hair down. He also had to constantly keep shaving, so seeing it back in this state was strange. Unconsciously, he commented to himself. "Huh. Weird."

"What is?"

"My hair. It shouldn't be like this. I had a buzzcut kind of deal going on 'cause I'm a marine. But now it's back to what it was before I enlisted."

"Maybe that's not such a bad thing. A buzzcut does not look like it would suit you," Chara smirked, pretending to ruffle his hair. "Your hair right now is perfect."

"Was that a compliment?"

"…Maybe."

Adrian shrugged. "Huh. Thanks, I think. No point in reverting it now."

Adrian took some more time to look at himself. He's been through so much so far, with Black Mesa and all, and he knows he won't be stopping any time soon. So, with a huff, he put his helmet back on and pushed himself off the cabinet.

Besides, even after everything, it's still going to be him.

"Had enough self-reflecting?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

The duo moved over to the living room to see Toriel, who seemed to be reading one of her books to Spore, who, uncharacteristically, was listening, even if it may not completely understand.

"Snails actually are unable to hear. Most land snails have two sets of tentacles, the upper one carrying the eyes, while the lower one has the olfactory organs," Toriel smiled, reading out loud from the book. "Is that not neat?"

She raised her eyes, looking up to see Adrian approaching. She closed the book, Spore remaining on the side of the armchair. "Oh! I see you are finished preparing. I assume you are no longer going to wear that… what was that, anyways?"

Adrian chuckled a little. "It's a gas mask. It's used to protect its user from noxious fumes and other hazardous things. Before, I had it on because I didn't really know if I would come across something that was dangerous for me to breathe in. Now that I figure I probably won't come across anything like that, there's no real reason for me to keep it on, ya know?"

"I see. Well, I suppose that it is probably for the best," Toriel said, nodding, though she then squinted her eyes. "…Although it could help you if you were to keep it on. You may avoid encounters with other monsters intending to attack you for your SOUL if you happen to find yourself in a pickle…"

Adrian took mental note of that. "…She's right. Not that I want to now or anything, but I could do that… Huh."

"…But it could also be more trouble than it is worth. I'm sure it is difficult to constantly have that mask on, is it not?"

"Yeah, it is. My vision is clouded and I'm breathing through… filters. It's not something that you wear for long periods of time, really."

"I see…" Toriel's eyes indicated she was in thought, but she then shrugged, sighing not too long after. Standing up from her chair, she walked over to the young marine. "Okay, Shephard. Follow me; I will show you to the exit."

Adrian followed closely behind Toriel, who, along with Spore on her shoulder, went into the entrance room, making her way down the staircase. Down there, in the basement, lied an extensively lengthy set of corridors, following each other.

During the walk, Adrian thought it might be a good time to reflect a little. But he quickly discarded that notion. He's had many times and many points where he could reflect, and he's done so. "Enough reflection. I need to focus on what's ahead."

Eventually, after a good five-minute walk of thoughtless contemplation, they reached the end of the corridor, a large door not unlike the one Adrian saw at the beginning of the RUINS.

"This is it, Shephard."

"You say that as if I'm not going to see you again."

"No, no, that is not it. But this is where the exit is. This is the door that leads into the rest of the Underground, unrestricted."

Adrian nodded, though he was curious. "So… so you said something about some kind of test?"

"Yes…"

In an instant, Toriel turned around and raised her hands, forming monster magic in her hands. Her gaze turned from soft and loving into one of extreme judgement and determination, the fire burning within her eyes being made very apparent.

"Oh, for the love of…" Chara facepalmed.

"Hehe," Adrian cracked his knuckles once again. "Is this the test you were talking about?"

Toriel nodded, saying nothing for a second as her expression remained unchanged. "I see you have combat experience, and it would be wrong of me to tell you to be a complete pacifist, as doing so would go against your nature. However…"

She squinted her eyes. "There lies a resolution. This way, you will not have to forego your training, and yet you may not extensively harm anyone."

Adrian listened intently.

"Non-lethal combat! Before I let you pass, you will know the principles of pacifism via attacking!"

"Now this… is much more my speed."

In an instant, before Adrian could properly prepare himself, Toriel launched her balls of fire magic towards Adrian. Attacking with conviction and determination, she seemed like she was aiming to kill the marine. "Fight like your life depends on it! Because it very well may!"

Adrian, caught off guard, was barely able to dodge out of the way, rolling to the side. However, right as he recovered, he was met with a rain of magic fireballs descending upon him with immense speed. Instead of dodging, this time, he reached to his side and took out a knife. The fire balls, he knew, were small enough for him to block a few.

With the knife, he managed to block some of the fire balls along with the dodging to maximise his chances of avoiding the attack.

This succeeds partially as, while a few of the fire attacks did manage to graze him, he was able to roll out of the way again, this time being fully on guard.

Toriel looked at him with some suspicion, staring at the knife as she got into a specific fighting stance, specifically a defensive one focused on countering with magic attacks. Right as she was going to say something, Adrian spoke up.

"Don't worry about me using this to hurt anyone. I know how to use knives defensively. Trust me."

Toriel nodded as she resumed her barrage of attacks. This time, however, she blitzed forward, quickly changing her fighting stance from one of defence to offence. Adrian took note of her ability to change fighting styles quickly and went to clash with the RUINS caretaker.

Adrian's eyes darted to Toriel's right hand, which seemed to shift a little, contrasting from when she previously hurled her magic attacks. Watching that specific hand, he saw her launch not a fire ball, but pure fire itself right at him.

Knowing this was something he absolutely could not block, for obvious reasons, he opted for dodging. However, Toriel had other plans. The goat woman, with her other hand, launched a flurry of fire balls towards all of the possible escape routes the marine could have used to possibly avoid the fire. "Damn, not good!"

So, he decided to try something a little riskier.

Kicking himself off the floor, he ran toward Toriel rather than evade backwards to where the other fire balls would have exploded upon. He knew this was a risk due to the fact he was going right up to his opponent, potentially giving her a chance to retaliate quickly, but if there was an off chance of Toriel not expecting this, then he would take it.

"Wha-?"

It worked.

Adrian smirked as he witnessed Toriel's expression contort into one of confusion. Pocketing his knife, he went for a tackle, intending to knock her off balance and thrust her backwards. This succeeds as the both of them crash into the wall.

"Ach, not bad, Shephard!"

Toriel then kicked her off of him with ease, launching him far backwards. Although he managed to recover quickly, rolling backwards upon his impact with the ground and returning to his feet, he grabbed his chest, coughing slightly. "Damn. She's strong."

Damage sustained.

"No kidding. My vest absorbed that, too… I'll have to be more careful."

Adrian stood back up, smirking cockily. Getting into his own unique fighting stance, he calmed himself. He knew that if he wanted to win this fight, he'd have to go all out… submerge himself within the fight, and yet not lose himself in the process. Fight without consideration of outside variables.

Fight like his life depended on it.

…and yet, he needed to avoid killing.

He closed his eyes for a moment, then reopening them the instant afterwards. The air around him seemed to contort, as if he was an entirely new person. His eyes emitted a fiery determination as he steadied his breathing.

This, exactly, was what made him so special in the military. His ability to effectively erase all weaknesses that held him back from being as effective as possible and enhance everything he would utilise in a fight. The precise, exact reason why he's survived this long, especially in Black Mesa.

Why the G-Man pulled him out and brought him in.

His head tilted very slightly to the left.

Toriel, naturally, noticed this change in the air. Although it slightly concerned her, she didn't worry too much as she went on the offensive once again. She held her hands out in front of her, charging a large ball of fire. In a flash, she launched the attacks, along with a flurry of fire attacks around the initial attack to prevent any chance of escaping the attack as a whole. "How will he counter this, I wonder?"

Her eyes widened as she realised… he was no longer there.

In Adrian's perspective, the intensely quick attacks moved in slow motion. The fire beam-like attacks, whilst also similarly fast, were still slow to him. He unconsciously knew that he'd have to act fast; his body was not as quick as his mind in this state.

He rushed ahead, entering a sort of blind spot between the massive fireball and beams of fire. Taking his knife out with ease, he stabbed the fireball's side as he continued running toward Toriel, slashing through as an explosion followed closely behind him.

By the time it had enough time to catch up with him, he was already a mere few feet away from the caretaker.

Toriel's eyes widened in absolute confusion and surprise, not expecting this burst of speed to come from Adrian; it was a stark contrast to what he was displaying just minutes prior. However, she wasn't done; she had one more ace up her sleeve.

She quickly lowered both of her hands to her sides, her palms facing outward, preparing some smaller fireballs to elicit a reaction from Adrian and perhaps dissuade him from pursuing this attack of his and retreat. However, what she didn't except, was for Adrian to completely ignore this.

She still continued with the attack. She decided that if it hurt him, then so be it.

In a microsecond, Toriel launched the attack, the fire scattering forward in a grenade-like manner. She worried that she might have put too much power into it, actually harming him, but she couldn't worry about that right now. "That should have repelled hi-…"

SWISH!

THWOOM!

Adrian did a side-flip out of the way, rolling into the wall. Using the wall to create momentum for himself, he launched himself back on his feet. Before Toriel could even react, Adrian was behind her.

Quickly, he withdrew his knife instinctively. His mind was clear and blank, and yet this seemed like what he had to do. What he was supposed to do.

Before he knew it, he lost himself.

"ADRIAN, STOP! GET OUTTA YOUR MIND, DAMN IT!"

Chara.

Right as Adrian was going to position the knife on Toriel's neck, he managed to regain control of himself as he threw the knife to the side. He unfocused.

He raised his hand for a moment, clutching it tightly as he also regained his composure. He used it to fake-chop her neck, indicating his win. Then, putting his hands on his hips, he looked up to Toriel, only now noticing the height disparity. "Gotcha."

Toriel blinked, turning around to see the marine. She began to laugh for a little while before sighing. "You… are a strange one, Shephard," she began. "…but that is not necessarily a bad thing. I acknowledge your self-control."

She looked to her left and saw the discarded combat knife.

Adrian opened his mouth to speak, but Toriel did first.

"…though I see that you have a little to work on. I suppose that state you were in almost had you attempt a strike at me with that knife?"

Adrian hesitantly nodded. "…Yeah. I, uh… stopped myself before I was able to, but… I'm a soldier. We're trained to kill without hesitation. I'll need to work on your principles a little more, but I should be able to keep it in check."

Toriel nodded. "I trust you, Shephard. I have no worry that you will follow the right path and find your own, best way of suppressing such tendencies."

"Thank you."


"Are you absolutely certain you do not wish to have your companion remain with you? It would be nice for me to have one of my own, but I do not wish for you to part with your friend."

"Nah, nah… Like I said, you'd do a much better job at protecting and taking care of him."

Adrian, who had just picked up the knife he threw earlier, was prepared to finally exit the RUINS. As much as he enjoyed his time within the purple corridors and Toriel's presence, he felt like he might have overstayed his welcome, if just a little bit. Besides, he was excited to see what the rest of the Underground offered him.

He was looking forward to seeing what the other monsters outside the RUINS are like, too.

"Oh, before I forget; do you have a cell phone?" Toriel queried. "Whenever you decide to visit Spore and I, you could call me, and I would open the RUINS doors to let you in."

Adrian nodded. "Ah yeah, sure. Hang on…"

He took off his backpack and shuffled through it, his hand clanking against the various objects within the storage space. Not so long after, however, he was able to locate it, pulling it out. "There we go. Check this out."

The marine pulled out a flip phone from his backpack and held it up. "Top of the line up on the Surface, I'll tell ya."

Toriel tilted her head in slight confusion but didn't pay it too much mind as she held out her more modernised device, giving him her number. Adrian dialled it on his phone and smiled, saving her as a contact. He somehow had service, all the way down here. He didn't question it, though he wondered if the 'MR' symbol at the top left of the screen had anything to do with it.

In any case, it didn't matter too much to him.

He kneeled down, Spore, who had been watching the entire fight from the sidelines, ran up to his arms. "Alright, little buddy. I'm going to leave you here with the nice lady. You be good to her, alright? No electric charges against anyone or anything like that."

The little alien gurgled, making Adrian smirk as he rubbed his head. "Good boy."

Standing back up, he extended a hand to Toriel. She set it aside and quickly hugged the marine, who hugged her back. "Stay safe out there. It can be very dangerous, depending on who you encounter. Try not to hurt anyone seriously, okay?"

She released Adrian from the embrace, the marine nodding. "I will. Thank you again for your help, Toriel."

With that one last good-bye until the next they meet, Adrian and, naturally, Chara entered the giant, decorated door, and proceeded along the path. Hearing Toriel shut and lock the door behind him, Adrian sighed; he was ready for the next part of his venture.

But it seemed Chara wasn't.

She floated ahead of him and crossed her arms, her expression showing one of immense confusion. "What. In THEE fuck. Was that?!" she exclaimed, finally being able to talk to Adrian properly again now that they were alone. She put her hands to her head, pretending she had a headache as she witnessed Adrian walk without a care in the world.

She tilted her head very slightly, burrowing her eyebrows in a mix of confusion and fascination. "No, seriously. You have to tell me. What was that?!"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't bull crap me with that 'whaddaya mean' stuff. I've never seen anyone just dodge like that and surprise Mom like you just did. You literally flew… an' stuff. You can't convince me that just anyone could do that.

"It's 'cause not just anyone could do it. I mean, I've been trained, right? So, it makes sense. What's the problem?"

"Yeah, right. Sure. What are they even feeding you military guys up there? Don't make some stuff up. I know that's not normal. I've seen enough movies to know."

Adrian sighed in annoyance. He originally wasn't going to explain that ability he has, but since Chara seemed adamant in knowing, he decided otherwise. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you. Yeah, it's not normal. I don't think so, anyways. I was born with it. It gives me the ability to hyper-focus in combat, way more than normal. I lose myself to the fight and… you know."

"Huh… Like you kind of did against Flowey?"

"You can say that, yeah. Only problem is…"

"…it's trained to kill."

"Exactly. And if I'm going to be some sort of pacifist, I'm going to have to learn to suppress it, or not use it at all. I'll either have to stop myself before I kill someone, or I'll have to get used to it. Dunno how I'm going to do that."

Chara shrugged. "I could always stop you."

"That's true. You think you can always snap me out of it before I… snap someone's neck?" Adrian smirked, pocketing his hands.

"Definitely. I can, like, knock your weapon out of your hand. Or I could shout very loudly in your ear. That seemed to work against Flowey and with Toriel."

"Sure, just make sure you don't almost get me killed doing it, like you did against Flowey. Thanks for that, by the way."

"Hey… I already said I was sorry. Right then and there, actually. I even called out to you…" Chara paused. "…speaking of call, did you actually call your phone 'top of the line'?"

"I mean… yeah, I did. Am I wrong? It just came out; I had to stand in line to buy it. I take my tech very seriously, I'll have you know," Adrian said, folding his arms.

Chara squinted her eyes. "What're you talking about? I saw your flip phone. Dude, you're literally off by, like, ten generat-"

"Hang on, what's that ahead?"

Adrian pointed ahead to a little entryway that led into a pitch-black room. However, they were able to see a small semblance of light near the middle of the room, as if there was a beam of light shining overhead,

Adrian turned to Chara, who shrugged. "What're you looking at me for? You're the alive one. You go on ahead."

"I… have a feeling that something's about to happen, and you know what it is," Adrian said plainly, crossing his arms and raising his head a little upwards in contemplation. "Am I about to get into another fight?"

Chara shook her head in dismissal. "No, but… well, you'll see."

Adrian, with a puff, proceeded forward, Chara following not too far behind. His eyes went towards the middle of the room's floor, of which there now appeared to be a rather sizeable spotlight heeding overhead. Looking up and seeing no sign of where the light was coming from, he put his hands on his hips and sucked his own cheek.

Lowering his gaze downwards and, rather, forward, he saw the same door that he has been seeing throughout his venture through the RUINS: a large, grandiose, purple vined door up ahead. He supposed that this would be the last time he would see this door for a while, sensing that up ahead lied the rest of the Underground.

Putting his hands back into his pockets, he continued forward, making it to the middle of the room…

Only to see Flowey reappear out of nowhere right in the middle of the spotlighted floor.

"I bet you think you're REAL clever. Seriously. You have been real busy, haven'tcha?"

Adrian sneered. "It's you again. I thought I scared you off last time. What, want a rematch?"

Flowey's expression contorted into one of indescribable anger for a second before returning to his usual smugness. "Oh, I wouldn't dream of fighting you. I've seen what you can do, and I definitely am not going to tempt fate."

The flower's smirk deepened. "Not that you would even try and kill me anyways."

"Oh yeah? How do you suppose that?"

Flowey's grin turned malicious. "I know you're talking to someone. And I don't mean Toriel or any of the cannon fodder."

"Rude to call your own race fodder," Adrian jested, but his casual expression turned into one of slight seriousness. "Surely he doesn't know about Chara… right?"

"Wouldn't be the first time, soldier," Flowey remarked. "Someone is guiding you through. Normally, I would just write it off as you being coo-coo crazy, heck you probably are, but this is different. Way different. And I can tell from your face that I'm not wrong, am I?"

Adrian doesn't answer.

"Your silence is very telling, soldier. That must mean I'm onto something, huh? Hoo-hoo. Golly. A ghost, maybe? I saw that Napstablook fool talking to thin air right next to you… A ghost of whom, I wonder?"

"Don't follow me, Flower."

"That isn't such a nice way to greet a friend! I will get to the bottom of this, and I will expose who you're dancing around with! And when I do…"

Flowey's expression turned manic.

"I'll HARVEST your SOUL, TAKE that power of yours, and DESTROY whoever you're talking to!"

Flowey laughed maniacally. "Hmm… Isn't that SUCH A WONDERFUL IDEA?!"

In an instant, Flowey rooted himself back further underground, disappearing from sight. Just as quickly as he arrived, he was gone to the annoyance of both Chara and Adrian. The marine went over to the exact spot the flower was station at and kicked it.

"I don't suppose he's here anymore…" the marine said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "What was that even about? You know he was talking about you."

Chara floated in front of him, nodding. "Yeah, I know, but I don't think he'll realise it's actually me any time soon."

"What, do you guys have history?"

Chara let out a soft chuckle, knowing all about who Flowey actually was and their brother-sister relationship before the both of them turned… into different beings. "You can say that."

Adrian wanted to press further, but with Chara's vague answer, he supposed that now wasn't the right time. In fact, he had a lot of questions for the apparition, yet he still couldn't find the appropriate situation for him to let loosen them. For now, he set his worries aside, and focused on what was in front of him.

He faced the massive door in front of him. This was, he knew, the exit to the RUINS. With a smile plastered on his face, he pushed open the door, with a little bit of Chara's unprompted assistance, and finally opened the door.

His first thought was simple yet telling.

"…Cold."


A / N

Remember how I said that this would be a short chapter? Shorter than usual, anyways?

Lol. I think this is the longest one thus far. Maybe. I dunno. Go check for yourself.

But that's fine, since I had a lot of ideas for this chapter (and some new ideas for the near future). Ex. Adrian's main method of 'fighting'. Non-lethal hand-to-hand combat aimed to take down all his foes without causing permanent harm. I think this is absolutely perfect for Adrian. Rather than making him a full on pacifist like Frisk (or at least how they were in the initial runs in this sort-of AU), Adrian is going to use his combat experience and fighting ability to sort of pacify his enemies, like how Toriel described it.

Anyways…

I almost considered splitting this up into two chapters. Because of its length, it might be harder for a long read, but I ultimately chose not to. I want to have a set number of chapters for each section, and I don't really want to ruin it. At least, for right now; I am sure this will definitely change in the future. However, for now, this will be how it is.

As you can see… we part from Spore. You can probably guess why.

Finally, we enter SNOWDIN! It's about time. More monsters, more interactions… more opportunities! Exciting prospects are inbound… though from here on for a little while, I wouldn't expect rapid-fast updates. Something happened in my family and I'm torn over it. I'll try and keep up, obviously (and they likely won't take as long as this did for obvious reasons), but I'm giving y'all a little heads up if I go radio silent for a while.

I think that's all I wanted to cover for now. I hope this has been an enjoyable read so far.

Until next time!

TL;DR – Long ass chapter. Whoops. Adrian and non-lethal combat. Almost split this chapter up, but I didn't. We part from Spore. We enter Snowdin next chapter.)

(P.S. yes as you can tell I am a fan of yapping, so my A/Ns are going to be very lengthy)

(P.P.S. I might start cutting long chapters like these in half for ... We'll see the next time I do something like this).


(F/N) - pelapor022 - "Keep going man! Cheers."

Reply - Aye, thank you! I will!