Chapter Text

The human woke up in a panic, and neither voice in their head was far behind the other.

They bolted upright, shared muscles primed to bolt, heart pounding from behind their SOUL.

There'd never been a time in either of their lives when nightmares like these hadn't plagued them. Their lives were a picture book of horrors, and their memories both shared and personal were an open archive of imagery for their nightmares to pick from. That had never slowed down; not when they joined together; not when they left the Underground two years ago; not when they committed to sharing their experience on the surface two weeks ago. If anything this nightmare, with its crushing blackness and grasping pale hands, had only become more frequent as time went on.

But they didn't face it alone.

"H-Hey." It was Chara's voice, followed by a gentle touch against the side of their own face. "It's... it's fine. We're safe. It was only a bad dream."

They kept soothing for a moment. Usually one of them or the other would pull themself out of the flashback first, and it was their responsibility to reach a hand out for their partner. Today that fell on Chara. They did their best to approach it more gently than they once had, knowing tomorrow they could very well be depending on Frisk to make it out of bed.

Frisk's mind, the shadow on the far wall of their mind, slowly grew more distinct, sharper and more aware of their surroundings.

"We're safe," Frisk repeated shakily. "We're safe."

"It's all behind us. There are nothing but good things today."

"Y-Yeah." Frisk brightened, the sunny room, the soft hand against their cheek, and the consoling tone managing to tug them from the worst of the morning panic. "Thanks, Chara."

"Thanks are not required. You do the same thing for me." They were quiet for a moment, before pressing on. It still felt awkward to reach out so... emotionally, but they knew now how important it was. "Are you going to be alright, or should we take a few minutes?"

"I... think I'll be fine from here. Thanks."

They felt a wave of affection rolling across their divided mind, and relished the feeling. They'd been so cold to Frisk before; it was almost painful now to think about how much they'd both suffered in silence from things they could have been supporting each other through. They knew Frisk was feeling the same affection returned back to them... and promptly felt Frisk's love take on a familiar mischievous streak.

"Kiss."

Chara fell backwards in bed with a groan, rolling their eyes so hard it almost hurt. "Oh my God. Didn't I tell you to stop saying that?"

"~You di-id, but I'm not gon-na," Frisk returned in a sing-song tone. Chara felt their cheeks redden, which only intensified the playful affection bubbling up in their partner. They didn't have it in them to be genuinely annoyed. When they woke up terrified this was exactly what they both needed, and they both knew it.

"It's ridiculous," they shot back. "I am not going to say it."

"Not my fault we've only got one mouth," Frisk retorted. "We've gotta take the next best thing. C'mon. Kiiiiiiss."

Chara closed their eyes, wondering if their cheeks were glowing hotly enough to catch anything on fire by now.

"Kiss," they said back, dying instantly to the combined heat and hilarity they felt from Frisk. Ugh, weren't cute couple things embarrassing enough when they weren't a fine line away from schizophrenia?

Despite that thought, and despite continuing to tease Frisk for the dumb custom they'd started as they got ready for their day trip, they were getting out of bed happy. Which, despite being two years into their 'happy ending,' was only just recently becoming the norm.

Mt. Ebott was not a long drive away; distance was the very last of the things that kept the remaining Dreemurrs from making it more than a monthly trip. It was only a half hour drive up crooked country roads that sloped ever upward, through ancient dense forests and past the occasional overgrown frames of long-abandoned villages.

Toriel said little as they made the drive, and Chara said even less. To their gratitude Frisk chose not to press them for anything; they knew their partner had grown up in one of these old villages and knew from shared midnight terrors that the memories were not to be revisited. They just squeezed their own hand, and seemed content with the affectionate appreciation they got in return.

Finally they reached one of the several entrances to the Underground, now overgrown and half forgotten despite the historical plaques set up around it. Even since the reintegration began humans had largely avoided this mountain out of superstition, and few monsters held any desire to revisit it. The Underground had truly gone empty... or at least, almost empty. Toriel parked in a small clearing a little ways from the cave's opening and got out with a strange sigh.

"Alright... are you ready, my child?"

"Ready." Chara was already out of the car, shuffling their backback against their shoulders and taking a deep breath. This wasn't the first time they'd returned to the Underground—it had been Frisk's monthly ritual over the past couple of years as well. But this was different, and not just because they were the one steering this time.

"Then let us be off. Honestly, it is amazing how little has changed..."

And it was. There were a few more openings into the Underground now, apparently because the Barrier had been partially supporting a few areas of the ceiling from caving in on top of the the expanses below. Neither Chara nor Frisk really understood how that was supposed to work, since kids and garbage could pass through the top side of the Barrier just fine, but Alphys and various TV geologists had sounded pretty confident about it so whatever. It also meant there were more convenient openings into the Ruins that you didn't have to leap into at life-threatening heights.

Soon they were walking familiar paths across purple tiled rooms, the shadows of ancient buildings looming over them like the stalactites.

"Sometimes it feels like just yesterday I was walking you through these halls, Frisk," Toriel said, an odd note of nostalgia to her voice. "Oh! Those switches! Remember flipping those switches?"

"I remember flipping the wrong one," Frisk mused.

"I remember you being impressively fast at being wrong," Chara teased. They smiled at their mother, speaking out loud.

"How could I forget?"

Toriel seemed happy. She smiled at familiar sights, at pillars, switches, and vines that had become the closest things to friends she'd had for a hundred years. As miserable as she'd been here, it seemed to have a familiarity that made her smile.

That smile remained on her snout as they reached their first destination, but it was the sad smile of a mother who'd buried too many children. They arrived at a patch of golden flowers where everything had begun so long ago. They were all respectfully quiet as they approached the grave; they didn't pester their mother as she stood and contemplated the patch of earth, solemnly paying her respects.

The golden flowers were as meticulously well-kept as they'd been on every other visit. Toriel had long since given up on questioning why that was, at least at loud, and neither Chara nor Frisk had ever wondered. They knew exactly who was down here taking care of the flowers. They thus knew this was the one place they were guaranteed to get his attention.

Chara waited for Toriel to start sniffing, their cue to come closer and put a gentle arm around her. She hugged them in turn, still smiling even as the tears dripped down onto the stone and soil.

They felt guilty as always about seeing her in pain, but knew it wouldn't last long. Today they were taking their first steps towards revealing the truth to everyone. They were going to tell Toriel and Asgore both that the fourth Dreemurr was still alive, but before they did that... there was someone who deserved the truth from them more than anyone else. They needed to leave a message for their best friend.

"Mom," Chara said quietly. "Would it be alright if I paid some respects?"

Toriel blinked, but nodded at once, wiping away her tears. "Of course, my child. I am... certain they would appreciate it."

Chara knelt down by the patch of flowers, shrugging off their backpack and pulling out a small bouquet of hand-picked flowers Asgore had happily lent them from his garden. They made sure the bouquet was perfectly formed and lowered it gently to rest among the golden flowers.

"Think he'll see it?" Frisk asked thoughtfully. "The note's kinda tucked in there."

"I don't want Toriel to notice it. It would raise a number of awkward questions if she were to read it. Questions I'm not quite ready to answer." Chara frowned in consideration before making a small adjustment, putting one single flower in the bouquet out of order. The one who'd so dedicatedly kept this grave site for the past two years would feel compelled to fix it, and when he did, he'd find the note.

They half hoped that he wouldn't. But being happy wasn't always comfortable. Being happy took work. It took owning up to past mistakes and putting an end to years' worth of dishonesty.

It took reaching out to the people they'd hurt. They would do that; they would tell absolutely everyone. But they had to start somewhere, and it was only right and proper that they start with him.

The Queen and the Idiot finally turned to leave the cavern. Only then did one of the golden flowers open his eyes.

Frisk had been... different today. So very, very different and familiar all at once. The way they spoke, smiled, and walked away dug up old memories that stirred him to his hollow core.

Was he falling prey to old delusions?

They'd left a bouquet... that was new. He liked new.

But after all the effort of arranging a bouquet they'd went and left one of the flowers askew. Typical. He extended a vine to fix it, causing a small, folded note to fall out.

He froze, eyes narrowing. They'd left a note? What could Frisk have to say to the bones in this grave? Something so private and important they'd hidden it among the flowers where the Queen couldn't see?

He read it immediately.

Greetings.

Do you recognize my handwriting? I would imagine not. It's changed a lot since we were trading crayons back and forth.

I imagine I have your attention now.

Flowey.

Asriel.

It's me, Chara. I'm on the surface with Frisk. We're sharing a body, a bit like you and I did once upon a time. It's been this way since Frisk first fell. I wanted to tell you back when you destroyed the Barrier, but...

...I think you know how it is.

I wasn't the greatest person when we were last together. I'm not the greatest now, either. But I am changing. Frisk is changing. I'm sure you are changing too.

It destroys me to talk to Mom and Dad again, but it means the world to me nonetheless. I'm sure that talking to you would be even more so. If you think you would feel the same way, then...

Please come to the surface. I think we have a lot to talk about.

"How are you feeling?" Frisk asked quietly. Chara wasn't sure how to answer that, following behind Toriel at a snail's pace some paces away. She was already moving briskly towards the other end of the Underground, another bunch of flowers ready to leave at Asriel's grave. Chara held a similar bunch in Frisk's hands, though there was no note in this one. If As...

If Flowey wanted to hear any more from them, he'd have to do as their other note suggested and follow them to the surface.

The idea of him doing just that flooded them with both hope and horror.

"I'm terrified," they admitted finally, a cold pit in their stomach as they stewed over everything that could happen. "What if he hates me?"

"No one keeps a grave garden for two years 'cause they hate someone," Frisk assured them. "He loves you. Even though it's not even POSSIBLE for him to love you, he still does."

"I... suppose. Still. There's no telling how he'll react."

"Then don't think about that," Frisk said. "We don't have any say over what he does. Today is about doing the best we can to fix what we can. And that's what you did! You wrote that amazing note!"

"A part of me still wants to go tear that note to shreds," they whispered quietly. Frisk seemed to understand.

"I know. But I also know you don't really want to do that, do you?"

"...no."

"I'm proud of you, Chara." Frisk said it with such sincerity and love it'd be impossible to doubt them even if they weren't sharing a mind. "We're finally working for that happy ending we talked about."

"And it started with arguing over algebra."

"Hey, everything's gotta start somewhere. How about we make today a new starting point?"

"I would like that a lot," Chara said earnestly. "And I think I see one up ahead."

There was a golden point of light glowing with a radiant intensity on the path ahead. Toriel walked right past it without remark, not even noticing the sheer raw energy it exuded. Chara made an instinctual beeline for it as surely as a starving human would crawl for food.

They did this once a month, and had for two years now, because life and nightmares had taught them one thing. Nothing in life was promised. A single mistake could take everything from you.

They were lucky—impossibly, cosmically lucky in a way they would never deserve and could never pay the universe back for. The rules that could take away other people's lives no longer applied to them. With their shared determination they could make a safe point in time to fall back on... just in case.

It was a ritual that had required both of their cooperation from the very beginning. As best they could tell neither of them had the power required to do it on their own. They had to do it together.

Chara reached their hand out and grasped the light, feeling its power shining within their SOUL. It had a comforting quality to it. A warmth almost as familiar as the person they shared their head with. They found themself with a sincere smile on their lips, quietly addressing their partner.

"Well? Will you do the honors?"

"Huh? Oh yeah! I should do that. Hold on."

Chara waited patiently for a moment before Frisk's voice spoke again, taking a different tone. Their old narration game. Born of boredom, continued out of comfort, revisited out of love. Frisk imitated Chara's voice as they did so, which they found too endearing to even put words to.

"The shadows of these old Ruins loom from behind like bad memories," Frisk narrated. "But you've gotten through them before, and you aren't revisiting them alone. Knowing that we'll continue through them together fills you—fills us—with determination."

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Ruins Hallway

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That was that, then. Strange numbers and words flashed through their mind as time folded over them. They understood little of it; little except that they were safe now. They had a safe place to fall back to if the month didn't end well. Somehow though, with Frisk more generous and Chara less cold, that constant gnawing anxiety didn't feel so oppressing. In fact they found themself daring to hope for another good month.

"How was that?" Frisk asked sheepishly, as they picked up the pace to catch up with their mother.

"I have a few notes," Chara said with a teasing tone. "But overall... it was perfect, Frisk. I feel more determined than ever."

"Aww. Kiss?"

"Ugh, fine. Kiss."

Warmth shone through their shared mind and SOUL, and they entered a relaxed pace as they walked behind Toriel across the length of these old memories.

They were both filled with determination.

They were both filled with the hope that came from not being alone.

Because despite everything. Whatever it was that brought them strife. Be it monsters or humans... nightmares or algebra... Chara themself or Frisk themself...

They could talk. They could reason. They could figure it out together.

It wasn't Frisk walking this path, and it wasn't Chara.

It was both of them.