Standing behind a haze of snow was the only other human in the Underground. Frisk eyed them warily and walked forward.

They could recognize Chara just from all the colors that flashed in the snow. That flamboyant green jacket they wore, and that bright rainbow scarf that flapped behind them from this strange underground wind. And who could forget those eyes? Blood red and as wide as dinner plates. Those eyes had always been dancing with joy when Frisk had seen them before. The other kid had been having a blast this entire time. Setting up their elaborate traps. Laughing when those same traps blew up in their face. Playing around with the fuzzy monster they called their brother. They'd been loving this game of theirs.

That game felt a thousand miles away from what Frisk had been living through. This forest was filled to the brim with monsters... or at least, it had been. It'd been a brutal fight for survival to get here, and Frisk had the dust and EXP to show for it. It wasn't anything they weren't already used to. They'd been through things a twerp like Chara couldn't understand. Even before the Underground.

At least those eyes didn't look so happy-go-lucky anymore. Chara's gaze was hard to make out, especially in this snow, but they looked... worried. Good. Frisk wasn't the weakling they were when they first fell down here. They weren't small and scared anymore; they were as dangerous as any monster that called this place home, and if Chara had any thought of picking a fight with them, they were in for a rough surprise.

It wasn't any surprise to Frisk. They'd been expecting this for a while now. As friendly as the other kid looked they were still an enemy. They called a monster their brother and said they dreamed of becoming a guard. Fighting them was always going to be how this ended. Chara 'Dreemurr' was at worst a traitor to their own kind, and at best, just another monster standing in Frisk's way.

"Oh..." a dry voice said in the back of their head. He sounded like he'd been drifting off. "It's that loud human again. Where's their brother, I wonder."

Blook had been living in their head since they'd first fallen down, and he was the only thing in this whole horrible place that Frisk could halfway trust. The quiet ghost had been watching everything, and he wasn't any more surprised than Frisk to see they'd have to fight Chara just like they fought everyone else. Why would he be surprised? Everyone they'd met in these horrible caves had tried to stop them from leaving somehow. Either they let their bullets fly without a care or they were actually trying to rip the SOUL out of their still bleeding body. Even that lazy old caretaker in the Ruins had tried to keep them from leaving. Said he was doing them a favor—saving them from some vague bad time up ahead.

Those had been a few of his last words, and his funniest joke yet.

'Cause no matter what, Frisk and Blook had won.

And they'd won.

And over and over, they'd won. They'd defeated the enemy and became stronger. If anyone had any doubt about that, they could just check their LOVE and their dusty hands. Did this human really think they would stand a chance? That Frisk'd be like who they were up above, scared and pathetic and not able to protect themself? Frisk almost looked forward to showing them otherwise.

They started towards Chara with determination.

"Listen," Chara said suddenly, calling across the clearing. "Stop the game for a moment."

So now they wanted an end to the games? Frisk cocked their head. Despite their determination they decided to stop, just for a moment. They stood just across the mist from Chara, meeting their crimson eyes with their own hollow stare.

Chara took a deep breath, as though struggling to find the words they wanted to say.

"I... have been watching you," they said.

They were smiling as they always were, but something felt... different about it this time. It wasn't like when they smiled at Asriel's jokes. It looked more... desperate than that.

Frisk frowned. Was Chara putting on a brave face, or was this all some sort of trick?

"I've seen you shambling around from place to place," Chara went on, their voice rising in volume. "I've seen you ignore everyone who tries to talk to you. You haven't laughed at a single one of Azzie's jokes. You haven't even tried to solve any puzzles. And your hands are... covered in dust."

Frisk narrowed their eyes. So this was it? Another lecture from someone who thought they understood? Human or not, Chara didn't exactly look like they were fighting for their life down here. Maybe it was time to change that.

Chara must have noticed the sudden glare in their expression, because they immediately softened their voice.

"I'm not trying to attack you," they said quickly. "I just want to talk. I believe... you are going down a dangerous path. I've seen it before."

Blook felt like he was tired of this. Frisk was too. They took a step forward, and Chara took a step back. Their smile became tighter, almost looking downright painful.

"I lived on the surface," Chara said. "Just like you did. I know what it can be like up there."

Frisk stopped, hesitant.

"Humans don't like things that are different from them," Chara went on. Their smile became rueful. "They don't take the time to know them. And then. They're cruel to them. You know that as well as I do... don't you? That must be why you climbed the mountain. The mountain that no one has ever returned from."

Frisk suppressed a shudder. They fought away the panicked thoughts and bad memories that threatened to surge to the front of their mind; they grit their teeth and clenched a fist around the dull knife they'd found in the Ruins.

Chara could try to trap them all they want, lecture them all they wanted, but they would not pretend to understand. Frisk took another couple of steps forward.

"Hey!" Chara yelped, stiffening. This time they didn't back away, though. Though they were shaking they seemed determined to make a stand here. "D-Don't keep coming towards me while I'm talking. That's precisely what I'm talking about! You have to understand. It... it doesn't have to be like this."

Their tone was pleading. Cracking with something more real than the happy voice they used for their games. Something that proved how fake everything else was.

Something in that crack made Frisk pause again.

They were much closer together now. Frisk could make out tears on Chara's red cheeks, and they didn't seem to be shaking from the cold.

But they kept that smile. And though it had started playful and become pained, it was starting to look encouraging. As though they were helping a friend they'd known for a hundred years.

"I don't pretend to know what they did to you up above," Chara said, voice barely trembling. "I can guess, but I don't know. I know it must have been like a nightmare for you to choose this instead. But... it doesn't have to be that way here. You don't have to be like them. You aren't like them! I know because you are standing here listening to me."

Frisk stood as still as an ice sculpture. Blook seemed confused—confused and impatient. He didn't like company. He seemed to want to move forward.

But Frisk's feet felt frozen to the stone underneath them.

"I'm not like them either," Chara said. Their voice was barely louder than the snow falling from the ceiling. "It took me a long time to understand that. But it's true. I'm not like them because... despite everything... despite how much I hate them when I'm lying awake in bed sometimes..."

They hesitated. Their smile wavered, but when they spoke again, they looked more determined than ever.

"...I don't want to hurt anyone," they said firmly. "I'm not like whoever hurt you. And if I can learn how to smile and be happy after everything that happened, so can you."

Frisk wanted to scream.

Chara didn't understand. They couldn't possibly understand. What it was like to spend every moment in your own house with your eyes wide open, listening to people's tones of voice just so you'd know before they exploded. What it was like to hear footsteps down the hall from your room and want to hide. Chara couldn't know what it was like to feel small and scared!

But they did know.

It was written all over their face.

No one smiled so much unless it was a choice.

"Oh!" Chara said, bolder by the second. "I know what you need. What you need is a partner. Someone who can help you learn what life can really be like! That's what Asriel was for me. If you let me, I can be your partner! I can show you how you can make friends with the monsters, so no one has to fight. We can forget everything. All the dust, all the fighting. We can just... live. We can play. We can be happy here."

It was amazing how much that constant smile could say. It was positively glowing now, and their huge red eyes were wide and earnest. Against every instinct that Chara must be feeling they started walking forward. They crossed the space between them to stand even closer to Frisk. They even held out their hand.

"So... what do you say?" they asked. "Let us erase that pointless world up above from our minds. There's a better one right here."

Frisk couldn't move. They were locked in place, only their eyes moving to flit back and forth between the outstretched hand and the friendly face in front of them. Chara's smile had lost almost all of its fear. It was more genuine than Frisk had ever seen before.

Blook's voice interrupted their thoughts.

"Forgettable..." he sighed, sounding as unimpressed as ever. He started to read out Chara's stats in a monotone, as though getting ready for a fight. "Hmm... they're not made of magic... so I guess they won't crumple under a hit like these monsters do. Still... the knife's probably sharp enough to get the job done. Won't be clean... or quick... but it'll get done."

"They're not attacking," Frisk said in their head. For the first time since they'd fallen down here, doubt was beginning to creep through them.

"Oh... is that something we pay attention to now...?" The words could have come out sarcastic, but Blook actually sounded surprised. "It's up to you... like always. Since when was I ever the one in control......?"

LOVE made them strong. LOVE kept them fighting. LOVE made them tough enough to make a stand. Tougher than they ever were on the surface.

Chara believed in them.

LOVE was the true meaning of this world. That obnoxious flower made that much clear. And if the flower hadn't convinced them, everything else had. Were they really going to let another human corrupt them into powerlessness?

Chara's eyes were shining with hope.

No one had ever looked at them like that on the surface. No one down here had any reason to.

Frisk locked eyes with the only other human in the Underground, and they made a choice.