#serol

Alphys turned back towards Chara with concern. It had been a long time since she saw Chara in such a state of grief and dismay. She almost felt at a loss. She wanted to say something. Anything. She thought about her words as she carefully grasped Chara’s hand with both of hers. Chara’s eyes drifted to their grasped hand, their sobs unhindered. Alphys spoke gently, “Chara. I promise it won’t get that bad.” Chara’s voice cracked through their sobs, “Please… don't lie to me.” “I’m not lying…” Chara shot a glare. They pushed their upper body up to Alphys’s eye level. They raised their voice, “You are lying!” Alphys shivered. She jumped back with a startle. Chara continued to shout at her, “You are lying to me and lying to yourself! You haven’t stopped him yet, so what makes you think you will stop him from hurting me further?!” Alphys curled inward. She raked her brain for a few terse moments for anything better to say. Chara’s expression slowly cooled back to their sorrow with the realization of what they’ve done. They laid back down on their bed and spoke quietly, “I… I’m sorry. I… should not take this out on you.” Alphys twiddled her claws and replied in a chastised tone, “No… you’re right. I shouldn’t be making promises I can’t keep.” She approached the bedside again. She got down on her knees and spoke gently, “So… instead I’ll promise I will do everything I can to mitigate your pain.” Chara sighed and closed their eyes. Their mood and tone evened out to relief, “Thank you.”

Alphys stood. Her tone brightened slightly, “Um… I’ll get your breakfast ready. We can decide what to do after. Okay?” Chara silently nodded. They watched as Alphys left them alone, only to return sometime later with a tray of food and water. Alphys carefully placed the tray down at the foot of Chara’s bed. She approached Chara cautiously. “Do you want help sitting up?” Chara affirmed, “Since I am on my stomach, I will need help slowly adjusting my leg.” Alphys went to the foot of the bed. She quickly scooted the tray under the bed. She questioned, “Okay. Did you want me to hold your leg up?” Chara nodded as they tossed the bed sheet to the side. Alphys slowly lifted Chara’s left leg upwards. Chara hissed slightly but began to turn over on the bed. Alphys helped Chara settle back onto the bed in a sitting position, including the ice pack. Once done, She gave Chara the tray. She sat on the floor at Chara’s bedside as Chara slowly began to eat.

Alphys broke the silence with a question, “Um… can I ask a… difficult question?” Chara raised a brow with their cautious reply, “About?” Alphys grimaced before she spoke, “What… I mean, why do you think he’s broken you?” Chara paused their meal. They were silent for a moment. Alphys replied nervously, “Y- you don’t have to answer if you don’t feel comfortable.” Chara recounted, “Before he broke my leg… he asked me a question. If I answered correctly, he said he would let me go before he sent the Royal Guard after me.” Alphys’s eyes widened. “He… He wouldn’t do that. Not after you were almost taken by that intruder.” “Exactly. It was a cruel trick.” Chara expression seemed distant as they continued, “I don’t think there was a correct answer. It was too vague, only asking left or right.” Alphys’s eyes narrowed. She gave a confused tone, “What kind of question is that supposed to be? Is that even a question?” “You see my point. In hindsight, I can only see it as a trick to break me.” Alphys’s expression softened. She sighed, “After everything that’s happened, I shouldn’t be surprised you feel this way. I…. never thought something like this would happen. But I think part of me is surprised something like this didn’t happen sooner.” Chara muttered dryly, “He enjoys it, you know. His expressions, his tone, his posture as he looms down at me. He enjoys every second of it.” Chara shook their head, “I should have figured that out when he laughed at me when he punished me with the laser.”

Alphys cleared her throat. Her expression oozed her discomfort with the topic. She tried to change the subject. Her tone was nervous at first, but slowly relaxed as she spoke, “Um... did you want to give the wheelchair a try? Or did you want your hair washed? Like we discussed.” Chara gave a despondent gaze. They relaxed as they slumped their body against the wall. They spoke quietly, “After I've eaten.” Alphys nodded, “Okay.”

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The morning passed into the late afternoon as Alphys tried to cheer Chara up. Learning the limits of the wheelchair did little to improve Chara's despondent mood. Washing their hair had just as little effect but fluffed Chara's hair to a semi-clean state. As much as Alphys wanted to stay and continue to help, Chara shooed her away quietly. She sighed, complying with Chara's wishes.

Once kicked out, she knew her next move was to confront Dr. Gaster about Chara's leg. Yet, no courage bubbled. No voice of confidence to disown this kind of behavior. As she thought of things to say, her throat seemed to close on her. Her expression lowered. She at least had to hear it from his side.

Alphys knocked on Gaster's door. She heard permission to enter, indifferent as usual. She entered and closed the door behind her, but did not approach his desk. He gave glances towards her in between his stacks of papers. He spoke evenly, “I assume the human has been tended to?” Alphys leaned against the door as she nodded. She quietly asked, “Why did you do that to them?” Gaster replied bluntly, “It was necessary.” Anger flashed on Alphys's face. Her confidence temporarily restored itself. Her mind caught up with her quickly. She bit her lip before she spat words. She shook slightly. No, even if she wanted to, this wasn't the way. She had to endure it to stay by Chara's side. Her expression deflated to a resigned sadness. She confessed, “You broke them.” Gaster rolled his eye sockets but did not make eye contact with Alphys. He retorted, “I know it seems harsh, but the human keeps finding ways to escape. All I did was ensure that it stays where it can be protected. We cannot afford any more mistakes.” Alphys swallowed the rest of her desire to retort. It showed as hesitation in her voice, “N... no, sir... I don't mean just their leg. I, um, think you shattered their mental state.” Gaster paused from his paperwork. He looked up at Alphys with hints of shock and trepidation. He questioned, “Are you saying its will is broken?” Alphys looked away and affirmed, “Yes...” Many emotions battled within Gaster. Disbelief budded first: was the human truly broken? Or was Alphys exaggerating? He had noticed the human slowly become more and more submissive as the month went on. Perhaps this was the last shock the human needed before they broke. A small smile appeared and disappeared just as quickly. He was grateful for this news. Truly. He felt more at ease with the knowledge his work became easier to manage. Just in time to take blood on a regular basis. He spoke with a calm smile, “Good. It will make drawing blood next week easier.” Alphys seemed despondent. Her tail curled around her feet. Her boss's reaction flashed by so fast for her. In the end, he only had a few calm words to say about it. She sighed, “I see.” Gaster went back to his paperwork, “Is that all?” Alphys shook her head. She replied quietly, mournfully, “Yes, sir.” Alphys turned towards the door. She opened the door and hung on the doorknob for a moment. Her desire to retort bubbled once more. If not about the cruelty, then at least about Chara's mental state. But, it was brief with the knowledge nothing would come of it at this point. Not if she wanted Chara to be somewhat safe. She exited quietly.

Alphys walked back to her room in silence. There was still time before she had to start making Chara's dinner. The day and night before had been heavy on her, she had begun to drag her feet and tail as she walked. Halfway back to her room, her cellphone began to ring. She raised her eyebrow, confused. Was Gaster calling her back to his office for something? A chill ran down her spine at the thought. She fished her cellphone from her pocket. She answered the phone carefully, “Um... hello?” “Ah Alphyss, good. I'm relieved I remembered your number.” Serol's voice calmly projected from the phone. Alphys sighed in relief. Her relief quickly switched to confusion. She questioned, “What's wrong, Serol? Did something happen?” Serol sprinted through speaking, “No! No no! I sswear nothing hass happened!” He cleared his throat before he continued, “I... I thought about what you showed me this morning.” Alphys paused. She looked around the hallway. She saw a camera a ways ahead of her on a corner. She spoke tensely into the phone, “Um... give me a minute to get back to my room.” Serol made a quick affirming noise. Alphys hung up the phone quietly. She wanted to sprint to her room, but she held back that instinct. Her eyes drifted back to the camera in suspicion. Even though he wasn't actively looking, she knew he could rewind any camera feed with any footage. She couldn't risk it.

It took a few minutes for Alphys to retreat to her room at a casual pace. She closed the door behind her before she slumped and slid down the door with a groan. Once sat on the ground, she called Serol back. He answered quickly, “Yess?” Alphys apologized, “I'm sorry... if there was any chance he knew I let you in Chara's room, I... I don't know anymore.” Serol spoke calmly, “I undersstand.” Alphys stood up and made her way to her bed, “Anyway, what did you want to talk about? You said you thought about Chara's leg or something?” Serol's tone turned serious, “More broad, but yess. I want to help you.” Alphys blinked. She sat on the bed as she spoke in a confused tone, “Help me?” “From the little I've sseen of Chara'sssituation, I can only imagine the pain they've been through. Dr. Gasster may be keeping them ssafe from monssterkind, but the way he'ss doing it feelss wrong.” Alphys's tone turns to a slight somber, “Serol, I don't think you can help me.” He gave a nervous chuckle, “Yess, well, I am not sure how to help. That'ss why I called you.” “Again... I'm not sure you can. Not since he's increased security into the lower lab.” “I sstill have accessss while my team and I are working on the sssoul sscanning devicce. And, if I prove usseful beyond that, I could have accessss indefinitely.” “What if you can't 'prove useful' to him? What then?” “I can ssneak ssomething in the ssupplies. The hum- erm, Chara needss food, right?” “Well... yes...” “And part of your dutiess iss to check those ssupply shipmentss, yess?” “I'm losing his trust. He could check the shipments himself.” Serol paused, “Then... I can help you regain his trust.” Alphys groaned before she replied, “Serol... I really appreciate you trying, but things are too high strung now. I don't want you getting in trouble either.” She sighed, “If... I agree to accept your help, do you think you could only help when I ask?” Serol affirmed, “Of coursse, I won't be recklessss.” Alphys relaxed. She smiled as she replied, “Thank you, Serol.” “Pleasse call for my help ssoon.” Serol hung up the phone. Alphys gently set her phone on her nightstand. She rubbed her face and groaned, “Serol... you don't know what you got into...”

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 A week had gone by without incident. Chara shook and held their right shoulder tightly. Their right arm was opened, elbow down along their bed. New bandages were tightly wrapped around their elbow, a tiny splotch of blood bled through the bandage. Chara watched silently, glowering at Gaster as he walked towards the door. In one hand, he held a large vial. Blood freshly stolen. He looked back one last time, a dark, satisfied smile across his skull. Chara's glower faltered as he looked back. He spoke, “If you are like this from now on, you can expect to be rewarded in a few weeks.”

Chara's eyes instinctively drifted to Gaster's pocket, knowing exactly what he meant. Their expression brightened for only a moment before Gaster opened the door. He looked to his right and spoke, “Ah, perfect timing, Alphys.” Alphys's voice rung from just beyond the door, “I didn't realize you'd be doing the blood draw this late...” Gaster sighed, “Sadly, I'm running behind today. A few meetings ran longer than expected.” Alphys spoke gently, “Well, hopefully, you catch up.” “I will.” With that, Gaster disappeared. Alphys sighed in relief. She entered the room with a tray of food for Chara as always. She spoke with worry, “Did he hurt you while drawing blood?” Chara accepted the tray as they spoke, “Not physically. He was testing me; seeing if I would react.” Alphys spoke with understanding, “And you didn't.” Chara paused from drinking their water. They squeezed their glass. They gritted their teeth and spoke, “But I wanted to. I wanted to say something. Anything. I could barely look at him. I scowled at him as he left, but I couldn't when he looked back.” Alphys nodded silently by Chara's side. She kept a sympathetic gaze. Chara continued, “I hate him. But, I don't want to hurt anymore...” Alphys spoke gently, “I know. And I'm here for you.”

Tears budded from Chara's eyes. Anger bloomed in their expression. They raised the glass above their head. They raised their voice, “I hate feeling useless!” Chara threw the glass. The moment it left their hand, they gasped and widened their eyes. Alphys and Chara could only watch helplessly as the glass hit the floor and broke into several large pieces and some small pieces. Both Alphys and Chara gaped at the broken glass, their minds at first failed to process the event. Alphys began to step towards it. Chara noticed this and began to apologize, “I'm sorry. Truly.” Alphys shook her head before she responded calmly, “It's okay. You didn't hurt either of us.” Chara removed the covers from their bed. They sniffled and wiped their tears away. They spoke, still recovering from their sorrow, “Let me help.” Chara carefully crawled out of bed. Their leg still had some pain from moving, but it was not debilitating due to the gauze healing the break. Alphys started to bend down to pick up some of the glass before she noticed Chara. She began to panic slightly, “Oh! No, no! I can take care of this! Don't... don't strain yourself!” Chara carefully crawled on the floor. They were careful and aware of the pain in their injured leg. Alphys resigned, “Okay... Just be careful. I can pick up the small pieces without worry.”

Chara affirmed. They stopped around the foot of their bed. They grabbed a few smaller pieces silently. They cradled the pieces in one hand while they picked up glass shards with the other. They grabbed a larger piece. They flinched and made a small noise. Alphys noticed immediately. “Are you okay?” Chara held the piece to their chest. They spoke nervously, “I thought I cut myself, but I’m fine.” Alphys blinked. She let out a, “Oh... okay. Just be careful.” Chara nodded. Alphys's focus returned to picking up the pieces. Chara relaxed and looked down on the newest piece of glass in their hand. The glass had cut into their palm just under their pinkie and their ring finger. Their mind drifted as the intensely looked at the piece of glass and the blood it freed. Chara looked over at Alphys. She looking in a different direction as she picked up the rest of the pieces. Chara slowly slipped the blood dipped glass shard under the sheet of their bed. Chara went back to picking up the rest of the pieces with Alphys. The two used the tray to hold the glass. Alphys sighed in relief, “Okay. That should be all of it. Thank you for helping.” Chara mused dryly, yet apologetically, “It's the least I can do for breaking it.” Alphys dismissed it, “Don't worry. It was an accident.” Alphys collected the rest of the utensils and silverware from Chara's bed, “Okay. You rest up. I'll see you tomorrow.” Chara nodded, “See you.” Alphys left without another word.

An expert from the journal of Dr. W.D Gaster

Chara’s breath was even but heavy. They struggled to crawl into their bed without disrupting their newly broken leg. They raised themselves upon their right leg with as little pressure on their left leg as possible. They gritted their teeth as they hoisted themselves onto the bed. They laid down on the bed on their stomach. Their left leg dangled off the bed at an uncomfortable angle. They grunted and hissed. They slowly struggled to move their leg onto the bed to a comfortable position. At last, their leg was still. Their breathing slowly became relaxed. The beating pain in their leg subsided but did not fade. They could focus on nothing else.

Their focus was torn away from the pain by a panicked knock on the door. It was quickly followed by Alphys’s equally panicked voice, “Chara?! Are you in there?” Chara jumped slightly in their bed. The jolt reawakened their pain. Chara made a strained noise before their heavy breathing resumed. They could see a figure shuffle outside their door through the small hole they made. Alphys’s voice quieted and her panic turned to dread, “Chara? Are you hurt?” Chara strained to speak, “Y… yes…” Chara heard the two locks click open in succession. Their door flew open before Alphys rushed into the room. Alphys rushed to their bedside. Her voice and expression filled with panic, “Let me see! Where does it hurt?!” “Left… leg…”

Alphys’s gaze switched to the body part. In the darkness, she could see nothing overtly wrong with it. She turned back to the door and flipped the switch next to it. She turned back and gasped. At that distance, she could see a large bruise midway up the calf. The calf had begun to swell to a noticeable degree. She couldn’t see any blood but Chara’s scent had increased slightly. Alphys paused. Her expression dropped to sorrow. Her tone turned downcast, “Chara…” She kneeled next to the bed. She looked over at Chara. She slowly questioned, “How did this happen?” Chara hesitated. Their pained expression melted to mirror Alphys’s sorrow yet averted her gaze. They answered honestly, “He did it.” Alphys gave a look of understanding in her sorrow. She sighed and confessed, “I thought so.” Chara looked back at her with confusion. Alphys expanded, “I… I knew that wasn’t your normal scream. A-and you only screamed loudly once. And… when we talked on the phone… he was surprisingly calm considering you escaped. Especially… when you think about yesterday…” Alphys shook her head. She quickly stood. Her face and tone turned serious, “But I can’t keep talking about it like this! We’ve got to get that leg set and in a splint!” She turned towards the door. “Just wait here! I’ll go get everything!” Alphys ran out of the door. Chara muttered to themselves dryly, “As if I have a choice.”

Alphys returned around fifteen minutes later in a rush. Chara heard her panicked footsteps this time and did not jump as she rushed back into the room. She held a box in her arms. She placed it at Chara’s bedside and kneeled down next to the bed. She reached into the box and pulled out an icepack and placed it on Chara’s leg. Chara grunted at first at the new sensation. Soon, it seemed to numb the pain somewhat. Chara relaxed and sighed in relief, “That helps a little.” Alphys nodded, her voice relaxed, “Yeah. It’s not much, but this should numb the pain and keep your leg from swelling more… otherwise, this split won’t work correctly.” Chara raised a brow and asked, “You are only going to splint it?” Alphys nodded. “Yeah… I’ve read about casts in the books on human biology… but we don’t have those. But this should work. After… we get this swelling down… It looks like your leg doesn’t need to set either, which will save you some pain.”

Alphys and Chara stayed there in silence for a few minutes. All the while the ice soothed Chara’s leg. Its swelling seemed to halt if not decrease. Alphys took the icepack and put it back into the box. She turned to Chara with a sympathetic gaze. She spoke cautiously, “Okay. I’m… sorry. This will still hurt while I do this.” She reached into the box and pulled out a carved wooden trinket. She put in in Chara’s hand and spoke, “Put this between your teeth to grit the pain.” Chara looked at the trinket in their hand. It was a long rod-like trinket with a lizard carved around it. It looked old and worn, but the wood was still firm. Chara put the trinket in their mouth between their teeth. They moved their hands to the bed frame and tightly grasped it. They looked back and Alphys and nodded. Alphys gulped. She nodded in returned. She spoke cautiously, “Right… here I go… First, I have to straighten your leg. It’s… not going to like it…” Alphys took a deep breath. She slowly placed both her hands on Chara’s leg. Chara gritted the trinket a little but made no sound. Alphys slowly moved Chara’s leg until it was straightened. Chara began to grunt and breathe heavily once more. Their arms shook slightly as they kept themselves pulled up and yet not curled on themselves. Alphys in the meantime, kept Chara’s leg straightened with one hand. She leaned down into the box and got out two thin metal rods. She placed them next to Chara’s calf. She sighed in relief, “Good, these will work.” She reached into the box and pulled out a strange wound up cloth. Chara recognized it as the gauze Toriel had used. Alphys began to unwind the gauze and spoke, “Um… this gauze is supposed to heal monsters. It’s enchanted with magic specially designed to do that. But… I don’t think the magic will work on you. Or maybe not fully. I’m not sure.” Chara removed the trinket from their mouth to speak, “Mother used the same gauze when I was injured. I did silently wonder why I was healing faster. I never questioned it since I still took time to heal.” Alphys blinked and spoke with surprise, “So, it does work on you? Huh… maybe it just accelerates your body’s healing…”

Chara shrugged before they put the trinket back in their mouth. Alphys placed the rods against Chara’s leg on opposite sides. She placed the end of the gauze at the top of one of the rods just below Chara’s knee. Alphys slowly and carefully wound the gauze around Chara’s leg and kept the rods firmly against Chara’s leg. She cut off the excess and tied the rest around Chara’s ankle. With the splint done, Alphys sighed in relief, “There… that should do it.” She retrieved the ice pack and a few pillows from the box. She carefully lifted Chara’s leg and put the pillows under it, elevating the leg. She placed the ice pack back onto Chara’s leg gently. Chara took the trinket out of their mouth and spoke curiously, “Do monsters have pain medicine? Mother just kept my mind off the pain.” Alphys stood and shook her head. She confessed, “No… and I’m not good at any anesthetic magic. Sorry…” Chara sighed disappointedly, “It should be fine. We will just have to use ice packs.” Alphys nodded. Her voice turned calm, “Um… do you need help finding a comfortable position? Oh! And the sheets!” Chara pushed their upper body up. They used one hand to lower the sheets on their bed, already partially pulled down. With Alphys’s help, they were able to pull the sheets out from under them. Alphys laid the sheets over Chara. She sighed, “Okay… I… I think that’s all I can do for tonight. I’ll see how much of the gauze we have. I… didn’t see any blood, so we won’t have to change it for a few days.” Alphys fidgeted with her hands as she spoke, “Um… and I’ll also look for um… crutches. Or maybe a wheelchair. Which one would you prefer?” Chara mused in silence. They detested the idea of either. Yet, their broken leg was something more detestable. They first thought of the crutches. A thought of Gaster maliciously pulling one away to make them fall came to mind. Chara cringed at the thought. They moved their thoughts to the wheelchair. Despite it having limited mobility, they would have most of the control over that mobility through handling the wheels. It would work. Chara spoke evenly, “A wheelchair. If you can find one.” Alphys nodded. She quickly collected the box before she spoke, “Ok. I’m sure I can find one somewhere. Is there anything else I can do?” Chara replied dryly, “I don’t suppose you can turn back time?” Alphys gave a half-laugh, “Heh heh… No… sorry.” “Worth a shot.”

Alphys gathered the box and the remaining gauze. She spoke cautiously, “Now, don’t keep that ice on too long. I think I read that keeping ice on your skin too long can actually burn it. So… keep it on for a while and remove it before you go to sleep. I’ll come back with a fresh one in the morning.” She continued with some hope, “I’ll probably have to bring your meals to your bed because of this. And that means we can talk more! And I can bring you some books for us to read together!” She lightly laughed and put a hand to her head, “Why didn’t I think of that before?” Chara grumbled, “I will see how I feel tomorrow.” Alphys’s expression dropped. Her tone did as well, “Oh… yeah. That makes sense.” She began to leave the room. She placed the box outside the room and turned back to Chara with an even tone, “I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight.” “Goodnight.” Alphys closed and locked the door behind her.

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Chara felt themselves drift to sleep. Before they drifted, they lightly shook their left leg. Tinges of pain resurfaced but didn’t disturb them. The icepack fell off of Chara’s leg and squished onto the floor. Chara sighed in relief. The pain of their leg faded as darkness gave form to colors.

Chara’s eyes flittered open. The room around them was bright and warm. It was familiar. Chara’s eyes widened in realization. This was their shared bedroom with Asriel. They gasped. They sat on the side of their bed and threw off the warm covers. They paused and looked down. They were in their sweater and pants again. They carefully moved their left leg. Nothing. No pain. Chara narrowed their eyes as they mused, “Was it… all a nightmare?” They looked over at the opposite side of the room at Asriel’s bed. It was messy, as though Asriel had thrown off the covers in a rush. Asriel. Chara’s chest felt heavy. They heard the whispers, but this time they did not echo in their head. Chara’s gaze drifted towards the source. The open doorway to the rest of the house. The whispers transformed into familiar voices. The Dreemurrs. Laughing. Talking. Still alive. Chara began to shake. They spoke aloud in shock, “They’re… alive?” Tears began to well and drop from their eyes. A large smile grew on their face. Their voice cracked from sobs of relief and joy, “It… it was really all just a dream!” Chara flew to the door. They called out in joy, “Mother! Father! Asriel!”

As they reached the doorway, they felt something stop them. They felt as though they ran into something. Chara gasped and fell to the floor in front of the doorway. They groaned and rubbed their head before they looked up. On the other side of the doorway was the normal hallway. Inside the doorway, reality in front of them seemed to ripple as though a rock had been tossed into water. Chara wiped the tears from their face. Confusion enveloped them. They stood silently. They outstretched a hand towards the door. They felt something block the door. It was solid, but it wasn’t hard like stone. A strange force that rippled with every movement their hand made. Chara’s confusion grew. They spoke, panic slowly grew in their voice, “No… no this can’t be!” Desperation encompassed Chara’s expression. They pounded on the barrier that blocked their way. They called out, “Mother! Father! Asriel! I’m here! I’m finally awake! Please, can you hear me?” The voices went unchanged. Chara’s tears resumed. They called out again, “I’m right here! Why can’t you hear me?!” The hallway through the door began to warp and stretch. The voices grew distant as the hallway distorted. Chara stopped pounding on the barrier and only leaned against their upper body on it. They pressed their face into the barrier and screamed out, “Wait! Don’t go!” The hallway slowly faded to black. Nothing could be seen past the doorway. No light. No color. The only sense past the door was the sound of Asriel’s distant laughter. Chara slowly slid down the barrier to their knees. Their voice went quiet as they spoke sorrowfully, “Asriel…” The world around Chara faded to black. Within this black were strange sounds. Shuffling. Small items being dropped and picked up. Such sounds grew bit by bit until Chara felt a shift in their consciousness.

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Chara grumbled and opened their eyes. The familiar sight of their cell in Gaster’s lab faded into their view. They sighed deeply. That was the dream, Chara thought with dread. They went to move. They grunted as the pain in their left leg reawakened. Freshly broken and set. Chara could do nothing but look around and listen.

Familiar noises came from the door. Sounds of tools being put away with other tools. Chara blinked. They remembered those noises from the end of their dream. From the corner of their eye, they saw the panel move slightly but soon be held in place. Chara paused. The panel was whole again. No hole from their kick. No damage from the intruder. The door had already been replaced. Chara remembered Alphys’s words from yesterday; Honestly, the door change might wake you up. Chara tensed. If the door was being replaced, who was replacing it? Was it Gaster? Alphys? Or someone else? Chara was curious, but the answer partially scared them. A voice sighed in relief on the other side of the door, “Done. Thank goodnessss I didn’t wake the human.” Chara recognized this voice; the one who installed the latch lock before. Chara narrowed their eyes. What was their name? Chara questioned aloud, “Who are you?” The monster on the other side paused. He sighed, “Oh. I woke you after all. I’m ssorry.” On the other side of the door, the sound of tools being moved and put away echoed. Chara repeated themselves, “And, who are you?” The voice turned friendly, “Oh! Ssorry. I’m Sserol. I wass here before to insstall the latch lock.” “And now you are reinstalling the door and locks.” “Yess. The door wass more damaged than I heard. But… thankfully only the door wass damaged and not you.”

Chara huffed, “I have been hurt almost every day I have been in this prison.” Serol went silent for a moment. His tone lowered to a small shock, “What? What do you mean?” Chara rolled their eyes and replied dryly, “I am not surprised he wouldn’t tell anyone. He has beaten me multiple times, both physically and psychologically. In fact, this past night he broke my leg.” The shock in Serol’s tone grew, “Why would he do that?!” Chara replied darkly, “To break me.” Serol went quiet again. He then spoke in disbelief, “No. I have to ssee this before I can believe it.” Chara shrugged and spoke in a blasé tone, “Only Alphys and my torturer have keys.” Serol paused. Chara heard him stand. He spoke, “I will be back.”

Chara heard him leave. Silence pervaded for what seemed like an hour. Chara felt themselves drift in and out of consciousness in the meantime. They heard a strange noise. They focused on it. It almost sounded as though wheels drifted across the linoleum tiles. Alphys’s familiar knock echoed on the door. She spoke gently, “Chara? Is it okay if Serol comes in with me?” Chara replied evenly, “I do not mind.” The locks clicked open in succession. The door opened fully. The first thing to enter the room was a simple wheelchair. It had dark, durable cloth-like material as the back and seat. It had pushed armrests and a long footrest with support for the back of the knees. On the wheelchair was a new icepack and a cloth. Alphys pushed this wheelchair in. Serol followed into the room behind her. Alphys spoke, “I found one. The wheels are a bit stiff but other than that it’s fine.”

Alphys turned on the light switch. She laughed nervously, “I would have come with breakfast, but… Serol asked to see you.” Serol lowered his head and turned his attention to the foot of Chara’s bed. He spoke kindly, “You… mentioned that Dr. Gasster broke your leg. Alphyssssaid you told the truth. May I ssee it?” Chara gave a silent nod to Alphys. Alphys approached Chara’s bedside. She was slow and careful to remove the bedsheet. Serol’s eyes widened as Chara’s left leg was unveiled. Despite the ice, the leg swelled tight against the poles of Chara’s splint. Alphys sighed, “I knew it was going to swell more, but I didn’t think it would be this bad.” Alphys gently placed the cloth over Chara’s splint before she placed the icepack on top of it. Chara gritted at first, but sighed in relief immediately after. Alphys smiled as she spoke, “Okay. It’s working again. Did you want to sit up? Or maybe try the wheelchair?” Serol peeked over Alphys by bending his neck over her. He gritted, “It lookss painful. But… I musst admit, the fact I do not ssmell an overwhelming amount of blood meanss that the break was sskillfully done. Enough to jusst break the bone but not the sskin.” He frowned and lowered his tone in disappointment, “I… did not want to believe it wass becausse of Dr. Gasster, but he iss the only monsster allowed near here that iss capable of ssuch sskill.”

Chara replied with a small sorrow, “And he will continue to torture me. There is nothing I can do about it.”Alphys slowly petted Chara’s head. She shushed Chara gently, “It’s okay, Chara. I will do the best I can to prevent more.” Serol pulled his head back. He gave Alphys an inquisitive tone, “Iss it… always like thiss?” Alphys gave Serol a nod. She replied sorrowfully, “Every once in a while, I’ve seen new scars and wounds on Chara. Things have died down in frequency… but this… this is the worst injury he’s caused. Other than… the emotional trauma of… seeing the Dreemurrs die.” Serol hugged himself. He replied quietly, “I… I didn’t know.” “You wouldn’t have. As far as I know, if he’s ever questioned about Chara, he speaks vaguely.” Serol nodded. “Yess. He sspoke of ssome misssbehavior of the human.” Chara shot a glare. “All I did was try to escape his torture. Does that warrant breaking a leg?” Serol’s expression and tone dropped to nervousness, “Well… not really… but keeping you ssafe iss a neccessssity. I can undersstand him trying to contain you… but thisss… thisss would break you.” “Exactly.” Chara’s voice turned sorrowful, “and… he has succeeded. He has broken every part he could break. Body. Mind. Soul. And yet he will look to break more.” Chara’s voice began to crack, “He won’t stop until I will only breathe if he commands.” A few tears peeked from Alphys’s eyes. She kneeled at Chara’s bedside as she gently held Chara’s cheek. Chara’s expression worsened. Tears flowed from Chara and they began to sob quietly. Alphys frowned as she spoke with concern, “Chara… do you really think that?”

Serol was silent as he led two members of the Royal Guard through the metal pathways of Hotland. He was visibly uneasy. Not only did he not know his two escorts, but he also had to lead said escorts to a colleague and friend. A potential traitor. Serol felt his heart drop once more after countless times today. He didn’t know what was worse; that Malv was linked to the intruder’s break-in, or that he had to aid in arresting Malv. He sighed, either way, this was reality. After some twists and turns, Serol led the two Royal Guards to a residential district of Hotland. Nestled against a wall of volcanic rock were multiple floors filled with homes of stone and metal. Some were carved into the rock while others were metal homes on the platforms. Tall fences lined each platform and the stairs to each platform. A few monsters were hard at work improving supports, creating new homes, or repairing the platforms that held it all.

A few monsters turned and murmured at Serol and the guards as they passed. Serol dipped his neck to avoid the gazes of the crowd. Part of him wanted to turn tail and run. He was certainly capable; with his tail, he could jump far back into the metal paths of Hotland. He shook his head silently. No; he’d never forgive himself, and Dr. Gaster would not either. He continued down to the bottom platform of the residential district. This area had lights attached to the homes to light the area, though many were broken. Despite the darker area, Serol knew where to go.

Serol approached the first house carved into the volcanic rock. The curtains were visibly drawn and the door was closed. Serol turned to the Royal Guards nervously, “Um… it iss thiss one.” The first guard nodded. She turned the doorknob, only to have it jiggle slightly. Locked. Serol frowned, “Ssorry. I don’t have a key.” The second guard approached the door, “If Malv cooperates, that won’t be necessary.” The second guard knocked heavily on the door. They called out with an even, authoritative tone, “Malv, open up.” The three waited. Silence. No response. Serol looked visibly concerned, “That’sssstrange. They should be home.” The first guard knocked again. Before any time passed, Serol perked up, “Let me call them.” Serol dug into his bag and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed a number from memory fairly quickly. One ring. Two rings. On the second ring, the second guard’s ears perked up. They looked at the door with a scowl, “I hear a ringing in the house.” Serol kept the phone ringing. He pressed his head to the door for a moment. His eyes widened, “That’ss Malv’ss ringtone!” The second guard gently put a hand on Serol’s shoulder, “Stand aside.” Serol’s neck turned to the guard. Confusion budded before Serol relaxed. They gave a frown before they took a few paces out of the guards’ way. The first guard called out towards the door, “Last chance, Malv. Open the door, or we’re coming in.” Once more, the three of them waited. Silence. Not a hint of sound from inside once the ringtone ended. All was still. After a full minute, the two guards shared a look. They nodded. The second guard backed up a few paces. They charged the wooden door.  It only took one charge before the door flew open. It smacked into the wall to only move an inch back as the two guards charged into Malv’s house one by one.

The house was small. It only consisted of a front room and backroom. The front room was spread out in its decoration with only a large beige rug connecting everything. In all but one corner of the room was a desk, each piled with papers, books, or mechanisms and parts. Each had a chair pulled out. All except one which sat as though someone was at the table. The two guards noticed immediately that a cell phone sat at the edge of this table. That gaze shifted towards the chair itself. The first guard dropped her weapon in shock. Sitting in the chair was a pile of dust. Much of it had spilled over onto the floor and carpet below. Some of it seemed as though it had been moved. The second guard approached the pile silently. Serol cautiously peeked inside. He opened his mouth to speak, but his jaw only hung open at the sight of the dust pile. Serol spoke with a quiet somber, “Iss that… Malv?” The second guard kneeled down close to the pile, “Only one way to find out. Damnit, and I thought doing this arrest was going to get me away from cleaning up dust today.” The first guard shook her head in disappointment. Her gaze drifted to the floor, where it paused. She squinted her eyes as she spoke, “Wait… I think I see something in the carpet…” She kneeled down close to the carpet, “That kind of looks like a footprint!” The second guard, meanwhile, pulled out a pair of gloves and put them on, “Just one?” The second guard took a moment to examine the carpet surrounding the one footprint, “Nope! There’s more, and they go towards the door.” The second guard went back to her task. They muttered, “Okay… let's see if there’s an id here…” The second guard hesitated but stuck their gloved hand into the lower dust pile. They shivered and whined. They dug around in silence if not for their whines. The first guard, meanwhile, slowly tracked the footprints to the edge of the carpet near the door, “Okay… I think the one who stepped in dust whipped their feet off here before they left.”

Serol snaked his head in nervously, “Iss it ssafe to come in?” The first guard shook her head, “Not until we identify the-“ The second guard exclaimed, “OH THANK GOODNESS! I found something!” The first guard’s head ripped back at her co-worker, “Did you really have to shout?!” The second guard hissed as they pulled a small item out of the dust, “Yes, because I don’t have to touch dust anymore!” The first guard stood with a sharp sigh, “Alright. What is it?” The second guard stood and looked down at the item with a frown, “Some sort of… pin? It’s some sort of overgrown tree?” Serol’s expression grew serious. He briskly walked into the room, “Pleasse. Let me ssee.” The first guard went to interject, but relaxed. The second guard raised a brow and showed the pin. It was a willow tree. It was copper plated. Some of the copper green shone on the sides, but most of the pin was coated in shoddily applied paint of brown and green. Serol’s neck extended until he could closely examine the pin. He frowned, “That’ss Malv’ss pin. It’ss a keepsssake of their fatherss.” The second guard gave a serious look, “Sooo, if we ask Dr. Gaster to check the cameras in the lab, it’ll show Malv wearing the pin?” Serol nodded and spoke confidently, “Yess. They alwayss wear it. Every day.” The first guard scratched her head, “Then… was Malv killed by the intruder?” Serol perked up, “Maybe that’ss how he got Malv’ss keycard! He murdered them and ssstole it!” The second guard shrugged, “That’s honestly what I started thinking when you said this was Malv’s.”

Serol’s neck lowered towards the dust pile, “Malv… I’m sso ssorry…” The first guard spoke sympathetically, “It’s not your fault, Serol. The intruder probably saw them as the best chance of getting into the lower lab.” Serol sighed, “Maybe… I jussst…” Serol cupped his face. A few tears leaked from his always open eyes. The first guard gently caressed his shoulder scales, “We know. Loss hurts.” Serol nodded. He didn’t take his hands away from his face. The three stood there for a few moments. More tears leaked from Serol. The second guard was the first to break the silence, “Um… sorry to interrupt this mourning… but… we all know we need to report back.” Serol sniffled, “Yess. That’ss right. Dr. Gasster is waiting for uss.” The first guard spoke calmly, “There should be a patrol somewhere in this district. Hopefully, we can spot them, and they can take care of Malv’s dust.” Serol nodded. He wiped the last of his tears away, “If… the dusst iss not claimed… I’ll sspread it. I think I know what Malv would have wanted.” The first guard nodded, “Ok.” The second guard spoke gently, “You… ready to go?” Serol nodded. His hands lowered from his face. He smiled sadly, “Yess. We besst not keep Dr. Gasster waiting.”

—————————————————————————

“So… yeah. The family’s just a motivation. They didn’t know.” Undyne concluded. Once more she sat in Gaster’s office, being interviewed by him. Her nose had some redness still from Susie’s punch, but was otherwise fine. Gaster sat across from her, writing in the same notebook as before. After a few scribbles he commented, “And this sister—Susie, I believe you said her name was— you are certain she was only a motivation?” Undyne nodded, “Definitely. She was the most upfront with her answers.” She pointed to the redness on her nose with a proud smirk, “And she’s got one hell of a punch for someone so weak.” Gaster’s scribbles halted immediately. A baffled look crossed across his skull. His eye sockets blinked as he processed what he just heard. He stressed his words with a look of disbelief, “Did you just say she struck you?” Undyne’s expression evened out as she relaxed, “Yeah. Because I let her. I told them all I killed Kurt. And if I was gonna let anyone of them hit me because of it, it’d be her.” Gaster sat still for a moment. His eye socket visibly twitched. He bought his free hand up to lightly facepalm his skull with a deep sigh. Undyne elaborated with a serious gaze, “I’m not pressing charges.” Gaster relaxed his arm. His expression slowly leveled out as he spoke, “I understand. But do not make yourself such a target in the future. We cannot afford the population to see weakness in the Royal Guard.“ Undyne scowled. She stood and slammed her hands on Gaster’s desk, leaning on it, “I wasn’t showing weakness! I was making up for what I did to their family member!”

Gaster glared daggers at Undyne He stayed silent through Undyne’s excuse. He stood in return. He looked down at her, towering almost a foot over her. Undyne’s fins drooped. Her expression dropped. Her mind went at a million miles a minute. Did she say something wrong? Was it her slamming on the desk? No. She wasn’t wrong. Her expression evened out. She stood tall and stared straight into Gaster’s eye sockets. The two shared this glare for a solid moment before Gaster cracked a smirk. He scoffed, “Perhaps not.” He frowned and spoke in an authoritative tone, “Just learn to use that strength towards your duties. Not your superiors. Understood?” Undyne stood in attention. She replied, “Understood, Sir.” Gaster sat back down behind his desk, “Good. For now, tell the guards that are cleaning and examining the crime scene the location of our intruder’s family. Since you were averse to the idea, they will deliver his dust in your stead. Afterwards, you are dismissed and are to go back to your normal duties.” Undyne nodded. She turned to leave. She opened the door. Once the door swung open, Gaster spoke up, “One more thing, Undyne.” Undyne stopped. She turned towards her boss with a confused look, “Yeah?” Gaster glared back at Undyne, his eyes alight with magic, “Test me like that again and you won’t be sent off with a warning.” A chill ran down Undyne’s spine, but she kept her composure. She cursed silently; she pushed it too far. She frowned and replied evenly, “Understood, sir.” Undyne left without another word. She sighed deeply once out of earshot. She muttered to herself, “Goddamnit.”

She was quick to find the guards cleaning up the dust. She quickly mentioned the family’s location. With that, she left. Up the elevator and out of the lab. She followed the path and sighed, “Guess I should go to HQ. See if my patrol route’s changed.” Undyne grumbled. She already knew her route wouldn’t have changed. Didn’t hurt to try. She went to the elevator to New Home. Along the path, she saw Serol and two guards walk towards her. Serol’s expression was downcast, even his neck lowered his head to above his knees. The two guards accompanying him had more even expressions. Serol perked up at the sight of Undyne. His head raised to his shoulders as Undyne approached, “Oh! Missss Undyne. Hello.” Undyne waved, “Hey. What’s up? I’m finally done with this whole intruder business. You reporting in?” Serol’s expression dropped once more, “I already did. I am coming back from arressting the true culprit.” Undyne blinked. She leaned in place to see around Serol and the guards. No one else was with them. She raised a brow, “Doesn’t… look like you have anyone with you…” Serol nodded, “Yess. Malv wass killed.” Undyne’s eyes widened, “What, really?!” The first guard nodded, “We found a pile of dust on and surrounding a desk chair.” The second guard held up Malv’s pin, “We found this pin inside it. Serol said it’s Malv’s. We’re heading back to the lab to check the cameras to confirm it. Case seems pretty cut and dry from here.” Undyne nodded, “Yeah. The intruder’s family had nothing to do with the crime either; they were just a motivation.” Serol sighed in relief, “That iss good to hear.” Undyne began to walk, “Anyway. I gotta get going. I’m gonna go see if my route’s changed. And take care with Dr. Gaster.” Serol nodded, “I know.”

———————————————————————————

“There! You can ssee it there!” Serol pointed at a lower screen in the camera room. He stood there with the two guards and Gaster. All eyes locked on the screen Serol pointed to. It showed Malv, pinned on their chest was what appeared to be the same pin. The second guard held up the pin up towards the screen. Gaster’s eyes flitted between the pin on the screen and the pin in the guard’s hand. He nodded, “The pins are indeed the same. If everything you’ve reported is true, then I have no issue with your conclusion. Malv was simply a victim in all of this.” Serol sighed in relief. The first guard spoke, “Are there any other leads that need to be followed up on?” Gaster shook his head, “No. After everything I’ve heard today, I believe we’ve concluded this case swiftly and I have a solid sequence of events.” Gaster paused. He opened his notebook and recounted from his notes, “Kurt, our intruder, provoked by the fact his family didn’t receive any of the substitute, sough the human to correct it. To that end, he began to observe who frequented the laboratory to find targets and information. He chose Malv as his target. After killing them, Kurt immediately used Malv’s keycard to break into the lab and attempt to steal the human. An attempt that was thwarted by Undyne, thanks to Alphys quickly calling the Royal Guard. And because Kurt continued to break down the door after Undyne warned him, Undyne rightfully struck him down into dust.” Gaster sharply closed the notebook, “That is the overall sequence of events that this investigation has uncovered.”

Serol asked nervously, “Um… doesss thiss mean my team iss free to go?” Gaster nodded, “Yes.” Gaster turned to the guards, “Since you two were proactive in sending someone to clean the crime scene, you are dismissed after one more task each. One of you tell Serol’s team they are dismissed before you leave. As for the other, I want you to send a message to the Royal Guard’s headquarters.” The second guard nodded, “I’ll tell them. What do you need?” “Make a list of those interested in guard duty. Due to this incident, I will have no choice but to position guards at the elevator to the lower lab.”

The two guards left without another word. Gaster turned to Serol last, “And, Serol." Serol lowered his head, ready for a chastising. Instead, Gaster’s expression and tone calmed, “No matter the outcome, your team would have been shorted one member. If you feel you need another member to ensure the quality of the soul scanning device, I’ll allow it. If not, I’ll push back the next deadline to give your team time to grieve and adjust to the loss.” Serol flashed a surprised look. He didn’t expect Gaster to be sympathetic to the situation. He frowned, “I’m afraid that iss not a decccisssion I can make on my own. I will need to dissscussss it with my team.” Gaster nodded, “Understandable. I’ll give your team a hold period of 48 hours to come up with a decision. You may call me once you have such a decision.” Serol bowed his head slightly, “Thank you for this opportunity.” “It is only given because you cooperated. Now go. You’re dismissed.” “Thank you, ssir.”

——————————————————————————————

Alphys grinned ear to ear as she turned off the tv, “Sooo, what did you think?” Chara shrugged, slumped in their chair, “It was kind of entertaining. It is not something I’d normally enjoy, but I’m willing to talk about it with you.” Alphys jumped off the bed. She went over to the tv to collect and properly store the DVD, “That’s good to hear. I’ll have to watch these early episodes again, so I can tell you about them with a lot of detail.” Chara’s hand drifted up to their head. They casually scratched their head as they spoke, “It should hopefully break up the daily monotony.”

As Chara’s fingers traced downwards through their hair, they found their fingers stuck. Chara tried a couple more times but found their tangled hair unable to be tamed without a brush. Chara frowned. They expected this but not to such a degree; they knew it was inevitable in their situation. Alphys was quick to notice, “Is something wrong with your hair?” Chara sighed. They gently pulled their fingers out without running through their hair. They had a visible tangle of hair on their right side. They replied with an annoyed tone, “Only tangles. It’s to be expected since I haven’t been able to brush it for almost a month.” Alphys began to shift her gaze around the room, “Hold on. I think I have a comb around here somewhere…” Chara sputtered a small chuckle, “Why do you have a comb? You have scales, not hair.” Alphys blushes as she began to move things around on her dresser, “I found it in the dump. I washed it and…”

Her expression softened. She sighed, “It… reminded me of Ma.” Chara raised an inquisitive brow, “A comb reminded you of your mother?” Alphys nodded, “One of them.” “What does that mean?” Alphys continued to dig around her room for the comb as she spoke, “When monsters reproduce, we aren’t bound to specific sexes to reproduce. Theoretically, any monster can reproduce with any other monster. If not physically, then through magic.” Chara blinked in surprise, “That’s convenient. As far as I can tell, human reproduction still requires a man and a woman.” Alphys gave a small chuckle, “Yeah. That’s what the books on human biology said, too. But, they kind of hinted that they’re making some strides through science, but there wasn’t much on that subject in my books.”

Alphys opened one of the drawers. She beamed and exclaimed, “Here it is! I knew I kept it safe!” Alphys pulled out a medium sized comb. It was a black comb with some fake jewel ornamentation. A few of said fake jewels had already fallen out of their sockets. A few of the teeth were broken off as well, but not enough to make the comb unusable. Alphys frowned. Her tone got more somber as she spoke, “It’s… not as pretty as Ma’s… but that was broken when… she and mom died…” Chara frowned. They said nothing in response. They knew nothing they could say would help. Alphys took a deep breath of recovery. Her expression evened, “But… I still remember them. Mom used to say she fell in love with Ma because she saw Ma and her golden hair shine in the moonlight.” Chara instinctually grasped their locket. Their mind drifted to the Dreemurrs. While being confined to this lab, would Chara soon forget them? The scent of Toriel’s cooking? The loving but naive guidance of Asgore? The soft touch and laughter of Asriel? The whispers reappeared. Their chest felt heavy. Every fiber of their being told them it would be true. Chara had proof around their neck that they would remember them. Even Alphys remembered her parents after, for all Chara knew, centuries!

Chara’s thoughts were disrupted by Alphys. Her voice was close, “Chara? Are you okay?” Chara snapped back to reality. Alphys had come up to Chara and stood in front of them. Chara kept and even expression. They nodded, “I am fine.” Alphys smiled softly. She held the comb to Chara, “Here. It may be a little sensitive. Please be careful.” Chara frowned, “I’m not used to using a comb. All my life I’ve used a brush.” Alphys held the comb close to her, “Oh! That’s okay! I brushed Ma’s hair when I was young. I know what a comb can take. Here. Let’s move the chair closer to the bed. I’ll comb your hair.” Chara turned their head back. They scooted the chair across the floor, only a few feet, to be next to the bed with their back turned to it. Alphys sat on the bed behind Chara. She nodded, “Perfect. Now… I can’t guarantee this won’t hurt a little, but I’ll try to be gentle. Okay?” Chara pushed their hair back behind their ears. All except their bangs now lay on their back. Alphys gently grasped some of Chara’s hair, “Okay. I’ll start from the bottom and work my way up. That should make everything less painful.” Alphys slowly ran the comb through a small section of hair. Such tangles were undone with some resistance. Alphys slowly, carefully combed through Chara’s hair. She held sections of hair at a time and worked from the bottom up. After most of the bottom was complete, Alphys commented, “Wow, I never realized how soft your hair was.” Chara fidgeted in their seat a little, “I suppose.” “Ma’s hair was always corse. I think it was to protect her instead of making her pretty.” Chara snickered, “And yet your mother found beauty in it regardless.” Alphys nodded, “Yeah. Was it the same for your birth parents?”

Chara’s lighthearted expression dropped sharply, not that Alphys could see. They leaned their head forward. No sound escaped them. Alphys noticed Chara moving. She perked up, “Chara?” Chara stressed their words, “I don’t want to talk about them. Even if I did, I don’t know the answer to your question.” Alphys frowned but she continued combing Chara’s hair regardless. She sighed. The two stayed silent for a moment before Chara spoke with a small chuckle of disbelief, “But, it’s funny.” Alphys raised a brow, “What?” “I can’t tell which one has hurt me more. Him. Or my birth mother.” Alphys’s combing stopped. Her eyes widened. The skin under her scales paled. Dread overtook her tone, “She… hurt you?” A few tears peaked from Chara’s eyes. They began to choke on their words, “Yes.” Alphys immediately hugged Chara from behind, around their shoulders. Chara’s arms wrapped Alphys’s from under. Chara leaned their chin and rested it on their fingers. Tears flowed. Chara began to choke and sob, “This is why I didn’t want to talk about her.” Alphys spoke simply, “I’m sorry.” The two sat there for many long minutes. Chara’s sobs the only source of noise in the room. Never pulling away from each other’s embrace. Not until the sobs stopped. Chara took a few slow, deep breaths. They lifted their head and lowered their arms. They spoke two words, “Thank you.” Alphys nodded, “Of course.”

Alphys went back to slowly comb out Chara’s hair. Alphys was careful, slow, meticulous in the combing. By the time she was done, both of them knew it had been another half hour since they had begun. She had even moved to in front of Chara to carefully comb their bangs, what little tangles they had. She smiled, content with her completed task, “There. All done.” Alphys stood tall as Chara adjusted their hair to their normal hairstyle. Alphys went over towards the dresser, “Your hair really shines when it’s cared for.” Chara shrugged, “I’ve not been able to wash it, so that shine could simply be oil and grime.” Alphys carefully put her comb away, “Well, maybe next time we can do that!” Chara frowned, “I highly doubt we will have time like this ever again.” “Then… what if when I come into your room, I could bring some water and the comb? It’s a little rudimentary, but we’d be able to wash your hair and comb it. I’ve been re-reading some sections of the books I kinda… glazed over… and all manner of hygiene care can affect your health if neglected.” Chara stretched in their chair, “I suppose that could work…” Alphys nodded, “Okay! How about after they replace your door tomorrow?” Chara blinked. They settled back in their chair with a confused glance, “What? Are they… not replacing it now?” Alphys shook her head, “Well… no. The replacement door has to be made. It’ll be delivered early tomorrow. Honestly, the door change might wake you up.” “Oh… I see…”

Chara awoke to a knock on their door. They groaned and grumbled, it wasn’t anywhere near the evening. Afternoon at most. They grumbled out, “Alphys? Is that you?” Alphys replied happily, “Yep! I’ve got some good news! Well… partially.” Chara stood from their bed. They spoke cautiously, “…Partially?” Alphys slowly slid the latch lock open. Chara looked down curiously at the panel, but it did not open. Instead, the door lock clicked open. Chara froze for a moment, fear and uncertainty flashed. The ringing returned briefly. The door cracked open to reveal Alphys’s smiling face. She was to the side of the door, away from the pile of dust. She spoke kindly, “I’m taking you out of your room for a bit!” The ringing subsided as Chara relaxed. They raised a brow curiously, “For the investigation?” Alphys nodded as she opened the door wider, “Yeah! I um… I proposed the idea that I’d watch you while the Royal Guard examined and cleaned up here!” Chara, still with a cautious gaze, approached the door, “And… he approved?” Alphys gave a nervous smile, “Yeah… but… we have to go to my room, and we can’t leave there until he says so.” Alphys began to fiddle with her claws. Chara sighed heavily. They resigned, “Well, it is better than some other options I thought he would concoct.” Chara stepped through the open door. They paused at the pile of dust. Alphys offered a hand to Chara with a smile. Chara smiled softly as they took the hand. With her assistance, Chara gracefully stepped over the dust pile. The two released their grasp before they moved on.

Alphys led Chara down hallway after hallway. A different path than Chara knew. Chara noticed cameras as they turned some corners. They locked their sight on each one. After a few, Chara perked up, “Were these cameras always here?” Alphys didn’t look back at Chara, but replied, “I don’t think any new cameras have been set up in the lab lately.” Alphys frowned as she and Chara looked at the next camera as they passed, “He’s… watching us through them, right now.” Chara’s face contorted with disgust, “He is still keeping a close watch despite the investigation?!” “He’s waiting for the Royal Guard. And for Serol’s team to arrive. They have the only keycards that aren’t in storage other than mine. So… our intruder got it from one of them.” Chara looked up at the closest camera with a glare, “So he is passing his time by ensuring I go where you said I would.” Alphys nodded. She looked at Chara solemnly, “He was really strict with me about it.”

A smile budded on her face, “But thankfully, once we’re in my room, we won’t have to deal with cameras! We can talk and relax in peace!” Chara rolled their eyes, “While we are imprisoned in your room for a change.” Alphys let the last comment be as stopped in front of a room. She beamed and exclaimed, “And here we are!” Chara stopped. They turned towards the door to immediately see the nameplate. Chara raised a brow, “You don’t have a last name?” Alphys opened the door and shook her head, “No. It’s not common for monsters to have last names. It was usually leaders and other important monsters who had last names.” Alphys stepped into the room. She beckoned Chara with a repeated downward movement of her hand, “Come in! I have a lot of stuff to show you!”

Chara stepped into the room as Alphys turned on the lights. Chara paused as they took in the sight of Alphys’s room. The room was bigger than their own and more densely decorated. The bed was the same as Chara’s but a few water damaged plushes sat at the end of the bed. A small bedside table held a lamp and a few framed pictures. A metal canister sat at the edge of the table. A bookshelf hugged the back wall with many books, VHS tapes, and an assortment of discs. All cases and books in varying condition. Against the wall opposite the bed was a wide dresser with a large square tv on one side of the dresser. A few DVD cases were to the side of the tv, as well as an attached DVD/VHS player. Next to the door was a work desk strewn with books, papers, pens, and pencils in seemingly disorganized heaps. It was easily the most disorganized looking area of the room, despite some things being strewn about the floor.

Alphys blushed in embarrassment, “Sorry about the mess.” Chara heard the door close behind them as they spoke, “It is alright. I have seen worse.” Alphys pulled the chair from her desk towards her bed, “Here! Sit! I’ve got a lot of movies, books, and tv shows we can watch!” Her eyes lit up as she gasped, “I could show you my favorite tv show ever!” Chara raised a brow as they sat down in the chair they were offered. Alphys scurried to the tv. She scooped up one of the DVDs next to it and presented them proudly. The cover was warped with a large corner of the art discolored. Most of the cover showed a human girl with pink cat ears and a tail. She had bright green eyes and pink hair. She wore a frilly maid-like outfit. Her hair, necklace, and matching pink boots were all adorned with large gold-painted bells. Across the bottom of the DVD were words in pinkie lettering, “Mew Mew Kissy Cutie! Volume 1”. Chara stifled a laugh before they belted out a loud laugh of disbelief. They exclaimed, “What is that?” Alphys pouted, “C’mon! It’s really good! Just give it three episodes! An hour an a half!” Chara crossed their arms and raised their brow, “By then, I could be whisked away, back to my cell.” Alphys opened her mouth to protest. Not one sound escaped before her expression deflated. She sighed, “You’re right. We don’t know how long we have here. I just… I thought I could show you all the things I enjoy while I had the chance. So we’d have more things to talk about.” Chara’s expression deflated as well. They rested their chin on their hands. They gave a soft smile, “Alright. I’ll give an episode a chance.” Alphys’s expression grew to an unbridled glee, “I promise you won’t regret it!”

Alphys quickly switched the discs in the DVD player, putting the disc she was using in the Mew Mew Kissy Cutie Volume 1 case. She turned on the tv, where it began to hum slightly. She grabbed a remote on top of the DVD/VHS player. She turned and walked to the bed where she sat comfortably. Chara looked over at Alphys as she began to access the DVD's menu. Chara was able to see all the items on Alphys’s bedside table. They frowned as they noticed the metal canister. Chara spoke curiously, “Alphys?” Alphys looked over at Chara, “Hmm? What’s wrong?” Chara pointed at the canister with an even expression, “Is that… the substitute?” Alphys quickly muted the tv. She placed the remote beside her with a frown. She gently grabbed the canister and held it close to her. She nodded, “Yeah. It is. I’ve already taken my dose today.” Chara held out their arm, “May I see it?” Alphys raised a brow. She extended the canister towards Chara without a word. Chara held the canister with two hands for a brief moment. They twisted the canister open to see a number of red pills within. They held one. Soft to the touch. Smaller than the one they remembered Gaster had shown to them and Asriel. Made with their blood all the same. It even had a faint scent of blood. Chara lightly smirked, “So this small pill is meant to stop monsterkind’s extinction.” Alphys shrugged and stammered, “Well… I mean… sort of? It’s only a temporary solution until the barrier is shattered.” Chara mused, “It is smaller than I remember.” Alphys blinked, “You saw it before?” Chara returned the pill to the canister, “He showed Asriel and I the prototype. Used from blood stolen from me my a moldbygg.”

“Oh… I didn’t know that. Can I ask what happened?” Chara nodded. They closed the canister. The whispers returned to them as they spoke, “Asriel and I went to explore Waterfall. Mother came along in an attempt to protect us. We were in the grasses area, and a moldbygg was hiding, flattened in the grasses. While Mother passed over it with no reaction, it reacted to me and instantly swallowed me whole.” Alphys twiddled her thumbs, “Is… that where you got those weird scab-like scars?” Chara instinctually went to cover one such scar on their arm, “Yes.” Chara held the canister out to Alphys, “Needless to say, Mother and Asriel saved me. Asriel was brave enough to resuscitate me, but he tasted my blood because of it.” Alphys nearly dropped the canister. Her eyes widened in shock. Her voice grew lower, more serious, “Asriel tasted your blood?! Wh-what happened to him?!” Chara continued calmly, “He slowly began to lose more and more energy. I believe his instincts almost caused him to attack me once, but he was quick to snap out of it.”

Alphys placed the canister back onto the bedside table. Her voice quieted and became more somber, “That makes sense. It’d be the first time he’d tasted blood after surviving off snails. His body would instantly feel the soul energy in your blood.” Chara paused. They raised a brow, “Soul… energy… in my blood?” Alphys folded her hands on her lap, “Well, we can’t eat any other animals or any plants. Some very small varieties can give us only a little nutrition at best, but we have to eat humans at some point. Did the Dreemurrs tell you why that is?” Chara scratched their head, “No. Mother, Father, and Asriel all appeared to subsist off snails well. Until Asriel tasted my blood.” Alphys pointed at her chest, “It’s because of the soul. Human souls naturally hold a lot of magic inside them. It leeches into every part of a human from the moment the soul arrives well before birth. And since monsters are mostly made of magic, we survive off of the magic of the human soul.”

Chara rested their arms and chin on the chair’s back. They gave a skeptical glance, “If our souls hold as much magic as you say, why is it that humans cannot perform magic?” Alphys blinked in confusion, “But… they can. That’s how they put up the barrier around Mount Ebbot. I suspected you can’t use magic, but no human can?” Chara shook their head, “Not that isn’t simple sleight of hand or perception tricks. Humans using magic is nothing but a legend.” Alphys quieted in thought for a moment. A shocked expression budded on her face, “Maybe…” She looked towards Chara curiously, “Did stories of Mount Ebbot include the humans who made the barrier? What happened to them?” “The legend goes that seven magicians gave their lives to seal away monsterkind within Mount Ebbot.” Alphys sighed, “I get the feeling that those could have been humankind’s last magicians.” A shiver ran down Chara’s spine, “If they failed…” Alphys grimaced, “We’d be living in a very different world. Yeah.”

The two paused as the realization sunk in. The silence became awkward. Nerve-wracking. Alphys soon cleared her throat and smiled, “Um, so… did you still want to watch an episode of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie? It’s lighthearted and… probably just what we need right now.” Chara relaxed in their chair with a sigh. They faced forward and slumped against the seat back. They smiled, “Sure. Why not?” Alphys gave a small smile before she pressed play.

——————————————————————————————

Gaster returned to the screens. After what felt like days, a team of the Royal Guard arrived to inspect and clean up the crime scene. All he had to wait for now was Serol’s team. He turned back to the screens. Someone was already in the upper lab. Serol. Gaster watched as Serol dug into a small messenger bag off his shoulder. He pulled out a keycard and swiped it at the elevator access. Gaster mentally noted that action. He watched as the elevator opened and Serol walked into the lower lab. Gaster gathered his notes; he had an interview to conduct.

Gaster teleported around the corner of the hallway to the elevator. He rounded the corner to see Serol dig in his messenger bag. He pulled out a cell phone. Serol began to dial a number but paused. He was quick to notice Gaster approach. He lowered his neck and head, “Greetingsssir. You assked to sspeak with me and my team?” He began to dig into his bag once more, “We have finalized the planss for the next iteration of the ssoul sscanning apparatuss for your approval!” Gaster raised his hand, “There will be time for that later. I summoned you and your team for a much more pressing matter.” Serol perked up. He allowed his bag to be slack at his side, “More pressssing? Did ssomething happen?” Gaster motioned for him to follow, “We’ll talk on the way to my office.” Serol nodded as the two began to walk, “The resst of the team should be here ssoon. Should I tell them to join uss?” Gaster lightly held his hands behind his back, “No. Have them wait in the lab room I spared for your team. Remind them they all must use their keycards as they arrive.” Serol dug out his phone and began to text, “Undersstood.”

Gaster’s tone turned serious, “I summoned you because we had a break in last night.” Serol nearly dropped his phone in shock, “What!? That shouldn’t be possssible!” “And yet, it happened. With the human nearly taken as a result.” Serol frowned. He replied gravely, “Oh… oh no… Please tell me-“ Gaster swiftly cut him off, “The human is uninjured. Alphys is currently keeping close guard over it. Since the intruder resisted arrest, he has been dealt with.” Serol put a hand to his chest. He loudly sighed in relief, “Thank goodnessss.” He paused and gave a curious expression, “Iss my team here to aid in ssecurity ssolutionsss?” Gaster smirked, “Something to that affect. I simply need to ask you and your team a few questions.”

Serol stopped. His voice turned serious, “You think ssomeone let thiss intruder in.” Gaster halted after a few more paces. He looked back at Serol with a knowing glance. His back was still turned to Serol. He smirked as he dug into his pockets, “I know someone let him in.” Gaster pulled out the confiscated keycard. He held it for a moment to allow Serol to see it. Serol slumped. His jaw dropped slightly. Gaster continued, “This keycard was found in the intruder’s dust. Alphys has taken inventory of all keycards. The only ones missing other than hers, which she presented, are the ones lent out to your team.” Serol crumpled to his knees. He hissed out in desperation, “I ssswear to you I had nothing to do with thisss. I promissse, I will aid in finding the traitor on my team.” Gaster stowed away the keycard before he turned towards Serol, “The fact you used your keycard to enter the lower lab lowers your suspicion.” Serol’s neck curled up, his head pointed towards Gaster. Relief washed over his face, “Thank you ssir.” Gaster frowned, “But that does not clear you of suspicion.” Serol pointed his head back towards the floor, “I am prepared to do whatever it takesss to find the traitor.”

Gaster went to speak. A chime noise cut through the tension. Gaster paused and closed his mouth. He gave a befuddled look for a moment. He quickly glared down at Serol. Serol blushed slightly through his scales, “My apologiesssir. That isss my text tone.” Gaster highly facepalmed with one hand. His other hand cradled his elbow. He groaned, “Is it your team?” Serol dug his cell phone out of his messenger bag. He smiled, “Yess. They are all nearly here.” He seemed to examine the text carefully, “Well… almosst everyone. One hassn’t returned my textsss yet.” Gaster peaked a glare through his fingers. He smirked and lowered his hands, “If all of your approaching team has their keycards, I won’t need to interview them one by one. We’ll have found our traitor.” He approached Serol. He bent down slightly and offered Serol a hand, “Shall we greet them at the door?” Serol looked up. His frown lit up to a bright smile, “Yesssir!”

The two returned to the elevator. As they turned the corner, they noticed two members of the team waiting. The elevator whirred down, supposedly carrying the third team member. Gaster approached with a strict tone, “I take it you all remembered my request?” The first team member nodded, “Yeah. Enter the lower lab one at a time. We’re all here.” The second team member rolled their eyes, “Uh, no? Malv’s not here yet!” The first team member facepalmed, “Right. Malv. Sorry, they’re so quiet, I barely notice they’re around…” The second team member snarked, “Because they put in more work than you.” The first team member snarled, “You take that back!” Gaster cleared his throat. The two team members quickly took notice. They paled and stood in attention. The second team member was quick to apologize, “Sorry, sir.”

The doors opened to the third team member. He blinked and looked at Gaster, “Oh! I didn’t know you’d be meeting us here, sir.” Gaster calmly explained, “That wasn’t my original plan, but due to your hasty arrival, I decided to skip the one on one interviews.” The third team member stepped out of the elevator before it closed and whirred back to the upper lab. His co-workers gave a confused look. He expressed their confusion, “What do you mean? What’s going on?” The second team member perked up, “Is this… not about our progress on the soul scanning device?” Serol perked up. He began, “Well, there wass-“ Gaster put a hand on Serol’s shoulder. Serol looked up at Gaster in confusion. Gaster evenly expressed, “I will explain.” Serol dipped his head down slightly, “Oh. Yesssir.”

By this time, the elevator began to go down once more. Gaster smiled as he heard the whir, “And we have our final guest.” The five stood in silence for the few moments it took the elevator to arrive at the lower lab. The door opened to the fourth team member. They blinked, “Well, this is unexpected.” Gaster smiled, “Good. All of you followed instructions. You are no longer the main suspects as a coconspirator of last night’s break-in.” The team’s faces paled in shock. The fourth team member gasped, “Wait, what?!” The first team member exclaimed, “What the hell is going on?! How could someone even break in?!” The third team member adjusted their glasses, “Oh! The keycards! Dr. Gaster asked us each to enter one by one using our keycards!” Gaster nodded, “Correct. Each one of you here has complied. However, there is one member of your team missing. Malv is now our main suspect.”

There was deafening silence between Frisk, Asriel, and Serol for a few moments. Fear bloomed in Frisk and Asriel’s faces. Serol had been docile thus far, but now that blood was in his sight, the two didn’t know how he would react. Frisk wanted to squirm, to attempt to worm away from Serol’s grasp, but they knew at the back of their mind it would be of little use. Serol was a quick and agile monster, after all. After a few moments, Asriel quickly cried out, “Mr… Mr. Serol!” Serol shook his head for a moment, his eyes no longer focused on the blood. He turned his head towards Asriel and spoke, “You knew that Frissk wass human-“ Asriel interrupted, “Please don’t hurt them! They just wanna go home!” Asriel sniffled, “They just… wanna go home…” Serol let Frisk go in his surprise. Frisk only took a few steps from Serol. They gave a dejected frown. They knew they were at his mercy. Serol turned towards Asriel, “Asssriel… you know I have to report thisss. If I have any hope of Dr. Gassster approving my desssign I have to turn Frissk over to him.” Tears peaked from Asriel’s eyes, “No, please… you can’t…” His eyes lit up with tears still dripping, “W-wait!” He frantically dug into his coat pockets and fished out his substitute container. He held it up towards Serol. It shook in his hands as he did and a slight rattle sounded from the container. Serol could not help but eye the container deeply. Through a slight sniffle, Asriel spoke defiantly, “I-I’ll give you all of my substitute if you don’t tell anyone about Frisk! Not Mr. Gaster. Not King Sans. Not anyone!”

Serol, Frisk, and Asriel stood in silence once more. Both Frisk and Serol were shocked at Asriel’s gambit. The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. Serol reached for the container but hesitated. Small bits of saliva dripped from his mouth. He shook his head for a moment and turned his gaze towards Frisk. Frisk looked away and shook slightly. Serol’s expression became gentler for a moment. Frisk could see his sympathy for them out of the corner of their vision. Serol’s head curved down and he gave a heavy sigh, “You asssk me to give up a lot for thiss. Frissk iss the firsst human we’ve heard of for a long time.” Asriel frowned, “But… they’re just a kid…” Serol tensed at Asriel’s statement. He spat back harshly, “I KNOW!” Both Asriel and Frisk took a step back from the seething monster as he took a few moments to calm down. Asriel frowned and looked down with a dejected grimace, “You promised that if we tested the puzzle… you would take us to the elevator.” Serol stared into space with a shocked expression. His body was tense before he raised his head above his shoulders. He gave a defeated sigh, “I did…” Serol spoke, dejected, “I made a deal… I’ll get in trouble either way. But…” Serol’s words trailed off. Frustration seeped into his gaze. He curled slightly and began to hug himself. Even Frisk could not help but give a sympathetic gaze. Serol soon relaxed. He spoke evenly, “I… ssuppossse there will be other humansss… asss long asss they do not get eaten by feral monssstersss.” Serol turned towards the exit to his puzzle, “Perhapss it isss time I sstop ssequesstering mysself and help find humanss when they fall.” Serol turned his head back towards the children, “I will not lie. Thiss… iss difficult for me…But I will hold true to my promissse. I will take you two to the nearesst elevator.” Serol turned his head back. Asriel approached Serol carefully. He stepped to Serol’s side and saw a tear shed from the serpentine monster’s never-blinking eyes. Asriel held up his container of substitute up to Serol. Asriel gulped, “I… I know this isn’t a human… But… maybe this will make it a little better?” Serol’s eyes locked onto the container. He gently gripped it and lifted it from Asriel’s hands. He examined it for a few moments before he opened it. The aroma hit him immediately; he instinctually cracked a smile. He found the container was nearly full. Satisfied, he closed the container and gave a half-smile to Asriel, “Only a little, but… I still appreciate thisss. I hope you know what you are doing, Asssriel.” Asriel gave a serious expression and nodded, “It’s okay.” His expression became more nervous, “I’m… not good about taking my medicine anyway.” Serol gave a puzzled expression before he shook it off; he decided not to ask.

He turned towards Frisk. He spoke gently, “Frissk, we should tend to that wound before you go. It may be ssmall, but it is sstill blood.” Frisk approached with caution. Serol and Asriel stepped off the puzzle. Serol placed the substitute container among his blueprints and notes, pinning some of them down. He then motioned towards a medium-sized rock, “Ssit here and hold that leg sstill.” Frisk slowly made their way to the rock Serol pointed out and sat carefully. They lifted the wounded leg. Serol grasped it carefully. Frisk tensed for a moment but relaxed soon after. Serol lifted the leg to a level position and rested the heel on his knee. He took a claw and began to cut Frisk’s pants above the rip and the blood stain. After he cut, he quickly chucked the bloodstained cloth off the side of the path towards the magma below. Serol paused for a moment before he spoke, “I am going to cut the pantss of your other leg to match, but you will need to throw away that ssock below the cut asss well.” Frisk nodded silently before they switched their leg on Serol’s knee. Serol lifted the pants up to avoid another cut into Frisk’s legs. It took some effort, but Serol made a new cut into Frisk’s pants and began to mirror the cut on Frisk’s other pants leg. Serol then fashioned the new scrap cloth into a bandage and tightly wrapped it around Frisk’s wound. He lowered Frisk’s now bandaged leg carefully and stepped away. He quickly grabbed his new container of substitute and ate two pills in a few bites. Frisk, meanwhile, took off their shoe and sock before they threw the sock behind them and into the magma below. They put their shoe back on, thankful blood had not hit it. Asriel helped Frisk up, “Ready to go?” Frisk nodded, their tone weary, “Yeah.” Serol nodded, “Then follow me. The elevator iss thiss way.”

Frisk and Asriel followed behind Serol in silence. The three of them said nothing to each other as Serol led them through the winding paths of Hotland. Once the elevator was in sight, Asriel’s eyes lit up, “The elevator!” Asriel turned to Frisk, “You’ll be home soon for sure!” Frisk could only marvel at the height of the elevator. It appeared to go up into the darkness above, unable to see the top with only the light of the magma. The three approach the elevator. Asriel rushes ahead and presses the call button for the elevator. Frisk hugged themselves and spoke quietly, “Serol?” Serol turned his head towards Frisk, confused, “Yess, Frissk?” Frisk hesitated before they spoke, “About Papyrus… he’s alive.” Serol stepped back. His perpetually opened eyes widened as far as they could. Serol spoke, “You… you cannot be ssseriousss!” Asriel turned towards the conversation with a brow raised. Frisk turned towards Serol and spoke up, “It is true! He’s in the ruins in the forest before Snowdin!” Serol gave a perplexed look, “He’ss… in the ruinss of Home?” Serol crossed his arms and mused aloud, “That can’t… but we haven’t heard anything from Home in many yearss…” Frisk continued calmly. A warm sense of nostalgia washed over them as they recounted, “I… I fell in the ruins… and it was his notes… and after I found him, his encouragement through his puzzles that helped me survive. He was kind… but he was lonely… and some things made him sad…” Frisk hugged themselves, the warm feeling faded from their chest, “He… he told me to leave… and be careful out here… and warned me about Sans…” Frisk was about to continue, but they saw tears drip from Serol’s eyes. They looked up at Serol and saw him attempt to wipe the tears away with his claws. He managed to fight the lump in his throat and hoarsely speak, “He’sss alive! He’sss alive and sstill making puzzzless!” Serol gulped down the lump in his throat and spoke clearly, “Thank you, Frissk! I’ll sseek him out! Perhapss he can share what happened that night! Maybe he would appreciate my dessignss!”

The elevator doors opened. Serol ignored it and began to muse under his breath, fully invested in his words, “I will have to prepare my dessignss, and perhapss bring a gift! Sso much to do!” Asriel gave a nervous laugh, “Golly… well… good luck with that… Mr. Serol.” Serol barely acknowledged the two children as they entered the elevator and the doors closed behind him. There was silence for a moment between the two. Asriel smiled, “That was nice of you to tell-“ Frisk threw themselves onto Asriel, pulling him into a deep hug. Asriel coughed, startled at the strength of the hug. He tried to pull away, “Wh-why are-“ Frisk spoke in a somber tone, “You saved my life back there.” Asriel became quiet before he gently reciprocated the hug. He spoke calmly, “I just… I didn’t think…” Frisk pulled away, “But… you don’t have your medicine now!” Asriel pulled away and smiled. His tone sounded a little weary, “Chara makes more all the time! I’ll be fine.” Frisk raised a brow but accepted this. They looked towards the buttons of the elevator. They crooked their head in confusion, “Which button do we press?” Asriel scratched his head, “Gosh… It’s been so long since I’ve used this elevator… I know it’s one of the top buttons… but I don’t remember which one…” “But, both go to the top floor, right? And that’s where we’re going, right?” Asriel nodded, “Yeah! So, I guess it really doesn’t matter which one!” Asriel pressed the left-top button. The elevator began to move steadily upwards. Asriel smiled, “So, Chara said we’d have to go through the Core. I think I remember hearing my dad say there was a door in the Core that led to the castle.” “But you don’t know where it is?” Asriel shook his head, “No.” Frisk paled slightly, “What if… Chara knows and they’re waiting there?” Asriel frowned and thought silently for a moment. He spoke in an unsure tone at first, which quickly turned confident, “Well… um… If that happens, we’ll just find some way to distract them!” The elevator stopped and slowly opened. Asriel and Frisk paused their conversation to exit and take a look at their new surroundings.

They stood on a sturdy and thick metal path. On and around the path was a sea of spider webs that continued into the darkness. Barely any light of the magma could be seen from below, both from the distance and from the sea of webs. Yet, there were carefully placed oil lamps along the path to ensure enough light. Spiders of varied sizes, though none bigger than a finger, crawled along the webs. Many spun more or worked to strengthen the ones that were already spun. Asriel became more nervous as the two stepped out onto this web-filled area. He raised a brow and spoke in confusion, “I… I don’t remember this place…” Frisk began to eye the spiders nervously. Frisk quietly admitted with a quiver in their voice, “I… I don’t like spiders…” The elevator doors closed without Frisk and Asriel inside. Once closed, the two turned with a small start. They could now see messages etched into the door of the elevator. Curious, the two examined them. The messages were one-word messages that read, “Swindler.” “Liar.” And “Fake.” Frisk began to shake, “We… should get out of here…” Asriel nodded and pushed the call button for the elevator, “We’ll just press the other button.” Frisk eyed their surroundings nervously. They noticed further along the path was a pile of wood, one that seemed to be a counter of sorts before it was utterly destroyed. Frisk turned back towards the elevator and voiced their concern, “Why aren’t the doors opening?” Asriel whined, “S- someone else must have called the elevator…” Out of the corners of their eyes, Frisk and Asriel noticed that the spiders had taken notice of the two of them. Some approached, while others stood still in observation. Frisk yelped and hid behind Asriel. Frisk pleaded as they shook and clung to Asriel’s coat, “M-make them go away!” Asriel hesitated; they wanted to comfort Frisk but knew the only way was to stop the spiders from closing in. He took a deep breath and turned forward. He raised his voice, “We just wanna leave! Go away! W-we won’t bother you, so go away!” Some of the encroaching spiders halted their advance, but others did not. The ones that paused soon followed suit as though nothing had transpired. Frisk hid their face in Asriel’s coat, “Th-they’re not stopping!” Asriel gulped, but stood his ground once more, “Just- just stop! Go away!” The spiders approached from all sides, even from behind. The spiders behind reached Frisk and began to crawl up their leg. Frisk yelped slightly and froze for a second. They could feel the spiders crawl up their unbandaged leg. They shook as they slowly looked down, tears peaked from their eyes. They saw the spiders, the furthest was halfway up their calf. Frisk screamed at the top of their lungs. They instinctually jumped into Asriel, knocking him over onto his chest. Meanwhile, Frisk tried desperately to kick off the spiders that had crawled up their leg. Tears streamed down their face, wide and full of terror. Frisk managed to kick all of the spiders off their leg and began to stomp on them. Their stomps rung into the metal platform. Asriel groaned and managed to get up on his knees. He blinked and noticed his fall had crushed many of the spiders that approached him. He noticed the spiders had halted their approach, many had scurried away from Frisk’s freighted stomps. Those that were too close were crushed under Frisk’s shoes.

After a few moments of fear-fueled stomps, Frisk slowly huffed. Their fear slowly drained from their face and their mind became clear once more. Asriel stood and approached Frisk cautiously, “Are you... okay?” Once Asriel was close, the two of them heard many hissing sounds around them. Frisk shook and immediately burrowed into Asriel’s chest and grabbed his hands for comfort. Asriel looked around and saw the spiders had surrounded them, many of them hissed at the two. Many of them begun to turn around and webs shot out at Asriel and Frisk. The webs attached to various points on Frisk and Asriel’s bodies. Frisk panicked and tried to rip the webs away, but for each one they ripped away, at least five took its place. Before long, Asriel and Frisk could barely move. They were slowly encased in a cocoon from the shoulders down. Asriel was still, yet Frisk still tried to break free. Their eyes wide, crazed, and fearful. Asriel spoke in a defeated tone, “It’s no use, Frisk…” Frisk expression drew away from their crazed expression into a subtler fear. Tears streamed from Frisk’s eyes. The spiders grouped together and shot webs into the side of the cocoon as one large rope of webs. The group of spiders then seemed to pull on the rope and pull Frisk and Asriel deeper into this dark area of Hotland. They were swung over gaps and pulled through webs, which added to the cocoon only a small amount. They were pulled onto higher platforms by other spiders up higher. All the while, Frisk silently shook and sobbed, yet Asriel appeared only nervous.

After a while, they were pulled to a stop on a mid-level platform, one that was furnished with a few couches with heavy threads thrown over them. All of them appeared old, some quite worn. Yet the fabric of the couches was kept in a good condition. In one large ostentatious chair, sat a figure, barely seen in the low light of this apparent parlor. The figure noticed the two being dragged into the parlor and stood. It spoke in a feminine voice, “So these are the nasty spider killers. Ahuhu, they’re so young.”

The figure approached and the nearby lights illuminated the figure. She was young in appearance, yet held many scars upon her lilac flesh. There was a large scar across one of her five black, pupil-less eyes, the second to her left. What would be six arms was instead five, as the middle arm on her right side was missing. It was a bandaged stump about halfway to the elbow. Her hair was down, brushed down behind her shoulders. It was encased in a web-patterned loose hairnet that was supported by a cloth purple hairband across the top of her forehead. Her clothes were full of purple and pinks, a cute design, yet comfortable looking despite the poofs on her shoulders and pants. She also wore black tights and matching black closed-toed shoes. She smirked and flashed her sharp fangs, “Such naughty little children!~ Ahuhuhu~” Frisk’s eyes widened at the fangs, but they said nothing as small tears continued down their face. Asriel pleaded quietly, “Please… Frisk was just scared! We didn’t mean it! We asked them to stop approaching but they didn’t!” Muffet crossed her two lower arms and glared at a group of spiders. She spoke strictly, “Is this true, dearies?” A few of the spiders let out strange, quiet noises that Asriel and Frisk were barely able to hear. Muffet huffed, “Well! Now it’s understandable! I appreciate you all trying to protect me, but there is a line!” Frisk’s tears halted; they raised a brow in confusion. Meanwhile, Muffet turned back to Asriel and Frisk and clapped her top two hands with a slightly apologetic expression, “I’m so sorry, dearies! Things have been a little… aggressive here… so some of them can be aggressive in kind.” She snapped her fingers, “Untie these two little ones! Right. Now!”

Serol ran off in a flash at first, ahead of Frisk and Asriel. He soon realized his mistake and waited for the two in embarrassment. He began to walk with Asriel and Frisk, still leading the way despite there only being one path to take. Frisk began to look around curiously, and they saw something strange attached to a metal pillar. They squinted their eyes to get a better loot. It was a broken camera. Frisk opened their eyes normally and spoke up with a raised brow, “Is that… a camera?” Serol perked up before he turned his head towards the camera. His expression dipped slightly, “Oh…” He gave a nervous laugh, “That iss... one of Dr. Gasster’ss camerass. I… I broke it ssome time ago while working on the puzzle…” He gulped and spoke nervously, “Pleasse don’t tell him I broke it. I’d like to ssstil be able to ssubmit thiss dessign to him, after all...” Asriel mirrored the worried laughter, “W-We won’t.” Serol smiled almost immediately, “Thankss.”

Serol led Asriel and Frisk further than they walked. They seemed to exit the tighter corridor of metal plating to a more open area. There was only one path, all else was a large pit with magma far below. The path seemed to divide into a set of twenty-five five-by-five feet squares with dormant lights on them.  Beyond the twenty-five squares seemed to be space for two more rows of five, much farther than any of them could ever hope to jump. But, before all of the puzzle, along the edges of the first panels, was a small trench-like hole. None of them could see what lay inside. Frisk raised a brow after they had fully examined the puzzle, “What… kind of puzzle is this?” Serol approached the puzzle with a giddy smile on his face. He turned toward Asriel and Frisk, “Allow me to exssplain!” He motioned to the puzzle, “Oncce you sstep on any of the platformss, the puzzle will begin! You will have a limited time to sstep on all of the panelss before all panelss of the puzzle open and drop you!” Asriel’s eyes widen as he nearly covers his mouth, “This puzzle drops you?!” He turned his gaze to the side and below. He shook as he spoke, “I-into the lava?!” Frisk reeled slightly at the thought. Serol crooked his head in confusion for a moment. He gave a strange expression in realization before he snickered, “It will not drop you into the magma below! There iss a compartment below. Thiss puzzle iss meant to trap and sslow down humanss, not kill them.” Serol beckoned the children to the side of the path, “Come and ssee!” Asriel and Frisk approached cautiously. They turned their heads towards the side of the puzzle to see large mechanisms and a seemingly enclosed area within the mechanics. Below the puzzle was a layer of rock, about as deep as the puzzle itself. It was supported. It was safe. Asriel gave a deep sigh of relief as he saw this, “Phew…It just looks really scary from above…” Serol frowned, “Why would I assk ssomone to tesst ssomthing fatal?” Asriel gave an unsure look. He fiddled with his hands as he stepped away from the edge, “Umm… I dunno…”

Serol snickered once more for a moment. He then calmed and smiled, “Anyway… which one of you wantss to try firsst?” Frisk spoke nervously, they asked, “Will… the fall hurt?” Serol frowned and shook his head, “It’ss safe. The drop iss jusst under ten feet. You should land on your feet, and it should only hurt for a few ssecondss if at all.” “You promise?” Serol nodded, “I promisse, and I will only assk you two to go through onccce each. Iss thiss agreeable?” Asriel smiled softly, “Well… if it’s not dangerous… then okay!” Frisk nodded calmly, “It’s only once...” Serol smiled, “Okay! Jussstep on any panel and the puzzle will ssta-“ He cut himself off and widened his eyes, “Wait! Hold on!” Serol jumped off the edge, which made Asriel panic. He instinctually called out Serol’s name in shock. Asriel and Frisk ran up toward the edge and looked over cautiously. They saw Serol slithering and gripping onto the puzzle mechanisms, safe as long as he held tight. He seemed to fiddle with a few things before a small, mechanical sound echoed for a moment. It stopped soon after. Satisfied, Serol quickly returned to the path. However, instead of joining Frisk and Asriel on their side of the puzzle, Serol slithered and crawled until he reached opposite side of the puzzle without touching any of the puzzle panels. He returned to the path on that side of the puzzle, unharmed. That side seemed messier than the other. More notes and schematics littered the path, along with either warped or spare parts for the puzzle. Even a few substitute containers laid on their sides, obviously empty for quite some time. Serol ignored the mess and focused on the puzzle and its two testers. He gave a giddy smile towards Frisk and Asriel as he called out, “Everything iss all sset! One of you sstart when you are ready!!” He went to reach for something but did not immediately find it. Confused, he searched the mess around him. He tossed numerous parts and substitute cans aside. He let out an ‘ah ha!’ sound as he found what he had searched for: a notepad and a pen. He clicked the pen and opened the notepad. He was ready to write notes on the test run.

As Serol searched frantically for pen and paper, Asriel turned and smiled at Frisk, “I think… I’ll go first.” Frisk turned towards Asriel and frowned, “Are you sure?” Asriel nodded, “Yeah. Wish me luck!” Frisk smiled in response. Asriel became calm and turned their gaze towards the puzzle. He breathed in deeply before he expelled it to calm his nerves. He hesitated at first, but he soon gingerly stepped on the middle panel of the first row. Immediately, all the panels seemed to light up with a bright light. All except the one Asriel stood on. The one Asriel stood on began to shake. Behind Asriel, a metal-barred gate suddenly shot up from the trench-like hole, cutting off his chance to escape. Serol gave a quick nod and scribbled something onto the notepad. Asriel began to panic, “Aaaah! What do I do?!” Serol looked up from his notes, “Quick! Move to another panel!” Asriel ran to the panel to his left just before the original panel split in two and quickly opened to the area below. The new panel’s lights turned off. Asriel began to breathe quickly in panic before he noticed the panel had begun to shake as well. Asriel screamed and began to run wildly around the puzzle. He cried out, “Why do they keep shaking?!” Serol called out calmly as he took more notes, “It’ss part of the puzzle! It’ss to alert you to move! Hurry! Time will run out ssoon!” “What happens when time runs out?!” “You’ll sssee!”

Asriel suddenly came to a stop, in his wild run, he forgot to give any rhyme or reason to the pattern in which he ran. He had run diagonals and sharp turns and found himself trapped with open panels around him. He felt the panel shake below him, ready to open in a few seconds. Despite his legs shaking, he took the risk and jumped. Both Serol and Frisk had their eyes focused on Asriel as he jumped. But, Asriel did not jump far enough. He felt himself fall. He screamed as he descended into the mechanism and landed with a dull thud and an ‘oof!’ sound. Frisk gasped and called out, “Asriel?!” Serol turned his head downwards towards the puzzle, “Are you alright?” Asriel whined, “Yeah! Just… landed on my butt…” Serol nodded as he began to scribble more notes, “Good choiccce of cushion!” Asriel huffed, prompting a sigh of relief from Frisk. Before he could say anything, the three heard a buzzing sound. As the buzzer sounded, all of the panels opened simultaneously. They stayed open for about ten seconds before every panel, including the ones Asriel had stepped on, closed. The gate also dropped slowly, allowing Frisk entry. The puzzle had reset. Asriel whined, “How do I get out?!” Serol pointed his head downwards, “Do you ssee the two rows of panelss? Come to them.” Asriel did so, Serol could now see Asriel stand there nervously. Asriel called up, “Now what do I do?” Serol smiled, “There isss a release on the sside of the puzzle that would allow thosse panelss to come up. However, the panelss alsso risse when the puzzle is completed succcesssfully. Why don’t we allow Frisssk to try?” Asriel crossed his arms and pouted, “But, then I won’t get to see Frisk do the puzzle!” Serol huffed in annoyance as he put down his notepad and pen, “Fine. Ssstay sstill.” Serol turned his head towards Frisk, “Do not ssstart the puzzle yet!” Frisk nodded silently and began to space out. Serol, satisfied yet still annoyed, jumped to the side of the puzzle once more. There were a few mechanical noises before a click sounded. Mechanics whirred as the panels Asriel stood on began to rise. Surprised, he nearly fell down onto the rising platforms. The panels became level with the others and came to a stop with another click sound. Serol called out, “Go to my sside! Do not touch the other panelss, otherwisse the puzzle will sstart up again!” Asriel nodded silently before he walked off the panels and onto Serol’s side of the puzzle. He leaned around the edge and called out to Serol, “Okay! I’m off!” More mechanical sounds hummed from the puzzle before the two final rows of panels descended. The puzzle was once again reset. Serol made his way to his side of the puzzle, careful not to touch any panels. Asriel and Serol returned to the middle of the path. Serol picked up his notepad and pen before he turned the notepad to a new page. He turned his gaze towards Frisk, “Ready whenever you are Frissk!” Frisk blinked, their daydream ended. They called out from across the puzzle, “Okay!”

Frisk took a moment to examine the puzzle and think about its rules. They knew the puzzle would begin the very instant they stepped on any panel, as Asriel demonstrated. The panel they stepped on would shake and then open after a few seconds, which would then trap anyone that stood on them inside a lower compartment. Frisk didn’t time the entire length of the puzzle but saw there wasn’t much room for error. Frisk gave a determined gaze. They knew what to do. Frisk approached the leftmost panel in the first row. They stopped short of stepping onto it. They lowered their stance, ready to run. They closed their eyes and took a deep breath in before they released it just as slow. They opened their eyes, their eyes full of focus and determination. They sprinted onto the first panel. They heard the gate shoot up behind them and saw the panels all light up around them. The puzzle had begun. Frisk did not hesitate, they sprinted down the first row. They barely felt the panels below them shake as they only took a few steps before they made it to the next panel. Serol began to scribble down more notes as they saw Frisk dash across the puzzle with seeming ease. Frisk turned onto the second row and turn around to activate the entire row rather than activate the sides of the puzzle.  They went for each row one by one. Serol nodded as he wrote his notes, “A good sstrategy! They are a puzzle massster!” Asriel raised a brow, “I… didn’t know that about them…”

As Frisk turned onto the fourth row, they felt their foot snag on the piece of loose metal. Frisk gasped before they began to fall and faceplant into the first panel of the fourth row. Asriel gasped at Frisk’s sudden fall, “Frisk!” Serol said nothing. He only scribbled a note before he continued to observe. Frisk groaned. They felt the panel begin to shake. Did they have enough time to move? Frisk had to try. Frisk got up as quickly as they could and began to run to the next panel. They felt the shaking stop. The panel opened under them. Frisk’s eyes widened, but they didn’t scream. They saw how close they were to the edge and grabbed onto it. Serol’s head moved forward to see what had happened, “Interesting…” Asriel called out, “Frisk! Are you alright!?” Frisk grunted as the pulled themselves up, “I’m… alright!” The panel they had grabbed opened, leaving only a small area to pull themselves up onto. Frisk nearly fell down as they lost the panel. They tried to pull themselves up but found that they couldn’t. With the sound of the buzzer, Frisk lost their grip and fell into the dark compartment with a worried cry. They landed on their butt, then their back. They groaned and slowly stood up. They examined their surroundings. On one side, near perfect darkness with cracks in the mechanics, where peaks of the magma’s light shined through. On the other, seemingly a way out. Two rows of panels, and above them was the only exit. Frisk could hear Asriel call from the exit, “Frisk! Are you okay?!” Frisk rubbed their back and answered with a slight strain in their voice, “Yeah… rough… landing…” Serol called out in worry, “Are you able to move, Frisssk?!” Frisk called out, “Yes!” Serol sounded pleased, “Pleasse move to the two rowss of panelss and sstay sstill!” Frisk made their way to the panels and waited. Serol soon helped Frisk out of the puzzle as he had done previously with Asriel. Once Frisk was off the panels, the puzzle reset with Serol’s guidance.

With the three on the opposite side of the puzzle, Serol landed near Frisk and Asriel. He beamed, “Thank you for helping me with my puzzle!” Frisk rubbed their back once more. Asriel frowned and looked at Frisk, “Are you sure you’re okay?” Frisk nodded, “Yeah… just a little pain.. it should go away soon…” Serol once more scooped up his notepad and began to flip through the pages, “I already know what to adjusst. I alsso will have to fix whatever you tripped on, Frissk! And find a way to keep humanss from gripping the sssidess of the panelss!” Frisk frowned, “Um… Serol-“ Serol nearly jumped in excitement, “You were sssoo clossse, Frisssk! I thought for sssure you were going to massster the puzzle! You moved like an expert!” Frisk spoke up slightly, “Serol!” Serol calmed down as they turned their head curiously towards Frisk. He positioned his head in front of Frisk’s head. Serol spoke calmly, “Yess?” Frisk gave a determined gaze, “I want to try again.” Serol’s head reeled back into place slowly, “Why? Our deal wass only one try each…” Frisk frowned for a second. Why did they have this sudden desire to try the puzzle again? Their mind drifted to Papyrus. They knew from their short time with him that he’d be proud of this puzzle. They could practically hear his voice cheering them on, despite his weariness. Encouragement such as, ‘That was so close! I’m sure you’ll get it next time…’ Frisk could see his smile in the back of their mind. Frisk could not help but smile at the memories as they spoke, “I… I just want to try and complete it…” Serol scratched his chin, “Hmm… I ssupposse it would be good to sssee if thiss puzzle can be completed fairly…” Serol nodded and smiled, “Okay! Let’ss do it!”

Frisk then looked over toward the other side. They raised a brow, “But… how do I get over there?” Serol crossed his arms and huffed slightly, “If I had my tail, I could carry you over with easse. But then again... you don’t look that heavy…” Frisk gave Serol a strange look, but before they or Asriel could react, Serol wrapped his arms around Frisk tightly. Asriel and Frisk’s eyes widened in tandem, and both were equally paralyzed in shock. Serol held Frisk tightly before he jumped across the puzzle, easily making it across in one jump. Serol let go of Frisk after the two had landed safely. Frisk’s expression was still one of shock and fear as Serol let go. Serol crooked his head in confusion, “Wasss… it that ssurprissing?” Frisk blinked and shook their head. Their heart pounded in fear, but their expression was calmed. Frisk gave a nervous expression, “A little…” Serol snickered, “I used to be able to jump much farther with the assssissstancce of my tail.” Frisk nearly paled at the thought of Serol’s potential mobility. Serol’s eyes widened slightly, “Are you alright? Are you sure that fall did not harm you?” Frisk normalized and shook their head. There was already enough strangeness to this situation. For a moment, Frisk regretted the desire to redo the puzzle. Frisk’s skin returned to normal as they shook their head, “I think… I was still shocked from the sudden jump.” Serol let loose a sigh of relief, “Thank goodnesss… you sscared me for a ssecond…” Serol turned towards the other side of the puzzle, “Ssstart whenever you are ready.” Frisk nodded just before Serol jumped across the puzzle one last time. Asriel quickly gave Serol his notepad back on arrival. Serol beamed at the gesture, “Thank you, Asssriel!”