The Mountain East (An Undertale Fanfiction)

Chapter 5

As the days flew by, Chara and Asriel soon became inseparable. They shared a deeper connection of understanding that no one in their old lives could possibly compete. Slowly, Chara started shedding off her distrustful and bitter attitude she used to implement and turned to Asriel to assist her adjustment to the Underground's rules. She would turn to him whenever she was reminded of the cruel actions subjected to her above, and he would turn to her whenever he felt helpless and lonely. Toriel and Asgore seemed perfectly content to adopt Chara, but she could still not shake off the feeling that was guilt. They had taken her in, performed one noble gesture to the next, and what had she ever done for them? Nothing. She was stuck in an infinite paradox between the duality of guilt and joy.

"Chara, we think it might be best that you go explore the underground as you wish. Being cooped up in home is probably driving you crazy. Besides, one way or another, we have to tell the citizens of your existence." Asgore suggested.

"Ooh! Can I come as well?" Asriel came bounding down the stairs, much to Chara's delight. She had been arguing with Asgore about the adoption for a solid hour by now.

"Well... I guess it's worth a try. I'll need Azzy as a guide lest I'll fall into another ditch."

Asgore eyed his son worriedly, but was rest assured by both children.

"Alright. I'll ask Tori to pack another bag. And Chara, you'll need this." He handed the brunette a small, metal cellular device. Chara was perplexed at the machine in her hands.

"What exactly is this?"

"Ah! It's a phone, as Alphys' calls it. You can ring me and talk to me if you get in trouble! Here, let me help you with that. Just press this button, and..."

Toriel looked at the trio with a gentle smile that portrayed amusement. It had been a while since her husband and son had been this lively. She stuffed a box of chocolate into both the backpacks in front of her. A treat, for their bravery. She sighed. What did she ever have to fear? Everything she wanted was right here.

"Be back by 10, will you?" Asgore called out the door at the duo.

"Sure thing!" Asriel replied, before grabbing Chara by the neck of her jacket and skipped away. Chara flashed a nervous grin at the king and queen whilst Asriel attempted to drag her unsuccessfully. Despite his best efforts, Asriel couldn't muster the strength or magic to do so and grudgingly gave up.

As the two disappeared into the distance, Asgore put his paw on Toriel's shoulder. The two shared a sigh of relief and fatigue. What a week. What a week indeed.

Further along the road, the climate started to cool drastically. Chara donned a green hoodie that had been packed for her and Asriel, for the first time since claiming it, tried on Chara's shirt. It fit perfectly. Both shivering slightly and shuffling together for warmth, Chara and her doppelganger continued down the snowy path.

"A - Azzy, are we t – there yet? I'm turning into nice cream." Chara stuttered through gritted teeth. Asriel was faring slightly better, given he had a thick layer of fur. "Just 5 more minutes, Chara! Snowdin should be in our sights any minute now!"

Chara sighed and plodded reluctantly through the layers of snow.

After what seemed like hours, they reached a wooden sign, its contents reading "Welcome to Snowdin!" There were several inhabitants bustling around it, none of which took notice to the prince and his companion. They all were of different shapes and sizes, profiles and personalities. Chara began wondering how diverse the monster population was.

As the duo approached the populace of Snowdin, Asriel began to get cold feet about the situation. He suggested that he would go into town first to introduce Chara to prevent any sudden hostility.