Friends - UNDERTALE

[3]

"Hello! I am-"
"FRISK! RUN!" Chara screeched, quickly rising to their feet. They scooped Frisk up and ran, Frisk desperately signing something Chara didn't even begin to try to translate.
"Wait! I do not mean any harm!" The woman called, stepping forward. Frisk shot an anxious look at Chara, which wasn't seen as Chara's frantic mind only saw the option of fleeing. Frisk, tired of messily signing and squirming, wriggled free and fell face down into the dirt. Scrambling through the piles of swirling dust, they went to the strange woman - who now just stared, bewildered.

"Frisk." Chara barely breathed the words. "Don't move. Maybe it's vision is based on movement." Frisk merely shook their head and stepped forward. "Frisk!" The child in blue stepped forward, approaching the silent... goat monster.

Frisk waved, and shyly peered at the towering woman.
'its okay. she won't hurt us." Frisk waved Chara over. Heart pounding wildly in their throat, Chara edged forward. Frisk was insane. They were crazy. They'd lost their mind when they took Chara to the mountain, and the fall made them worse. They were trapped with a psychopath and a goat. Chara cleared her throat, and shot a dirty glare at the... uh, Underground Mt. Ebbot Tour Guide. They didn't mean to. It just happened, as with most things they did lately.

Chara felt freezing suddenly - they'd tell Frisk they pushed them down later. Though... did they remember? Chara studied Frisk's bruised, reddish face and searched for any signs of anger. Instead, Frisk looked... sad. Apologetic. Hope, though, lingered in the brown eyes that so constantly held grey bags of exhaustion. Frisk broke the trance of self-blaming and smiled yet again at the woman in purple. The figure waved her hand as if trying to dissipate the awkwardness in the air.

"Well. As I was saying, I am Toriel." The woman smiled warmly at the two children. "If none of you are hurt, I can show you about! Please follow me, little ones." Frisk, more than eager, jumped ahead and connected their hand with Toriel's. Their free hand grabbed Chara's pale wrist and pulled forward. Chara didn't know what they were expecting on the other side of the entrance - even more darkness, spiders and cobwebs, a fully functional civilization of talking goat people, or... whatever.

They found violet floors, covered in amber leaves almost strategically, and an elegant staircase leading to a vine-smothered doorway. The most interesting factor, however, was the golden star, shining bright, nestled between the leaf pile ahead. Chara's eyes widened, and they turned to Frisk, as if to silently ask if they were seeing the same thing. Frisk, however, didn't seem to notice. They followed Toriel, but as they passed the star and Chara felt their breath catch in their throat, Frisk's injured palm spread out. The gold beneath them shimmered, and the scrapes decorating Frisk vanished. Chara felt light, suddenly. It's almost as if the blood on their scraped knees vanished into pure energy and determination, jolting them awake. Their injuries were now gone. Chara's mouth gaped. 

 Frisk noticed their expression and smiled in a way Chara had never seen - their grin spread wider than usually humanely possible, and with eyes wide open they winked.  They giggled - like it was some kind of inside joke - and scrambled ahead. Chara, filled with adrenaline but also entirely numb, tripped their way up the stairs. 

"Welcome to your new home. innocent ones. Allow me to educate you in how things work around here." The woman cooed, gesturing to the room behind her. Chara peeked from beyond the woman and saw a dusty lever, dusty stones, dusty dust, and a dusty sign in some language Chara couldn't even begin to understand. (*Headcanon, the monsters write in symbols!) As if it was a typical routine carved into Toriel's mind, she effortlessly solved the first... puzzle, it seemed. Within the blink of an eye, the door blocking their path had opened. 

"The ruins are filled with puzzles." There it is. "Ancient fusions between diversions and doorkeys. One must solve them to move from room to room. Please adjust yourself to the sight of them." Frisk already had, seemingly, and walked up to Toriel with an award winning smile, signaling they were ready to go to the next room. Chara rolled their eyes and followed. Puzzles were always Frisk's thing.

"Only the fearless may proceed." Chara read as they passed the sign, voice monotone. "Brave ones, foolish ones. Both walk not the middle road."

"How did you even begin to read that?" Frisk signed, staring at the gibberish as if the English would suddenly show. 

"I... I don't know. I just..." Chara's voice hitched. They felt strange, suddenly.

"Children? Are you following me?" Toriel called. Frisk shook their head, gripped Chara's suddenly shaking hand, and helped guide them deeper into the catacombs of Mt. Ebbot.