Understay - an Undertale Fanfic

Understay VI - The Way Things Are

The others were pleased to see Frisk had recovered from Asriel's departure.

"There's the punk I nearly killed!" Undyne grinned, grabbing Frisk in a headlock and rubbing his head firmly with the other hand. "Glad you snapped out of it." she smiled more sincerely, releasing him. "Losing anyone sucks but the first is the hardest."

"Indeed!" Papyrus nodded. "But nobody who I know would want to see you sad! I know it's hard to be happy, but we're here to help you whenever you need it!"

"Thanks, guys." Frisk smiled, smoothing his hair back into place. "I, uh, I think I've calmed down."

"We were thinking of resting for the night anyway." Asgore explained, smiling at Frisk's recovery. "We'll be setting off tomorrow. Undyne, you and Papyrus can handle the rest of the rebuilding, yes?"

"Guess so." Undyne shrugged. "Most of the stuff we needed your input for's already been taken care of and the rest can wait."

"Thankyou." Asgore nodded. "And thank you both, Sans and Papyrus, for you hospitality."

"It's my pleasure, your highness!" Papyrus smiled. "Feel free to visit any time! You, too, human!"

"Y-yeah, I will." Frisk smiled.

"For tonight, however, you may sleep in my bed one final time! It will let you cruise while you snooze, the same as it does for me!" Frisk giggled slightly.

"Thanks, Papyrus, but I've used your bed a lot already, you can have it tonight."

"Ahh! He repaid my kindness with more kindness!" Papyrus panicked for a moment, making everyone laugh, but he soon calmed down. Frisk sat on the sofa while the adults discussed the future. The TV remote was in reach, so he switched the TV on and flicked through the channels.

-----

The TV was showing reruns of various Mettaton programs; Frisk was surprised to see himself on a couple of the channels. He stopped on their fight. From the camera's angle, the fight looked more like dancing. No wonder it was so popular. Papyrus dropped onto the couch next to Frisk.

"Ooh! It's you, human! You were really quick on your feet there, you know."

"I had to be, he was shooting so much at me..."

"Yeah, and you barely took a hit at all!" Papyrus gestured to the screen. "I mean, look, the screen is filled with his attacks!"

"I think that's just the angle." Frisk chuckled awkwardly. He hadn't remembered so many projectiles at the time, but he had focused so much on how to stop the fight he hadn't even noticed the cameras until Mettaton paused for the break. He sat back, listening to the comforting tones of his friends, the tinny drone of the television. It was all so... comfortable. He let his eyes drift shut, relax into a soothing nothing.

-----

The void was back. Frisk felt a sense of uneasiness, a terrible dread. This was Chara's realm again, and he wasn't happy.

"You let my brother die." he cut to the chase, glaring at Frisk with cold, red eyes. "He was finally revived and you just let him give up."

"I-I tried to stop him!" Frisk objected. "He wouldn't stay, he, he chose to die..."

"You're more of a coward than I thought." Chara frowned, his usual smile swapped for pure malice. "Not only do you let him die, but you have the audacity to blame him!" he held his hand out, an ominous red glow shining from his palm. "Usually, I'd give you the choice of your soul or the world, but you've taken my brother from me. An eye for an eye. A soul for a soul." The energy formed a sphere in his palm, a devilish glow that highlighted the unbridled hatred in Chara's eyes. He reared back, ready to attack...