"STOP THERE!" a gruff voice shouted up ahead. Frisk froze and Flowey was out again in a flash.

"Bro, calm down a bit, will ya?" a familiar, lackadaisical voice sounded. Sans. "It's just a rabbit."

"THAT JACK RABBIT ALMOST TRIPPED ME. IT NEEDS TO DIE!"

The booming voice of the other bombarded Frisk's ears. It hurt, but it also cleared her mind enough to realize she needed to hide.

But where?

"Heh," Sans huffed. "You could almost say-"

"DON'T-"

"-it jacked ya up! Hah!"

"THAT-"the loud voice stopped as the owner thought for a moment. At the same moment, Frisk found a giant rock to hide behind, and she scrambled through the snow and over a small mound to get behind it as fast as she could while still being as quiet as possible. "THAT ACTUALLY WASN'T THAT BAD."

She listened for a minute as the two continued their conversation, holding her breath and biting her lip. Had they heard her? Had they seen her?

Their footsteps came to a halt, the shuffling snow stilling. Flowey put up a defensive stance and perched himself on her shoulder while Frisk tried to be as small and unnoticeable as possible. It wasn't too hard; for the most part, Sans and the other guy were too focused on other things to really spot her.

Right?

"SANS, WHAT IS THIS?!" the loud voice was even louder up close. Frisk put her hands to her eardrums. Didn't anyone ever tell him that he spoke too loud? Maybe not.

"Paps, relax, it's just a snow drift," Sans's lazy voice carried over the wind and into Frisk's mind. She shuddered, still remembering what he said the last time they were together.

"Now die and give up your soul," Sans said darkly. "And everything can go back . . ."

Die and give up her soul? People kept saying that. And how would it help, them having her soul? Really, it was rather odd, especially since her's was so tainted.

Maybe they wanted to eat it? Her soul might have been tasty-she didn't know what souls tasted like-but she doubted it would be of any use other than a snack.

And that part about going back? What was that about? Go back to what?

"I'VE TOLD YOU BEFORE," the booming voice shattered through her thoughts and brought her back to reality. "DON'T CALL ME THAT. CALL ME 'THE GREAT PAPYRUS'!"

Papyrus? These names were getting stranger and stranger as time went on. She almost laughed at the ridiculousness of it. Almost.

Papyrus-she could see him now, another skeleton, taller than Sans and dressed in the most villain-worthy apparel she had ever seen, decked out in black and blood red battle armour-stood at his full height, towering over the smaller skeleton by at least two feet. Frisk noticed his boots and wondered if they had something to do with his height; surely he wasn't naturally eight feet tall, right? But then again, she had seen basketball players that were just as tall-if not taller-than the scary skeleton in front of her.

Papyrus's teeth were sharpened into fangs, just like Sans's, and a large crack ran over his left eye socket. Frisk assumed it was supposed to be a scar of sorts. Where did he get it? Was it self inflicted, an accident, or a battle scar? He definitely looked like he had been in war, or had at least seen battle.

"WHAT'S THIS, THIS RIGHT HERE?" Papyrus asked Sans, pointing at the snow mound Frisk had hastily traversed over only a few seconds previous. She cursed at herself mentally for being such a fool. She should have tried to cover her tracks or something, but in her haste-and with the fear of discovery-the rational idea was at the back of her mind.

There, on the top of the mound, was her footprint, with dents in the snow to signal a hasty retreat. It was as clear as day, the wind blowing the bottom of the mound and leaving the top wide open for the world to see. Frisk was so screwed.

Sans studied it for a moment and said helpfully, "Welp, that's a footprint."

"YES, SANS, I KNOW IT'S A FOOTPRINT!" Papyrus sighed. "HONESTLY, I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M RELATED TO A PIECE OF TRASH LIKE YOU."

"Ah, but ya admit I'm your blood relation," Sans smiled wide at his own joke, but Papyrus just frowned deeply (how?).

"AND I REGRET IT IMMENSELY," Papyrus turned back to the print, which was pointed right to where Frisk sat, begging the heavens to let some miracle happen so she wouldn't be found. Papyrus's eyes narrowed in her direction, and Frisk didn't move. Fear clamped her in place, her body freezing in terror.

What would he do if he found her? Would he kill her on sight? Or would it be slow and very, very painful?

Sans stared in her direction as well, and he instantly saw her. His sockets widened in surprise and let out a small gasp. "WHAT? WHAT IS IT?" Papyrus whipped back around to Sans.

Oh sh-

Sans quickly looked away and pointed into the trees. "I think I saw the rabbit. Best be goin' after it, right?"

What?

"WHAT? REALLY?" Papyrus looked off in the direction Sans pointed while the smaller skeleton turned his attention back to Frisk. He glared at her, and she felt a shiver run up her spine.

I'm not out of danger yet . . .

"I'LL COME BACK LATER," Papyrus trotted after the "rabbit", leaving Frisk, Flowey, and Sans alone.

Flowey raised his vines as Sans stalked towards them, the permanent grin on his face slowly dropping as he came closer.

"So," Sans said as he came to a stop next to Frisk's hiding place. He stood over her, arms folded. "You wanna be explaining some things?"

Frisk gulped, standing and bracing a hand against the rock. Shaking visibly, she started, "Look-"

"Stay back!" Flowey threatened, hissing and growling. His vines wrapped protectively around Frisk, which she found comforting, but unneeded to the current situation.

Sans's eyebrow lifted-or at least what Frisk thought was where his eyebrow would be. He seemed unamused by the flower's attempts.

"Flowey," Frisk held up her hand, and the flower went back into a defensive position, but that didn't mean he wasn't totally off guard. He knew what Sans was capable of-they both did-and he wasn't taking any chances. He voiced as such.

"I know what you can do, trash bag," the flower spat. "And I'm prepared for anything you might throw our way."

"Don't know what you're talkin' about, weed," Sans said. "This should be the first time we've officially met."

Flowey bit his "lip".

So he doesn't remember, either. Frisk sighed.

Something flickered in Sans's eyes, but it vanished just as it had appeared. "Well?" he asked. "Are ya gonna tell me why you're hangin' out behind a rock right by my brother's scout station?"

"Uh . . ." Frisk rubbed her arm. It was cold, really cold, and Sans's voice was almost the same temperature. "I didn't know where I was?"

She really hoped it didn't sound like a question. It did.

"Y'ain't sure if ya knew where ya were?" Sans scoffed. "Seriously?"

"Hey!" Frisk protested. "I'm new around here!"

She hadn't realized it, but she was slowly slipping back into her New York accent the more she spent time with Sans. It was embarrassing, especially since she had been trying so hard to get rid of her old habits. Rudy had even changed with her, laughing that it was "a good bonding time" with her.

She blushed. Sans's "eyebrow" raised. She blushed harder.

Sans mumbled, "Whatever . . ." and the smile came back once more, bigger than before. "Hey, sweetheart, ya should always keep yer guard up, ya neva know when somethin' might sneak up on ya."

Frisk's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Suddenly she was lifted into the air and turned around. "HUMAN!" Papyrus grinned cruelly. "I'VE FOUND YOU AT LAST! HAHA! THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS CAPTURED A HUMAN!"

Frisk paled and gulped. She shivered and tried to get out of Papyrus's grip, flailing around, but his hold was too strong.

Flowey wrapped his vines around Papyrus's arms and squeezed, trying to crush them and free Frisk. The taller skeleton merely waved his arms and threw Flowey away.

"Flowey!" Frisk called after her friend as he was tossed out of sight.

Papyrus began choking Frisk, holding her high above the ground like she was a prize. "HA HA! FINALLY! THE GLORY IS MINE!"

Tears ran down Frisk's cheeks. This really is my punishment. She gave one last, pleading look to Sans. Help me . . . please.

Sans's "eyebrows" furrowed. He opened his mouth to speak, but then Frisk heard a snap! and pain registered for only a few seconds before she died of a broken neck.

Someone . . . please.

Rudy . . .

...

Frisk couldn't see anything, couldn't hear anything. All was silent. All was dark.

Silence. A dull, noiseless silence that held nothing at all. A silence that left her feeling as if she were deaf. A silence that left her cold and afraid.

Darkness. A void that swallowed light and devoured hope. A blackness so empty that Frisk could tell that there was nothing at all, just her and this thick, horrible darkness.

Frisk closed her eyes tightly, wishing it would all just disappear.

Please . . . help me . . .

. . .

I will help you.

Who said that? Frisk wondered.

Open your eyes. I am here.

Frisk opened her eyes slowly to see a small girl sitting on the ground. She had light brown hair and red eyes, a kind smile on her face. "Hello," she said.

Confused, Frisk sat up and pulled her knees in close. "H-Hello . . . Who are you?"

The girl held out a little hand for Frisk to shake. "My name is Chara," she smiled wide.

Frisk looked at the girl's hand and cautiously took it, nervous that she might try to hurt her. The girl had a firm grip and easily shook their hands up and down. "N-Nice to meet you, Chara . . ." Frisk pulled her hand back to her side.

Chara said, "I've been trying to talk to you face to face for a while now . . . But you wouldn't come to me. I was starting to get worried that you never would . . ."

"You . . . wait a minute . . . Are you . . . C?" Frisk asked.

Chara tilted her head to the side, then her eyes widened. "Have you found my messages?"

Frisk nodded. "W-Well, only the one . . . in Toriel's house."

"Oh . . ." the other girl smiled softly. "So you've met my mother?"

"Your mother?"

Chara nodded. "Yeah, she adopted me. But . . ." She stopped and looked away.

"S-So," Frisk awkwardly tried to change the conversation. She locked her lips, trying to figure out what to say. "Um . . ."

But Chara changed it for her. She gave Frisk a large smile and said, "You're probably really confused about what's happening."

Frisk looked up into her eyes. "This isn't some cruel game used to entertain some sadistic crazy person?"

Chara shook her head. "No," she took Frisk's hand. "You have a purpose here, Frisk."

". . . Am I meant to be punished?"

Another shake, followed by a smile. "You're here to save them," Chara squeezed Frisk's hand. "You can do what I couldn't."

The words were familiar to Frisk. Save them . . . "Save them? But . . . what does that mean?"

"You were sent here to be a guiding light," Chara explained. "You're here to-"

Chara fizzled in and out of focus, like static on a television.

"Chara?" Frisk grasped Chara's hand, but it seemed to feel like it was almost gone, too. "Chara, what's wrong?"

"Frisk-I-not going-be here-but-"

"Wh-What's going on?" Frisk tried to hold onto the smaller girl, begging her with her eyes to stay. She wanted to talk more. She wanted to learn more about what Chara meant. She didn't want to be alone . . .

But then Chara vanished without a trace, like she wasn't even real. Like she was a ghost. Tears came to Frisk's eyes. "Chara?"

There was no answer, just like Frisk guessed. She was completely and utterly alone. She once again curled up and hugged her knees to her chest. "C-Chara?"

The silence returned, that dull and cold silence thick and unbearable all around her.

The darkness came back in full force, swallowing all light. Swallowing all good.

And with it went Frisk's hope.

I'm sorry I haven't updated in ages ;-; I promise I'm gonna finish this story. School's just been really crazy, and I've been procrastinating the story a bit, I will admit ^^; But this story will be finished, no doubt about that.

Also, since this is a short chapter (I know, I tried to make it longer, especially since I hadn't updated in a long time), the next chapter will be longer and will have more answers (lol, but that just means more questions, haha).

LOL, I loved writing this line: "hissing and growling." I just imagine Flowey acting like a freaking rabid dog, while the skeleton is like: unimpressed.

Thanks for reading!