@blacksheep28
Life with monsters was strange. Frisk hadn't had any idea of what would happen when they first fell down that hole into the Underground. It had been strange, and terrifying, and more wonderous than they could describe. And they had a new family now! There were still questions of course. Frisk sat silently in their bedroom watching Chara. Despite how close they felt to the other, they didn't really know them at all, did they?
Indeed, the whole ordeal was as strange to Chara as it was to their partner. They last thing they remember was fighting over the body they and Asriel shared, and then...nothing. They died, and the next thing they knew they were awoken from death. Not as a living being but as a ghost, bound to some determined kid's soul. And after their journey- their crazy, strange, and at times magical journey through the underground together- somehow Chara's wish- for monsters to be free- ended up becoming true after all.
Now here they were, months later. Monsters are free and are slowly integrating into human society. Chara half-expected themself to fade once the barrier broke- to disappear and go back to being dead- but despite everything, they were still here.
It was weird, and a little upsetting to them. They should be happy. In reality, it feels nothing short of bittersweet. It leaves a sour taste in their mouth to see the world go on without them. To see their adoptive parents, who are now so different than what they remember- move on without them or Asriel. To see Frisk be Toriel's new child. To never grow up. They knew such feelings were stupid, but they simply could not help it. To be fair, they never expected to come back as a ghost. They weren't prepared for the emotions this would bring. Not that they'd tell Frisk any of this, of course... They'd rather die again than admit that.
Oh. Wait. Chara realizes Frisk is staring at them. Had they gotten so lost in their thoughts again they didn't notice? How long were they doing that for?
The child floats over to Frisk so they are at their eye level, and they playfully flick their forehead. Naturally, their finger goes right through them, but they still smirk.
"What's with the face? We having a staring contest and you just didn't tell me?"
Frisk shrugged. "We could if you want to." That wasn't really what was being asked, and Frisk knew it. Actually addressing everything that had happened seemed a lot harder than they'd thought though. It should just spill out. It couldn't be any harder than setting Alphys and Undyne up. And Alphys had melted monsters! If Alphys could face that, Frisk should be able to talk to their partner.
"Why are you still here?" Frisk picked at their shirt. "Does that mean we're gonna end up resetting?" It was a bit of an odd thought. Frisk had always had full control over going back to their save points. Chara doing something to affect that seemed as likely as it just happening at random. But Chara had been part of their strange adventure down there, and Frisk felt it hadn't really ended as long as Chara kept being there, giving advice.
They float above Frisk's head now, laid out in the air as though they were on an invisible bed, hands tucked behind their head. Their playful smirk is gone, instead replaced by a more serious expression. Of course Frisk had been thinking that. They should have known they'd start asking questions soon enough.
"I don't know. I have been wondering the same thing ever since the barrier broke. Perhaps I am still bound to you and I cannot 'pass on' because of that."
As for the reset...
That hadn't even crossed their mind up until this point. But now that they mentioned it... No. Frisk worked so hard to get to this point. Despite Chara's own confusing feelings about the present, it just wouldn't be fair to take that from them. It wouldn't be fair to take that from monsterkind, either.
"No. I don't want to reset." They fiddle with their golden necklace absentmindedly. "Why? Do you?"
Frisk laid down on their bed. It almost felt like they were bunk bed buddies, even if Chara wasn't on anything. The weight of what they were discussing came down. At least they were together. Frisk would have struggled a lot more if Chara hadn't been there helping through the Underground.
"No. I like how it is now. Mom's good to me." They weren't alone. Frisk picked at their shirt again thinking it over. "It feels weird to think it's over." Being Underground had lasted forever. Frisk didn't know how many times they'd died or gone back to try and do something better.
