A few hours later you moved to the kitchen, sitting on a bar stool strangely similar to those at Grillby's Club in the town square. In the kitchen, Papyrus shuffled in beautiful spirals, collecting and cooking in a beautiful fashion. Though maybe some of his ingredient choices seemed odd, he was obviously enjoying himself.

You struck up a conversation with him, explaining your disappearance with a white lie and soothing his rather astounding theories. "What if you had been stuck in a rock slide with no one to dig you out! One earthquake and you never know!" He hummed, making you laugh quietly.

"You're not wrong." You conceded.

From your perch you could see into the living room, receiving half a view of Frisk's talent. Amazingly, he'd only continued to improve since tumbling into this world with you.

Sans stood not to far from him, swaying gently as he talked to Frisk and the others. He never quite did more than sway, maybe because the music wasn't to his taste but that hadn't stopped him before. You could tell he wasn't as happy as he was presenting, not even close. He was still upset with you.

He looked up towards you as you examined him from afar, causing you to casually break your gaze and turn back to laughing at Papyrus' acts of insanity. It felt like he was still watching you though...

You tapped your finger against the countertop, responding on autopilot when Papyrus spoke but your thoughts wondering elsewhere. Sans was irritated with you, but you couldn't exactly pin when he became bitter. Immediately after you had sacrificed yourself so he wouldn't get hurt, he was scared and doting. When he brought you back he held you steady and helped you rest. Then not too late after Frisk had arrived.

Maybe he was mad the entire time? You had attempted to kill him. It would be fair no doubt. But it felt wrong thinking that, you didn't sense any anger in him when he'd first seen you were hurt, or really after. Maybe when you started deflecting, right before he left to get you bandages. His few moments away from you could've done it, when you were alone in his room.

Alone, in his room...

You stilled, the ghostly image of a hidden room suddenly resurfacing in your mind. It was weird you forgot so quickly, but somehow it had happened. Somehow, there was a secret chamber beyond Sans closet wall, and it was glowing. You knit your eyebrows as you thought about it, mind wandering to the the box of electronic parts you'd seen as well.

Thinking back, none of them seemed like any sort of music devices or phones, certainly not a turntable at the very least. That would make sense, or maybe a speaker setup even. But the tech be kept in secret was almost completely foreign to you. In fact, you could only think of one other place with even remotely familiar devices. Even though you hadn't been there long, they reminded you of Alphys' lab.

You resumed tapping on the counter, trying to dig deeper. Sans had definitely at some point acquired technology from Alphys' lab, or maybe he was given it. It wasn't any sort of music device for certain, so what use would he have for it? Sadly a glimpse at wires and a few blinking lights didn't give you much to go off of.

The clanking of plates made you jump, swallowing a gasp as Papyrus triumphantly turned to you. "And with that, (Y/N), you now know my super duper ultra secret-secret method on how to make any dish better with a bottle of glitter and two tablespoons of oregano!"

You stared at him for a second, almost buffering, before laughing quietly to yourself. "Your secret is safe with me." You assured him, thinking to yourself how you couldn't even recall more than 3 words he'd said to you.

He handed you several plates with a grin and asked you set the table while he prepared the food for serving. You nodded dutifully and stood, masking your wince with another chuckle. Papyrus, Alphys and Undyne didn't need to know you were hurt.

You walked softly to the table, careful not to disturb the party like vibe of the living room, and gently placed the plates in their proper settings. Collecting silverware and cups you filled the same pattern, even including a smaller setting for the beloved pet rock. Your mind tingled with thoughts about Sans' secret room and the possibilities branching from each prospective answer he might have.

You pondered in silence until you felt a sudden push as you went to turn. You'd run directly into Sans, whom had silently appeared when Frisk moved to dance with Undyne and Alphys. Your face flushed red, like you'd been caught in shameful act. "Oh. Hey Sans" you sputtered, quickly stepping back.

The look in his sockets was cold, almost dejected in a way. "I guess Papyrus is almost done then?" He asked, looking to the kitchen. "He thought a nice meal might lure you home if you caught wind of it, and he hoped by inviting Undyne it would give his best friends a chance to become best friends."

You nodded to his exposition. "Makes sense."

He stood quietly, looking at you as you stood silently holding 2 stacked cups and an according amount of silverware. Releasing yourself from his gaze, you turned back to your work as he stared, soon finishing and walking around the table to find your own seat. In a clear voice, you bellowed "Come on y'all! Papyrus has dinner ready!"

Frisk looked at you excitedly. Removing his shoes and running to claim a seat at your side. Undyne and Alphys followed quickly after and then only Sans stood, watching you before slowly seating himself as Papyrus arrived with an obnoxious amount of pasta bathed in white sauce, you assumed Alfredo by the scent, and easily too much edible glitter. But, you dove in.

Papyrus gushed over you return, fantasizing how his two close friends could now become even closer friends and how it would be incredible to do the 'bestest of best friend things together.' You and Undyne shared an uncertain glance, but smiled politely with matching slow nods. You had gone into dinner mode, making nice conversation and piloting to appear as pleasant and natural as possible. It was an incredibly useful still at meals staffed entirely by stiff necked politician and high profiles.

However the quiet glances of your newly mysterious companion bugged you. Your eyes darted to Sans, his own face directed down at his plate. He reached into his hood fishing around for a second before suddenly stopping. He started blankly for a second into nothing, glancing at you then retracting his hand. Curiosity filled you in that moment, wondering what he was looking for, and why it might lead him to direct his attention at you.

Averting your eyes again, you looked down at your plate. Your stomach churned and you pushed away the half of the pasta left on your plate with a dramatic sigh. "Lord Papyrus, I don't know what you do to make pasta just so filling! I can't eat anymore." You announced loudly, smiling to your tall skeletal companion.

"I'll eat it!" Frisk butted, taking your plate and dumping the contents onto his own plate.

You chuckled softly and patted his head. His hair was slightly damp with sweat, but still was soft. For a moment you stroked his hair, looking at him affectionately. "Yeah, you gotta keep your energy up Frisk! You burn so many calories a day I worry you'll turn into a skeleton like these two bone heads." Sans looked up, buy didn't laugh. Papyrus, rather than scold you for your shameless pun became excited for a moment.

"Frisk might join us in the rank of monsters if he loses enough weight?! Well why not?!" He declared excitedly.

You smiled nervously and shook your head. "No Papyrus, I meant something else."

"Well what did you mean?" He rebutted, becoming confused.

You met his pleading gaze and felt your heart swell with sympathy. "Well Papyrus, it means Frisk would get real weak ya know? Can't can if you get weak. And we humans can't really become monsters."

"I dunno about that one. You seem pretty monstrous to me."

Your body stiffened at the cold words, having nearly forgotten her voice. Chara was awake.

Your heart raced, crashing against your ribs in quick succession. How could she come back so quickly? Why did she even disappear after her attack a few hours prior? Why did she have to be so goddamn persistent...

"You'd understand if you were in my pointes." She sneered, her cruel expression practically visible to you.

Maybe more than practically...

You blinked a few times, the conversation around you seeming to fade as your vision blurred. Past the table, beyond Undyne and Alphys in the middle of the dance floor...

She stood there.

Your blood ran cold as you looked at her, rubbing your eyes and glancing at the other table members finding they didn't notice her at all. "Chara..." You whispered fearfully.

She smiled cryptically, the floor beneath her flickering, one moment the familiar panels that layered over zigzag carpet, then a ballet studio's uniform wooden board. Stains were etched into the woods grain, rust like splashes of color like a gruesome stain. Chara smiled. You looked to your sides finding your companions with no reaction still, but you couldn't help you shaking.

"You aren't really here." You whispered to yourself, barely audible even to yourself. "You can't hurt them."

You took a deep breath and smiled gently, taking a sip so as to keep up your act to the oblivious others. "I hurt Sans." Chara said frankly, forcing you to freeze. She cackled evilly, her grin stretching to a ghoulish degree. "You saw it just like I did. He's afraid of you, at least a little now. If I had just a little more control I could've done a lot of damage earlier. I suppose I just need to be patient."

You didn't respond, clenching your fist and looking down at your emptied plate. You stood with a quiet yawn and looked at Papyrus, "Thanks Papyrus, your cooking has really improved. But I'm real tired because of my dumb decision of running away so I think I'll go take a nap in the shed. Don't worry, it's not like I can run twice!" You teased.

He smiled at you as he spoke, but his words sounded as though they were filtered through a deep body of water, only a vague mimick actually getting to you. He motioned dramatically upstairs with a grin, pausing as he looked at you expectantly.

It looked like he was gesturing up towards his room, as though trying to direct you. "Sleep in your room?" You guessed. Chara watched you, snickering at your poor state.

He nodded vigorously continuing on as you stood. You thanked him quietly and moved towards the stairs. You trembled, looking at Chara, her still standing admist the flickering image that skewed the living room. The stairs themselves only seemed to be there half the time, but it was the blood stains on the floor that made you most uneasy.

You walked with a straightened back, trying not falter as your feet padded through the visage of gore. All you could do was sing to yourself in your head 'its not real, it's not real.'

As you approached Chara she purposely moved to cross your path. You hesitated, but kept on. As you approached her. The air felt colder and your face erupted with heat. It was like your body couldn't decide how it want to feel at that moment and each limb made an individual desicion. You took a step into her image, finding no resistance. But as you passed through her a burning pain seemed to twisted in your side wound,a new spot of blood blooming from your side and making your shirt sticky with your own fluids. You fell forward, vision swimming as pain overtook you. One hand on your side, the other braced forward as you fell. Surprisingly your hand caught a banister and you looked up to find your already found the stairs, though in a burst of sound you'd realized you were released only to stir panic into everyone who saw your fall.

"Wow haha~ maybe even the big girl needs a little help. It looks like it's been awhile since you had a good sleep."

You looked up, seeing Sans chuckle as an arm wrapped around you. Gripping your shoulders, you felt a light pop around you and you appeared atop the stairs. "I'll just put her in my room Paps, I've got sentry duty tonight anyway."

Before Papyrus could protest Sans had vanished, relocating you to his bedroom with your arm draped over him. You hissed as your legs buckled beneath you, tears welling in your eyes. You swallowed a gasp to hold back your tears, but they soon fell down your face like waterfalls.

Sans gently laid you down on his bed as he lifted your shirt. Your bandages were soaked clean through with blood, but the dark substance seemed tainted with the black corruption of something foreign. You cried quietly, feeling suddenly overwhelmed as pain and memories seemed to shuffle through your pain one after another.

"(Y/N), what happened?" Sans disappeared, reappearing in seconds as your quiet sobs worsened.

"She's here." You muttered, "Sans she wants to hurt you. She wanted me to hurt you in the woods and she almost did."

You covered your face, sitting up against Sans protest as you brought your palms to your face. You looked at them in turn, one bloodied and black, the other clean, if not a little reddened by your fall into the stairs.

"I saw her in the living room Sans..." You mumbled, "I'm a vessel for her, but if I die she'll just move on to Frisk. I'm the only one who can contain her and she's tearing me apart from the inside out."

Your face fell into your slickened palms, your cries resuming. "What if I can't contain her..." You cried.