In the space of a blink Sans disappears, leaving behind a pair of footprints in the snow. You're surprised he listened to you. He must be as desperate to stop the resets as you are.

Chara grumbles at you to let them down. You quickly do so, carefully setting them down in the snow. They brush away the crumples in their sweater and refuse to meet your gaze.

"You alright?" you ask. Their soul's returned to their chest and they don't seem injured, but you've got an idea of how much being held up like that hurts.

"I'm fine," they say shortly. They glance at you from the corner of their eyes. "Amazing, even."

You give a surprised laugh. "Well, that's good!" You straighten up, before frowning slightly. "Is taunting him like that really worth it? He could've killed you."

They shrug. "I'd just load again. Anyway, it's the best way to get information out of someone. Make them angry and they let things slip."

You tilt your head. "Really? I've found that being nice to people works much better. Maybe that's just me, heh."

"Guess it is," they say flatly.

You examine their dull expression before coming to a decision. You spin around and drop into a crouch. "Okay, it's piggy back time!"

"…what?!"

You peak over your shoulder at Chara's baffled face. You awkwardly hold your arms out behind you. "I was pretty clear there. Piggy back rides always made me feel better when I was a kid."

They cross their arms. "I don't want one. And I'm not a kid!"

You snort. "Yeah, you are. Come on, you'll get to be taller than people for once!" you cajole.

They seem to be arguing with themselves, expressions flickering rapidly across their face. They take a half-step forward, before they give a resigned look. "Okay, okay! Stop it," they mutter, almost too quietly for you to hear. You raise an eyebrow but don't say anything. Could they have been talking to Frisk? You don't know how this whole possession thing works.

They shuffle closer to you. "So what do I do?"

"Just wrap your arms around my neck-" you wait until they do so, leaning against your back in order to reach "-and I'll take care of the rest!" You hook your arms under their legs and lift, standing up as you do so.

Chara yelps, grasp tightening until they're almost strangling you. "I'm gonna fall!" they wail. "You're gonna drop me!"

"I-I've got you." You wheeze for breath. "You're not going to fall." You squeeze their legs gently. "See?"

You wait several seconds. Slowly, their grip loosens. "Oh."

You chuckle. "You alright up there?"

"Yes," they say quickly. You feel a weight on the top of your head. Is that their chin? You don't think your skull is very comfortable, but whatever floats their boat.

"Onwards!" you proclaim to give Chara some warning as you start off. You feel their fingers pull at your sweater slightly. Other than that, they're doing good. A bit light, though. Have they not been eating enough? Or maybe it's just how their body is? You wish there was a doctor or something you could ask – you're not exactly an expert in this sort of thing.

You look around. The treeline has retreated to form another open area, snow rising in small hills and making it a bit more difficult for you to trudge through it. You're glad you decided to give Chara a lift; if it's tough for you, it'd be much harder for the shorty.

"Do you really just kill everyone?" you ask curiously.

"Yes. Why?" they ask lightly. "You've killed more than your fair share of humans."

"Well, yeah, but I stopped when it didn't serve a purpose anymore. When it wasn't- fun, I guess." You chew your lip. Describing how you felt when you realised the loops weren't ending…it's not easy. Hurting others was just another thing to keep you occupied after a while. "There's only so many reactions you can get. I guess you haven't gone through them all yet, huh?"

They shift. "I…maybe. I don't know. I thought I had; that's why I destroyed the previous world completely. Then, Frisk-" Chara cuts themselves off. After a few seconds they continue, "This new world is different."

"Yeah? How?"

One of their feet lightly kicks your side. "Well, you're here. Another human is a big change in script," they say teasingly. "Then there's the fact that Sans remembers. And, I think other monsters do too. If only a little bit."

"Really?" you say, intrigued. "That's cool. I've never had anyone remember the things I do. Like, I once murdered this guy's entire family, cut off their faces, and strung them up outside his house. I was getting revenge for how he cut me to pieces this one time, man, that sucked. Still, handy way to learn that there was a serial killer in the neighbourhood.

"Anyway, it was pretty hilarious how he broke down completely on his lawn! You wouldn't expect a guy like that to care so much about his family, but he must've. It's hard to fake crying that well. Then, next loop I got paid to babysit his kids, and they gave me a bit extra because I played a bunch of board games with them." You smile. "Nice kids. The girl – Jess, I think her name is – totally owned Monopoly."

Chara is very quiet.

"You okay?"

"Still think they're funny?" they whisper frantically. They twist your sweater tightly between their fingers.

You blink. "Um, what?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all, ha ha!"

Frowning slightly, you try to get a look at their face. When you see their shaky grin you put on a warm smile. "Hey, you can calm down. I told you I don't kill people anymore, remember? Besides, you haven't even given me a reason to kill you!"

"That's…that's not very reassuring."

"It isn't?" You chuckle. "Ah, sorry. I didn't think you'd be bothered by things like that."

They scowl at you. "I'm not bothered. I- I've done worse."

"Really?" You grin. "Same!"

Chara gives you a blank look. "What is wrong with you?"

You hum thoughtfully, trudging through a deeper section of snow. "A lot of things. I never got around to being properly diagnosed – I figure it doesn't count if the psychiatrists don't know the loops are real."

"Psychiatrists?"

"People who diagnose and treat mental illnesses. I've seen lots of those whenever I stick around my family; I'm not very good at keeping up the act for long, and eventually something leaks through. It can be kind of nice to just spill everything to a random stranger. But," You shrug. "I don't think they're really up to dealing with my level of issues. I could be wrong. Still, I like being outside where I can actually interact with new people."

You make your way up a hill and spot Papyrus sitting on the ground, scribbling furiously on a piece of paper. Sans stands nearby, looking like he's barely holding in laughter.

He sees you first, and raises a brow. "You get tired or something?"

"Piggy back rides make you feel better. Apparently," Chara says sullenly, and you feel their cheek against your head as they turn away slightly.

"He's just jealous you're much taller than he is," you say, grinning at Sans. "Isn't that right?"

"In a test of height there could only be one winner!" Papyrus jumps up, standing as straight as possible. "It would be me, of course! Now, human, I am afraid that the puzzle crafted by my brother is far too difficult for you to handle." He flourishes the piece of paper. "Even I, the Great Papyrus, have some trouble with this most mind-boggling of puzzles! But fear not, it shall not best me for long! Nyeh heh heh!"

Chara snorts. "It's just a dumb word search."

You brighten. "Ooh, I love word searches! Can I see?"

He considers you. "Hmm, I suppose there's no harm in getting another opinion." He goes to hand it over when he realises you can't take it unless you want to drop Chara. Instead he holds the word search in front of your face so that you can read it.

You're briefly surprised that it's a kid's puzzle, before you start trying to solve it. A few of the words have already been circled in red and crossed out. There's a doodle of Papyrus standing proudly in the corner, his cape twirling behind him, wearing a shirt that says "Royal Guard". The sight of it makes you grin before you focus on the word search again.

It doesn't take you long to realise that the puzzle can't be solved.

You give Sans a flat look. "Really? An impossible puzzle?"

He shrugs at you, grin widening. "If it's too much for ya don't letter get you down."

"Weak," Chara comments.

"I thought it was pretty humorous," you disagree. Then you blink. "Wait, no, humerus. It was pretty humerus. Which…you probably would've assumed I meant if I hadn't corrected myself." You hang your head and sigh. "I am my own downfall."

Chara squawks in protest at the movement. You hurriedly lift your head up again. "Sorry."

"Sans! Is what the taller human says true?" Somehow, Papyrus manages puppy eyes despite having only a pair of eye sockets to work with. It's quite impressive. "Is this puzzle really unsolvable?"

Sans looks away, sweat forming on his skull (is it sweat? Can skeletons sweat?). "Uh, 'course not, Pap. Wouldn't be a puzzle if you can't solve it, right? Must've printed out wrong or somethin', that's all."

"In that case, this puzzle is most definitely not suitable for capturing the human!" Papyrus scratches his chin. Through a glove, to a chin made of bone. Wait, can they feel with their bones the same way you can with your skin?

You nudge Papyrus' leg with your foot. "Can you feel that?" you ask him.

He blinks at you. "Well, yes. Of course I can."

"Interesting." Does their magic allow them to do so? It's probably what's holding them together, after all. Then again, it's not like they're actual skeletons – if someone compared human bone to theirs it wouldn't have the same composition. You think.

Wait. No. Bad Avery. You had your scientist phase, remember? And did that end well? No.

"I promise not to experiment on you," you tell Papyrus solemnly. "Well, not without consent," you add in a mutter.

"Um. Okay?" Papyrus gives you a confused look. "I'm glad to hear it?"

"You have more puzzles to set up, right bro?" Sans says quickly, pointedly moving closer until he's slightly in front of Papyrus.

"Right! I shall see you at the next puzzle, humans!"

Sans waits until his brother is out of earshot before shooting you a dour look. "What the hell was that?"

You smile innocently. "Nothing. Nothing at all. I'm completely normal."

Chara knocks the side of your head. "You're a terrible liar."

You laugh. "Guess so." You shrug at Sans. "I'm not going to do anything to Papyrus. Cool your jets, brother complex."

Chara starts snickering whilst Sans gapes at you. "I don't- I don't have a brother complex."

You shrug as you start walking again. "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

There's a growl behind you and an irritated, "What does that even mean?"

"Inappropriate use of literature to make a point." You click your tongue. "Get with the times, Sans. It's all the rage these days."

When you don't hear anything in response you assume he's teleported away. You're proven both wrong and right when he flickers into existence at your side, making you jump and almost drop Chara, who isn't too pleased with you. Their tighter grip makes you wince momentarily.

You return Sans' smug glance with an eye roll. "You're a dick, Sans," you inform him plainly.

"So're you."

You concede to that point. "True."