Distortion #2

Previous chapter: http://pastebin.com/u8WfDTEf

Ao3 link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/6208036/chapters/14222332

[Distortion]

Chapter 2: Waking

-     -     -
Hardwood floor still felt rather painful on contact, especially from elevation.

A number of sensations assaulted her senses all at once, twisting into an expected, but unpleasant cacophony. Smell was that of sweat mixing with the otherwise fresh 'home' scent, while touch was nothing, but pain and discomfort thanks to the sturdy construction of her landing spot. Her sight took in only darkness, save for vague outlines thanks to a bit of light shining through the blinders. Taste was acidic and bitter like several times in recent memory, while her hearing was reduced to ringing and general nightly noises, mostly coming from outside. As for whatever magical sixth sense she might have possessed, all she was getting out of that was a powerful need for a glass of cold water to the face and down the throat.

Preferably in that order.

Chara groaned, taking a deep breath before pulling herself away from the floor. The cool surface was welcome, despite the bruise surely waiting for her in the morning. Legs were uncomfortably wobbly as she stood up, but falling back in the bed wasn't going to rid her of the sudden sickness.

Nausea was another familiar phenomenon she had to get used to again. It wasn't exactly the most welcome of returning experiences, but it did well in reminding her that being corporeal was not just all about the perks. The long time spent behind the walls of Frisk's mind left her somewhat ignorant of the more annoying aspects of a living being's biology.

Her eyes steadily adjusted to the dark and she took a couple tentative steps forward, silently praising whoever suggested a private bathroom connected only to Frisk's room. The uneasy spinning in her stomach was already enough of an issue, without having to stumble around the house. She kept going forward with slow, carefully planned steps, always reaching out in the dark to hold onto something. Jumping base-to-base seemed like a sound idea to avoid yet another uncomfortable fall.

Disengaging from the bedside table, Chara held onto the other bed this time around, the mattress immediately giving in to her weight. She tensed when a soft groan reached her ears, but Frisk merely tussled and turned to their other side, mercifully asleep. She really didn't want them to wake up, as their concern would naturally result in Toriel waking up and things quickly would have become a hassle. A smile found its way to her face, but it soon twisted to a frown as more immediate matters continued to alarm her.

The bathroom door was just a few steps away now and she ended up just about leaping through and closing it behind her. Flicking the light switch burned her eyes for a brief moment, but even as she shielded herself with an arm, it was hard not to count this as a necessary evil. Once she could see, her hands were on the sink instead, cold water quickly filling it up. Chara briefly considered her options and chose to do everything at once. She dove in and sunk her face into the water right up to the ears.

Next to the general fact of revival, the cold water swiftly moved up on Chara's list of 'Best Things to Experience'. The icy touch immediately made the heat in her cheeks more bearable, the chill going right down her spine as well. Her arms wobbled, but she held onto the sink, her eyes closed from the wonderful sensation. With that off the list, she opened her mouth and started hungrily drinking from her little pool. The horrifying wet sploshing that now echoed around the room would have scared any monster or human with decency away, but at the moment Chara couldn't care less. Although the tap water tasted of the bad kind of nothing, the temperature made it the most heavenly drink currently available, far and wide.

Chara reached out, scrambling aimlessly until she managed to shut the water off before it could overflow. She stayed within this pool of icy solace for as long as her lungs allowed, before she finally pulled out with a loud gasp. The stay underwater made the first breath of air just as cold, much to her delight. She shook her head, drops of water scattering about from her soaked hair.

"Much better."

As the water drained, she reached up to the cabinet, absentmindedly picking through its contents. Nothing profoundly interesting, just basic things throughout, such as glass of ear picks, cotton swabs and an astonishingly gaudy, somewhat understandably unused toothbrush adorned with LED lights and far too many buttons, courtesy of Alphys. Despite being a paragon of kindness, Frisk did occasionally choose self-preservation.

Once the drain let out a familiar gurgle, she closed the cabinet again, only to face herself in the mirror. She briefly frowned upon finding a trace of black in her sclera, but otherwise her bright red eyes were untainted, just about shimmering in the bathroom light. The area under was already getting dark and baggy; a feature that made her more amused than anything. Some things just wouldn't ever leave her, even after a long dance with death.

"It's me. Chara." she whispered with a slight rasp.

The human sighed and leaned closed, examining the black spot from earlier. It was definitely there, hiding in the very corner of her left eye, but already receding and giving way back to a normal white. She took a deep breath and let it linger in her lungs, the past few days running across her mind once again. She had replayed almost every scene a million times, both awake and in her dreams, but still couldn't let go.

The revival process had been a success, that much everyone agreed upon. Despite the inherent dangers of playing with Determination, the Extractor worked according to hopes, rather than expectations. Backed up by the machine, she left Frisk's mind for the first time since they bonded and with that giant mass of Determination, returned to whatever remained of her body. Alphys and the skeleton had explained how everything turned out, but a lot of it was filtered through the surprise of the state she returned in.

Eyes pitch black and oozing a liquid unknown to any form of science, a jagged grin inches wider than her mouth and an inherent feeling of raw wrongness that surrounded her, like an aura of abyssal malice. The reaction from everyone, including her adoptive family were understandable; she couldn't rightfully fault them for that. Still, those were a few stabs in the heart she could have done without.

A drop of black splashed into the sink and as Chara looked up, she could see that little black spot cast a thin line along the bottom, just enough to spill a single droplet. She groaned and opened the faucet again, letting just a bit of water into her palm, so she could wash it out. While the initial appearance she had upon revival only lasted a short while, it continued to flare up again over the following days, varying in intensity. Sometimes it got just as bad as when she first awoke, and sometimes it was merely an overgrown smile.

As she touched her cheek, she felt at the very visible rosiness that always stuck on her face, but also the line where that demonic grin would keep growing to. Since there was no physical difference, magic remained the next best guess. Their best hope was it being just a temporary annoyance; something that would fade the more she got used to having a body.

Of course, that didn't exactly solve every little problem.

A yawn intruded into the line of thoughts though, reminding her that a pressing problem right now was just to get a good night's sleep. She switched the light off and left the bathroom, somewhat relieved to still find the bedroom shrouded in darkness. Either the blinds were really good, or she hadn't missed too much sleep. Passing by Frisk's bed again, her foot hit the covers kicked off from all the fidgeting. Thick, large blanket, enough for multiple people, much less an already petite one like Frisk.

A faint smile appeared on her face as she picked it up and pulled it over them with one swift move. They mumbled something unintelligible and continued snoozing without halt. They've been sleeping an awful lot since the experiment, but Chara couldn't fault them for it. While their connection was broken by the end, she could tell the process took a lot out of them and for a person already not of the highest constitution, it must have been extremely draining in every sense of the word. Her eyes narrowed a bit, noticing the familiar red glow under the covers. Frisk's SOUL manifesting outside of a battle wasn't exactly a common sight, but she had grown used to it over time. They were, after all, a very lively soul to begin with.

Rather than pay much attention, she returned to her bed, slightly dismayed to find it a little damp from her sweat. Grumbling, she shifted to the other end, having a lot more fight with the covers than Frisk. She didn't recall having arms and legs this long before her death, or generally being any taller at all. Then again, a great many years have passed since her demise and a couple since she bonded with Frisk. It would have been foolish to assume everything would be exactly as she remembered it.

'Still, at the very least the dreams are better.' She could almost make out Frisk's silhouette in the faintest light seeping through the blinds. 'And I'm in good company.'

The thought made her grin, as exhaustion finally took its rightful reward.

-     -     -

Frisk was not a morning person.

Every single day began the exact same way. The first few rays of sunlight would shine through the blinds, positioned exactly the right way so it would all bombard them in the face. They would groan and grumble and whine, keeping their eyes shut for as long as possible in hopes that they could just book a return ticket to dreamland so easily. When that failed, they would toss and turn, blinking into the pillows for as long as they could.

Eventually, Toriel would start calling out for them and when that inevitably failed, she would finish the job personally. Weekends didn't change much about this schedule, except their adoptive mother would grant them an extra hour or two, before commencing. Either way, the boss monster always won out in the end. Then again, that was before they had a roommate to deal with.

Frisk opened their eyes, only to be met by a wide grin and a pair of bright red ones gazing at them.

"Greetings, partner."

Without a single thought behind it, Frisk's hand shot up from under the covers, fingers half-curled into a fist. Their body twisted along with the motion, but as soon as it got close, their forearm got caught in a surprisingly sturdy grip.

"Now, now, don't be rude." she said, sounding quite amused. The smile slowly faded though. Frisk was gasping and breathing rapidly, still forcing their arm despite the glint of recognition perking in their eyes.

"Chara..." they confirmed finally, Tense, yet somewhat frail muscles eased up. Chara released the arm once it unwound and leaned back, giving Frisk just enough space to calm down.

"The eyes?" she asked after a few seconds, lips pursed into a tense mix of a smile and a frown. It was a peculiar gesture, but Frisk quickly learned it was a staple of Chara's repertoire.

"N-no, not this time. Just the mouth." Frisk paused briefly between each word, shaking their head. They covered their eyes from the sun, just taking deep breaths to calm down again.

Chara nodded, fingers trailing along her cheek. As before, there was no sign of her mouth spreading wider than possible; no wound or cut remained behind. That jagged, demonic grin the spread across her cheeks was visible to others, but never left a mark on her. She threw a glance at Frisk again, just watching them rub their face with a soft groan. They didn't really expect an apology and Chara had none to give.

'Sorry' was not one of her words, after all. That one belonged to Frisk.

Instead, she stepped over to the large oakwood dresser that housed all of their clothes. Undoing the flimsy latch, she reached inside, rummaging through the soft contents. She was a step ahead of the curve already by being dressed, so she could snoop around properly and tossed a couple of clothes over her shoulder, with fairly little regard to how quickly Frisk was getting flustered.

"What are you doing?" they asked, their voice rising in pitch.

The answer was appropriately deadpan. "Helping."

"Chara, stop!" they ordered, despite holding no authority at all. "You can't just dig through my clothes like that!"

"I'm speeding things up a bit." she said, tossing another few things over to the bed, without even really looking. The whiny tone in Frisk's voice did get her to lapse into a half-smirk, especially once it was followed by hasty shuffling. Even if they protested against the indirect dress-up, they still followed up on it. "Besides, I've seen all this stuff a million times through your eyes."

"Well, keep your new eyes to yourself!"

Frisk's voice was muffled by presumably the shirt Chara picked out just a minute ago, fueling her amusement even more. It was the little victories she could never get tired of.

"If it weren't for me, you'd still dress like a clown." she mused, pulling a pair of sweaters off the rack this time around. "But I'm not an unreasonable tyrant, so you'll get to pick which of these--"

She turned around, sweaters dangling from each hand, only to leave the sentence unfinished.

Frisk sat upon the bed, sitting still in complete silence. All their clothes were hastily put on, lending a disheveled look even before ever leaving the bed. Their eyes were closed, mouth forming little strings of words Chara couldn't hear, but could easily guess. She felt a strange twinge in her insides, just as Frisk raised their hand to rest in the air for a brief moment. Chara's lips twitched, but she remained quiet, until Frisk exhaled all the air left in their lungs.

"You still SAVE." Chara said. She wanted to shape it into a question, but there was no point in asking what she already knew. The bitterness she slipped in her voice was mostly unintentional.

"Every morning." Frisk nodded, half-opening an eye to look at Chara. She wasn't happy, they didn't need to be any more empathetic than a rock to know that.

"Figures." she muttered.

The amusement over Frisk's wardrobe problems was a thing of the past already, giving place to a steadily rising level of bitterness. Hasty accusations formed in her head and a part of her wanted nothing more than to unload all of them on Frisk. It wouldn't have even mattered, whether they really deserved it or not; the goal was just to make them feel bad. Guilt was a wonderful motivator.

But they weren't just a regular person. This was Frisk and while it was a struggle, she reminded herself, day in and day out, that they were different.

"To protect them from me?" she asked. Softer than the thoughts in her head, but it was still a piercing question. Even more so with the faint dark splotches gather in the corner of her right eye.

Frisk's gaze was a lot sharper than she expected. A wave of their hand dismissed the Determination-fueled input.

"From myself."

They pointed at the blue sweater with the purple stripes, on Chara's right. Always the same one, regardless how unfashionable it proved to be on the Surface. She tossed the sweater over, uncomfortably awkward silence settling in until Frisk's head popped out of the sweater again. They didn't need to look up, to know the pair of red eyes were still waiting for a proper answer.

"It's so tempting to go back and fix things." Frisk said. "A missed hello, a screwed-up test or maybe to fix a ruined date. But I can't. It wouldn't be fair."

They rubbed their elbow, softly pedaling through the air in an awkward way to relieve the tension. Thoughts were faster, harder to hide, especially from Chara. Saying them out loud always made things sound much more concrete and final.

"So I make one every day. One SAVE, in case of emergencies." they continued, having released the sucked-in lower lip. Chara approaching them did little to improve the situation and only left them more flustered, less confident and once more swimming in a sea of uncertainty. "B-but that's it. No going back weeks and months. No resetting. I can't avoid long-term consequences and--"

Frisk's explanation was derailed by Chara's hand; palm against their scalp, while lithe, wayward fingers combed through the generously thick brown hair. They stammered and briefly tried to continue, but every second just made their head sink deeper between the shoulders. Their rapidly reddening cheeks clashed heavily against the chosen sweater.

"I hate it when you do this." Frisk squeaked. "You never let me finish..."

"You're being silly again. Silly partners get headpats." Chara was grinning, though this time without the scary extensions. "Let's eat first and we'll discuss this later."

Toriel's breakfast call from the kitchen drowned out the last few words. Even with several walls in the way, the goat monster could easily summon a volume that simply couldn't be ignored. The beckoning startled Frisk, who quickly jumped to their feet and skedaddled out the door, choosing the scent of breakfast over the increasingly embarrassing touch.

Chara straightened her clothes before turning to follow them. Frisk could have their fun being the amusingly disheveled one, but she did hold her appearance to some standard. The gesture was silly, as no amount of neat clothes would distract anyone if her eyes turned funky again, but with the new body came a sense of vanity she was unfamiliar with. Perhaps it was just pride and wanting to keep a new thing relatively nice and shiny.

The reborn human walked out the door, feigning ignorance over the tiny yellow specks of light left by the SAVE, slowly losing their luster.