Just Another Hike Up a Mountain

It was a cool summer afternoon on one of the numerous mountains following the mountain range that Mt. Ebott belonged to, with the group of children and Undyne resting just above the base of the mountain. It had been a measly half-hour since the group had to rest due to Asriel complaining that his paws had started to hurt. To everyone else, a convincing lie, but to Chara and Frisk, it was obvious what it was.

Just and hour or so ago, Toriel had told Chara, Frisk, and Asriel that they would not sit around the house all day and play on their "newfangled devices" and that they would go out and play with their friends today. Asgore, oblivious to the sensitivity of Frisk and Chara on the subject, said they should go on a hiking trip. Almost immediately, Frisk and Chara detested the idea, but Asriel said it might be fun. Calling up all of his friends, he immediately got a hiking expedition ready, with Undyne appointed at the helm by Asgore, fearing for their safety in the woods.

Now Asriel understood the full effect of his actions. During the hike up the base, Chara, Frisk, and Asriel began to have memories of their own fateful trips up the mountain (and in Chara's case, both trips). Now Asriel had become a nervous wreck, hiding out at the outskirts of the clearing where they decided to rest for a time, Frisk trailing after him, likely tying to console him. Chara sat at the base of a great oak, eating his chocolate and pushing the memories out of his head. Muffet sat on a perch just above him, petting her pet spider, the creature letting out a gentle coo after every stroke. Monster Kid had become enamored with nature, and seemed to want to take all of it home with him, and a lack of hands wouldn't stop him from trying to. Using his tail, he would coil up flowers, sticks, rocks, and anything else that caught his eye. And after a loud THUD, it was clear to everyone what Undyne was up to: suplexing every boulder she could get her hands on.

Muffet, spinning down a web to the ground, looked at Chara with all five of her eyes, a cold gaze from Chara's eyes staring back.
"Ahuhuhu~! Are you not having fun, dearie?"
Chara regarded Muffet with some suspicion and discomfort. After all, they were there to see Muffet entangling Frisk in webs and taking a good deal of their gold as "donations" to the spider cause.
"And what does it matter to you?" Chara coldly inquired.
"Well dearie, I did think it was our intention to have fun when I was roped into this trip, but your poor brother is off crying behind a bush with Frisk trying to console them. It seems that this trip is agitating some raw nerves, is it not?"
Chara was surprised by this. Muffet was certainly no slouch when it came to being attentive. Though, with five eyes, she held a natural advantage with seeing things.
"Alright, so maybe he was a bit dumb and forgot the traumatic memories of dying and is being a crybaby about it now that it is all rushing back."
After a long silence, Chara gave a non-committed shrug when it was obvious when Muffet wanted a better explanation of what was happening.
"Don't worry. Frisk will handle it. They ALWAYS handle it." Chara said, trying to avert the topic.
Muffet relented, seeing Chara would yield no more information. Spinning a web back to her perch, she returned to her anxious pet.

Five minutes after Asriel walked out to the outskirts, Frisk returned with a tearful Azzy returned. The issue seemed resolved, and the trip seemed ready to resume. That was until Frisk locked their eyes on Chara, ready to talk to them too. Frisk heard all about the trip that Chara and Asriel took back up the mountain, and knew that Chara wasn't okay. But they also knew that Chara wouldn't yield their emotions and thoughts as easily as Asriel, who gave in as soon as you asked him, if not before that. But Chara was a determined child, much like Frisk. Whenever there was something wrong, they pressed on regardless of what it was. Sometimes, whatever was wrong would just settle itself, or they it would be solved by a future action. But other times, it would create a wound that would take a long time to heal. Frisk could tell that this was the later, and worse still, Frisk sympathized with Chara. No one climbed Mt. Ebott for a happy reason.

Chara noticed Frisk's intent as soon as he took his first step towards him. Chara was not about to let that kid try and solve all of their problems for them again; Frisk had already done far more than he ever should of done for Chara. With all of the emotions of the memory, as well as anger at Frisk for trying to solve everything for them again, Chara formulated a plan. One they had done plenty of times.
"Break time is over everyone! Race to the summit!" Chara yelled.
Asriel tried to talk Chara down. "Chara, wait! Frisk just wants to-"
But it was no use, they were off. As Chara always told them all after every footrace they had:
 "Running away is a skill that I have had plenty of practice using."
Within a few seconds, Chara was had raced up the trail past the vision of anyone. Frisk trailed after them, determined but woefully behind Chara. Next was Muffet, who used her web to swing down from her perch, pet in one of her several hands, and then took off after them. Monster Kid, after a loud "Yooooooo!", chased after his friends with Asriel in tow.

Chara, passing by Undyne, saw that they did not merely suplex boulders. She suplexed them INTO A PILE OF BOULDERS, with Undyne resting on the top of them, enjoying the warmth of the sun.
"Hey you punks, wait up!" Undyne yelled, racing down from her creation. But even Undyne couldn't keep pace with Chara, a small and nimble child. Worse still, Undyne watched as Frisk bolted past them, speeding after Chara.
"What are human kids MADE OF?!" She wondered aloud.

Frisk was beginning to catch up with Chara, but they were still far from reach.
"Just give up Frisk!" Chara shouted, the forest echoing their voice an infinite many times.
But Chara knew it wouldn't stop them. Nothing ever seemed to, no matter how big an obstacle. The Ruins, the bogs of Waterfall, the heat of Hotland, the machinations of a killing machine in the CORE, even Asgore and the ancient barrier didn't stand in their way. Chara saw it all fall before Frisk, not by the blade, but from love and determination. It was a battle of determination between Chara and Frisk, seeing which one could hold out longer than the other.
And Chara had a feeling he was losing.
The mountain peak drew closer, the air colder, and the trail harder. Chara's lungs had begun to burn from the cold air, their legs beginning to waiver from the exercise. Even if they made it to the peak, what would they do then? Run back down the mountain?
Finally, at the peak, Chara relented. Panting and on their knees, they conceded victory to Frisk.
"You have gotten strong, partner." Chara said, panting between every word.
"I bet you think I will tell you why I climbed the mountain.: Chara said, a tinge of shame in their voice. His head hanged low, facing the ground.
"Well, I will never tell you! You will never know!" They shouted, mustering what energy they had left.
Frisk, unwavering in their determination, sat next to Chara, at wrapped his arm around Chara's back.
"I already know." Frisk briefly said.
Chara was in shock. It was rare enough to hear Frisk talk, but even rarer for them to speak so briefly. The meaning of it all hit Chara at once, and they were overcome with emotion. Chara leaned onto Frisk and gently wept for a while, until they footsteps of the others began to echo through the woods. Undyne at the lead and everyone else in tow, they had finally caught up to them.
"Yooooo!" Monster Kid announced, breaking any sense of tension or seriousness in the situation. "You guys can RUN!"
"Woah." Undyne said. "Look at that view."
Chara and Frisk tried to appear as normal as they could, and looked towards the vista before them. In their emotional breakdown, they had failed to notice the beautiful view of the city closest to their village, the early afternoon Sun illuminating the giant skyscrapers and bustling traffic.
"Ahuhuhu~! This would be a great spot for lunch!" Muffet said, opening her backpack and revealing the many treats that she had brought along. From spider cider to spider doughnuts to the cinnamon-butterscotch pie that Toriel had packed for them, there was a banquet of sweet foods for the children.
"Oh sweet, butterscotch pie!" Undyne exclaimed.
"Don't you mean buttspie?" Chara and Frisk said in unison, revealing in the immaturity of the joke.
"YOU GUYS!" Asriel exclaimed, upset about their inappropriate humor.
"Buttspie... Butterscotch... oh...." You could almost hear the cogs crank in Undyne's head.
"BUTTSPIE! AHAHAHA!" Undyne yelled so loudly it echoed throughout the mountain.
And with that, not even Asriel could contain himself. Their laughter echoed through the mountain, carrying with it their joy and optimism, a message to the rest of the world that all was once again okay.
And so, under a beautiful sky, they all ate, wounds mended and spirits raised.