HAZE

THE RABBIT HOLE

Frisk and Chara froze, hands still hovering inches away from the exit. They shared wide-eyed, terrified looks, neither of them daring to look at who stood behind them.

Footsteps approached behind them, a low chuckle echoing around the room. "Now, now, children..."

"No need to be afraid."

"Why don't you turn around and greet an old friend?"

Frisk was the first to move, shuddering at the oddly familiar phrase. Their lips trembling, they turned to Chara, mouthing, "What do we do?"

Chara gave them a look, shrugging as if to say, "How the hell would I know?" That wasn't far from what they were thinking, admittedly.

"Humans..."

"It is rude to keep someone waiting..."

"If you continue to ignore us, we'll rip your souls from your bodies. Don't think we won't, so don't tempt us."

Frisk shook, whimpering, bowing their head. Slowly, they glanced over their shoulder, bracing themselves for what laid beyond.

They were surprised, to say the least. They expected to see the Doctor, malicious and mysterious in all his glory, waiting with bated breath to be addressed.

They were not, in any way, shape or form, expecting to find Aster standing there, a crooked, playful smile on his lips as he stared them down.

"Aster!" They all but squealed in their delight, bouncing up in down. They went to bomb rush him in a hug, relieved to find him safe and sound, taking a few steps forward—

Chara grabbed their arm, spinning on their heel. "Don't!"

Frisk studied them, their eyebrows furrowed, glancing between them and Aster, who watched on in acute silence. "But...he's..."

"Frisk, are you dense?" Chara pointed an accusatory finger at their friend, seething, their grip tightening on the other child's arm. "You hear a creepy voice start talking and the first thing you see is him, and your reaction is to hug him?"

Frisk frowned. "H...He's a friend."

"Frisk, not everyone is a friend!" Chara glared at the small monster, pressing themselves against the exit. "Especially in this place."

The other human gave them a curious look, torn between them and Aster. "But...but—"

"Are you two done?" Aster asked, clasping his hands behind his back and rocking back and forth. Frisk's eyes widened at how distorted his voice was, sounding awfully similar to the Doctor. No, exactly like the Doctor. "We don't have all day."

Frisk whimpered, backing away. "Wh...what...happ...?" They struggled to get the words out, clinging to Chara's arm. Did they—did they brainwash him? Why is he acting like this? This is bad...this is really bad...

"What did you do?" Chara demanded, stomping their foot. They stood in front of the other human, shielding them in case the monster tried anything. "Where's the real Aster?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Not-Aster pouted, shuffling back and forth. He hummed. "As far as I'm aware, he's right here...not like he could leave, anyway." His smile widened. "We wouldn't let that happen."

"Well, you had to have done something," Chara spat, their face reddening. They reached down, as if for a weapon, only to find nothing. They'd forgotten they'd dropped their knife after killing themselves. "Aster's not one to threaten his friends."