It was hectic. I have never seen such a small place so crowded for pastries, but Ms. Hop acted as if this is a normal day at the bakery. Will came back shortly with two baskets full of pies, I have to say I was impressed a monster like him was very strong for his age; there were three pies in each basket.
"—I'll have one Cinnamon bunny and two of your delicious bunny-eared cupcakes,"
"I want a tart...well—maybe a second one,"
"A scone—the ones with the white sugar on top."
"...and one slice of freshly baked bread..."
With customer after customer, I had no time to waste. Despite the limited space I had behind the counter with all the pastries, I was all over the place. It seemed like every customer knew what they wanted except for a handful; I silently thank the ones that took their sweet time ordering since it gave me a moment to catch my breath.
"Does this one come in a different flavor?"
"Come on, what's the hold up?"
"A slice of Butterscotch-cinnamon pie, please."
I eventually had time to slow down a bit once the crowd had become a handful of six monsters left. I was able to finish off the last customer with a sigh of accomplishment the moment they left.
"Finally, I thought my legs would give out!" I collapsed onto the stool behind the cash register.
Will overheard me talking and stuck his head out of the kitchen, "Don't get your hopes up yet (y/n), it's only been two hours."
"What!?" I look up at the clock above the kitchen doorway and sure enough Will was right; it was only ten o' clock.
"It went by fast, didn't it? I'm surprised no one's given you trash yet for being a human working here in Toriel's place."
I thought about what Will said and was surprised as well. I was so busy helping customers that I never had the time to worry about if they were thinking about me or if they even cared that I was human at all.
"You're right. Why do you think they haven't, Will?"
Will scoffs at me in disbelief.
"I thought you knew since you've met Toriel," I didn't get what Will was trying to tell me. "Her husband and herself were the former rulers of the entire Underground."
I had no words, only astonishment written all over my face.
"Don't tell me she never told you?" Will said surprised.
I shook my head "no" and as a result, that got Will to laugh.
"I'm just as surprised as you are (y/n) except for different reasons; Toriel never told you that she was the former Queen!"
Will didn't hold back his laughter causing a few wandering customers to look at him. A blush of embarrassment started to form on my face.
"It's not my fault she never told me." I mumbled.
Will's laughing spree had ended by Ms. Hop's shrill voice coming from the kitchen telling him to quit fooling around and help her with the last of the goodies, leaving me with the very few customers that were clearly window shopping.
The morning whisked by as a dozen fresh cinnamon rolls were brought out by Ms. Hop who looked nowhere near exhausted. She placed the tray on top of the glass counter, tapping her foot impatiently.
"Look lively (y/n)! You look like a soulless corpse, can't have that for the customers," I straighten myself up and lightly slap my cheeks to wake myself up, the lack of sleep from yesterday was starting to catch up to me. "Help me put these Cinnamon rolls in the display counter."
She hands me a Cinnamon roll as I place it on a small sheet of cooking wrap and slide the glass entrance open. I was only able to place down three rolls until Ms. Hop suddenly could smell the faintest scent of something burning in the back.
"Oh blast it Will, disaster always happens when I leave him for the shortest of moments. Could you take care of the rest?" She whisks off and pushes through the swinging doors to the kitchen before she could hear my answer.
I quietly hummed to myself as I put out the cinnamon rolls and noticed a customer in the corner of my eye that was waiting patiently at the cash register.
"One moment please," I quickly wipe my hands of the sticky frosting and closed the sliding glass door. "Did you see anything you like?" I stood up in full view to see who was waiting but I wish I had made him wait a little longer.
"yes actually—i couldn't help but noticed that batch of fresh pastries over there." His familiar deep and Brooklyn accented voice gave me chills as I tried my best not to show that I was bothered by his presence.
"Oh, yes those one's are fresh...do you want one?"
"i wasn't talking about the cinnamon rolls, doll." He leaned over the counter a bit and gently held onto some of my hair and took my scent. "yes, this one's definitely fresh."
I realized what he was implying.
I couldn't move a muscle except look away, my voice growing weak with every word. "S-sorry but I am not for sale."
"is that so? well, baker's rules are if the goodies are a day old they gotta throw em in the dumps," He moves closer to whisper into my right ear. "and from what it looks like, you only got one day left, (y/n) doll."
I felt his boney fingers brush against my hand that had Toriel's protection spell.
"that's funny," he lets go of my hair and grabs my arm, pulling me closer to him. "your protection spell isn't working, unless—" His smile grew.
"...you're allowing me to do this on your own accord."
I couldn't stand being helpless any longer, I wanted to fight back but something else took control instead.
"Back off pal she belongs to someone else."
The strange voice I heard in the Ruins where I fought the Froggit came back. I gasp and the skeleton lets go of my arm looking just as startled as I am but his shaken expression soon changed into a sneer.
"so you're someone else's dish, huh? who do you belong to then, the comoinis', infernum's?" I knew the skeleton had heard the voice as well as I did.
"I belong to no one," I shout back in anger.
I felt fierce, but I somehow knew that strange voice had something to do with my outburst of confidence.
Ms. Hop and Will heard me yelling from the kitchen and came out to see what was happening but they didn't have to second guess once they saw that smug wearing skeleton. The skeleton spotted Ms. Hop from behind me and put his friendliest smile and tipped his fedora.
"good afternoon ms—"
"What have I told you Mr. Sans!? You can't buy this part of town, you'll never get a drop of money from me again!"
"that's what you said when bruno and I came back for your husband."
That got Ms. Hop to tear up in rage. "Get out!! I don't want to see your face in this bakery ever again!!!"
"whatever you say ms. hop, but i think we both know that's not going to happen now that I know she lives in this part of town." Sans chuckles while keeping direct eye contact at me as he keeps the front door open with one foot. "looking forward to seeing you soon, (y/n) doll."
With his chilling remark, he leaves giving me a wink as he walks out of sight.
The bakery was closing and I was still shaken up from the encounter with Sans. The fact that he has interest in me was infuriating because I know what he's after; my soul. I was left with a strange feeling that Sans left behind that made something angry inside me—no...someone angry.
"Well (y/n), looks like you had quite the experience with your first day on the job today." Ms. Hop walks out of the kitchen taking her apron off.
"Yes, it was rather tense once Sans came..."
That name didn't bode well with Ms. Hop because the moment I saw her face twist in frustration when she saw Sans, I could tell he did something she didn't appreciate. "Oh! That name brings back horrible memories—he's the reason i'm a widow."
My blood went cold and I remembered what Sans had said about him coming back for her husband.
"My husband, Mr. Hop, dabbled with such dangerous monsters which is what got him tied up in Mr. Sans' strings. My husbands boss at the coal factory was giving him too much work and too little pay so he hired Sans to kill his boss," Ms. Hop was trying to hold back tears. "Unfortunately, that no good Mr. Sans had raised the price last second after the job had been done and me and my poor husband didn't have the money to pay and— well, i'm sure you get the idea what happened next."
Sans' reputation was nothing to joke about here in Snowdin, this skeleton was clearly dangerous, especially when it came down to paying him a price you couldn't pay back.
* * *
I went back to my flat to freshen up while Ms. Hop and Will went to their next job; turns out just the bakery's pay isn't enough for Ms. Hop to pay the bills. The flat was quiet but the type of quiet were there are muffled sounds of automobiles honking and monsters yelling from behind the glass and barred windows of the flat. I tried to rest my eyes and ignore the sounds of civilization but the strange voice had came back.
"What is wrong with you! I finally have a human that isn't a child but you find it okay to take naps as if you were a child yourself!"
I fall off the couch in fear from the sudden scolding.
"Who are you!? Why are you in my head!?" I shout.
"Look in the mirror and i'll show you..."
I go to the bathroom and stared at myself but jumped back and screamed. I wasn't looking at myself but at a completely different person. It was a girl about twelve years-old with short brown hair and decaying skin and eyes the color of blood.
"Greetings, I am Chara."
I couldn't look in the mirror when Chara spoke, she didn't look human at all; her face was rotting away, her eyes rolled around inside her empty skull and sometimes would roll towards her eye sockets only to disappear back into the abyss of the grotesque corpse's skull. I clutched my head and fell to the ground trying to convince myself this was all a dream...but I never woke up.
"Why are you in my head? You made made me kill that Froggit back in the Ruins, why, why did you—"
"Why, why, why," Chara mimicked. "You ask too many questions, for a grown-up, honestly I expected so much more from you..."
I couldn't take her shrill-pitched voice insulting me any longer.
"SHUT UP! You don't know me! You don't know what it feels like to fall down into a completely different world where everyone are monsters who just want your soul merely for power!"
Chara went silent for a second and spoke in a less repulsive tone. "Hey! I fell down here first y'know, except I didn't survive the fall like you did; there were no yellow flowers to break my fall. I went splat!" Chara was getting defensive and her shrill whining tone had come back. "Once Toriel had found my mangled corpse it was already rotting and the flowers were growing all over and around me. My soul was taken to Asgore where his stupid scientists stabbed and cut me just so they could find a way to use my soul to free themselves!"
"But I thought the scientists destroyed the last human soul plus the other souls in attempt of getting out of the Underground."
Chara laughed causing my head to ache. "You idiot! I was the first to fall down into this place, remember? Of course the scientists didn't know what the Hell to do with me. I escaped from Asgore's Royal scientists, but I only had enough strength to go back to where my body was..."
"The flower bed, that's where your body was." I finished.
"Correct, and that's where I waited. Waited for the perfect human to fall down to take control of and finally after many years— you came to me."
"You really think i'm going to anything you want? You're in my body, Chara. I control it, not you."
"Is that so?"
I look back into the mirror and saw Chara's face contort into a smile that caused the whole front of her face to slide down a few inches; the flesh no longer connected to bone after many years of decay.
Suddenly I felt my right hand go numb and beginning to twitch and writhe as the sensation creeped up my arm that was now reaching for the mirror. I grab my rogue arm with the one I still have control over to prevent my fingertips from connecting with Chara's rotting fingers that were already touching the other side of the reflection. I couldn't hold back for much longer but neither could Chara. My arm went limp as the feeling of blood began to flow through it, leaving a cold tingling sensation as my arm regained feeling. I smiled knowing that I had won.
Chara's appearance had vanished from the mirror leaving me with my reflection, I touched my face and looked at it for a minute just to make sure that was my face I was staring back at.
"I'm still here y'know."
"I know."
My face remained the same except for my eyes which had turned into Chara's lifeless red ones, once she spoke.
I step out of the bathroom not wanting to examine my appearance any longer before it changed back into Chara's decaying state. She tried to convince me to "play" with the mice that were living in the cupboards with the stale crackers, but her idea of playing were things you can only do once with any living creature.
"...Come on (y/n) there's nothing else to do but mess with those mice."
"No, your idea of fun isn't fun—it's murder."
"Exactly!"
I open the fridge to take my mind off of Chara but I let out a sigh in frustration remembering that I hadn't bought any food since I came to Snowdin.
"Looks like someone needs to go shopping."
"I can see that, Chara."
"So can I."
At this point I knew that having another conscious following my every move and listening to my every thought is going to be very draining on me.
"You should go to the store."
"That's what I was planning. Can you not state the obvious? It's starting to get on my nerves."
I could hear Chara sucking in a non existent breath before replying."Well you see, (y/n), that's kind of the point since you won't take my suggestion of entertainment."
"Look, if you're going to stay in my body, can you at least tell me why besides using me as a vessel because your other body is rotting in a flower bed?"
There was blissful silence for once but soon Chara's bossy demeanor had returned, filling my mind with only her voice.
"Besides using your body as a vessel to live through, I have a plan that can get us both out of the Underground,"
"And how exactly are you going to do that?"
"We kill all the monsters in the Underground which will make us strong enough to leave the barrier on foot!"
Chara sounded too excited when explaining her plan.
"Sorry Chara, that's not happening. You made me kill that Froggit in the Ruins and that's the first and last monster you'll make me kill."
Chara began to laugh maniacally.
"Oh (y/n) That wasn't me that killed that Froggit, that was you."
My heart sank and I broke into cold sweat as my mind swam with denial.
"No, no! I would never kill anyone, even if their intent is to kill me!"
"What are you going to do then if Sans has a gun to your head or a knife to your throat, huh (y/n)? You're just going to let him kill you right there and take your soul!?"
My heart began pounding at the thought of being cornered by Sans in the same alleyway where he found me only this time he would be pointing the gun at me. I could imagine him pulling the trigger as fast as he did to that other monster and grip my soul with his big skeletal hands with my blood painting his face, laughing that he had finally got me.
I stumble back and leaned on the kitchen counter gripping my head in pain from Chara's unbearable voice.
"Well!?!" Chara yelled.
I finally give in with a sigh of defeat and whispered.
"I don't know."
Chara seemed pleased by my reaction.
"That's what I thought." Chara paused. "You see it now (y/n)? In this world, it's kill or be killed."
I slide down to the ground with my back against the counter as I put my knees to my chest and tried to hold back my tears. Chara was right. If I don't defend myself in this place I will end up as some gang leader's trophy or even worse—Sans' trophy.
I quickly get back on my feet and wiped some stray tears away from my cheeks and headed for the front door.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to shop for food."
"But why now when Sans could be out looking for you now that your job has ended?"
I roughly put on my coat and open my flat door.
"I don't care if he finds me. Even if Toriel's protection spell didn't work against him, he somehow heard your voice so he has some recollection that I am not alone. And besides, you stay quiet when i'm out in public."
"That's because i'm too busy trying to make sure you don't die in the dumbest way possible."
I laugh to myself, pleased that I had found one thing that kept Chara quiet. I lock my door and began walking down the stairs and quietly humming to myself. I check the second and first floor to see if Ms. Hop or Will had returned but the place was absolutely still. I step outside and locked the front door and padded my right pocket, making sure I felt that my money was in a safe place. I lowered my hat to cover as much of my face as much as I could to avoid the stares of any monsters that walked passed as I head down to the nearby stores I remember seeing at the bakery.
I didn't have much trouble finding a store to get food, most of the stores I went to were quite vacant—that is once I walked in. It was strange to feel discriminated by a completely different species but it wasn't as bad compared to human's history when it came to discrimination. None of the monsters had tried to physically harass me but there was the occasional obscene word directed towards me as well as spit. This angered Chara a lot and caused my eyes to glow blood red which did the trick of scaring off the discriminating monsters. Unfortunately, Chara's menacing eyes weren't enough to scare the shopkeepers which were giving off the impression that they didn't want me at their store for another minute. I had gone through three stores already that I had unintentionally disrupted with my presence along with Chara's noticeably red eyes.
I was finally able to find a tiny store on a corner that looked vacant which got my hopes up that maybe this time, no one will bother me. I push the glass door and the sound of a small bell rang getting only one monster's attention. To my luck it was only me and the owner in the store, they hadn't looked up from their newspaper to see who had walked in. I grab a basket and disappeared behind one of the isles and began my search.
The prices for everything were ridiculously low compared to the surface but with the small amount of money I had got from Toriel left me with the same problem I already had when I go shopping on the surface. There were some strange items that the surface definitely did not have but they were cheap and I don't have time to be picky in the Underground. They had a few types of food that exist on the surface which was nice to know that not everything here in the Underground is exotic so I grabbed a cookbook on the way to the cashier that was 50 cents and flipped through the pages to see what I could use with all the unfamiliar ingredients. I set my things on the counter still looking at the cookbook, the cashier glances up from his paper and his eyes widen.
"Good Lor—" The cashier fumbles with his paper and stands up from his stool.
"Yes, i'm a human. What a shocker." I say still looking at the cookbook.
I flip through the rest of the book and place it into my basket and waited for the cashier to snap out his daze.
"...I have money if that's what you're worried about."
The shopkeeper's shocked expression soon changed to a hardened stern look.
"Now look here missy, it's not the money that i'm worried about..."
Oh boy, here we go again.
"You're a human, and I don't take kindly to a human coming into my store, so you better hit the road or i'll—"
"or what, mr. riffler?"
The shopkeeper stopped in mid-sentence, frozen in place with his eyes fixed on the monster that stood behind me. I saw a trail of smoke hovering above my head and heard the sound of a deep exhale as more smoke began to surround me. I didn't have to guess who it was.
The shopkeeper let out a nervous laugh as he tried to rephrase his last sentence.
"...Or I might start giving out outrageously good discounts!" His voice was caked with false cheeriness that was laced with fear.
I didn't try to turn and leave as I saw Sans reach over my shoulder to put out his cigar right on the counter leaving a round black mark. I felt his hand brush past my hair as he brought his hand back to his suit pocket while his other hand went over my shoulder to reach the counter, and blocking my chance of escaping.
"hmm, i'm not sure if you've convinced ms. (y/n) here about your wonderful offer."
Sans had taken notice that I was trying to leave.
"Fifty, Everything is Fifty percent off!"
There was silence followed by the shopkeeper's remark.
"F-free! You can have everything you've got for free!" The shopkeeper was shaking at this point.
Sans let out a deep chuckle of approval. "now that's what I call a deal!"
The shopkeeper smiled but it was the kind smile you'd give to someone that you knew could take your life if they wanted but decided to spare you out of shear amusement.
Two other monsters in black suits came for behind Sans and came on either side of the shopkeeper.
"well? what are ya wait'n for?" Sans tapped his fingers in a slowly tempo.
The shopkeeper began to bag the food in a rather timid way feeling overwhelmed by the two strong monsters on either side of him.
"why don't you mugs stay here and take (y/n)'s things back to here place."
"You got it boss." One of the two replied.
"that's what I like to here!"
I tried not to be as scared like the poor shopkeeper but it was clear that I was just as shaken and Sans knew very well that I was as he lead me out of the store first.
"hey lighten up doll, mr. riffler was so nice that he gave you everything for free."
"That's because you made him." I mumble.
Sans must've caught what I said because he stopped walking and so did I. I felt helpless just like in the bakery. His hand began to feel through my hair once more but a small shock of electricity caused him to suck in a sharp breath and reflexively pull back.
"so your protection spell does work," He says holding his hand. "but not as well as it should."
"That's it, i've had it with his stupid remarks. Kill him (y/n)!"
"Shut up Chara!" I mentally scold her.
Luckily Sans didn't hear the silent argument with Chara and I. Perhaps he had only heard Chara last time because Sans made physical contact with me by grabbing my arm when we were in the bakery?
Sans noticed that I was in some kind of conflict with myself.
"alright i'm sorry for following you around and all but the real reason i really came is to give you a deal."
"A deal? Is this a joke?"
I was unconvinced just as much as Chara.
"i promise i'll keep my hands to myself, just walk with me and i'll tell you my offer." Sans put his hands in the air in defense.
"...You promise?"
"cross my heart, hope to die."