Chara rounded another corner. And another. And another. How many corridors did this damned house have? And how is it that she found absolutely nothing of value in any one of them?

Another corner. Why didn't any of these even have attached rooms, come to think of it? It feels like she was here for hours, just rounding corners left and right. Something about the situation made her feel like a lab mouse in a maze, except there was no guaranteed reward for solving it.

Yet another corner, who would've thought. This was a mistake. She wasn't sure there were even supposed to be this many hallways. She saw the map of the house. Checking it, she confirmed that, yes, whatever was happening was not normal in the slightest.

For example, this door that was waiting for her in a dead end. It wasn't marked anywhere, and yet it stood there mockingly, challenging the last shreds of her patience. But there wasn't any turning back- considering that everything had gone to the Furthest Ring in a handbasket weaved by M. C. Escher himself, trying to return would just leave her stranded again.

Sighing in annoyance, Chara approaches the door, and seeing that it was unlocked, steps inside. She couldn't quite make out what was even with it, not even before the lights ominously went out.

The lights suddenly flash back on, only… they’re absolutely blinding. A void of light surrounds the girl, nothing visible for all of infinity, until… a figure. Yes, a familiar figure, although perhaps not one she was thrilled to see. The Author appears, stepping through the light as though it were fog.

"What," the child shouts into the distance, "do you want?" Her voice reverberates through the blinding void, clashing and deflecting against itself in some uncanny auditory spectacle.

“I’m not entirely sure what’s going on here, but it’s dangerous. Follow me.” The Author speaks in an odd tone, a sort of dream like quality to his voice. It’s unsettling, somehow distant, yet not echoing like Chara’s own. He holds his hand outwards.

"It sure is dangerous, for an innocent little kid like me to follow an adult they've known for all of fifteen minutes. Why am I here, and as I have to repeat, what do you want?"

The Author’s expression slowly becomes confused. “Chara…?” His tone shifts to something a little more concerned, as though they’re a parent calling out for their lost child. “C-Chara… are you there?”

Chara scowls, her words dripping with venom. "Does it look like I turned invisible to you? More importantly, do you take me for a fool? I knew you didn't want me in this story, but resorting to ambushing me in a place like this is…"

"...it's exactly as one would expect from you, come to think of it. Ah, what a wonderful feeling it is, when everything aligns and starts making sense. But if you want to rid yourself of me, savior, the least you could do is be upfr-"

Something suddenly pulls Chara backwards, causing her to fall through a black tunnel. After a bit of falling, she suddenly, and violently, crashes onto her back in a field of yellow flowers. The world around her becomes clear; a medieval looking village in the night, lit by distant torches. The silhouette of… something, stands before the girl, continuing to call her name.

"STOP IT!"
Without hiding her fury anymore, Chara rises from the ground, brandishing one of her knives and retreating backwards. But where to? The field is endless. The field is endless. And the village is out of the question. This is all wrong. All wrong.

"Just… Just let me be…" As Chara backs up, she hits a wall. Her eyes suddenly burst open, finding herself lying in one of the beds in the house.

"Chara… are you okay?" A familiar voice asks. This voice… belongs to a small white monster in a green and yellow sweater, similar to the one Chara found herself wearing now.

She…
She screams.

Without any semblance of dignity, or bravery, she screams as loud as her body allows her to.

Over time, the screams quiet down, reducing to pitiful yelps, and finally, to sobbing.

"You aren't here. You aren't here. Stop… Stop it, please…"

He giggles softly, before his body turns to dust, leaving the sweater on the ground. The world begins to crack like glass, before shattering, leaving her in a black void. The sweater slowly begins to fill with a strange, red and black liquid, writhing and breathing. As its body takes form, Chara would realise… it's her.

The mass of swirling red and black mirrors Chara's every move, every shaky breath. She swats the air to her right, and sure enough, the figure does the same. She nods (which is also mirrored), glares at the wretched thing, and takes a step backward… but it instead takes a step forward, rather than back off.

Sighing, and trying to retain whatever little calm she still possesses, Chara takes a step toward the Not Chara. She continues advancing, until she is close enough that, if it were any other creature in front of her, she would feel its breath. Uncertain and tremoring, she reaches out with her free hand. The creature's "face," so to speak, begins to mimic Chara’s infamous nightmare face, vibrating intensely as it reaches out and grabs onto her shoulder. Its hand is icy, and wet. Despite her reality being a confusing mess to her, she knows very well that the creature’s grip is real.

There’s silence. For quite some time. Before the creature bursts into a screech, sending Chara stumbling backwards, and hitting another wall.

Once Chara re-orientates herself, she’s in one of the bedrooms. Before her stands a purple haired boy, roughly her age, wearing what seems like a white straitjacket with a black flowing cloak. He grins a malicious grin, his face full of pride.

“Aww, did I scare you~?” The boy shakes his hand, droplets of water flying off, before wiping it dry on the wall.

Chara… sends a knife flying right past his ear, slightly startling the boy and wiping the expression from his face.

"The next one. Will not miss. Start talking. Immediately."

The boy is silent for a moment, before his grin returns.

“Nee-hee hee! Never heard somebody so eager to hear me talk… it’s funny, people usually ask me to stop talking.” He sighs, stretching. “My name is Chara. It’s very nice to meet you.”

The real slim Chara stares at him, befuddled, before cracking a grin. The voice that comes out of her mouth is quite clearly not her own.

"Pleased to meet you, Chara!~ I'm Kokichi Oma!~ I am such a gorilla, that I don't even have a charsheet!~ Tilde!~"

Kokichi seems… well, multiple things. Incredibly amused, mildly confused, and ready to make a new friend.

“Few things. Number one, you’re a nerd. This isn’t a video game, so of course I don’t have a character sheet. RPGs are, like… really dumb. And even if it was, 4th wall breaking is laaaame. But…” his grin widens. “You’ve heard of me, then, Miss Dreemurr… Where from?”

The child of poisons flinches at hearing her former surname, but regains her composure quickly. "Oh, I'd gladly tell you, but-" her voice changes again- "4th wall breaking is laaaame. Never mind that it hasn't even been repaired since the last time it happened, or that it's the 5th wall you should worry about." If one were to strain their ears, they could hear Gutza crying in the distance.

"But enough of that. Did you bring me here for a reason, or do you have nothing better to do than scare newcomers using traumatic memories?"

“Aw, poor baby. Of course I only did it to scare you! And besides, I didn’t do anything more than… suggest. A bit of hallucinogen and some vague light tricks make magic a reality~! Your brain did all the work, I just sat and watched you freak out.” Kokichi does a purposefully bad imitation of Chara. “You aren’t here… y-you aren’t here! Nee-hee hee… how weak.” Kokichi’s grin becomes more sadistic as he watches Chara’s reaction. “Now that you mention it though… there is something I’d like to talk to you about, since we’re friends now. No hard feelings, right?”

"I'm sorry. I'd gladly answer you, if I weren't so livid over you drugging me that I'm forced to put all my energy into not slaughtering you and using your body for alchemical ingredients."

“I’d really love to see you… take a stab at hurting me, but I think you’re missing the point of my harmless little introduction.”

Chara stands there silently for a moment. Then, she finally smiles, just a little.

"Alright. Those were really good. I'm listening. But you better make it worth my time."

Kokichi smiles sincerely, and gives a confident nod.

“You like having a bit of fun, don’t you, Chara? Livening things up around the place… Everyone’s always so “ooh, look at me, I’m the angsty anime girl, look at my power uwu” or “ooh hey, look at me, I’m so righteous and heroic.” It disgusts me.”

"Hey, quiet down. You don't want to accidentally summon Venia, do you?" This solicits a small giggle from the purple goblin child. "But, amazingly enough, you are correct. It's always nice to have a little reprieve from pages upon pages upon pages of Hurt No Comfort or such. I'm guessing you have something extraordinary planned?"

He nods again. “Let’s just say… I’ve got a bunch of guys like you and me who are sick of that generic gorilla. And I’d like to invite you~! What do you say?”

"I say that, while your offer is unquantifiably generous, you did kinda make me see some horrifying gorilla, my good sir. Perhaps, if you were able to convince me not to find where you're hiding- do not even try bullgorillating me, I can plainly see that is an illusory trap- I could accept it."

“Very observant of my obvious trickery~” The illusory trap slowly morphs shape into The Author, back to haunt Chara once more. It still speaks with Kokichi’s voice. “What’s the deal between you and him, anyway? Are you crushing on his girlfriend, or…”

"Ah," Chara says calmly. "You are mother gorillaer."
"Suffice it to say, I have my reasons for detesting him and his ilk. Extraordinarily good reasons! Certified Good Shit™. Freud himself slapped his seal of approval on those sweet dank excuses. And what's best of all, you aren't gonna be hearing them anytime soon, kusogaki. So why don't you be a good little goblin and try your best not to annoy me more than necessary, and I'll agree to join your merry band?"

“Sounds like a deal to me.” Authkichi holds out his hand for what’s presumably a handshake. After some slight internal debate on whether or not to hide a taser in her palm, Chara decides to just accept the handshake. And the loss of pride. As Chara grips the illusory trap’s hand, it grins at her with a somehow disappointed grin, before flashing white, swelling up and… bursting into some harmless sparkles. Once it clears, Chara notices a note on the floor, written in purple.

“This world is mine,
You’re cute when you’re mad.
Kneel. - Kokichi Oma”





Quickly summoning five canisters of petrol, Chara sets the entire room on fire without a second thought.