Chapter 1: Bred, Born, and Raised
Chapter Text
Frisk dug their hands into the fleshy growths that protruded from the cave entrance. Blood squirted out and stained their hands red and the liquid seeped its way under their nails to the point would would've thought they were wearing nail polish. Frisk would never dare to wear that stuff though, not after what happened the last time. They tugged and pulled at the flesh until they heard a moist squelching sound that signified it had been torn from its "roots" which were really just thick veins that ran through the earth.
Nobody knew what was causing the infestation, but most assumed it had something to do with "those damn monsters!" Ever since they've shown up a year ago every week a group of people would hike the mountain to harvest it in hopes of stopping the spread. It was getting harder to keep up.
"I don't understand why we can't just burn the damn thing down!" One of the adult men of the group grumbled and whined, just like every other time he was forced to tag along.
"##### wants to feed it to the livestock, remember?"
"Ugh- I still can't believe he ever even thought of doing that in the first place! Them things are plant eaters!"
"Ha, not anymore."
...
Frisk carried the bucket of meat all the way down the mountain as the sun had began to set. They were the last one up there which was fortunate for them. Ever since they were born the people of the town always looked at them in a strange way, like they were some sort of harmless, disgusting creature that had just been discovered. It wasn't like Frisk didn't know why they got those looks, or was even saddened by it. It was just uncomfortable having the gaze of everyone around trained on them for as long as they were there.
Frisk was made different than all of them, they knew that. It was never intended for them to become a real member of society or live into adulthood. They were going to be the next human sacrifice for the monsters, lucky them! Their parents had been arranged to make the perfect offering for the mountain, selected by the head priest thanks to certain attributes they had. Frisk was not a product of love, and thus never received any.
They never went to school, never made a friend, never received anything for their hard work like the other children... Since the moment they began walking they had the responsibilities of an adult place upon their tiny shoulders so that they could "be of use before they die."
Before they knew it they had reached town. Simple, run down, brick and wood buildings were scattered here and there around a circle that consisted of many wooden booths for shops and stands. If they were to continue past the town center they would find the farms and fields that harbored all sorts of crops and animals. Apparently their little town was very behind in terms of technology because the elders insisted that the town should stay as it was a hundred years ago, back when the place was nothing more than a shabby village in the middle of nowhere...
Why even bother calling it a town instead of a village at that point?
In the very center of town, in the middle of all the booths, a large flower bed sported dozens of golden flowers that shimmered in the sunlight. Nobody knew what the original names of the flowers or why they were there, but the story had it that they were planted there by the first ever village mayor.
So pretty...
Frisk wasn't allowed to touch them.
They dragged the oversized bucket across the dirt until someone came from behind them and lifted it out of their reach. "You're needed in the church. ##### says it's urgent." Frisk didn't even need to look at the figure to know that his nose must've been scrunched up in disgust.
With a nod Frisk scurried away and reached the church doors within seconds; the last time they were late they didn't get their week's meals.
"Frisk! Lovely to see you, as always!" The head priest smiled and spread his arms out in joy. Frisk knew better. "We have some very exciting news for you, my child!"
Frisk's "parents" stood on either side of him and avoided their spawn's gaze as they made their way to them.
"Tomorrow is the big day! You finally get to follow in the steps of your ancestors!"
Ah.
Frisk's soul could've shattered right then and there. So soon? It wasn't supposed to be until they turned eleven! Sure, they've always known that the time would come and their life would be cut short, and sure, they've already accepted that fact years ago, but so soon?! It was as if the gravity of the situation had just came crashing down on them. They made sure to keep it hidden.
"..Misty, is Frisk still refusing to speak?"
"Yes, #####."
"Shame. I would've loved to hear your excited voice! Perhaps you'll say something in the morning then! Your last words should be heroic, wouldn't you agree?"
Frisk nodded.
Frisk stood in front of the gaping hole in the cave floor, surrounded by people. More specifically the church employees, the elders, and their parents. For the first time ever Frisk was actually wearing something nice and comfortable- something that fit! They were confused at first, but it was something about tradition and honor? Either way, the silky blue and purple robes was definitely a better choice to die in than that old raggedy sweater they always wore. Frisk had also gotten a bath in the only house with running water the night prior!
Who knew that people would care so much before they died?
Everyone waited for them to take the leap to their death.
Except for #####, who decided to just push the child over the edge after only a minute of waiting.
The fall wasn't so bad. Frisk had heard that every human is born with one fear: the fear of falling, and yet they never possessed said fear. As they fell the only thing they could feel was acceptance. After the initial shock of being forced to fulfill their fate early the despair quickly melted away. Everyone had been so kind to them those few hours before the fall and it gave them some peace of mind. This was all they could ever achieve, all they existed for. So what if it was a few years earlier? The outcome would've been the same, their "father" told them so.
They had no idea how long the fall took or how high they had even fallen to begin with. A few seconds. A few hours. A day. A year. It felt like all of those at once until they finally hit the bottom and landed in a bed of flowers and flesh that while disgusting, cushioned their fall completely.
That wasn't supposed to happen.
Was this a devastation or a miracle?
They couldn't see anyone surrounding the small hole they fell through anymore, although it was so high up that it was nothing more than a golden smudge surrounded by stone and meat.
Speaking of which, Frisk could feel the flesh beneath them pulse and squirm under their back which was promptly soaked in blood and other.. Liquids they didn't want to think about, most likely being the juice that comes out of skin that's been torn enough to hurt but just shallow enough not to bleed. That disturbing train of thought was enough to make Frisk bolt upright and scurry away from the flower bed until the fleshy protrusions stopped. Curiously, the flesh only seemed to travel up the sides of the cave and to the surface excluding the meat that was planted into the ground near the flowers.
It was like a piece of art. An ugly and horrific painting made by that of a mentally ill person, as the church would likely describe it as. The more they stared at it the more beauty they were able to find within it. Art was still art after all, and life was said to be a precious thing. From the way the flesh pulsed there was no denying that it was alive. The sight almost started to mesmerize Frisk and if it weren't for the way their stomach began to lurch they wouldn't have been able to tear their sight from it.
They turned around before their last meal could force its way out of their mouth and looked around, noticing that the cave opened up and led to... Another cave. Although as they stuck their head through the almost doorway shaped gap they were able to see a single golden flower.
With eyes.
What the fuck frick.
Perhaps the fall had killed them after all? Maybe that would be a bit of a relief since if they really were still alive they wouldn't know what to do. Explore? Wait for a monster to find and kill them? Kill themself since the fall was supposed to have already done the trick?
"Howdy over there!"
It could speak. Fantastic.
"There's no reason to be so shy, friend! Why don't ya come over here and let me explain things to you? You just look so confused!" The flower smiled and waved it- his hands- or leaves more accurately. He swayed on his stem slightly which caused his petals to shift and give off the illusion of dancing. Despite the grim circumstances he would've been rather cute if it weren't for the fact Frisk could detect his fake tone from a mile away. That tone wasn't meant to be nice, no, it was meant to lure. To gain something from them.
Regardless of the alarm bells ringing in their brain they decided to do as the flower said; they had nothing else to do. Perhaps this would lead so something, even if it was a bad thing. It wasn't like they were unprepared for the worst after all.
"There we go! I'm Flowey, Flowey the Flower! You're knew around here, right? It's been a while since any livestock humans were tossed down here! Even if you're a bit early, I'm still willing to teach you how things work around here!" Flowey's tongue licked over his teeth for a split second which made Frisk shudder. Why, why must it have a tongue!? Why was this thing more disturbing than the literal flesh plants!? Other than the face it was just a regular flower, but the closer they got to it the more unnerved they felt. "Come just a little closer so we can speak eye to eye!"
Hesitantly Frisk told their nerves to screw off and shifted into a crouch before sitting on their knees. They could feel Flowey's hot and rancid breath on their chin and had to cuff their hand over their nose so they wouldn't recoil. He smelled worse than the flesh in the other room, as at least that was fresh. The smell that radiated from the flower was undeniably the scent of decaying meat.
Luckily they didn't have to focus on that for too long as Flowey stretched out his stem and sprang at their face. Perhaps they weren't so lucky after all.
Fangs dug into the soft flesh around their right eye and cut their way through muscle, bone, and skin in order to get the the socket as Frisk screeched and grabbed him by the stem. They yanked and kicked but it only sent more jolts of pain through their face; his teeth were lodged too deep into them to be pulled out. The way his mouth moved through bone was as easy as cutting a warm knife through butter. He could've taken full advantage of the fact, but no, he decided to make the process as slow as possible as if he was feeding on their agony.
Frisk could feel him closing in on their eye. They could hear every crack that fractured the right side of their skull but could do nothing about it until the flower finally pierced his canines into the eye and lurched backwards. There was another cracking sound followed by a pop and the sound of something tearing, although Frisk could barely register the noise through the fiery pain that rippled through their face.
There was another yanking sensation before Frisk could finally fall onto their side and bring their hand up to the place their eye once resided. Was that laughter they heard over the screams? Whose screams were those anyways? Were they theirs? All they could process was the pain and sensation of blood leaking from the gaping hole in their head that dripped onto their hands.
A common misconception about blindness was that blind people could only see black. In reality, they couldn't even see that. Frisk didn't see black where their eye had once been, instead their sight was simply cut in half. Even then all they could see was red as blood stream down to the side of their face that rested on the ground.
Only then did the world fade to black.
"Ew.. He really didn't hold back, huh?"
Who are they?
"You can call me C, for now. Names hold power after all."
Can they read thoughts?
"Well, yeah. We're inside your soul, dummy."
That must be why it's so dark... Why the pain is gone.
"Yep. Speaking of which, you're about to die."
Oh.
"Oh? Just oh? You. Are. Dying! Don't you want to live?"
Does it matter?
"Yes! You're supposed to want to live!"
Too late for that.
"It doesn't have to be too late, you know. The reason why I'm here is that I want to make a deal with you. Agree and not only will this wound not kill you, but you can cheat death again and again, until you get the life you want."
That's not possible.
"Sure it is! Come on, throw me a bone."
What do you want?
"I just want a tiny fragment of your soul. You won't even notice it's gone! For what I'm offering I should be asking for much more than that, but fortunately for you I'm feeling generous. What do you say? Do we have a deal?"
...Deal.
"Great! Pleasure doing business, p a r t n e r."
It didn't take long for Frisk to wake again, at least that's what it felt like since while they were... Where were they? Something happened when they fell unconscious but they couldn't quite recall what it was. Thinking about it only filled their head with static and made their ears ring. Upon trying to blink the strange feeling away Frisk realized that they couldn't feel their right eyelid at all.
Right.
They didn't have a right eye at all anymore, huh? They brought their hand up to their face and gingerly rubbed a finger over the wounded area, making contact with something hard, wet, and riddled with cracks. The damage was.. More than they had initially thought. A large portion of the right side of their face had been ripped clean of skin and muscle to leave behind an unmoving skull sticky with blood. They grimaced with the side of their face that could actually still move and slowly to go their feet while wiping their hand on their robe.
Flowey was nowhere to be seen.
He had definitely taken more than just their eye while they were unconscious, there was no way that he took half their face with one bite. ...Right?
Soft footsteps came from the room beyond the little cavern Frisk had ventured into, accompanied by the faint humming of a woman. The melody was slow and often stopped suddenly before continuing though that could've been because the volume of said humming shifted every other note.
Before they had the chance to wonder through the doorway and peek at the not-so-musically-gifted woman they were met with a giant monster looming over them. No, monster wasn't the right word. This thing was a beast. Underneath a thick and raggedy black robe was dirty, matted gray fur that clearly hadn't been washed- or even cut in a long time. Dark stains of what Frisk could only assume was dried blood adorned both the fur and robe, though it was slightly obscured by the dust that clung to every part of the thing's body. Instead of having claws like one would've thought it instead had long pointed fingers that made it impossible to tell if it actually had claws or not. The "claws" were able to bend and move the same way as finger would.
Then there was its face. Two bloodshot, rectangular pupiled eyes stared down at Frisk above a broken nose and fanged grin with canines too big for its mouth, which was odd considering the creature had the horns and ears of a goat, typically a prey-type animal. Not a predator.
"Greetings, my child.." Only as it spoke did it dawn on Frisk that this was the woman who had been humming. She bent down with several cracks and pops from her joints and reached a hand to their face, gently cupping the cheek that skill had skin. Well, at least it attempted to be gentle. Her claws (yes, they were definitely claws,) slightly sliced their face and left behind angry red lines that cried blood. "It has been a very long time since a human fell down here alive... I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins."
"..." Even if Frisk had wanted to speak, they wouldn't have. Their voice had long since deteriorated after the thousandth smack to the mouth and weeks of going unused. Besides, Frisk didn't trust Toriel enough to do something so vulnerable. To risk saying the wrong thing at the wrong time...
"Not much of a talker?" Toriel stared at Frisk and waited for an answer, and when she didn't receive one she continued as if nothing was amiss. "That is for the best, in the long run.. Come now, child. Let me guide you through the catacombs.." Her hand slid off of their face as she stood back to full height and opted for grabbing onto their hand instead.
With that she began to pull Frisk along without stopping.
Each room they passed through was the same as the last. Dull purple walls, dead leaves scattered everywhere, thick coats of dust on the ground, a trivial puzzle or trap... All the same. The dim lights that came from no source was beginning to give them a headache, and the constant purple started to hurt their eyes- eye, rather. They wondered how long it would take for them to get used to that fact.
Through each room Toriel would either hum or talk to herself, not unlike the adults in the village that used to "talk" to Frisk. It was all one sided and they never actually had the chance to respond, and the tones of their voices made it seem like they were talking about a dog or cat.
"What a good child you are... You hadn't even tried to run or FIGHT, that's very rare down here.. Of course I hope this isn't the reaction you will have to all monsters, but you seem like a smart child, are you not?" She hummed to herself for a few minutes until speaking once more. "I think you will enjoy living with me.. The ruins may be quite small once you grow accustomed to them, but there are still many interesting places.. It's very quiet and peaceful here as well... Hardly anyone left to bother us. So long as I keep you by my side there will be no problems."
They had ran into nobody else on their short journey.
Chapter 2: Puppet Show!
Summary:
Toriel sets an very important rule for Frisk!
C does not give a fuck about her rules.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“Here we are, my child…” Toriel had brought Frisk to an old house at the very end of the ruins with yellow paint peeling off the wood that look as if it had suffered a considerable amount of water damage.
The inside wasn’t much better.
As Toriel led them into the house Frisk couldn’t help but notice just how dusty it was, not unlike the rest of the ruin’s interior. Here and there suspiciously reddish-brown colored stains splattered across the moldy wallpaper often accompanied by scratches or burn marks. Signs of struggle.
”I have a surprise for you, my child…” Toriel stopped in front of a children’s room with no door, the frame being banged up in a such a way that it was clear the door had been ripped off the hinges with brute force. “A.. room of your very own. I apologize for.. the lack of a door, but the last child who was here was rather.. unruly.” She then rubbed a paw across Frisk’s head in a “loving” manner. “You must be tired.. be a good child and get some rest, alright?”
As soon as Frisk gave their tiny nod Toriel began to leave, but paused for a moment without looking back. “Oh, and child? Do not enter the last room.”
“So, what do you think of mom?”
Frisk had just closed their eyes to get some sleep.
Toriel? I don’t trust her.
”Good, she’s a real freak now. But what I mean is, do you like her?”
I’m… not sure. She’s really scary but.. nice?
”She’s always been kind deep down, but you have to leave, right away. The exit is in the basement, make sure to do it while she’s asleep, there’s no way she’ll let you go willingly.”
Are there more monsters out there?
”Well, yeah.”
Are the like that flower?
”Flowey? Mhm.”
I’d… rather stay here then.
”You don’t, trust me.”
I want to keep what’s left of my face.
”What good will your face be if you end up like them?”
Like who?
”You need to check the last room. Don’t. Get. Caught.”
The smell of cooking meat roused Frisk from their sleep. It was surprisingly pleasant, enough so to make their mouth water and remind them of the last meal they had before being pushed- which was also the first high quality meal they had ever had. Despite the circumstances they felt excited at the prospect of being able to eat.. what was the word? Smelled like… bacon, yes, bacon! Without hesitation they bolted off of the bed and scurried through the house until they found a humming Toriel tending to a stovetop.
”Ah.. good morning, my child. Did… you rest well?” She cocked her head like a curious dog as she glanced back at them. Once Frisk offered a nod in return the monster smiled faintly and turned her attention back to the meal she was preparing. “That’s is good to hear… the last child who had survived had many… nightmares before they moved on. Why don’t you have a seat? Breakfast will be ready shortly…” They heard a chuckle behind them as they hurried back into the dining/living room.
Oddly enough there were only three chairs, each varying in sizes with only one looking as if it were well loved. Frisk opted for the smallest chair.
After some agonizingly long minutes of waiting Toriel entered the room with two steaming plates of food and set one in front of Frisk before sitting down herself, eyes wide with… something. Why was she looking at them like that? She was still smiling at them wordlessly and refused to break eye contact. “Go.. on..” She waved a paw at the untouched plate before them.
…It smelled really good, so Frisk didn’t need to be told twice.
The entire time they scarfed down their food Toriel watched with those wide eyes, not even touching her own food. Every now and then she let out a giddy giggle like a child who knew something that the adult they were talking to didn’t. “Was it.. good, my child…?” The monster whispered once Frisk had practically licked their plate clean. Their nod roused another chuckle from her. “That is good… I couldn’t help but notice how filthy you are, my child…”
If Frisk had still be eating they would’ve choked. Seriously? She was calling them filthy? Maybe there weren’t any mirrors in the underground.
”Please, change into something new, there should be clothes in that closet of yours… though they may not be a perfect fit…” She grabbed Frisk’s empty plate (and her own which was still untouched) and stood. “I have.. some errands to run, my child. It will only be an hour or so; everyday I check the flowerbed for any human bodies… you are not to leave the house. Be a good child, won’t you?”
”The room Frisk, the room, the room, theroomtheroomtheroomtheroom-“
Frisk nearly toppled out of their chair before quickly standing up, slamming their hands on the table and looking around. C? C was here? It sounded like they were screaming in their ears! No, even worse, it sounded like they were screaming inside of their very brain and letting their voice echo loudly throughout their skull!
”My.. child?”
Frisk flinched and shook their head, giving Toriel their most innocent “I swear that whatever you’re thinking I DIDN’T DO IT!” smile. They had mastered that while living in town considering it was more than easy to be blamed for everyone’s misfortunes. Frisk was such a good scapegoat.
”That’s sad.”
Get out of my head!
”This was part of the deal. I’m using your soul to manifest.”
You're too loud!
”And you’re too ignorant. Toriel just left without you even noticing. Stars you’re going to die so many times…”
Well- you were distracting me. Hush.
Sure enough Toriel was gone, the only indicator of her having left the house was the sound of the front door being slammed and the light click of the lock. Apparently this house could only be locked from the outside, which only further fueled Frisk’s growing discomfort. Sure, it wasn’t as if Frisk hadn’t been locked inside a room before but those rooms had been specially designed to keep them inside anytime they got upset in public, so a house only locking from the outside was… peculiar. Most homes locked from the inside as to keep intruders and potential threats out so it was just counterproductive to have the door designed the way it was.
”You are hers. In her mind anyways..” Frisk flinched slightly and could’ve sworn they felt something brush up against their cheek. “Now’s your chance, kid. The room..”
What if she catches me? Frisk gently brushed their fingers over the exposed part of their skull and cringed at the feeling of scratched, sticky, bare bone, forever a reminder of what happened when they did listen to someone. If someone was willing to do that to them when they did follow their directions, what would someone down there do to them if they disobeyed instead?
…They missed their eye.
”She won’t, she just left. Besides, she’s way too old to figure out how to install cameras.” C snorted and Frisk once again felt something brush against their skin, only this time it was their hand. “Now go.”
Did Frisk want to disobey Toriel’s one rule? No. Were they going to do it anyways just to get C to shut up? Yes, yes they were. Before C could get the chance to start yelling at them (the townsfolk always resorted to screaming when things didn’t go their way, so why would C be any different?) they slowly left the living room and made their way down the hall passing a mirror along the way.
The reflection showed a filthy child with matted hair and only half a face and sadly only one of those things were new.
It’s you!
That… wasn’t C.
”That was your soul. Something about your reflection just now resonated with it. Keep moving.”
With a heavy heart Frisk adjusted their hair to cover the missing half of their face and continued on, only stopping once they had reached their destination.
Under renovations, the sign on the last door read, apparently being funny enough for C to burst into giggles that bounced around the inside of their skull like a rubber ball dropped into a bowl.
”Open up~”
…
Creak…
…
The stench was the first thing they noticed.
As soon as the door was opened the scent of decaying meat slammed against them so hard they recoiled, immediately grabbing the collar of their shirt and lifting it over their nose to try and protect their senses from the utter assault of the stench. C, of course, found this to be just so hilarious! Maybe they wouldn’t be laughing if they could smell it themself, but since there was no way to make that possible Frisk could only resort to glaring at the empty air around them, and pretend that it was aimed at them. Okay, technically it was aimed at them but they couldn’t exactly look at the spirit(?). Were they a spirit? They seemed more like a demon to them at that point.
”Hah, don’t be so bitter, sacrifice! If you were in my shoes you’d be laughing too. C’mon, flick on the lights.”
Frisk gagged and shook their head. I am not going in there. Smelling the room is enough, I don’t want to know what’s in there!
C scoffed. “You have to!”
No.
”I thought you were obedient.”
I have limits.
”I’ll do it for you then.”
Icy fingers clasped around Frisk’s wrist and yanked their arm into the room. They nearly stumbled to the ground from the sudden force but another cold sensation wrapped around their other arm and pulled them up like a puppet on a sting before slamming them into a wall. Who they could only assume was C ignored their struggles and feeble screeches until their wrist brushed against a switch.
Click!
Light blinded the room and the forced that surrounded their body left with the darkness.
Bodies. Bodies everywhere.
They were hung from the ceiling by frayed ropes, all human. Some were children, some were adults, others right in the middle. Each and every one had a smile stitched onto their face, eyes gauged out and hollow. Their faces drooped and sagged with decay and rot, some even matching Frisk’s own face as parts of them had just fallen off if the mysteriously flesh colored lumps on the floor said anything. Maggots wriggled and crawled within each hole and old wound thriving in the misery of the deceased humans. If Frisk were to listen closer they would hear the sounds of the insects crawling and chewing in the remains.
The bodies were strung up in odd positions in order to mimic activity. Two had open smiles and faced each other in a silent conversation, while another two seemed to be in the middle of some sort of hand game. One in the corner was pressed up against the wall with the pages of a book sewn into their fingers.
It was Toriel’s very own fucked up puppet show.
”What did I tell you my child?”
Frick.
”Fuck.”
Notes:
Did u like it 👉👈
Chapter 3: We Didn't Start The Fire (My insane goat mother did)
Summary:
Toriel is NOT a happy camper :(
(Shorter chapter this time, sorry! Just a little eager to move the plot along and really there isn't much to say in the ruins- it's never been my favorite part of the game considering it's the tutorial)
Notes:
TW: Burning alive, branding irons.
Chapter title is a song reference :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"I can't love you. God knows I've tried."
Frisk has seen the towns children engage in staring contests over and over again from afar. They were never allowed to participate, but they didn't want to anyways with how unappealing it seemed. It looked boring, and afterwards someone would always complain about their eyes stinging as tears fell whilst the other just laughed and boasted. So when they found themself in a staring contest with Toriel they were glad they only had one eye to worry about since they felt like the moment they blinked might've been their last.
They were nearly right.
As soon as their eyelid closed they could feel heat shoot past them only narrowly dodging the attack thanks to a shove from C.
"Run, dammit!"
Run they did.
Any icy hand made its way to their wrist and yanked harshly, giving for risk they push they needed to get the ever loving hell away from that woman. They had to duck past her though, and as they did they could see a ball of red fire being conjured in the monster's paw, blazing as bright as Mars on a clear summer night.
Why did a goat need fire magic?!
"My child..!"
They didn't look back as they let C blindly lead them through the house, erratic movements and sudden jerks causing them to stumble or slam into walls- it would've been so much easier if they could see them!
They could hear Toriel gaining on them, it wouldn't take long. They could only narrowly avoid the flames shooting past them thanks to C, and even then they could feel the hair on their arms being singed off from how close they were.
Faster, faster, they needed to be faster so she didn't get them! Her paw steps were growing louder and louder with each step. What was originally an annoyed yet calm march was now desperately furious stomps. Her legs were so much longer that theirs it would only be seconds, in seconds she would-
"Calm down and watch your step!"
Stairs- no wait, why were they being led to a basement! They would be trapped, there would be no way out, they would be cornered! Not again, never again!
It was just like before, with #####.
Out of instinct Frisk jerked back from the staircase and was met with burning pain hitting them square in the back. Instantly the smell of burning fabric and flesh hit them as it over powered the smoke by a long shot. The flames nipped at their skin and ripped its way to their spine and melted the discs together. The gel inside the segments popped and oozed and with the blood now squirming from the bubbles that formed on their leftover skin Frisk felt so wet but hot and dry at the same time.
Soon the burning intensified so much that it was cold. Cold and very, very itchy. They tried to reach to their back to try and do something, anything, but was only met with more pain.
More melting.
Melting..
"Gotcha!"
"Hold them still!"
"Stop thrashing!"
"Where's #####?!"
"He has to re-heat the iron!"
"Why go through all this trouble anyways? We don't need to brand a child!"
"The hell you think I know?! Just do as you're told!"
Frisk has seen the towns children engage in staring contests over and over again from afar. They were never allowed to participate, but they didn't want to anyways with ho- wait. They just had that thought, didn't they?
Ah.
The fabric of their shirt rubbing uncomfortably on exposed soldered bone was enough proof for them to believe they had just died a second time.
Frisk didn't need to wait for C to yank on them to start running again, although thanks to the new structure of their spine they found it difficult to do so. Everything was.. All melted together, bones fused together with both skin and each other. Luckily it seemed contained to the direct spot where the flames had first made contact with them but it still hurt like hell- and itched. It was a miracle they could move at all, and I jury like this would render any normal person paralyzed from that point downwards.
"Do not hold back this time, that fucking injury was a pain in the ass to heal!"
C seemed to be pushing Frisk from behind this time, invisible hands clasped firmly on their shoulders. Each fireball that was shot at them was dodged by them being spun around in a morbid dance for survival.
"My child, please.. Come back here, I do not wish to harm you..."
Liar.
"I want to keep you safe! Face your consequences!"
Was this her sick version of discipline?
The stairs were reached far quicker than last time and Frisk didn't hold back, skipping two to three steps at a time as the flew down. They would trust C, they had to. What else could they do? Stop and let themself be cooked alive like a lobster again?
They were shoved through purple halls that resembled the rest of the ruins which could only lead Frisk to guess that this wasn't just Toriel's basement, no, this was an exit! An exit from the house or the ruins in general they weren't sure but it was good enough for them. Thought of an exit could keep the panic away.
Nevermind.
At the end of the tunnel was a gigantic pile of ruble and what loomed like human bones.
Toriel had already destroyed the exit.
"Dig through that gap, quick! She can't get you in there if you close it off when your inside, you can dig through to the other side!"
Whatever you say..
There wasn't time to decide if it was safe enough to attempt, she was right on their tail. They were shoved to the ground and dragged over to a small hole in the pile which Frisk squeezed themself into with no hesitation, narrowly avoiding another fireball. The space was so small with little air but it was better than out there. The only time they took was to find a rock sturdy enough to move to the gap they had climbed in through.
"No.. No, my child... My child, come out here now."
They could hear her attempt to remove the rubble, but that only caused more to fall in front of their hiding space.
"No.. My child, my child, please! Please, do not leave me.. Please my child, come out..!" The monster's voice had dropped to a low and fearful tone as she pleaded Frisk to come out. "You.. You will be happy here, child... Just as the others are.."
The flesh puppets.
"I.. I can forgive you if you... If you just come out. I can keep you safe, my child... It is worse out there than in here." Frisk highly doubted that. Toriel's voice only grew more desperate and broken. "I can.. Cook for you again my child. You, you liked that, did you not? I can introduce you to the others, I'm sure they would.. Enjoy your company. You wouldn't have to.. Join them in that room. Please, my child, do not.. Leave."
"..."
"You know I care for you, don't you my child..?" A sniffle could be heard through the rocks. "I do not wish to see you unhappy. I did not wish that for any of them.. Please, understand. They had wanted to leave, but I.. Just couldn't let them. I did what I could to make them happy and now.. They will always be happy."
"..."
"You remind me of someone... One of my first children. They didn't speak much at first either... But it has been so long I cannot even remember so much as their name. All I can remember was how sad they were. I could not make them happy, and they fell down because of it. I promised to never make a child so unhappy again, yet... Your fear is being caused by me, isn't it?"
"..."
"I cannot stop you, can I, my child?"
"..."
"...Please be careful out there. Once you leave he- Asgore will make your life a living hell. Once you leave, please... Do not come back. I cannot assure you that... I will not be as "sane" as I may seem at the moment.. I know that I am not a suitable mother for you.. And I know that what I have done is horrible. But I do not think I can stop now. Insanity is the only way to stay alive down here."
"..."
"May I know your name, my child?"
"...Frisk."
Frisk had stayed with Toriel until they heard her get up and walk away.
On the other side of the rubble was nothing but a dark room and a pair of doors.
Why did it feel as if someone was missing?
Notes:
So erm yeah the entire mindset of this underground is "we're in too deep might as well go all they way so we don't off ourselves out of horror and/or self hatred :D"
Dw Flowey will be back next chapter
Just had a really rough night so Frisk is absolutely FUCKED next chapter say goodbye to your right lung buddy
Chapter 4: Chill, Won't You?
Summary:
We all know who Frisk meets in Snowdin :)
(I'm giving up on chapter descriptions can you tell?)
Notes:
Next chapter things will deviate more from the original plot of Undertale and finally become delve more into the actual story of the AU! So less… script like I guess. Next chapter is where the personalities and LORE of the characters and AU will appear!
Things won’t be so nice next chapter :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It never did snow much in the town Frisk was born in. They didn't live somewhere that was warm all year round though, if anything it was never warm enough. It was just that instead of getting snow they got rain. So. Much. Rain. One moment there could be not a cloud in the sky and the next they would be assaulted by raindrops cold enough to freeze them to the bone. On the rare occasion that it did snow however it never lasted, and what remained became brown and grey slush that lined the dirt roads.
Frisk never knew that snow could be so beautiful.
As soon as they left the ruins they were engulfed in frigid temperatures unlike anything they had ever felt, but the sight before them had made up for it. Every inch of the ground was covered in sparkling clean snow. (Where it came from, they didn't know, as well as how it shone without sunlight to bounce off of it. In fact, how was there any light down there to begun with? They were also in a forest- plants shouldn't be able to grow without sunlight either. Magic could surely only do so much..)
It was a stark contrast from the filth of the ruins which would've normally been a good thing if not for the fact they knew it wouldn't last. Both Toriel and C made it clear that things should only get worse from there on out.
But a moment of admiration wouldn't hurt.
"You're going to freeze, Frisk. Get moving before someone kills you before the cold can."
With a sigh they got moving. At least the sound of the snow crunching underneath their shoes was pleasant to hear. Almost like those rare occasions in autumn where dead leaves would crumble beneath them on their walks!
They didn't know where exactly they were going or how far it was, so they walked at a leisurely pace in case they needed their energy to run- that and anything above that pace physically hurt their spine.
They thought nothing of the branch in the middle of their path as they stepped over it. It was too big to pick up or try and break anyways.
Only after they had gotten a decent distance from it did a crack resonate through the trees and grab Frisk's attention.
”Don’t move,” C hissed in their ear, “don’t even breathe.”
The small huffs of mist that came from Frisk’s mouth ceased immediately as C began to do.. something. Frisk felt a slight tugging coming from their chest as if something was tied to their heart and slowly moving away- perhaps that was their soul? They didn’t exactly know how their bond with C worked so nothing was out of the question.
”Fuck, okay-“ the tugging sensation eased as C spoke again. “Keep going and whatever you do don’t stop. I am not dealing with this, never again.”
“What is this?”
“If god loves you then you’ll never have to know.” With that C gave Frisk a harsh shove forward and urged them to continue on.
With a long sigh to release the old air they had trapped in their lungs Frisk trudged on, ignoring the ache in their back, their growing sense of dread, and the sound of footsteps growing closer, as per C’s demands.
“Keep going,” they ordered as a bridge could be seen in the distance. A large gate divided it in half, however the wooden bars looked far too wide to actually stop Frisk- although that could’ve been because Frisk was just a small kid in general having never been fed properly. “That- dammit!”
A heavy feeling suddenly washed over Frisk’s soul, rooting them to the ground just before they could take a single step onto the bridge. C let out a string of curses that half of which Frisk didn’t even know existed, and complained loudly about there not being a god after all.
Flee, something deep within their soul begged but Frisk’s body would not cooperate, not even as the sound of footsteps grew closer and closer. The most they could do was twitch the muscles in their legs and fingers as their fight or flight response began to kick in. Their nerves simply refused to obey, leaving them a prisoner in their own body. Nothing more than a spectator of their own fate.
“h u m a n,” A deep voice spoke up once the footsteps fell silent. “d o n ‘ t y o u k n o w h o w t o g r e e t a n e w p a l ? t u r n a r o u n d a n d s h a k e m y h a n d . . .”
“Do NOT-“
If only it was their choice.
Frisk began to move again but not of their own accord. Their arm stretched out to meet a strangers and-
As soon as their hands made contact they could move again, to which they immediately shrieked and recoiled in order to shake off whatever substance had been slapped onto their skin. It was cold, wet, sticky, and- oh. Red. It was just blood.
Blood shouldn’t be cold.
It felt disgusting.
“heh, that never gets old..” the figure before them chuckled to themself and wiped his hand across a dark blue hoodie that already had a number of red and gray stains to adorn it.
“Stupid fucking skeleton.”
“Skeleton?”
Frisk pried their gaze away from the stranger’s hand and locked eyes with him. Well, eyes wasn’t the right word. Eye.. sockets? Before them was a short (at least for adult standards, he was still taller than Frisk by a decent bit) skeleton with dark gray bones. Maybe he had been stained just like his jacket had? Some parts of his skull were lighter than others so it was possible, although they couldn’t help but wonder why dust seemed to stain everything down there. On the surface dust could simply be brushed or washed off of most things..
“i’m sans, sans the skeleton. you’re human, right? that’s unfortunate, but i find that hilarious.” The skeleton, Sans, shrugged. “i’m actually supposed to be on watch for humans like you right now, but… y’know, where’s the fun in that? it’d be more trouble than it’s worth sending you to the capital.”
Sans actually seemed pretty decent! While he still seemed a bit.. twisted thanks to his appearance and “joke,” he came off more sane than Toriel at least. The fact that he didn’t want to hunt down Frisk was also a score of its own.
“now my brother, Papyrus… he would definitely turn you in instead of killing you himself. it’s just what he needs to join the guard. hey, actually, i think he should be here any minute. so instead of killin’ ya right here and now why don’t we have some fun?”
Never mind. Of course he would want to kill them, of course.
“y’see, my bro has never seen a human before, so it’d really bring some light to this hellhole if you’d just play along with our antics. we have some fun, and you have an extra day or so to live. win-win.” Sans pushed past Frisk and gestured for them to follow without waiting for an answer. “the worst that’ll happen is that ya lose a limb. probably.” The skeleton shrugged before pointing to a small wooden stand. “unfortunately i forgot my conveniently-shaped lamp at home, so you’ll have to hide behind my post.”
Conveniently-shaped lamp? Frisk didn’t have the time to question it before that heavy feeling from before returned and they were flung behind the stand to land face first in the snow next to a bunch of bottles of.. ranch dressing? Ew. Who the hell would need that much ranch?
“sup, bro.”
Frisk nearly jumped out of their skin when a new voice appeared- how had they not heard their footsteps?
“YOU KNOW WHAT’S “SUP” BROTHER! IT’S BEEN A WEEK AND YOU STILL HAVEN’T. BROUGHT. ANY. RESULTS!!!” Each word was punctuated with the sound of a boot slamming onto the snow. “ALL YOU DO IS TALK TO YOURSELF ALL DAY! JUST WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING NOW, HM?”
“the usual. like staring at my post. it’s pretty nice. you should check it out.”
“That asshole is trying to sell us out!”
“YOU IMBECILE! YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE STARING AT IT, YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE USING IT! I DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR THIS! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE?! WE MUST BE PREPARED!” Who Frisk assumed to be Papyrus paused to catch his breath. They did NOT want to figure out WHY a skeleton would even need to do such a thing. Was Papyrus even a skeleton like his brother? A quick peek over the post confirmed their suspicion. “I MUST BE PREPARED! I WILL BE THE ONE TO CATCH THE NEXT HUMAN WHO COMES THROUGH HERE, AND YOU WILL NOT RUIN THIS FOR ME! THEN I SHALL FINALLY GET THE RESPECT AND RECOGNITION I UTTERLY DESERVE!”
“maybe my post will help with that.”
“SANS, I DON’T CARE WHAT THE VOICES ARE TELLING YOU THIS TIME, THAT WILL NOT HELP, YOU LAZYBONES!”
“hey, ‘m not that lazy. i’ve gotten a ton of work done lately. a skele-ton.”
“SANS! SHUT THE FUCK UP!”
“c’mon, you’re smiling.”
“I AM NOT YOU INSUFFERABLE PIECE OF TRASH!”
“i know your funny bone isn’t broken, Paps.”
“THAT’S IT, I’M LEAVING! I HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO THAT LISTEN TO… THIS. DON’T GET MURDERED OR I WILL KILL YOU! NYEHEHEH!”
“Fucking losers…” C grumbled as Papyrus stomped away.
“you can come out now, human.”
Frisk hesitantly peeked over the station’s counter once more, and after seeing the much taller (and scarier) skeleton had left they hoisted themself up and made their way back over to Sans.
“you better be going before he decides to come back. i won’t be saving your skin again if that happens.” Sans flicked one of his hands in a shooing gesture.
“AGAIN? AGAIN?! YOU FUCKING F-“
Frisk quickly nodded and scrambled away, if only to stop C from saying whatever they were trying to yell at the monster. Even though Sans couldn’t hear them (right?) Frisk still could, and even if they were peeved by the comedian at the moment they didn’t want to have obscenities aimed at him screamed throughout their brain.
“And people think I’m a demon!” C huffed while Frisk followed a barely noticeable path hidden under the snow. They were curious about the box they saw, but- “It’s not fucking worth it, just keep going.”
“So, do you know Sans then?” Frisk wondered briefly.
“ “dO yOu KnOw SaNs,” what the hell do you think?!”
“Sorry, sorry..”
“Stupid child, of course I know him. I accidentally got attached to that crazy bitch’s soul once. Worst host in my damn after-life.”
“How did.. that happen?”
“You don’t get to hear that story.”
“Sorry..”
“You better- shit, move!”
An icicle was flung at Frisk’s chest and narrowly avoided.
“What was that?!”
“Use your eyes- er- eye, idiot.”
Their head was grabbed and turned to the direction of a tiny monster that looked like.. a goblin with a very ugly hat made of ice.
“Okay Frisk, kill it.”
“What?”
“Kill it!”
“Why?!”
“So it doesn’t kill you first!” Frisk narrowly danced out of the way of another barrage of attacks. “Trust me, that thing’s hat is the most important thing in its life, you’ll be doing it an act of mercy at that point.”
“How-“ Frisk was briefly cut off from their train of thought as a shard of ice sliced against their arm. “How would I even kill i- them?”
“It’s an it, Frisk. No more than a stupid animal. Just hit it a few times with the intent to kill and it’ll get the job done.”
“It’s.. an animal?”
“Most things down here are. Do it!”
After dodging another burst of ice Frisk darted forward and kicked the hat monster right in the head sending it flying into the ground. The little creature shrieked but with the encouragement of C Frisk put it out of its misery quickly, slamming their foot against its temple over and over until- poof! The little thing exploded into sticky dust that clung onto them.
“Nice, you’ve gained LOV!”
“Love…”
“No, LEVEL OF VIOLENCE. Happens when you kill someo-thing. Something. The more LOV you have the stronger your soul gets, in turn making me stronger as well. I suggest you gain as much LOV as possible so that your soul can better sustain us both.”
“Sustain?”
“There’s a libraby in Snowdin town, you can learn more there. Now keep going!”
C had stayed in a good mood up until they ran into the skeleton brothers again.
“FOR F-“
“AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDY-“ Frisk locked their gaze with Papyrus. Much like Sans his bones were dark gray in most areas, however Papyrus was huge. If someone told them he was over seven feet tall there was a good chance that Frisk would’ve believed them! Papyrus had a very different sense of fashion than his brother as well, wearing what looked like a red and gray chest plate, heeled black boots, thick black gloves, and a long red scarf that had been repurposed to look like a cape. Faint lines riddled every surface of Papyrus’s body, most likely being scars from past confrontations or accidents since they looked a little too similar to cracks.
Papyrus turned to look at Sans as Sans turned to look to Frisk, then the two would swap, going from staring at them to staring at their brother, over and over and over again until Papyrus finally broke the silence.
“SANS… IS THAT…”
“a rock? yep.” He nodded at a pebble near Frisk’s feet.
“OH, YES, OF COURSE- NO YOU MORON! BEHIND THE ROCK!”
“oh, that thing? yeah, that’s a human.”
“OH MY GOD! FINALLY! UNDYNE WILL- EVERYONE- I’LL FINALLY BE-“ Papyrus suddenly smacked the side of his skull and shook his head, placing a hand on his chest. “AHEM! HUMAN! YOU WILL NOT PASS THROUGH SNOWDIN PEACEFULLY! I, THE FIERCE PAPYRUS, SHALL CAPTURE YOU BEFORE YOU MAKE IT TO WATERFALL! I WILL CAPTURE YOU, SEND YOU TO THE CAPITAL, AND FROM THERE YOU WILL BE HARVESTED FOR YOUR SOUL! NYEHEHEHEHEH!”
Waterfall? Capital?
“BUT BEING THE GENEROUS SKELETON THAT I AM, I WILL GIVE YOU SOME TIME TO COME TO TERMS WITH YOUR FATE! CONTINUE ON IF YOU DARE!” Papyrus turned on his heel and just.. ran off.
Sans must’ve noticed Frisk’s confused expression (or as much of an expression one could make with only half a face) as he shrugged himself. “i dunno either, kid. he’s a weird skeleton. just… don’t mistake weird for weak. if he wasn’t trying to achieve somethin’ you’d be dead where you stand.”
How reassuring.
“welp, anyways, you should get going. don’t worry, i’ll keep an eye socket out for ya so that you get to experience one of my brother’s great puzzles.”
There was a flash of light and suddenly the skeleton was just… gone.
“Congrats, you’ve got two stalkers now.”
“…Two?”
“Don’t sweat it. I see another creature up there, how about we get you some more LOV?”
Monsters sure loved violence. Over and over Frisk was assaulted by all sorts of monsters, but usually came out on top thanks to C. It felt wrong to.. kill them, even with all of the reassurance, encouragement, and praise they received from it. Those monsters… they spoke, so were they really just animals? C laughed at them when they questioned that after being told to kill a blind dog monster. “It’s an actual dog! Of course it’s an animal, dummy!”
Frisk didn’t think it was okay to hit dogs though, even if they didn’t talk. They got away with petting him and running away, even if C became all pouty after that.
They decided they wouldn’t be killing dogs at all- and there were quite a few of them! They were all incredibly vicious however, and they did lose a few fingers in the process..
Frisk saw Papyrus a few more times as well, although he ran off before they could actually interact with him. All they saw of him was him beating up a few monsters in the distance m and as soon as he spotted Frisk they got out of there. “Probably doesn’t want anyone being able to kill you before he captures you,” C had reasoned. It still didn’t make much sense.
He didn’t show up at his own puzzles either. There were just hastily written notes with vague descriptions. Frisk figured out that they could just skip over them by climbing over whatever blocked their way or going around it completely.
Although, one time they tried to climb over a wall of spikes and ended up slipping thanks to some ice that had formed on the side. They lost their grip and slipped forward, effectively impaling themself in one of their lungs and causing a huge hole to form.
C would not stop laughing at them after they respawned.
Having a hole through their lung made it very difficult to move and breathe, so the rest of their journey through the woods was slowed down a lot. Dodging became harder and harder, resulting in more and more deaths. Luckily those monsters were much weaker than Flowey and Toriel had been, so the aftermath just gave them some holes in their body where they had bled out from, most being small.
Still hurt like hell though.
They bumped into Sans near the exit of the woods. At the sight of them he just burst into laughter.
“jesus kid, didn’t know you were so hole-y. damn, ya look like shit!” For about ten minutes Sans laughed and made puns about their injuries until they decided to just walk away. C went completely silent through it all, but they could feel their fury and annoyance in their very soul.
Finally they came to a small town that was naturally covered in blood and dust, however that wasn’t the first thing they noticed. No, what they noticed first was the dinosaur looking monster that ran headfirst into Frisk with a familiar flower wrapped around their neck.
Bonus:
“SANS, I DON’T UNDERSTAND! I’VE WEAKENED EVERY MONSTER ON THAT ROUTE AND YET THE HUMAN JUST KEEPS GETTING MORE AND MORE INJURED! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO SET UP MY ULTIMATE TRAP IF I CAN’T LEAVE THEM ALONE FOR A SINGLE MOMENT?!”
“dunno, bro. at least they’ll be easy to capture like that.”
“I DON’T WANT IT TO BE EASY, SANS! IT IS BAD ENOUGH THAT IT IS A CHILD! HOW CAN I PROVE MYSELF IF THE THING I’M CAPTURING IS A HALF DEAD BABYBONES?! ANYONE COULD DO THAT!”
“but most monsters wouldn’t hold themself back from eatin’ it’s soul, so you turning it in still says something, right?”
“WELL YES, BUT IT DOESN’T SAY MUCH… AND THAT ISN’T THE THING I’M MOST W- CONFUSED ABOUT!”
“oh?”
“AT ONE POINT I HAD STARED AT IT AND ITS LEG WAS PERFECTLY INTACT, THEN THE SECOND I BLINKED THERE WAS A RANDOM HOLE THERE! IT DOESN’T ADD UP!”
Notes:
Sans’ soul is a little fucked up after being the only judge in a society where murder is encouraged so that’s why he hears things.
Papyrus doesn’t actually like hurting people but has learned that it’s the only way to keep himself and his brother safe, hence the many scars all over him (other monsters did NOT want to be his friend growing up to say the least.)
And Chara may be a demon but they’re also still a bratty tween at their core :)
Chapter 5: They Could Use a Hand
Notes:
TW: Abusive marriages
He/they pronouns for MK, though mainly they/them are used.
Chapter Text
“Ow! Yo, watch where you’re going-! You…” Frisk held their forehead and shot a glare at whoever decided to barrel into them, feeling in a terrible mood thanks to C’s constant nagging and whining, Sans’s recessive puns and thinly veiled threats, and this stranger’s audacity to blame them for their mistake. They just wanted to stop somewhere and get some rest.
”Ew… what the hell are you?!” The stranger took a hesitant step back and scanned them with disgusted eyes.
”That’s a human, MK. Golly, don’t you have anything in that brain of yours?” Frisk flinched and took their own steps back while their remaining eye widened and pinned Flowey under their gaze. Right there was the thing that destroyed their face, acting all buddy-buddy with someone! As irritated as they were they didn’t want to see someone else get their face bitten off. Yet at the same time, they wanted- no, needed to get away from that thing as soon as possible.
”But- look at it! Does that thing look like what’s in the books?!” The stranger jerked its head at Frisk and never took their eyes off of them. It was then that Frisk noticed their lack of arms and really took in their full appearance. Dark orange and yellow scales covered their body and was a similar tone to the striped sweater they wore, and instead of having holes for arms they had holes running down their back to make way for the spikes that trailed from their head to the very tip of their tail. Flowey sat nestled in their turtleneck and had entwined his vines all over their body to secure himself in place. It reminded Frisk of a parasite latching into a host.
“Well it doesn’t look like a monster now does it?”
”Well- no, but-“
”Exactly!”
”Hey, Flowey.” C’s voice dragged Frisk from their thoughts.
”Hey, Chara.”
”You’re friends?! Wait, he can hear you?”
”Anyone can, if I want them to.”
”How?!”
”Relax, Frisk.”
”So, its name is Frisk?” Flowey grinned and shifted his vines, making “MK” grimace from the feeling of vines slithering over their scales.
”Chara’s back?” MK visibly deflated at the idea, their voice ending in a slight whine of disappointment. Chara… C must be Chara, Frisk assumed. It wasn’t exactly a special name by any means and Frisk could’ve sworn someone in their town went by that name as a nickname of sorts as well, so why didn’t Chara just… tell them their name? What kind of “power” could a basic name like that hold?
”What is going on?”
”What is going on?” MK voiced Frisk’s concern for them although they sounded much more annoyed and frustrated than concerned. “And you,” the monster shot a glare at Frisk, “what’s your deal?”
”…”
”This human isn’t a big talker,” Flowey chimed in, oh so helpfully, “So I guess I’ll have to translate for you.”
”Do we have to be near these guys?”
”Yes, Frisk. They could help you on your little journey! They won’t even try to eat you this time. Isn’t that right Flowey?”
”Yep! Such a shame though, I haven’t had a bite that good in a l o n g time!”
”…What are you guys talking about?!” MK side-eyed Flowey with an expression of disgust after a moment of staring at the bite marks on Frisk’s face, as if they already had an idea of what the weed was implying.
"Oh, nothing~ just keep your nose out of where it doesn't belong." Flowey snapped his teeth as MK's face which made both the monster and the human flinch at the same time, with Frisk instinctively raising their arms to cover their own face.
Howling echoed in the distance.
"Frick!" MK spun around to face the town with their tail quite literally tucked between their legs in fear. "You made me forget about them!" MK squeaked as they glared back at Frisk. "Now MOVE!" They didn't give Frisk a single second before they bolted the way Frisk had just came, leaving them in the dust.
"Go on, after them, moron!" Chara shoved Frisk for the hundredth time that day and before they knew it they were chasing after MK- while most likely being chased down themself- they didn't have enough time to look. MK was fast for a short little monster with no arms to balance them, so when they did inevitably slip on the ice and snow they slid faster and farther than a marble on a smooth, flat surface.
Flowey shrieked in frustration as MK face planted and skid five fee across the ground, whilst Chara just snorted in the back of Frisk's mind. Frisk rushed over and held an arm out to help them up only to remember they had no arms to grab onto them with, so the moment before they looked up they quickly shoved their hand into the pocket as Chara let out another snort, entertained by their slight embarrassment.
"You- why are you following me, human?!" MK rolled over and used their tail to push themself back into a standing position.
"They're your new alliance," Flowey had lost his fake chipper tone.
"What?! I don't need them as an alliance! They're a liability if anything- do you know how many monsters would love to get their claws on them? I already have the canine unit on my back as is!"
"Well that's just TOO DAMN BAD. Keep going, or I will force you to eat the dust of your dead grandmother."
"Isn't he a riot?" Chara nudged Frisk's shoulder.
"I think he'd rather start a riot..."
"Ugh, fine! This is so lame!" MK puffed up his cheeks. "Human, if you get me killed, I'll beat you up so bad even Undyne would be impressed!"
MK's threat was followed by a high pitched yelp as Flowey smacked them with a vine. "You can't kill anyone if you're dead, idiot."
Another howl sounded off in the distance.
"Follow me, human!" MK slapped their tail into Frisk's hands. Since you're so slow we're going to have to use stealth. We can sneak around the outskirts of town and make a run for the inn. I have a friend there so we can probably hide you for a night or two."
"MK, what the hell are ya doin'?!"
"H-hey.." MK coward under the gaze of a purple-ish rabbit monster, frozen in place from where they had been ushering Frisk through a hole in the wall. The two had spent ten minutes slowly creeping around the town and avoiding the gazes of everyone who was out and about, the most notable being the dog monster who wore sparkling armor.. They all looked way more out together than everyone else Frisk had seen. Speaking of which, this rabbit monster was also dirty and frazzled, but not as much as Toriel was. Thank god for that.
"I told ya not to come in 'ere while the dogs are on your ass! Who are ya smugglin' in?!" The rabbit hissed before grabbing MK by a spike and yanking them up from their crouched position.
"Ow, ow, OW! Y-yo, calm it, lady!" They were abruptly dropped. "I-I just need a place to hide my... Friend. Please, let them hide here for a little bit? I'll leave and come back once the unit is gone, I swear!"
"And why's this "friend" of yours need hidin'?" The rabbit crossed her arms. "Last time I checked, you didn't have a single friend in the underground." She squinted and stared in Frisk's eye for a second before staring at their exposed skull. "What's this thing anyways? Some sorta strange skele'on?"
"Uh..." MK gulped and glanced back at Frisk as they finally stood. "Something.. Like that.. I- see their shirt? It's got stripes, so- so they're a kid, like me! They have no one to protect them right now so they need to hide!"
"Parents dusted then?"
"...Sure." Flowey smacked MK on the cheek with a vine.
The rabbit groaned and ran her hand through her matted fur. "I swear, if this is some capital exile-"
"They're not! Please, please just do it!"
"Fine!" The rabbit growled, "but if the dogs come lookin' for 'em and gets my family in trouble I'll kill ya, y' hear?"
MK nodded quickly.
The rabbit turned to Frisk. "Ya speak at all?"
"..."
"Good."
Frisk had been placed inside a storage closet on the second floor.
"Room's for paying guest's only." Fair enough.
Said paying guests were screaming their lungs off.
"-ALL YOUR DAMN FAULT!"
"P-please- stop!"
"Give that back you thief!"
"OVER MY DUST!"
"PLEASE, THE CHILDREN!"
Crash!
Bang!
Shatter!
"KEEP IT DOWN UP THERE OR I'M BOOTIN' YA ALL OUT!"
Silence fell over the inn for all of three seconds until the couple staying in the room closest to Frisk's closet decided they might as well call the inn keeper's bluff.
A man could be heard screaming at a woman who was sobbing and pleading her heart out, the sound of glass shattering and wood splintering as it hit the wall followed every word or two out of his mouth.
"I TOLD YOU-"
"P-please-!"
"Chara-"
"Shhh, it's getting good."
"But-"
"Zip it!"
"..."
As another object hit the wall, Frisk wondered when they would be out of there.
MK silently slipped through the front door of their house once they were certain the dogs had already double checked for them there. As always they were welcomed by the sobbing of his mother and the reek of alcohol, their father nowhere to be seen.
As per usual she didn't look up from where she was hunched over the kitchen counter as MK shouted a greeting to her. That was fine. They had things to do anyways, and so they marched right up to their room.
MK never felt like they were truly a part of the family. Being born with no arms wasn't normal for the type of monster they were, and was seen as a huge disadvantage in a world like theirs. A huge weakness.They weren't expected to live so long, thus why he never actually got a real name. His parents just scribbled down the first thing that came to mind: Monster Kid.
That was fine though! They managed to make themself a cool nickname out of it- one that even Undyne called him once! MK may hate most of the Royal guard, but they couldn't help but adore Undyne after she saved him once! That was before he met Flowey. They were corned by a bunch of teenage monsters in watervall, then all of a sudden Undyne swooped in a dusted them all!
(She had said it was because they had been messing with the guard for too long, but they liked to believe she did it to save them. After all, it felt nice to have someone save him when no-one, not even his own parents, would.)
MK had been playing pranks and gathering dust to gain the guard's attention for years now, just for the chance to speak with Undyne again- she was a very busy fish after all. Those who worked for the capital had to be.
The capital is where King Asgore and all the rich monsters lived (minus Undyne because she's too cool for a prissy place like that!!! Oh, and the royal judge since their identity had to stay top-secret or... Something.) Life in the capital was said to be peaceful and easy, never having to lift a finger for anything. After the king's children died, all the other areas of the underground were left to fend for themselves, and for a decade the capital secluded itself.
All the power from the core was rerouted to the capital. Monsters grew angry, concerned, and scared. No one knew what was happening, or why the king had turned his back on his subjects in such horrid times, or why the queen abandoned them completely...
Then the Frenzies came.
Where mass amounts of monsters all experience hallucinations, paranoia, delusions, etc, all at the same time.
It soon became a kill or be killed world.
When the power returned and the royal guard rose from the ashes the capital had tried to get everything under control.
But it was too late.
And the Frenzies never stopped.
For some reason though, the Frenzies never affected the royal guard. Or MK.
...
Was he forgetting something?
THE HUMAN-
Lotuscandy_trap on Chapter 1 Wed 18 Dec 2024 06:49PM UTC
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kD127K on Chapter 1 Wed 18 Dec 2024 07:46PM UTC
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Bogos_Bint3d on Chapter 1 Thu 19 Dec 2024 06:20PM UTC
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Lotuscandy_trap on Chapter 1 Thu 19 Dec 2024 11:54PM UTC
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ClosetedPringlesCan on Chapter 1 Sat 21 Dec 2024 01:07PM UTC
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Lotuscandy_trap on Chapter 1 Sat 21 Dec 2024 06:40PM UTC
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