Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Maybe it was power. Maybe it was anger. Maybe it was tiredness. Maybe it was all three. Either way the outcome was the same. They chose to do this to us and now they fear us for no matter how skilled a warrior is, when they enter the world that they trapped us in, unknowingly or not, they all end up dead.

I woke up with a terrible pain in my head. Am I dead? I looked at the ground. It was covered in red and yellow flowers. I recognized the red ones as poppies. The yellow ones were ones I have never seen before. 

My name is Frisk. I am 14 years old. My mother's name is...I don’t know.

I was now starting to panic. That was all I can remember. Why did I come down here again? What ever made me want to drop down a hole!?

I looked up and did a double take. I must have fallen through...what exactly? There were stars but they were outlined purple. I have the feeling that something was off. Call it a hunch but what kind of world has yellow and purple stars? Also, how did I survive the fall? Flowers can’t break a fall like that, right?

I got up and checked my inventory. My backpack was ruined and most of my items are gone. I didn’t even have my wooden sword. I have only a cooked steak and nothing else. I did feel hungry but I couldn’t see my hunger bar.

So this world is different! I knew it.

I decided that I need to get going. Who knows what kind of people live here. Maybe griefers? Who knows? It can’t be that bad.

I was clearly in a cave but the stone was weird. As I got closer to it I realized that it was Polished Andesite. That was definitely strange. That means that I am in a building and not a cave. Was it some kind of ruins? 

Some of the blocks were cracked so I assumed that I was in some ruins. Strange thing is that I have never seen cracked polished andesite before. Maybe this is a new building? If so then I may be the very first one to discover it! At least that is something.

“Now how do I get out?”

As soon as I said it I covered my mouth. 

Wait? What am I afraid of? I am alone here. No one is around.

I stopped covering my mouth and started walking deeper in. There were vines and every now and then I swore I saw iron or coal visible in between the andesite. 

This is way better than the surface! Wait a second, I don’t remember what happened on the surface. I have no way to tell if this is better or not.

Either way the sense of adventure was still strong. A whole new world! I can’t wait to discover what secrets this place has to offer.

If only you knew.

    I perked up at the sound of a strange new voice. They sounded kinda like me but older and sounded. They were definitely female.

“H-hello? Anyone there?”

Nothing. I must be imagining things again.

Wait, again? I imagine things?

I really should be worrying about my lost memory but I was too focused on exploring that I didn’t care. What stopped me was when I walked past a purple flower next to an iron ore I saw on a stone block in the middle of the path was a strange thing that I have never ever seen before. It was small and had one large purple eye. It was disgustingly small and worm-like. It looked like a large overgrown maggot. Coming out of it were purple particles. I looked at it and it looked at me. Then it spoke.

"Hello!"

It took me a moment to register what had just happened and when I did I screamed and fell down on my back. The maggot thing’s eye widened then it started laughing. 

“Oh my! The last player that I talked to actually knew what we were! I am going to assume you don’t?”

The thing had a girl’s voice. It was clearly a girl.

“I-i-i-”

I stopped talking and took some time to calm down.

“W-what? I don’t understand?”

The strange girl rolled her one eye.

“Of course you don’t understand. How long has it been? One, two, three, four, fi-...eighty years since the last player fell down? And that wasn’t even the one that I talked to last.”

I could tell right away that she was going to be a jerk to me. There was spite in her voice and while she sounded friendly I could tell that she hated me for some reason. 

“What is a player?”

The girl narrowed her eye.

“A human that isn’t a villager and that isn’t in here. Before they were called players but now only the ones outside of here are called players. Notch and Jeb aren’t.”

“I have a question?”

“What?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

The bug girl made a disgusting hissing noise.

“Never mind that. I am going to tell you a couple of helpful tips, kid.”

Do I want advice from a talking bug?

“Number One! In this world you will be hunted. Mobs will try to kill you. Number Two! You may want to get a weapon. Attacking them won’t end well for you but sometimes you need to attack them. And the Last one! In this world, only the strong survive. I say you won’t last a day outside of the Ruins.”

The bug chuckled to themself.

“See you soon.”

The bug started laughing, a loud and unsettling sound. It was full of malice and I couldn’t help but shiver at it. Then the bug disappeared right in front of my eyes in a purple cloud of what looked like smoke.

Chapter Text

I was now more than a little worried. What are mobs? What was the bug girl talking about? 

You're just wasting time here. Go forward. Get on already Frisk!

Gathering my will I went forward, deeper into the cave/ruins. It must have been a minute of walking but the cave did lead to the front door of a building. The door was large and made of stone but something told me that breaking it was impossible. There was no other way to go forward but through the door. No going around it either. 

“How do I open you?” I asked the door.

I didn’t expect an answer but as soon as I asked it the door swung opened slowly. I stifled a yelp as the door came to a stop and the sound of footsteps approaching reached my ears. 

Gotta hide! 

I don’t know why I felt the urge to hide but I did. 

I hid behind a jut of stone and watched as the person stepped out and into the dim star light. It was definitely a person. He wore brown and tan robes and had a green symbol of a dirt block on his chest. He looked very old, having a white beard and wrinkles everywhere. His eyes were black and while gentle, had a hard edge to them. The person also had a leafy green bandana around his head and wrists and a grey oddly shaped stone at the end of his brown necklace. As he got closer I saw that he has a few strands of pale orange hair. Maybe he had orange hair when he was younger. Whoever this person is they were clearly very old and seemed very important or regal. They walked with a grace, their hands now behind their back and their chin up high. Maybe they were the people that the bug girl was talking about. 

After arguing about it in my head I decided to go and say hi. They looked and seemed friendly enough. I mean, they probably are friends with that bug and if they are friends then who says I can’t be friends with him?

“Hello? Can you help me?” I called out to him as I got out of hiding. The old man seemed to do a double take then calmed himself. He gave me a friendly smile.

“Ah. Hello there young player. You gave me quite the scare. I assume you need help escaping this world?”

Just like the bug this person called me a player. I wondered briefly if this was a good idea but then stopped. I do need help.

“Yes. Do you know where the main world is? Where can I get to a world dock? There must be a world dock around here.”

The old man shook his head gently.

“I’m sorry but there is no world dock. You're in a world that isn’t connected to the other worlds.”

“Then how did I get here? How did you get here?” I challenged.

“I can’t say for sure but I can only assume you fell in or something. I got here because I was exiled and forced to be here.”

Wait. Exiled? That means he is dangerous.

“Ah, don’t fret child. I am dangerous but not in that way. I am skilled in fighting yes but the reason I was exiled was...out of anger or something. I don’t know the reason and since there is no way out I might never know.”

It took a minute to fully understand what he said but when I did I felt my heart stop.

“So there is no way out?” I asked, feeling queasy.

“I’m afraid so.” The old man said solemnly.

“B-but I don’t want to stay here forever!” I pouted even though I knew it was fruitless.

“Well you can’t live in a cave. You can live at my place. It is just through that big door.”
The old man offered me his hand. If I took it I would live with him. If I didn’t I will live in this cave. The choice was obvious. I may not know this person but he was friendly and was giving me a chance. Outcast or not his story seems legit. 

I let out a sigh and took his hand.