Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Long ago, two races ruled the Earth. HUMANS and MONSTERS.

Fearful of the magic monsters held, poor relationships festered, and a mighty war broke out.

Monsterkind’s hopes and dreams were shattered.

But then…

A blessing came upon them. By luck, they managed to slay a human. The monster who fell them took the soul as his own.

His power bolstered. His form changed. He was something greater than both.

At first, he slaughtered the human opposition. His hatred was so pure that he shattered their souls without a second thought.

But the more he killed, the heavier his mind weighed. Soul burdened by the human he absorbed, he granted them MERCY.

The monster gave himself up to the army of humans. The monster’s greatest weapon was put to death.

Demoralized, and few in numbers, the monsters surrendered. They wanted to fight, but the risk was too high.

Seven of the greatest human magicians sealed the monsters underground with a magical spell.”

Many years later…

MT Ebott.

Legend says that those who climb the mountain never return…
—-----------------------------

A child awakens, dazed and confused on a bed of golden flowers. A slight wince escapes their lips as they embrace their newfound consciousness. Looking down at their knee, it had suffered a deep scrape. Reaching into the pocket of their sweater, they pulled out a bandaid and gingerly applied it to the stinging wound. The dull pain persisted, but at least dirt wasn't free to make its home in the cut. Eyes drifting downwards, they admired the plants beneath them. Or, rather, the ones not crushed beneath their fall. Plucking a single flower from the ground, the child placed it upon their ear. Without a mirror, they hoped that it looked alright in their hair. It felt aligned, pedals facing out, face pointing slightly upward.

Looking around themselves, the room containing these plant beds was odd indeed. Through the entrance of the mountain, they somehow found themselves in what seemed like a building…The natural light from above scarcely illuminated the interior, but they could tell slightly red concrete bricks made up the walls, though the wall directly behind them seemed to be naturally occurring rock. It appeared that the room was built around this dead end. Ahead, an open doorway which led into pitch black, save for what appeared to be another door on the other end with bright light seeping between the cracks.

Without skipping a beat, the child sprung to their feet. Some, in a circumstance where they are stranded in unfamiliar territory, might stay put and pray for help. The youth who had suffered this fall was not one of these people. One might call them proactive. Another may call them reckless. But no matter what you call them, it mattered not. They would not stand idly by. Buildings mean civilization, and civilization means people. People would provide refuge and an exit, surely.

Entering the dark room, torches on either side of the eastern and western walls sprang to life. Their pale blue flame revealed a few feet of ground for the child to follow. Now and then, more torches would activate. By the time they reached halfway through the room, it was practically lit completely. The far wall was still dim, but vague features could be made out. A rectangle seemed to stick out. A sign? A plaque? A geometric shape simply placed there for the sheer joy of it? The mystery of it all was a source of great elation. Picking up their pace, the child failed to take heed of a vine on the ground. Their shoe caught on the vegetation, and they nearly had a meal of dirt and concrete. Luckily, throwing their arms out to the side and flailing them wildly somehow led to them regaining their balance. The perpetrator of this foot-based malfeasance led to more of the gorgeous golden flowers from before.

At the center of the patch was a wilted one, much larger than the others. Such a terrible shame. The rest of the plant life so far had been pristine, cared for with such deliberate love and affection. Maybe it wasn't too late? The child thought that perhaps they could find some water and nurse this miserable foliage to health. It was the least they could do to assist whatever skilled gardener provided such a lovely view in an otherwise bleak place. They resolved to take a closer look and see what the poor thing needed to make a comeback. Strangely, though, they swore as they drew closer that the flower was moving. Not towards or away, up or down, but…it must be their imagination, though.

As their shoes dug into the dirt of the mound, again the flower moved. It DEFINITELY moved! It was…shaking? No, it was more than that. It was overflowing with trepidation. The botanical first aid this thing needed was more severe than one could have ever thought possible. The child practically broke out into a sprint. They reached out to touch the flower, and then…!

“S-Stop!!” The flower jolted his wilting face up to stare back at their assailant. Face, as it were, was an apt description…he had eyes and a mouth to boot. That in mind, their petals almost resembled hair with this revelation. Dingy hair, pointing downward with holes and tears in it, but hair all the same.

The world began to flash. Quite literally, in fact. Everything went dark for a moment. It was as if they were in an entirely new location, and yet they could both feel the surroundings of the room they were just in. It was as if they were in two places at once. Before the child was a…box? A red-bordered box. It seemed almost transparent, and yet so very tangible. A name was in the box. “Flower”, it read. The color of the text was the same deep red as the border. Below the box were words, each gifted a border of their own.

[FIGHT]

[ACT]

[ITEM]

[MERCY]

They were snapped back to reality as their hopeful new friend shouted for their attention. As opposed to their golden and green appearance before, they strangely seem changed now. All black and white. Behind them was darkness.

“J-just stay away from me! I’ll f-fight back, you know!”

The poor creature was petrified, their stem looked more like a plucked guitar string, shaking with total fear. Why would it have any expectation of hostility? Then, it struck the child. The flower in their hair…maybe it was their brother? A friend?...or maybe unrelated entirely, but still a sign that the human was an enemy to flower-kind.

Fighting was beyond their desires. They couldn't imagine hurting something so defenseless. Instead, they reached out to the box that read “ACT”.

It was odd. All of this was new and alien, and yet the youth felt they could intuit how this “system” functioned. As they pressed the button, the box filled with text. Amazingly, the text seemed to probe the child's mind. All the things they wished they could do to show this flower they meant no harm was present. This clearly wasn't a preset of options. It seemed like the child’s thoughts and feelings were being interpreted in a way that could be used in this “fight”.

First, they clicked an option called “Check”

“???: ATK:? DEF:? Your new best friend, if you can convince them you're not their worst enemy”

Then, they reached out again. They think they knew the perfect gesture. They selected an option named “Gift”.

They reached into their hair, pulling the flower out from behind their ear. They crouched down and offered it as a sign of friendship. The flower stared back, fear starting to reside, and shock beginning to take over.

“...W-what?”

Their name was changed. Now, it was a lovely yellow color. On a hunch, the child touched an option called “Spare”.

“You're…sparing me?” The flower looked pensive. Lost in thought. “Golly, no one ever spared me before!” They seemed excited now. A smile adorned their face. “You…you're so…so…”

The child anticipated praise, a sense of pride already filling up in their chest for them to puff out and walk with confidence.

“So…stupid!”

Their sense of pride took a slight hit, though their self-confidence couldn't be so easily destroyed by one comment.

“That was rude, wasn't it? I'm sorry.” The flower offered, their remorse seeming genuine. “It's just…around here? That kind of…well, kindness? It's only gonna get you killed. Even someone as weak as me could take advantage of this moment…but you know what?” Looking at the ground for a moment, then looking back up at their new…friend?

“No.” They smiled again. “I'm DONE with that cycle. You're interesting. You must not know where you are, showing MERCY. Let's start over, okay? Howdy, I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower!”

“I'm Frisk.” They chirped back. They really didn't know what Flowey was talking about, but they were pleased to see their relationship was now approaching friendly. Even if their new friend DID talk about weird stuff. The name in the so-called “battle box” changed. “Flower” became “Flowey” to reflect the new information provided.

“Frisk, huh? Nice name, kid. Like search and frisk, right?” Frisk merely nodded in response.

“Look. You obviously need help, don’cha? A poor little kid lost and afraid. You need a guide! Lucky for you, little ole me knows the underground like the back of my stem!” Flowey seemed quite perked up compared to before. It was as if new life had been breathed into him after what felt like years of neglect.

“What we’re in right now is called a ‘fight’! Normally, after you “Spare” a willing enemy, the fight ends! But I'm gonna keep us here a little longer, okay? Don't worry! I just need’ta show you some stuff!”

A white pellet appeared above his head, spinning in place as he spoke. Once this magical pellet was revealed, Frisk saw a red heart appear inside the box, and said box had grown much larger. It was a veritable arena now.

“Do ya see that? That red heart? That's your SOUL! The very culmination of what makes you, you! Monsters love souls, ya know…so this is a pretty dangerous place for you! You'll need to know how to dodge attacks. Try dodging this one!”

Flowey sent the pellet flying at the SOUL. Still absorbing all of the information being thrown at them, Frisk neglected to dodge the attack. As it collided with the heart, a sharp pain shot through their body. The pain was strong, but lasted only a fleeting moment.

“Not so quick on your reflexes, huh pal? Golly! You're pretty lucky to run into me, ya’know that? Any other monster in this place would be having SOUL al la Frisk by now! I'll slow it down so even you can follow this time.”

A new pellet appeared above the golden flower’s head, this time rotating tauntingly slowly. At a glacial pace, it careened towards the soul once more. Having gotten their bearings sorted, they discovered moving the soul was as simple as a thought- a desire to move in any direction. A bit more inconvenient than the somewhat subconscious systems involved in moving a body, but with a quick reaction time that would seldom prove an issue.

“Super job, kid! Now you're moving! Keep that up and you'll do fine. Juuuust fine! You already know how to ACT, so I wanna teach you how to fight! If you wanna survive down here, you NEED’ta fight. That might be hard for a bleedin’ heart like you, but I believe in you! Go ahead, take a swing.”

Frisk hesitated. They didn't want to hurt a new friend, that seemed…counterproductive. Besides which, they felt like a flower would be easily torn apart by any blow they could deal.

“Work with me here, kid! I'm trying to HELP you! Look-”.

Flowey quickly burrowed into the dirt, completely submerging himself before popping back up into view. “I'll dodge it! No worries, right? Now FIGHT me!”

As long as Flowey dodged the attack, they supposed that it would be okay to use the FIGHT button. Reaching out and pressing it, a sort of game initiated. A timing-based one. A line crossed through the box, overlapping an oval with a blank rectangle in the middle. Touching the box as the line passed through the middle seemed the right course of action, so Frisk did just that. Doing so caused Frisk to attack Flowey, who burrowed underground to avoid it.

Resurfacing, he looked almost proud of Frisk. “Great job, Kid! Your first FIGHT! Bravo! More of that is what we wanna see! Alright. You know ACT, you know MERCY, you know FIGHT…ITEM is all that's left! You don't have any right now, but I think you get the idea! Wanna use something in battle? Click ITEM! Easy peasy! You're a certified fighter now, pal!”

The darkness of the battle faded, and the room they had started in was once again clear. The feeling of being in this room, and yet being in another place entirely was truly bizarre. One had to wonder if they could truly get used to it.

“Alright, how are we feeling? Got your bearings? Ready for adventure? Et cetera Et Cetera?”

In response to this question, Frisk merely offered a thumbs up, hand held out as far as they could reach.

“...riiiiigghht. Not big on talking? Good. Mindless prattle will get you killed anyway. I guess it's time for you to get a move on! But hey, I promised to be your guide, didn't I?” Flowey ducked underground once again, and popped out of the floor close to the wall. Next to him was a backpack, completely empty.

“You're gonna love this, trust me. Take this bag and shovel it with dirt!”

Frisk offered a single salute, and then plucked the bag from the floor. Taking it to the mound of soil the golden flowers were buried in, they filled it about halfway, leaving some room to keep things on the surface of the dirt if need be.

“Perfect! Okay, are you watching? This is gonna be great!” Flowey once again went subterranean, but through some miracle, popped out of the dirt in Frisk’s backpack.

“Cool trick, huh?” The cocky plant smirked. Frisk clapped enthusiastically, a wide smile planted square upon their face.

“I was gonna just follow you around, but that seems like a lot of trouble, right? That dirt from that mound? It's not normal! Well, not anymore. It's been gifted a bit of magic by yours truly. “Flowey punctuated his sentence with a wink and playful sticking out of his tongue. “As long as I'm nearby, I can get from the ground to your bag, no problem! I’d prefer not to deal with the mouth breathers here, so…you'll be my chauffeur!”

Frisk held their arms out as if holding a steering wheel, and tried to imitate the noise of an idle engine of a car ready to go at a moment's notice.

“Okay. Great.” He frowned. Second thoughts filled his mind. Was he really about to set out across the entire underground with a nearly mute child that for all he knew only had the capacity to speak their name and nothing more? He had said it was good they tended towards silence, but secretly Flowey hoped to be able to converse with someone again. Looking beyond that, though, their eagerness and childlike wonder toward the world could easily serve as incredible entertainment. He would treat it like a game! How long could Frisk maintain their positive attitude when they saw how truly destitute the underground could be?

“Well, enough dawdling. Rev up your engine, kid! I'll be around.” Flowey used a vine to close the backpack over top of his head, burrowing into the dirt within. He could do without all the noise, but at least there would be SOMEONE in these bleak ruins with an ounce of optimism in their SOUL.

Marching onward, Frisk set out, pleased with themselves at already making a brand new buddy within moments of becoming trapped in a new place. Thinking about it, it sounded more like a silver lining than an actual achievement, but it made them happy nonetheless. Finally they made it across the room to see the plaque next to the exit.

“Please do not disturb the flowers!” Beneath the text was a small smiley face. It sort of resembled a goat of some sort. The message was not worth the build-up in Frisk’s mind. They simply shrugged and moved on. Not every mystery can be a winner.

Pushing the door open with a loud creek, the true entrance of these ruins were revealed. Made of the same red bricks as the previous rooms, Frisk found themselves in a much more spacious and open room. Two more beds of flowers, this time with red and white plants, sat between two staircases leading deeper in. Heading to the staircase, suddenly something shot out from Frisk's peripheral. It leaped at them!

Once again, the world went dark. The same box as before appeared.

“Froggit attacks you!” The text read. The Froggit in question was some sort of monster. Its name revealed much of its appearance by itself- he definitely had a frog-esque appearance. A stout nose and beady eyes, hunched in a squat. Strangely between their legs seemed to be another creature. It had eyes and a mouth of its own. Or maybe not. Maybe Frisk needed glasses. The ribs of this monster were visible, and he had a certain desperation and hunger behind his eyes.

Frisk “checked” them.

“Froggit: ATK: 6 DEF: 5

This amphibian is always looking for its next meal!”

Suddenly, a swarm of flies appeared, surrounding Frisk’s soul. The insects deftly followed their movement, attempting to cut them off by moving just in front of them. Luckily, the starved monster’s magic wasn't up to snuff, and their movements were sluggish enough that dodging them was relatively simple.

Froggit’s hungry eyes followed the movements of the flies, ignoring their opponent entirely. They locked on to one flying just below Frisk's soul. In an instant, their tongue shot out! Taken off guard, the appendage rammed the small, red heart. The flies dispersed, and damage was dealt to the soul. Pain coursed through them for a moment, but Frisk held themselves together and it faded rather quickly.

Preparing for their next turn, Flowey poked his head out of the bag ever so slightly, peering out from the flap of fabric to get eyes on the situation.

Frisk was ready to ACT. They had a good feeling about how to win him over. However, before they could do so, the emaciated monster was sent reeling. A fireball knocked them away and into the red-bricked wall. The figure who opened fire approached, blue flame in hand as she prepared to finish the job. She was a tall monster, clad in white fur. When Frisk thought of it, they looked a bit like the goat from the sign they had read a few moments before. She wore a red crop dress jacket with a golden trim, and an embroidered logo on the shoulder. It pictured a sun with two wings on either side, presiding above three triangles, one of which faced down below the other two. The elegant black dress she wore went all the way to her feet, and on the sides from just below her hips to the hem was a gradient fabric that gradually went from red to a brilliant royal purple. Upon her head sat a tiara, fitted with a large ruby at its largest point.

“How pathetic… a fully grown monster seeking to torment a poor, innocent child. Do not worry. I shall end your misery shortly.” She declared. lifting her arm above her head, the inferno on her palm flickered wildly as she sought to turn poor froggit into nothing more than dust. To her shock, the child she sought to protect threw themselves before her, arms outstretched as if to protect her target.

“Eh…? What is the meaning of this, my child? You seek to protect that which was just attempting to destroy you? Foolish.” she scoffed, though her tone betrayed her intent and was laced with an underlying concern. This interaction was counted by this world’s strange system of battle to be the goat’s turn, and so Froggit took the opportunity given to him, and ran from the battle.

Frustrated, she cast aside her flames, which dissipated into the air. Though for the faintest of moments, Frisk swore they saw a smile. But quick as it came, it was replaced with a scowl.

“I do not know where you THINK that you are. But around this place, MERCY does not get you far. Many monsters are simply too selfish to benefit from grace, my child.” Sighing, she bent a knee to bring her closer to eye level with Frisk.

“That is neither here nor there, though. My name is Toriel. Could you please tell me yours?” Her expression softened a bit as she placed a hand gently upon their shoulder. Her eyes were fierce, but not those of one who enjoyed hurting others. They suffered from bags underneath them, though it was unclear if from age or a lack of sleep. Perhaps both. Frisk told her their name without skipping a beat.

“Frisk? I see. It is a very nice name.” Toriel stood up from her squat, clasping her hands out in front of her body. “I am the guardian of these RUINS. I must apologize for the inhospitable reception you have received… Please understand. The underground is suffering from many problems at the moment. Many of the citizens have turned to unscrupulous living to get by in their lives. I do not judge them, but I must protect those who attempt to live their lives honestly and without violence. Hahahah…ironic, is it not? To protect the people of this place against violence, I must commit myself to a life of violence.” A bitter note tinged her last statement. The reality of this world was beginning to set it to Frisk, though it did little to dissuade their optimism in being able to make friends down here.

“Moreover, as guardian, I wish to inform you that there is a place, in the center of these RUINS, that is safe. At least, as safe as one can be in these trying times. However, only those that are strong enough to get there may call it their home. I saw you fighting, my child. You did well for such a young one. Do not feel shame at being hit. A Froggit’s tongue is deceptively fast, and twice as strong as it is quick. Let me heal whatever wounds it may have caused.”

Holding a hand out, magic flowed out from it. Frisk felt themselves renewed once more, fresh and rejuvenated from the battle they had just fought.

“If you can learn to FIGHT your enemies, you will have no issue arriving at my home. Follow the puzzles ahead of you. It will take you where you need to go.” Toriel stepped up the stairs to the room, ready to set out through the entrance into the depths of the RUINS. She turned her head one last time, and uttered a final grim warning.

“Frisk. I am being most serious when I say this. The weak have no place in the underground. It is KILL or be KILLED in this world. You will receive no help from me. Please understand that our meeting here was nothing more than me fulfilling my duties as guardian. I bid you safe travels. “

With that, she was off. Flowey used his magic to leave the backpack, popping out of the ground at the base of the stairs. He stared out at the doorway, as if expecting Toriel to return at a moment’s notice. After a few moments, that had not come to pass. He frowned, eyes drifting downward. Frisk plopped down onto the floor next to him, criss-crossing their legs and tilting their head in a show of empathy. Picking up on this, Flowey’s smile returned, and he looked back up at his new best friend.

“Y’know, Frisk. She’s acting awfully strange today!” he burrowed back underground, popping up at the top of the stairs as if to beckon Frisk up them. “Well, actually, that’s how she usually acts. But not with kids! She’s cold and distant to everyone, but she always opens up to those little tykes. Though, I haven’t seen a kid down here in quite a bit. Maybe her maternal instincts have dried up?” Flowey laughed at his own joke, even though their human companion didn’t seem to get it. They were still seated at the bottom of the stairs, thinking about everything that had happened in such a short time. Their parents would NOT be thrilled that they already got into two fights today.

“Anyways, ignore my ramblings! You know your best pal Flowey, always running his mouth! I’m sure she’s just having an off day, that’s all.” In an instant, he made his way back into Frisk’s bag. “She was right, though. Like it or not, monsters down here like to brawl. If you don’t learn to protect yourself…well. Just don’t be a pushover, alright kid?”

Frisk stood up from their spot, and climbed up the staircase. Peering into the corridor, they considered what came next. Get to the home of Toriel, that was their current goal. Maybe she could help them more when they arrived. She seemed nice enough, and she said her duty was to help the people of the RUINS. At this moment, Frisk was certainly a person trapped inside the RUINS, so they must be included. They steeled themselves to press onward, unsure of what was to come.

Chapter Text

Walking amid the RUINS, one thing became abundantly clear to Frisk. Monsters seemed deeply fascinated with puzzles. Deadly puzzles, to be exact. Frisk had been left to wander by themselves through this gauntlet. Swinging blades, flames shooting from walls, and spikes protruding from the ground all threatened to cut their life frightfully short at any moment…Although, perhaps that was giving too much credit to the traps being laid. They clearly had deadly potential, but they were often too slow or too meandering to pose a threat to Frisk truly. It could have been from a lack of maintenance. Based on what the kindly old Toriel said, these parts of the RUINS were not used by monsters very much. At least, not monsters that she would consider civilized, so to speak.

Flowey remained within the bag during these puzzles. He had been concerned at first, of course. A little kid trying to navigate the deadly puzzles of a mad woman who thought she was just protecting everyone that she could… but after seeing that first trap sprung, seeing that first blade move towards them so slowly that Frisk simply sidestepped it and completed the puzzle in the meantime, his fears were assuaged.

(Did the old lady lose her edge? This is good for us, but still…just yesterday a fresh hole was put right through my pedals from one of those pesky spike traps!)

Flowey pondered to themselves. However, he tried not to dwell on these thoughts too long. It was never wise to look a gift horse in the mouth, especially in a life-or-death scenario. Snapping himself back to reality, he hoisted himself up out of the backpack, peering over Frisk's shoulder.

“What do we have, kid? We coming up on any more of those ‘scary’ puzzles?”

His words were laced with sarcasm and a tinge of venom towards the booby-trapped tomb they wandered within.

Frisk nodded their head and pointed forward. The twosome has entered a chamber with three doors. One on the left, one on the right, and one dead ahead of them. The center door had a crumbled statute next to it. The only clear pieces were that of a Trident and one of its head. The face seemed similar to Toriel’s. Vaguely goat-shaped, clad with horns and a crown. But this goat’s horns were much larger, and he was sporting a beard. At least, it seemed like a beard. It was hard to tell when it was half obscured by rubble.

The statue on the right seemed to be of Toriel herself, though her attire seemed different. It was a robe, though the red-marbled statue didn't reveal much detail beyond that. One detail that they DID notice, however, was that the symbol Frisk spotted on her current outfit was front and center on the chest of this one. She had one hand crossed over her heart, the other outstretched and reaching towards the other two statues.

The figure on the left was of a third goat, smaller than Toriel for sure. The scale was hard to figure out when the sculptures stretched to the chamber's roof, but calling this one a child compared to Toriel seemed appropriate. The kid sported what seemed to be a striped shirt, though said stripes on the statue had heavily faded to time. Frisk deeply approved of this attire choice, regardless. The child held its arms out as if beckoning the other two statues to embrace it in a hug. A pillar stood in the center of the room, baring a plaque. Frisk ran their finger along the plated tablet as they read the words under their breath.

A kingdom requires three things to allow her citizens to shine.
1.)Shoulders that bear the pain and trials of her people, freeing them of burden
2.)A heart that hears the needs and prayers of her people and soothes their SOULs
3.)An heir that carries the HOPES and DREAMS of all monsterkind, to maintain their spirit

Flowey popped out of the dirt beside Frisk’s feet, calling out for their attention.

“Hah! The person who wrote that trite was a real blowhard! Hee hee hee…lucky for you, I’ve done this puzzle a hundred times. When you know the solution, it kinda takes the fun out of it, of course.” Flowey thought for a moment before speaking once more.

“Hey…how about I let you give it a shot? If you can’t do it, your best friend Flowey will bail you out! But I wanna see how a fresh pair of eyes handle the task!”

This chamber led into the deep RUINS, and was distinct in that it never changed. Most people either never make it this far, are escorted by Toriel, who can simply disarm the puzzles, or have never bothered to leave her little safe haven to come to the no man’s land in the first place. Due to that, there wasn’t a convincing reason to bother altering the solution. Of course, that meant that the traps in this room were possibly less flaccid than the ones previously encountered.

Next to the pillar that held the sign Frisk was reading, a yellow light began to emanate from the floor.

Perfect! If the kid gets themselves killed before I can play the hero, I’ll just RELOAD!” He thought to himself.

He stretched a vine out from beneath the ground, touching the light with it. A soothing feeling permeated his whole being, and he was presented with a menu. The time he spent in the underground, as well as his location, were both listed. Beneath that was the option to SAVE. He selected this option, willing it to be so with his thoughts. There was silence for a moment…then he saw a harsh, bold, yellow text.

[SAVE FAILED]

If Flowey had blood, it would have just run cold as the color drained from his face.

(Save failed?!)

What did it mean his save failed? He was furious. He was scared. He was confused. This system was the only reason he managed to stay alive for so long! Whenever a monster stronger than him came along, or whenever he made a choice he just felt was wrong, this was his fallback. The ability to SAVE his location in a place and time, and LOAD back into it whenever he pleased…gone. Was this punishment? Did some divine being figure out his secret and decide that he needed to return to his life of neverending suffering?

While Flowey was busy rethinking his entire life, Frisk took notice of the light as well as the menu that had opened in front of their friend. They squatted down and touched the yellow flickering star themselves. The same peaceful sensation flooded through them, and the menu moved out from in front of Flowey, over to Frisk. Startled, the flower stared in awe. Frisk glanced at the word SAVE…and after a moment, text appeared before their eyes.

[File saved]

Realization washed over Flowey. He had always been the one with this power, ever since he could remember. But until now, Frisk didn’t exist down here. Whatever was special about him that allowed him to SAVE, had been taken over by this newcomer. He tried to load his file. The same issue arose. It failed, just like his SAVE. He tried it again. Failure. Over and over, desperately trying to claim what was rightfully his, he was met with failure after failure. There was no getting around it. His only ace in the hole was gone. Maybe forever.

He stiffened his vines underground, poised to strike out at Frisk. He managed to hold himself back, however. They would just reload their save if he did that. And like it or not, even a human this weak would be able to kill him eventually if they kept throwing themselves into battle over and over. Besides...killing them felt… wrong. Flowey knew how it was down here, how MERCY was a rarity and murder was the only way to be SURE you were safe. Despite that, Frisk showed him genuine kindness. Frisk attempted to be his friend. No one had done that in a long, long time. No. Killing would never be an option, even if they couldn’t just come back. Frisk even protected another monster who had been actively trying to hurt them. Someone like that needed to be in the underground. Either to learn the harsh realities of this world, or to try and make a change in it.

Regaining his poise, Flowey beamed at Frisk once more.

“So you found the SAVE point, huh? That’ll come in handy! Y’see, in the underground bad things happen.” his face tensed up for a moment “...a lot. But with a SAVE point, whenever something regrettable happens you can just undo it! Presto! Then you can try something new! Pretty nifty, huh?”

Making sure they understood the power they held was important…if he wasn’t allowed to use it anymore, he would make sure that Frisk understood their gift and he would make DARN sure that they used it.

“Okay.” They replied.

“O…Kay? Is…is that all you have to say about it?” Flowey was dumbfounded. “Don't you have any thoughts? Opinions? Concerns? Anything?” Without exaggeration, they had god-like powers at their fingertips and they had absolutely nothing to say about it.

“It's cool.” Frisk replied with a small shrug. They truly believed that. They just weren't the strongest at expressing their feelings verbally. Or through facial expressions. Or in pretty much any regard that another person could recognize. Besides that, they hoped that this power wouldn't be necessary. It was a large responsibility for such a small pair of hands.

“...yeah. It's very cool. Just remember! If your best friend Flowey gets hurt, you won't have a guide anymore! So LOAD a SAVE if something happens to me, okay?” Flowey dipped back into the ground and then appeared once again in the backpack. “But never mind that. Let's get on with the puzzle!”

Frisk took a moment to ponder the words of the puzzle. It had a list. Strong shoulders, an open heart, and an heir to the kingdom. Toriel was a caregiver, so she seemed a shoo-in for the heart. The other goat was a child, so they were likely the heir. The door next to the shattered statue probably represented the shoulders that bore the weight of the kingdom. Charging forward, they went through the door in the middle.

In their new environment was a largely empty room, save for a statue in the very back. It was of a large, intimidating-looking man. The features of the statue had been utterly lost, and it was covered in cracks and crevices, ready to give way at any time. His arms were held above his head as if lifting something incredibly heavy. To the side of him was a stone sphere, propped up on an enormous spring. Next to the spring was a tiny coin slot alongside a knob that could be pulled back. Below the slot was a bucket with a note on it.

To whom it may concern; I have left a bucket of G to operate this puzzle! Please do not take more than you need! It would make me…FLIP out! Ha ha ha!
Next to this message was a crude drawing of a pinball machine with a froggit operating it.

Taking a coin from the pail, Frisk slotted it into the coin receiver. The wall behind the statue rumbled and bellowed, parting way down the center to reveal a marvel hidden just behind it- a GARGANTUAN pinball machine carved from stone! Though they were certainly a fan of the game, it didn’t really seem like much of a puzzle, but why argue with a good time? A panel made itself visible just underneath the knob, containing the controls for the flippers of the machine. Pulling the knob back, the spring wound up, and upon releasing it, the pinball LAUNCHED up the tube and into the game board. The sound of the rock rolling around was deafening, like being in a bowling alley with every single lane being used by 10 people each…all at once. Frisk flipped the ball around with the massive flippers, sending it barreling and crashing into the various bumpers. As they did so, they tried to find a solution. Was the goal to beat a score? Or was there something else that needed to be done?

They managed to shoot the ball straight into a hole on the side, and the smooth sphere traveled long a large loop, before spilling back out at the top of the machine. While their eyes were pointed up, they noticed something. Another hole, the perfect size for the ball, blocked by a stone tablet. It seemed like there had been a second one in place not long ago. Perhaps removed when Frisk made it through the tube? Noticing another hole on the other side, they did their best to guide the ball over it with their bumper. It looked good, headed straight towards the entrance…but the hit was too shallow. Not nearly enough power behind the shot. The ball descended rapidly down, straight between both bumpers without so much as a chance to ATTEMPT to save it. For a moment, that was that. But a few seconds passed, and the floor began to rumble. The rumbling got louder, and louder, drowning out anything else in the room until the pinball came bursting out of the wall next to Frisk! It would have flattened them easily, but they felt a vine wrap around their waist, pulling them out of the way- barely. It almost crushed their feet! But as it was, they were unharmed.

“That was close, wasn’t it? Just another reason why you need your best friend with ya!” Flowey winked. Too close indeed. He didn’t even know why he bothered, they could have just LOADED a SAVE…But being crushed to death was hardly a pleasant way to go out. Even someone like Flowey could show a little compassion now and then, after all.

(So she DIDN’T adjust these puzzles…what is she trying to pull here? I guess rigging an entire pinball machine WOULD be a lot of work…) Flowey thought to himself.

Regardless, that was certainly a bout of excitement. Letting Frisk handle the puzzles themself was already paying off in spades in regards to entertainment value.

“You’ve got the right idea, Frisk! Give it another shot, okay?”

For a moment, Frisk’s confidence wavered. That was the first time a trap had come close to ending their life. Their knees were trembling, but they summoned all their courage and stiffened them out. There wasn't any use in letting fear prevent them from moving forward. Bracing themselves, they approached the controls once more. Slipping a new coin in, a ball slid out into the spring chamber. They managed to use the paddles to rocket the ball into the passage, which caused the stone tablet covering up the entrance they needed to guide the ball into to retract. Moments later, they guided it into the goal.

Rumbling through the tunnel, the pinball came out of the bottom of the machine, landing in the hands of the statue of the strong, male goat. With the sphere held up in his arms, he was Atlas, carrying the world upon his own back. The eyes of the statue were illuminated with an eerie red aura. A distant bang reverberated in a different room. Flowey spoke up.

“Bravo! Wonderful job, Frisk! And you only messed up once!” He chided snidely. Chiding that went straight over Frisk’s head and registered as a compliment, which they were more than happy to receive.

“Remember. The next is the ‘heart!’ of the kingdom! This puzzle is so easy a Froggit could solve it, so you've got nothing to worry about. I'll be watching.”

With that, they set off. Frisk glanced at the statue of Toriel before heading into the next room. Was she standing guard over them, or standing at the ready to keep them out? Before they could ruminate on that thought, they heard a commotion from within the chamber of the heart. It was in a bedlam, a conflict brewing between several monsters who had slipped in before them. Perhaps they saw the twosome solving the first puzzle and wanted to get a headstart on the second.

In the room was a nearly solved sliding tile puzzle, that looked to be about one move away from completion. Standing just to the east of it was Froggit, being unfairly menaced by two other monsters they had never seen before. One of them was an orange, round sort of creature, whose main features were an enormous eyeball that took up much of his body’s real estate, and a spikey smile. His upper eyelid was forced half closed by a lumpy purple bruise. One of his two horns was cracked in half. The other monster was a mushy, rotten, wretched-looking carrot with a wicked smile. His body had moldy green splotches on it, and the fronds protruding from his head had become wilted and brown.

“Just finished the dang puzzle, man! Then we can get into deep RUINS and be safe!” The big-eyed monster growled with a raspy voice.

“Then maybe you can finally get a bite to eat!” the carrot cackled.

“Ribbit…ribbit…( I do not want to take someone like you to see Toriel!)”

The pair of miscreant monsters approached the frog with malicious intent. Frisk approached them, their feet crunching yellow and orange leaves beneath their feet. The crinkling attracted the attention of the trio, and the one with the large eye said “...We’ll handle this later.”

With that, a battle had begun.

You catch Loox and Co. picking on Froggit!

Three opponents at one time had not been something Frisk had expected to fight. As a matter of fact, they had hoped they would manage to clear this place without getting into another fight at all, let alone an all-out brawl like this. Somewhat alarmed by this scenario, they quickly chose to ACT.

♡ [Loox] [Vegetoid]

[Froggit]

They selected Loox.

[Check] [Pick on]

♡ [Don't Pick on]

Of the options available, they certainly didn't want to pick on them. He was acting like a big jerk, but they didn't want to stoop to his level. Checking would certainly be pragmatic, but it felt like a waste of time with three people presenting a threat. They decided not to pick on them.

You didn't pick on Loox…but he doesn’t take you seriously enough to care.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever!”

After he finished talking, the battle box appeared, Frisk’s soul right in the center. From the four corners, four worms made of strange spheres came creeping towards the heart. Meanwhile, flies filled up the air all around the box. They flooded in one by one in straight, horizontal lines. Rotten vegetables rained from above during all of this. Potatoes, tomatoes, carrots and more. All of the rot would explain the plethora of bugs coming out to play, it would seem. Despite all of this, Frisk managed to avoid the assault by the haggard horrors that assailed them. All until a single tomato plopped onto them at the very end of the attack. Who knew eating healthy could be so painful?

Vegetoid is fussing over their wilting groceries.

No time to think. Only to ACT. They selected Vegetoid.

[Check] ♡[Dinner]

[Devour]

Perhaps it was against their best judgment, but they WERE feeling peckish…they chose the option of dinner.

You ask Vegetoid to feed you! Their eyes light up!

“I told you guys my greens were still good! ...just eat around the mold, though…”

The same worms and flies still littered the battle box, taking away as much room to run around in as they could from Frisk. But now, some of the vegetables raining down were green. It was a hunch, but…! Frisk moved their soul right into one of the green vegetables. It healed them!...and then immediately hurt them again because of the comprehensive mold colonies that had developed. Science would surely benefit from studying such a dense population of the nasty green stuff. Regardless, it left them no worse off as they avoided the rest of the attacks.

Vegetoid is beaming with pride.

Sure enough, after eating their vulgar vegetables, Vegetoid had a yellow name! Frisk spared them, and they left the battle.

“Traitor! Look me in the eye when you run away!” Loox rambled to himself. His attacks increased in ferocity. A giant fly appeared at the top of the box, occasionally crashing down with a giant exclamation mark warning Frisk where it would land. As it did so, Loox created several spheres that bounced all along the walls. One was about to collide with Frisk when Loox said “Stop!”

After that, the spheres became blue, as did the iris of his eyeball. As if heeding the command, Frisk stopped their soul and the sphere didn’t damage them. It merely passed through harmlessly. But because of this, the fly crashed down upon them, dealing a healthy amount of damage to the poor child. The bar that was marked HP had reached the halfway point by this time of the fight, which seemed to spell trouble if their estimation was correct. They had to think about what would get rid of Loox.

He wasn’t taking them very seriously. It seemed like monsters valued strength above all down here, so maybe…Frisk spotted a branch sitting beneath an old tree that had shed all its leaves and picked it up. Clicking the fight button with their soul, they swung the stick. They matched the timing of the attack to the game the battle system forced them to play. As the attack connected with Loox, they shuddered, and their eye began to water. They didn’t seem to like that very much. A bar appeared above their head and emptied by about half. They continued to bombard Frisk with spheres while Froggit’s flies patrolled the box.

“Go!” Loox screamed out, turning all of the spheres orange, changing his eye to match. This made it much easier for Frisk, though, and they easily passed through them all while deftly avoiding the giant fly that sought to crush them.

You’ve caught Loox’s attention.

Frisk chose not to pick on Loox again. This time, it seemed to resonate more with him. Someone who was clearly strong was showing him mercy. This was…new. He didn’t know how to process that information. He didn’t add any attacks to this turn, which made dodging Froggit’s attacks completely trivial.

Loox doesn’t want to fight anymore…

Frisk spared them as well at this point, leaving just Froggit and themselves in the arena. This was the first person they tried to spare, and now they had their second chance. They ACTed

♡ [Froggit]

[check] [Compliment]

[Insult] ♡[Feed]

Frisk offered to help Froggit finally get something to eat! A green fly followed their soul around, and Froggit’s eyes were glued to it. They kept moving around, looking to get the fly just behind them. When the timing was right, they gave a signal to Froggit to launch his tongue at them. As the muscly appendage shot forth from his mouth, the fly lazily floated in front of it, and got slurped up greedily.

“Ribbit, ribbit… (Thank you. I feel like I’ve regained my senses!)”

Froggit was rather polite for a member of a race bent on destroying humanity. Especially compared to the company he was keeping. Frisk spared them, and the battle ended. The world’s color returned as the battle box faded. Vegetoid had already bailed out, but Loox was still around.

“You’re weird, man! Freaking weird! You could have wiped me out, I could tell by the gnarly wallop you gave me. Then you’re all ‘peace and love, man!’...But you’re also the first monster who hasn’t picked on me in a long time... Okay, fine. I’ll let you off the hook. Let’s go Froggit. We’ll just slip by when they solve the puzzle.” He sauntered off, nursing his wounds as he did so. Frisk didn’t exactly relish whacking him, but it seemed like some monsters down here wouldn’t be convinced without a little playing rough. He tried to hide it, but he seemed grateful to Frisk. In his own weird way. He was also under the impression they were also a monster. Perhaps that was for the best. Froggit hopped towards the exit of the room but stopped to look up at Frisk.

“Ribbit, ribbit. (Thank you for not killing him. He…used to be a better friend. The underground gets to people. I think you reminded him that things didn’t have to be that way, though. )”

With that, he hopped away. Frisk walked over to the puzzle and slid the last piece into place. The image that was created was one of Toriel, offering a pie to a table of young, bedraggled-looking monsters. That was the heart of monsterkind, giving to those who need it, and eagerly giving them things people value, instead of the scraps. Frisk expected Flowey to burst forth and say something about everything that happened but instead was met with radio silence. They checked their bag and poked at the dirt. Nothing…perhaps they left to get help during the fight? They were sure if they went into the third and final chamber they’d spot them sooner or later.

They headed in that direction. Froggit and Loox were nowhere to be seen. Probably hiding, waiting to sneak through after the final puzzle was solved as they said. So Frisk simply walked into the room guarded by the statue of the youthful goat. They were shocked by what they saw. The entire room was destroyed, covered in vines from head to toe. A statue of the goat received the worst of it, practically turned into dust, only recognizable by part of the face and the ears being intact. Flowey was by the exit that would have opened when whatever the puzzle was got completed, huffing and puffing as he forced it open by sheer will. Frisk approached him, their loud footsteps alerting the flower. He shot his pellets at them, nearly missing their head before turning around. He had a sinister and evil-looking smile on his face, which immediately softened into an almost ashamed expression.

“O-oh! Frisk! I’m sorry! I’m used to monsters sneaking up on me to attack! I didn’t mean to abandon you, but you seemed like you had the battle handled! And you’re okay, so it all worked out! I remembered that I uh…forgot the solution to this puzzle! Yeah…I forgot. So instead of riskin’ your life like in the pinball, I uh…took care…of it.” His normal smile returned to his face, and his tone became chipper. “Yep. Your old pal Flowey is just tryin’ta make your life easier, that's all!”

Frisk was obviously a bit skeptical of the claim, but they were right that everything turned out for the better. They nodded at Flowey, and made for the exit. Flowey prepared to join them but glanced back at the ruined statue of the youthful goat once more. He summoned one final vine and squeezed the remains of the face to smithereens before retreating into Frisk’s backpack.

From the exit of this room, they followed a winding path, barely lit up at all. For about 5 minutes in the middle of it, it was practically pitch black. But eventually, they made their way to the other side. And in front of them was a shanty town, filled with makeshift buildings and tents, all stationed in front of a dilapidated but large-looking manor.

“I know it's not a fancy place, but kid? This is the safest place in the RUINS. Now, I think we have a date with a certain caretaker, don’t we?” Flowey said. Frisk stepped onward toward the manor. They made it through all the dangers. Maybe now Toriel could help them get home. Or get them something to eat, at the very least.