X-TALE

Frisk was having one of those dreams where they weren't so sure whether it was real or not. One moment, Frisk was falling down into darkness that only seemed to get darker, but then they found themselves in their backyard. Frisk spotted their friend Sans standing knee-deep in the ocean with his back to them, on the private beach the backyard had. Sans soon turned to face Frisk, smiling at them. Sans held out an arm and beckoned Frisk to join him in the water.

Frisk ran into the water but stopped when they saw a huge, black wave forming behind their friend. Frisk tried to warn Sans but the wave had already engulfed the both of them. Frisk struggled against the force of the wave, and saw that Sans stayed where he was, with his arm still held out for Frisk to grab onto.

Frisk struggled more against the wave, but couldn't reach Sans, and they were forced out of the water and ended up back on the beach. There, Frisk was picked up by their friends Undyne and Papyrus who helped them to their feet. Frisk thanked them, and looked back to the water to see that Sans had vanished without a trace.

That's when everything went dark again.

Dark, darker, yet darker...

Frisk was falling down into the darkness again, panicking as they did. Frisk didn't want to be there, they wanted to wake up and find themselves in their bedroom, maybe find a slice of butterscotch-cinnamon pie on a plate at the foot of their bed. They wanted to see all of their friends again.

Suddenly there was light. Light that glowed from underneath Frisk who looked down to see that they had landed on their feet on some sort of platform. The light glowed behind what looked like a mural depicting Frisk holding what looked like a bizarrely large silver key-shaped sword with a golden handle and a key chain on the hilt that had the symbol of a red heart at the end, along with the faces of all of their friends surrounding them. Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys, Toriel, Mettaton, and Asgore were all there watching over them. Despite being in such a dark place, Frisk oddly felt a sense of serenity here.

"Hello again."

Frisk quickly looked around for the voice they just heard. It sounded familiar, but Frisk couldn't name who owned it.

"It has been a long time Frisk. I never thought I would meet you again."

Frisk called out to the voice, asking for whom it belonged to.

"Me? That is not important right now. Right now, you need my help."

Frisk was about to call out again, but was interrupted by the sound of a stone pillar rising from the platform. Atop this pillar was the same key-shaped sword from the mural.

"You will need this weapon for what is to come. Quick, they will be here soon."

Frisk picked up the sword. Surprisingly, it was wasn't as heavy as it looked and Frisk was able to swing it with ease.

"This is the Keyblade, a weapon of Light used to combat the Darkness. Speaking of which..."

Frisk nearly jumped when a group of small dark creatures with dark claws, dark antenna, and dark yellow eyes appeared from out of the darkness. They twitched with jerky movements as they made their way towards Frisk. One dark creature lunged at the child, who deftly dodged with a roll and put some distance between themselves and the hostile beings.

"I know you're not too keen on fighting, but these things aren't the same kind of monsters that you know." the voice told Frisk. "These creatures will not stop until they get your heart. They have no concept of mercy."

Frisk looked at these dark creatures and hesitated. They voiced their concerns.

"You're worried about gaining Execution Points? As I just told you, these creatures aren't the same as the monsters you know. You will not gain any EXP or LOVE from defeating them. Now quick, defeat them before they take your heart!"

One of the creatures jumped at Frisk with its claws flailing about. Instead of rolling out of the way, Frisk swung the Keyblade at the creature, striking it and sending it back to the darkness from whence it came. After that, the remaining creatures scurried away from sight and the Keyblade vanished from Frisk's hand.

"Good, you're still competent in battle."

Frisk wasn't amused when they heard this, they asked the voice what their deal was.

"Believe me when I say I'm only preparing you for what you're about to face. A storm is coming, and I need you to be ready for it."

Frisk asked again who the suspicious voice was.

"Have you forgotten so easily? After all we've been through? I'm hurt Frisk. I'm sure many others would have caught on by now."

Frisk was about to ask something else but was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a large, ominous door on the edge of the platform. Its immense size and sickly pale grey color intimidated the child.

"It looks like our time together here is up. Go on now, and don't be afraid. You'll be able to open the door..."

Frisk timidly walked up to the door and pushed it open with two hands. The door gave way, and Frisk recoiled when they were engulfed by a bright light coming from inside the door. Frisk covered their eyes and walked inside.

"...and you'll be able to set me free."

END OF PROLOGUE