AUTHOR'S NOTE (PLEASE READ THIS ONE FOR INFORMATION REGARDING WHAT WILL BE HAPPENING WITH THIS FAN FICTION)
Hey! First I'd like to say hi and thank you for giving this story a go. Secondly, I'm going to give you some rather important information on what's going on with this particular piece.
This fan fiction is originally written as a second person narrative. For those that don't know what that is, it essentially makes the piece a self-insert by using the pronoun "you" etc... rather than "he", "she", "[name]" etc... HOWEVER! Second person narratives are against the rules of this site. I do not agree with this rule, especially in the case of a game like Undertale which encourages you to put yourself in the story, but I will abide by it. As such the original fan fiction will be posted on DeviantArt instead (I've tried to do links and failed, so just search up "Perfection is Always A Soul Away Undertale", with the mature filter OFF, and the narrative should come up).
I will ALWAYS post the link to the original in this section if you would rather read that. Due to the fact that this version of the story is actually an edited one, there is an inconsistency in tense. The original is in complete present tense, while this one switches back an fourth from past to present. I will not be correcting this. It takes a long time to go through and switch the perspective of the narrative as it is. Also, because of this being an edited version, it may be slightly more polished than the original. Occasionally I notice a mistake, and correct it in both versions. Other times, I might add something into this version that isn't in the other, though it's not going to be story-changing. These extra bits will only be to supplement the way the story is written. So, here's what I'd like to see from you if you could be so kind:
No comments about the past/present tense being all over the place, however, if you tell me that the past/present tense is actually causing a grammatical issue somewhere, I will try and correct it.
Spelling mistakes, from either version. It helps me correct both.
Letting me know if a character is going out of character. This does not include Frisk.
Prologue
Frisk sits back against a pillar in defeat. Fresh blood drips from her mouth, her head, arms... Her whole body is burdened with bruises and scratches from rough hits, or near misses from attacks thrown her way. Though, now, Frisk understood that she had made a grave mistake in choosing to simply kill anyone she met. Now, she felt another presence in herself she hadn't noticed before. It was another soul. A malicious soul. Very early in her chosen route, Frisk saw that her actions were doing no good. It was hard to watch monsters turn to dust and blow away in the wind, even if they were the ones that started attacking her. For some reason, Frisk just felt she had to kill them. They had to die. Frisk wished she hadn't caved in to that feeling though. Every Froggit, Vegetoid or Whimsun was another being. A living being. Living beings that she chose to end the life of, even if they just wanted to help her, or if they were too cowardly to attack. Frisk's folly had caught up with her quickly. Once she began killing, it was too late. Frisk decided she wouldn't kill any more. Frisk couldn't cope with seeing things die at your hands. But what she felt didn't matter. Deep inside her, the invading soul was displeased. It took control, and while Frisk tried to fight against it, managing to stall for time to let monsters run, the other soul always had its way. They all died. Every monster died. Toriel died. Papyrus died. Undyne died. Frisk would kill until there was no one left to kill. She killed until everyone hid from her. Frisk intentionally sought out people to kill, and she took pride and joy in slaughtering them. This fight, though, had turned out to be too much. This time, Frisk knew she would die."Good" was her only thought to that. Perhaps to some degree she was afraid to die. That was normal though, right? It was a good thing that she'd die though, right? She'd die, and monsters would be free of her. Though, somehow, Frisk knew in her heart that was just wishful thinking. Frisk knew she was lieing to herself, though not how exactly. Every second of her life Frisk spent trapped inside her own body she would suffer nightmarish visions. Frisk saw what monsters could have been to her: friends. Frisk saw the good times. Then she saw the bad times. Though, all those times were what made them friends. Then dread would wash over Frisk as everything distorted, and she'd remember what she was doing at that moment. Frisk would see the monster she saw being her friend crumble to dust, screaming as she rammed knives into their eyes, and crushed their bones without mercy. If only she could change what had happened. If only they could be her friends. If only she wasn't trapped in her own body, she could reach out to the skeleton attacking her and apologise. But apologies weren't enough for what Frisk had done to him, she knew that and it tore into her soul. At least if Frisk could take control she could defend herself, though that wouldn't be the right thing to do. She was the one who killed the first monster. Ultimately, it was Frisk's fault everything had turned out this way. If only she could re-do her journey. She wouldn't kill anyone. She'd be kind. She'd do her best to make everyone happy, and even if they remained trapped in the underground, at least they'd still be alive to make good memories and live to see another chance to break the barrier. Something Sans had said seemed to pull at her though. It made Frisk feel like there could be a chance that she could try again. It made her feel hope. It filled Frisk with determination.
Sans stood facing Frisk. His stance was as casual as ever, his hands buried in his pockets after his barrage of bone attacks. "Our reports showed a massive anomaly in the time-space continuum. Timelines jumping left and right, stopping and starting..." He stated, as if it was just normal to hear such declarations. He launched another attack at Frisk, and she came out of it unscathed. He closed his eyes."Until suddenly, everything ends." Frisk felt an ache inside, but her body kept moving, dodging Sans's attacks. She didn't want to fight. Frisk wanted it to stop, but there was nothing she could do. The other soul was in total control. "Heh heh heh..." Sans chortled, then opened his eyes, two dark voids. "That's your fault, isn't it?" Throughout his next attacks, he glanced away.
My fault? Frisk thought. What's my fault...? Well, this horror is but... something about time is my fault?
"You can't understand how this feels." Sans closed his eyes again. "Knowing that one day, without any warning..." He opened his eyes once more, looking upset. However, the smile he always bore remained plastered to his face. It looked strained. "It's all going to be reset." He went on from that, saying he'd given up on going to the surface because he knew that at any time, everyone would just end up right back at the start with no memory of the events that had taken place. This confused Frisk. What was a "reset"? She didn't know. Well, Frisk thought she didn't know. It did seem to evoke some sort of memory, but a cloudy one. A memory where you thought you knew what you were remembering, but you didn't really. It was just ringing a bell. Then, Sans mentioned that he couldn't afford to not care any more, knowing what came next. Frisk wasn't sure what he meant. Did Sans know more than her? Did he know something about the future? It must be a bad future. It was already bad. Frisk prayed to any God out there that all of this would just end.
Sans stood at a distance from Frisk. He was safe at a distance. Even if her body leapt up, it'd take too long to get close enough to attack him. His magic would get Frisk before her knife could get him. With the determination she felt welling up in her soul, Frisk knew she had to do the right thing now. This was all wrong. Frisk smiles wearily, forcing her own consciousness into her body with all the might she could muster. "Sans..." Frisk croaked, not having the energy to even lift her head to look at him. Her body hurt. The taste of blood drowned her mouth. Her soul felt like it was getting ripped apart. It hurt so much, though pain wasn't an unfamiliar companion anymore. She knew it well. Sans seemed a bit taken aback. Frisk didn't speak much, she guessed he didn't think she would ever utter a word, especially not at the end of their fight. Honestly, he was probably just relieved to be alive. He had won. Frisk knew she'd have felt that way if their places were swapped. She knew she'd have been terrified to face the bloodthirsty monster she'd become. She'd have been sure she was going to lose. His eyes just darkened, however. Bones scattered across the floor shook, then floated up and encircled Frisk. They seemed to dance in the air, but in a jerky and violent manner. Frisk lifts her head up slightly, her eyes stinging. Am I crying? Frisk wonders to herself. She was too exhausted to think much about it. "Thank you... thank you..." Frisk whispers. She was just happy that in your her moments, she could have control over her body again. Frisk was happy she'd get what she deserved for her sins. She'd get her punishment for murdering innocent people. Frisk was... happy. Sans's attack wavered. Perhaps how genuine Frisk was made him have to think hard about killing anyone himself. How many people has Sans killed... Frisk wondered, he is awfully strong... It doesn't matter. Please Sans... get it over with... don't let this chance go to waste... I'm just a dirty brother-killer, after all. Sans then let out a sigh, knowing what had to be done. Justice had to be dealt. With that in his mind, hands buried deep in his pockets, all of the bones jerked abruptly. They twist and turned, then shot down at Frisk, ripping through her torso. She choked briefly. The strike hadn't killed her, but not even a second later...
[RESET]
[YES]
Frisk let out a long groan and picked herself up off the ground. Her head was spinning. She peered up at the light above. The surface, where she fell from. Home was up there. She was down here. Home... Frisk gripped her head, tears threatening to pour down her cheeks. She felt lost and confused. It was dark. She could barely see. Home... a place where she may never return to, though Frisk didn't even know if she wanted to go back anymore. She had clambered up the mountain for a reason. There was no need to go back. Frisk stumbled forwards, hearing little crunches under her feet. She glanced down, and lifted her foot. Flattened to the ground was a beautiful golden flower. Frisk shifted her other foot. She'd crushed a flower there, too. Frisk observed her surroundings. There was a whole bed of golden flowers around her. It was pretty. Must've grown here because of the light... she analysed, these... these flowers must have broken my fall. Lucky they were here when I fell, or maybe it was fate... to trap me in this... Frisk looked around, seeing nothing but darkness. ...This cavern.
Frisk took a deep breath and readied herself to move on. She began heading forward, fumbling her way through the darkness. Somehow, she didn't quite feel herself. She pondered why, but couldn't think of anything other than maybe hitting her head in the fall. If she was right, Frisk was sure she'd feel better soon. Frisk ran her hands along the wall as she walked to help find the exit of the pit she was in. Frisk stopped, feeling up and down a rather smooth part of the wall. It was vertical, with a shallow trench running up it. Was it a doorway? Frisk poked her head around the corner. The next area was dark too, save for a trickle of light. Where the light touched the ground, there was a patch of grass, and a solitary golden flower. Frisk smiled. How pretty, she thought. Even in such a dark place... the world... has some beauty. Frisk walked forwards, crouching in front of the flower to take a closer look. It would be easier to inspect this one on its own than the large patch of them that all merged together.
"Really, Chara?" The flower sneers.
Frisk gasped, falling back. It spoke! Then she feel her stomach turn. It has a face...
"Something wrong, Chara?" The flower's face changes, gaining too black pits for eyes, and a jagged crevice for a mouth. "Did I scare you? Boo hoo." It chortles. This flower wasn't very nice. Frisk had never imagined that a talking flower would be... mean... or scary. Frisk was sure she was as pale as a ghost. The flower's expression returned to what it was before. "You're being pathetic, Chara. Is this a joke? It isn't funny. You were so close. Why did you screw it up?" Frisk remained silent. What was she supposed to say? She had no idea what this flower was babbling about! Not to mention, Frisk didn't know how to say very many words. Or she just didn't like saying a lot of words. Her vocabulary rarely expanded further than manners. "Well, do what you will!" The flower hisses. It went silent, then grinned. "I'll be waiting for you!" The flower laughed and disappeared into the ground. Frisk remained sitting, trying to process what she just saw. Frisk slowly stood, shaking a little bit. Damn, she felt weak. She was hungry, alone, and afraid. Maybe the flower patch didn't break her fall as much as she thought it had.
Wait... do those flowers speak too?... Did I kill something by stepping on them...?
"Hello... Are you alright?" A soft voice yanked Frisk from her thoughts. "You must be so lost and confused..." Frisk looked up at whoever it was. She felt her eyes go wide. It was... something. It was furry, yet stood on two feet. It wore a robe with some strange picture on it, had little horns on it's head and large teeth in it's jaws, yet on the side of it's head were two very large, floppy ears, so it looked a bit goofy. It reminded Frisk of a beagle, but entirely white, with those ears. Either way, the thing was big. Frisk backed away, her breathing picked up a bit. Whatever it was, it seemed like it could do more damage to her than the creepy talking flower. "Ah, do not be afraid my child." It says. It smiles, looking at Frisk lovingly with deep brown eyes. "I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I pass through here every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come here in a long time. I will do my best to protect you during your time here. Come! I shall guide you through the catacombs." Toriel states, and gestures for Frisk to follow, heading away from her. Frisk hesitates. Toriel looks back at her. "Do you still fear me, innocent one?" Frisk averted her eyes. She felt ashamed to fear them. They seem nice and acted like they had good intentions, but what were they? "Little one, do you know what I am?" Toriel enquires, almost as if she could read Frisk's thoughts. Frisk shakes her head meekly. "I am a monster. Long ago, monsters and humans lived together on the surface. War broke out between our races, though. We monsters were sealed down here..." Toriel looks upset as she very briefly recounts the history of the monsters. She seemed to be thinking. "It is dangerous for a human to be alone in the Ruins. Other monsters may attack you." Frisk panicked again.
Monsters? Attack me? Why? I haven't done anything...!
"So, please, my child. Trust me. I will not attack you. I wish to shelter you, and teach you how to defend yourself and show you how to navigate the Ruins. This is essential knowledge. Do you understand?" Toriel waits patiently for an answer. Frisk nods. While Toriel terrifies Frisk, her gentle tone calms the young girl somewhat. They seemed nice. Frisk also knew she needed to trust someone. Toriel smiles, and offers their hand to Frisk. Or was it a paw? Either way, she took it. Toriel's grip was warm, and despite their size, gentle. Frisk relaxed, and let Toriel guide her to the next room. There, Frisk sees it for the first time. The height of the Ruins. The architecture casts a large, dark shadow over Frisk and Toriel. Perhaps to some it would seem ominous, but for her? This scene filled Frisk with determination.
