The Cutting Edge

An Undertale Fanfiction.

created by tashhhh

Boring info:
- This is a fan-based derivative work of Undertale. It is not affiliated with the creators or endorsed by them. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblances to real-life people, places, or brands are a coincidence or a fair-use parody.
- Also posted on Wattpad and on ArchiveOfOurOwn
- Intended as a comic script
- This story will be approximately 40 chapters long.
- All comments and feedback - positive, negative, sweet, spicy, bitter, and sour, are welcome!
- Updates some Fridays.
- This work contains some direct quotations from Undertale, for the purpose of commentary or parody.

On with the chapter content.

1. Frisk gets lost.

UNDERTALE

How shall we play today?

…

→ [True Pacifist]
* The path of Mercy.
A cute little chibi human holding a stick. They wear a dirty bandage on their forehead and a neutral expression on their face.

…

→ [GeNoCiDE]
* The path of No Mercy.
Chibi human dons a maverick grin. Their eyes snap open with a red gleam. As if by a manifestation of their sheer determination to maim and slaughter, the weapon in their hand flickers back and forth between the image of a stick and that of a knife.

…

(psst. hold on a sec. keep scrolling.)

…

→ [Chef]
* Even Less Mercy
The human gains a black collar, a black apron, and a gender. Her eyes remain open and her mouth keeps smiling.

(yes. do it.)

Selected [Chef].

The chef's sprite bobs along and sneaks onto the previous screen. She plucks the knife away from the genocidal human. She twirls it around by the handle and grabs it firmly with its blade pointing downwards.

The smooth, clean steel stabs through the air and shatters the [RESET] button like a piece of glass. Heedless, it continues.

The tip of the knife sank into the large block of yellow-white cooking fat. The girl peeled back the paper wrapper a little further down. She put her other palm on the flat edge of the blade and used her body weight (all 40 kilograms of it) to drive it in and cut away a rectangular slab of the specially formulated blend of golden flower seed oil and cocoa butter. She placed it onto a scale and saw that it was 170 grams. "Perfect!"

She added the chunk to a metal bowl. Although the various other uncombined ingredients in the bowl included white chocolate chips, heavy cream, and a heap of some powdery white substance, the girl's black polo and black apron were spotless. She placed the mixture into a powered cabinet. The GUI above the door read, 50° C.

She was tiny, but she could kick a little stool around on the floor as needed, and she managed to reach far enough over the counters to work effectively. Her dark hair was kept trim in a short bob. One lock of her bangs always tended to stick up on the right side. Her modest blue jeans did not do much to conceal her figure, because she unfortunately did not have one of those. But, she was too busy cooking to care about that. She turned her attention to another heated vessel sitting on the marble counter. She vigorously stirred its shiny, dark-brown contents with a plastic spoon. Recipes for ganache and fondant were taped to the wall.

Behind the girl, in the doorframe, stood a man of average height. "Frisk! We're doing assembling and frosting on the cake now. Can you please make some dark chocolate for the leaves—oh, you're already doing it." He spoke with a hint of a foreign accent.

Frisk had poured out the chocolate onto the cool counter top and was moving it around with a metal scraper. She smiled and gave him a glance. "Yep."

He was paler than she was. His beard and his hair, which he wore in a knot, were a lighter shade of brown than hers. A boy the same age as Frisk quietly appeared behind him. The boy contemplated his options. He tried to flatten himself against the wall and squeeze through the space between the man and the doorframe.

Frisk spoke up and said, "Hi there, John!"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" The man politely stepped aside. He ushered the boy in with a pat on the shoulder. "Do you need something?"

"M-hm. More of… these ones for the shop." John opened a refrigerator. He pulled out a tray of chocolate truffles that were shaped like rounded squares and drizzled with white streaks.

Frisk said, "Dad, what time is the delivery?" He glanced at the clock on the wall above the doorframe.

"Hm, well, their wedding is going to start pretty soon. So we should be ready to drive the cake over by four. I think that you can clean up and be done for today. Didn't you want to go down to the village market?"

"Yeah, you're right. They close earlier on Saturday," she replied and set aside the bowl of tempered chocolate.

"Did you kids get your schedules for school yet?"

"Yeah," said Frisk. John was checking off an inventory list on the counter. He added, "We have homeroom together."

"Nice!" said Frisk's dad. He gathered some red and yellow food dyes from the shelf. He addressed John, "Hey, would you like to come over later?"

"Dad!" Frisk protested. "He's been over to our place the past two days in a row! Give his own parents a turn with him, geez."

"Eh, but Frisk, you're cooking amazing seafood tonight. The last two days we only had cake and frozen pizza."

"Yeah, whose fault was that?!" she retorted. "It was your turn to cook dinner. You coulda told me if you were too lazy. You know I can't practice Mom's recipes when I'm working here."

"Ok, ok," he chuckled. He told John, "You can invite your parents over too!"

"Huh," the shy apprentice blushed under all the attention. He headed back out to the cafe with the trays of fresh chocolate morsels.

After another hour of working, Frisk wrung out a dish cloth and draped it over the sink. She unplugged her cell phone from the wall and walked across the kitchens where she encountered other employees on her way out. "Wow, that's beautiful," she remarked when she saw the 2-tier cake coated in glossy dark chocolate. It was bordered in romantic swirls of white frosting, and topped with shimmering sprinkles and colorful autumn leaves, which were also made out of chocolate. Two young adult coworkers, a man and a woman, were bickering over which figurines to put on the cake. There was already one white-tuxedo-clad toy standing in the center.

The man said, "This guy looks just like him. Way more than yours." He pointed to the photograph of the couple as if to prove his point.

The woman said, "It's not always about having the exact right colors! This one has a vibe that's much closer to the way he smiles in this picture! I don't think he would wear a bright blue suit like yours." She noticed Frisk and said. "Hey there. Are you going home?"

"Yeah."

The man suggested, "Maybe we should let Frisk solve this dispute for us."

"Sure!" The woman agreed, confident that Frisk would side with her. "Here kid. Which of these two guys should we put on the cake?"

Frisk put a finger under her chin and said, "Hmm." She looked at the one that was already on the cake, at the one the man wanted, at the one the woman wanted, and at the reference photo of the couple-to-be. She thought that the woman's choice of figurine resembled her own father and got creeped out by the idea of putting that on top of a wedding cake, so she chose the man's darker-skinned, blue-clad model.

"What?!" The woman was surprised and disappointed. Frisk giggled at her older friends and continued towards the exit. Still annoyed at losing, her female coworker said, "Hey Hans, aren't you gonna kiss your daughter goodbye?"

"Eh?!" Frisk braced herself, but before she could escape, she was picked up by her father. "Gyaaah~!"

"Of course I am going to hug my dear daughter Frisk!" He squeezed her against his chest as she squirmed. Her legs couldn't reach the floor. The rest of their coworkers enjoyed a laugh at her expense. "Da-a-ad stop ohmygod you're embarrassing me. Gwah!" Her face glowed red as he ruffled her hair with his chin.

"Aw Frisk," he said and put her down. "Don't be so embarrassed. I have to tell you how much I love you." She started to smile, but then he added, "What if you get lost and I never see you again?"

"I'm not going to get lost!" She fumed and ran out of the kitchen. The sound of their laughter was muffled behind the door as she walked out from behind the counter and across the public section of the cafe. Another older colleague was handling the service side together with John. There were cakes, pies, and many types of chocolate treats arrayed in the glass displays. She sighed and smiled to herself as she left the store.

"Brr!" She hugged her bare arms with her hands. "It's already this cold?" She stood on a sidewalk with the glass windows of the shop behind her. There was a blue and white striped banner overhanging the outdoor seating area. Above the door there was a neon sign with a blue and pink logo: Café Frisk. With a red heart for the dot on the 'i'.

Frisk walked down the street for a couple of blocks. The sky was gray and the city air smelled fresh. She opened the door to her apartment and went inside. She picked up a letter addressed to her dad and added it to the pile of unopened mail on the table. She suddenly had to adjust her steps and almost tripped over the guitar lying in the middle of the living room floor. "Ack!" She groaned as she corrected her movement. She put the acoustic back in its case and stacked it up neatly in the corner with the others. She sent her dad an angry text message telling him to, 'stop leaving your guitar out or else i'm going to step on it one day!'

That being over with, she paid a brief visit to her bedroom and picked up the striped sweater lying on the bed. She took her empty brown-and-black backpack from the floor where it was arranged next to neat piles of textbooks, notebooks, folders, and pens. On her way out, her foot brushed against something in the hallway. She looked down at the dirty white shirt lying on the floor. "Grr!" She refused to pick that one up for him. Instead she left a note on the wall next to it. 'Dad! Pick up your shirt!'

She was thinking about these annoyances and her clever rebuttals to them as she got on the bus to the seaside village. She only then just realized that she forgot to take off her apron. She did so and put it in her backpack. The bus turned onto a highway leading out of the city. Frisk sat down and enjoyed the sensation of resting her feet. The bus route hugged the side of the mountain as they passed through the steep terrain. She looked out the window at the trees and wildflowers. As they approached populated areas once again, the mountain gave way to views of the coastal plain, the windy ocean, and the many fields of golden flowers in full bloom. She observed the billboards as they passed. A confident man in a suit boldly presenting a number you can call to sue your doctor. A list of fast food restaurants that could be found on the next left. The logo of Nutrino Farms Inc. with its mascot of a winking skull wearing a pink bow. After getting off of the bus, she had to walk another 15 minutes in the direction of the shore. The downtown area was impressive for such a small village. She strolled along the stalls of the outdoor food market near the fishing harbor. The unbidden autumn breeze blew the salty scent of the sea into her face.

"What'll it be today, miss?" A vendor greeted her with a hint of familiarity. She looked over the selection of small white clam shells, medium oblong clam shells, shrimp, and oysters. She pointed to the second item from the above list and said, "2 kilos of those, please." After buying them she said to herself, "I should make something else too, since others are coming over. Oh yeah, we were running out of salt too." So she bought a jar of salt and bunch of vegetables—carrots, onions, potatoes, red bell peppers, and celery. The soft pitter-patter of water droplets tapped on the canvas roof covering the stalls. She put all of the ingredients in her backpack and walked back to the bus stop.

The bus was late. She stood underneath the shelter and waited. Eventually she sat down on the bench, although she had to bear with the feeling of the cold metal sapping away the heat from her legs. A middle-aged woman came and joined her in waiting for the bus. After 40 minutes, still no bus had shown up. Frisk sighed. The woman next to her read from the screen of her smartphone. "'Hum… village route cancelled…"

"Hm?" Frisk looked up.

"They're saying… there's been a triple accident on the highway? Other routes going around the mountain may be delayed as well…" She shrugged.

"Oh, I see. That sucks. Thanks." They nodded politely. Frisk looked up information on the internet on her own phone. I need to get going with all of these fresh foods on my back. Maybe I should call a taxi? Nah, too expensive. I'll walk around to this bus stop here, and get on that route instead. Even if it is delayed, that should be faster than trying to walk all the way home. After determining that that was her best course of action, she set off in the direction of the mountain.

She walked past the golden flower fields and continued on for a while until she got to a highway ramp. "I shouldn't have to walk over a highway to get there. If I go under the bridge it should be right up ahead…" She followed the smaller road past the highway bridge until it curved northwards and led her into the woods. "Hm, I haven't seen that street that it pointed to. They aren't marked, maybe I missed it?" She turned around and retraced her steps for a while until she found the right dirt path to turn down. The road seemed less and less likely to contain the bus stop she desired to find the longer she walked down it. She started to feel frustrated and considered just going back to the seaside village, or perhaps calling a friend for a ride. Woops, no signal. "Ugh."

Her annoyed glance fell upon a very worn sign marking the 'Trail over Mt. Ebott'. "Screw this! I'm going over the dang mountain! How hard can it be?" I mean, I see it all the time from the city, so if I just hike up to the other side I should be able to see my district from there and then just walk home!

She set off and hiked up the trail, filled with determination. After 10 more minutes of climbing, the worsening rainstorm sapped away her determination. "C-cold…" She squinted into the icy raindrops that pelted her exposed face. The exertion of climbing uphill didn't seem to help much with staying warm. The wind blew straight through her sweater. "How can it be this cold in August?" She folded her arms. The trail is really worn down at this point. It's like no one ever goes up here. Kinda weird for a mountain right next to a major city. She was basically walking through the forest. Well, there must be other trails somewhere, it's such a big mountain. I should be getting to the point where I can see the other side soon. She reassured herself. She saw a few patches of golden flowers as she continued. The rare sight of the common crops growing in the wild filled her with determination, again. Their bright yellow color seemed to shine through the darkening storm, beckoning her onwards. Regardless, she couldn't stave off the cold through determination alone. By the time she came across a rocky clearing filled with grass and more golden flowers, she was shivering too hard to appreciate them.

"A-ah, it's a cave. Maybe I should r-rest and try to w-warm up?" It was too dark to see very far into the cave. She went just a few steps into it and huddled up against a rocky wall. "I-I don't know if I c-can actually w-warm up like this…" She hugged her backpack and fiddled with the zippers. She checked her phone again. "H-huh, no signal here either."

Her hands shook so much that she dropped her phone on the ground by her side. "W-woops..." As she felt for the device, her fingers brushed against its side. It teetered over the uneven ground and slipped away from her. A series of unexpected bumps and echoes indicated that the terrain in front of her was much more deep and spacious than she had thought. She froze and listened carefully. The amount of time that passed before she heard the final sound of it hitting the ground sent a different sort of chill down her spine.

She stared into the dark cave. Her eyes slowly adjusted. "Wait a minute. Is that… light?" She dropped onto her belly and carefully crawled forward over the floor. Her heart pounded in her chest. The further she inched up, the deeper the pit in front of her was revealed to be. It was wickedly deep. She gripped some winding roots on the ground and stared over the edge with morbid fascination. She would surely die if she fell down there. Outside the cave, the rain poured. A bolt of lightning struck nearby and made her jump. She returned her attention to the deep pit. She was so curious. Why the heck was there light on the floor down there? She could see hues of brown, lavender, green (like grass?), and yellow (like flowers?). A structure that was hard to make out, but looked… manmade?

As she dug her fingers into the cliff, some pieces of dirt crumbled and fell into the abyss. In return came a creepy voice echoing the way back up.

"What are you looking at, human?"

Frisk let out a surprised squeal. The rocks supporting her weight shifted with the sudden movement. She felt her heart sink in her chest as she saw the ground crumble in slow-motion. She tried to push back with her palms. The soil liquefied and moved between her knuckles. She screamed as she fell and tumbled over the edge. She was one with the falling rocks.

*SNAG.

She fell again and everything went black.

Frisk's eyes slowly opened as she came to. She started breathing hard and fast for a number of reasons. For one, she had no idea how long she had passed out for and if she was about to die. For the other, a good third of her body from her lower back to her shoulderblade had seemingly disappeared and been replaced with a burning mass of excruciating pain. She breathed harder, which only made it hurt even more. Her eyes tried to do something about it, but all they could manage was to squeeze some tears onto her cold cheeks.

"Howdy!" said the voice again. Through blurred vision, Frisk could make out a talking flower. "I'm Flowey the Flower!"

"…"

"Hmmm… You're new to the Underground, aren'tcha?"

"…"

"Golly, you must be so confused. Your arm's on backwards." Frisk's eyes widened as if she had just finished processing her situation. She then started screaming very loudly.

"SO, SOMEONE OUGHT TO TEACH YOU HOW THINGS WORK AROUND HERE." Flowey shouted over her. "SEE THAT HEART, IT'S YOUR SOUL, HERE, HAVE SOME FRIENDLINESS PELLETS!"

The bullets smashed into Frisk's immobilized body. She gasped and then went back to screaming at the top of her lungs. The crumbly walls above them crumbled ever so slightly more. The backpack that had snagged on the way down opened just a little further. The slippery glass jar within the backpack slipped just a little bit more and fell out. It shattered on the ground and covered the hostile flower with a white crystalline substance.

"Pth-pthyou idpthiot! Plegh, ptu!" Flowey coughed. He started to shrivel up as he berated the human. "You idiot! Why would you have a—GASP—jar of s-s-salt in your back, p-pack?" He coughed and wheezed and used the last of his fast-fading strength to summon another round of bullets to shoot at the girl. "D-HIE!"

But the bullets didn't hit Frisk. Instead there was a 'thud', a bright glow, and a burst of heat from somewhere in front of her. The bullets lost their aim and landed randomly on the walls.

"Oh, my what—Ah!" the owner of the motherly voice cried out as the rest of the backpack and all of its contents fell off of their snag and rained over her head. She tripped and fell onto her bottom.

"Ow, oh my… what a horrible creature that was…" Her voice trailed off in a daze as she regained her bearings. "Are you alright my child? Oh no… your arm's on backwards."