Howdy, welcome to Hardtale! This story's based a lot around hard mode. It kind of started off as a "what if Hard Mode was finished, what would it be like?" idea, but I think the results have become quite a bit different than what Hard Mode would actually be. But it still keeps some of Hard Mode's core ideas, mainly that the enemies are...harder.
I'm sure I've pulled some inspiration from various theories floating around about a theoretical finished Hard Mode, and there's probably some inspiration from different aus here and there as well (most likely Underfell and, later on, Errortale). A lot of it's really not intentional, but I guess it can't be helped. It's bound to happen.
At this point, if you haven't guessed, I should mention this is going to have a lot of spoilers for Hard Mode, especially the first few chapters! Not so much after that, but there's probably going to be spoilers (or at the very least, references) to Pacifist and Genocide as well, so continue with caution!
Frisk couldn't remember falling, but it certainly felt like they had. Their head was pounding, and every muscle in their body hurt. When they opened their eyes, they weren't sure where they were. All they could tell was that they had landed in a pile of orange leaves, which had probably helped break their fall.
That had been lucky. Without those leaves, they'd be much worse off right now.
As they pushed themselves up from the ground, they tried to remember how they'd gotten here. Their brain was still foggy from waking up, and their whole body screaming in pain definitely didn't help. After a few minutes, all they could remember that whatever had brought them here, it was important. Any other details were lost for now.
They'd have to figure that out later, they decided. Whatever reason they came to this place, they couldn't just hang around a pile of leaves all day. They would remember with time, but for now, they should at least look around.
With a stick from the ground in hand (just in case), Frisk walked away from the pile of leaves. It looked like they were in some kind of cave, with the only entrance outside far above their head. That explained the fall. The entrance was too high to climb back up, and it didn't look like they could go anywhere but deeper in the cave, so that decided their course of action. The hole brought some sunlight into the area, but it was dark and foreboding otherwise, enough so that they were having trouble seeing. A large hole (or something like it; they were still adjusting to darkness in the area) opened up into a small room to their side. Seeing nowhere else to go, they decided to walk into it.
The next room looked empty at first, but after a few seconds Frisk saw a flower in the corner of the room. It was hunched over, looking sad for a flower. After Frisk saw it, the flower began to turn around. It seemed to be moving on its own, and now they could see a face in the middle of its gold petals. The expression it wore...it looked tired, more tired than any flower Frisk had ever seen. (Though maybe the face helped...its petals were droopy, but they could see its exhaustion in its eyes, too.)
"Howdy...I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower. You must be new around he- ...Wait." The words died on its lips as it took a good look at them. It burrowed underground and disappeared, only to pop back up in front of Frisk. It looked closely at them. "...You aren't new here at all, are you?"
Frisk said nothing. They'd never seen anything like this flower before. And they'd certainly never talked to one. Or had they? Their mind was still a little jumbled...they supposed it was possible. How else would it recognize them?
Their silence did nothing to deter Flowey, who seemed even more certain now. "I thought so! You've been here before...you came back! I waited for so long... I was beginning to think you never would. That something must've happened..." It seemed to droop for a minute, lost in some sort of memory, before perking back up. Beaming, it continued. "But now you're here! We can finally finish what we started, make things right, and..." It laughed, looking away. "But I'm getting ahead of myself."
Frisk stayed silent throughout the whole thing. They were beginning to think the flower was mistaken. They might have talked to a flower and not be able to remember at the moment, but a plan... They never started anything like that, not with a flower. Maybe they looked like someone else that had fallen down here or something. Or...it could be making the whole thing up, they had no idea.
"So...you did your part. You have them, right?" Flowey began peeking around at Frisk, as if they were hiding something. "You said you'd come back with them. You promised, the next time we'd meet...so, where are they?"
"...Bandages?" Frisk guesed out loud, their voice hurting their throat a little. Assuming this flower just wanted some bandages was probably stupid, they knew that. But it was all they had...so maybe the flower did want bandages. They could hope, at least. "I have bandages, I'm covered in 'em... Or, uh, I have a stick..." They waved their left hand, which was clutching the stick in question.
"...You're kidding, right?" Flowey chuckled, shaking its head. "You did used to like to tell jokes, huh? Just like..." It sighed, giving them a desperate look. "Come on. I've waited so long...don't play games with me now. Just show them to me."
They swallowed and looked away. "I...That's all I have," they mumbled. "Whatever you want, I don't... I don't have it."
"...You're serious, aren't you? You don't have them..." Flowey blinked. "But that...that doesn't make sense. We're...we're best friends, you made a promise. But now, the look on your face...you don't even know who I am." It stared at the ground, trying to process something. "I waited for you, and you came back with nothing. Heh...I was an idiot, wasn't I?"
A memory stirred in the back of Frisk's mind. They reached out, tried to remember, but in an instant it was gone. Maybe there was some truth to the flower's words after all, but... had they really broken a promise like that? Why?
They didn't have time to figure it out.
"You LIED to me!" A vine shot out of the ground behind Frisk and wrapped itself around Frisk, lifting them up in the air. "I thought you of all people could be trusted. But no one can be, can they? Even the best of humans only care about themselves." A ring of seed bullets appeared around them. Flowey's face morphed into something more sinister as it let out a chilling laugh. "I almost died because of you...so now I'll return the favor!"
"I'm sorry!" Frisk cried out. "I'm so sorry! Please..." They had no idea what they were apologizing for, or even who to. But if apologizing could save them...they couldn't die here. Not to a talking flower. And whether they'd been the one to break the flower's promise, or if it was someone else, it deserved an apology. Promises were important, had to be kept. Maybe apologizing would help, even if it came from the wrong person.
They didn't receive a reply. Flowey had no intention of letting them go. It didn't seem like they'd make it past this point, and they felt pretty hopeless.
They called out for help.
Before the bullets could close in on Frisk, the room lit up with blue flames. The majority of them were concentrated around Flowey, who was starting to panic. Before the flames could hurt it, it disappeared back into the ground. The vine holding Frisk retreated as well, and the flames backed away from them. They landed on the ground unharmed as a voice spoke.
"What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth."
Frisk looked up. The flames dissipated as a tall goat monster rushed towards them, concern clear on their face. The goat knelt down next to them and placed a hand on their head.
"Are you alright, child? You look like you're hurt, let me heal you."
A soothing sensation began spreading throughout their body from the goat's hand. The aches and pains from falling twice now began to disappear, and their memory cleared up a little. There were scrapes on their face as well from before the fall, all covered in bandages, that vanished as well. The bandages stayed on their face, though. They felt...comforting, safe.
"Thank you," Frisk whispered.
They sat up and got their first good look at who saved them. She was a tall, beautiful goat monster wearing a long dress. She was warm and almost familiar, especially now that Frisk was healed up, but something about her appearance just didn't seem...right. An old, faded ribbon was tied around her wrist, as if it were a bracelet. Her horns were longer than they thought they should be, curling off just at the ends. The dress seemed odd, too. It was entirely a bright, aqua color, and the sleeves looked a bit small. And Frisk had seen the emblem on her chest before, but they could've sworn the winged symbol was a circle, not the heart they now saw.
Regardless of how she looked, she still seemed friendly and kind, and her appearance did little to sway that impression anyway. They didn't think much more about it.
"It is no trouble, my child. I'm glad that I could help," she replied, smiling. "My name is Toriel. I am the caretaker of the Ruins. I pass through every day to see if someone has fallen down here. Though I am afraid I should have come sooner and kept that miserable creature away. Then you might not have been injured." Toriel looked away, looking a bit pained. "I am sorry, my child."
Frisk shook their head and threw their harms around her. "It's not your fault," they insisted. They could have gone on, since that wasn't all they were thinking, but the hug already communicated all of it and more. It wasn't needed, so they stayed quiet.
Toriel didn't expect the hug and didn't move at first. Then she quickly returned it, holding them as tightly as she could without hurting them. They stayed like that for a moment, and Frisk was happy, happier than they'd felt since arriving there. Eventually they had to separate, and Toriel helped them up onto their feet.
"Come, child. I will guide you through the catacombs." Toriel held out her hand, and Frisk took it. They left the dark room and walked through the next one. Another doorway was on the other side of this room, but it was more inviting, and the room was much brighter than the previous one had been. Orange leaves were scattered through the room, mostly concentrated by the doorway. A sign sat above the exit, indicating that this was the entrance into the Ruins she had mentioned. It was a welcoming scene compared to everything so far, and it made Frisk feel...
Determined.
"These are the Ruins," Toriel told them as they walked through the doorway. A closed door stood in front of them, with a series of floor switches next to it and a sign behind it. "In order to navigate the Ruins, we will have to solve puzzles. They were created long ago to serve as both diversions and door keys. Please adjust yourself to them."
Frisk watched for a minute while she solved the puzzle. They walked around and observed the puzzle, figuring out how the solution made sense. With this new knowledge in mind, they nodded, and the two of them went into the next room.
The Ruins had more than their fair share of puzzles. Toriel allowed them to solve some of the easier ones (with help of course), while she tackled the harder and more dangerous ones. A monster or two approached them, seeing there was someone new in the Ruins and checking things out. Toriel made sure it was safe, though, and no one was harmed during these encounters. Things went smoothly, and Frisk's gradually remembered more and more, until she stopped in one room.
"I have a difficult task to ask of you, my child..." she said. She looked away from them, and squeezed their hand in her own. "I need you to walk to the end of this room by yourself. I know this is hard, but...please forgive me." Before she could change her mind, she let go of Frisk's hand quickly walked ahead, soon disappearing from their view.
Frisk looked around. The room looked straightforward. The exit was far away, but there were no turns or curves in the room, and nothing in their way to get there. It didn't even look like there was a puzzle in the room, which made this one of the first rooms they'd seen in the Ruins that didn't have one. Regardless, this wouldn't be too difficult. They missed walking and talking with Toriel, but...it was doable. They walked ahead, following an unnecessary path on the floor in front of them. It took several minutes, but they eventually reached the end, pausing next to a pillar to catch their breath. While they stopped, Toriel emerged from beyond the pillar.
"Are you alright, child?" She looked down at them with a frown. "It is alright, I did not leave you... I have been here the whole time. Do you need me to heal you? Will it help?"
Shaking their head, Frisk smiled up at her. "I'm okay." Were they really that tired out already? They knew how big the Underground was, they needed to get used to walking around. It would be rough going if they didn't.
"That is good." Toriel sighed with relief. "I'm sorry I gave you such a hard task, but I had a reason. To test your independence. You see, I..." She looked away again, laughing a little. "I have some errands I need to run, and will have to leave you alone for awhile. It looks like you'll be fine on your own. Don't leave the room, my child, I will come back when I'm done. I'll give you a cellphone, so call me if you need me for anything, alright? I will be back soon."
She handed them a cellphone (with her number already in it) and pat the top of their head. They smiled up her, and she was gone not long after. Frisk sat down, leaning up against the pillar while they waited. After a few minutes, they started to feel bored and lonely. They looked down at their phone. She wouldn't mind one call...
Their was only one number in the list of contacts. They clicked it and held the phone up to their face.
"Hello? Is that you, my child?" Toriel asked.
Now that they had called her, they weren't sure what to say, or to talk about. She'd said to call if they needed her, and it wasn't like they didn't. They needed her company, just to hear her voice...but they couldn't find the words to say, how to tell her. But starting with a friendly greeting always helps. "Hello...mom."
"Did you just call me..." She sounded shocked, but she definitely wasn't unhappy. On the contrary, she seemed elated. "If it'd make you happy, to call me your mother... I'm more than happy to hear that. Call me whatever you would like, child."
From there, the conversation went smoothly. It was short, but Frisk felt much better. They smiled as they hung up. They hummed and looked around the room, ready to wait as long as it took.
Out of the corner of their eye, they thought they saw a flower, but when they looked again, it was gone.
Flowey's vines seem to be more of a fanon thing as far as I know, but they have their use here. Probably won't come up again.
Flowey's segment in general I'm not overly happy with, but it's definitely better than it was. I might come back and edit this some day, but nothing much will change.