Life is only a sort of suspended consciousness.
Missing.
The word followed her, stinging, prickling up and down her back. It lingered always, in crumpled posters hastily put up on alleyway walls, in whispers that chased her into her house and crawled around in her bed. Missing.
A constant reminder that even she, the great saviour, could not Save everyone.
Some things weren't her fault. Some things were out of her control. And she hated it. Because, Underground, it had been one thing when she could help everyone–almost everyone. She'd hated that too. But at least, the most she'd ever felt was uncertainty. Somehow, she knew that they'd all make it through alright.
She could do nothing for Asriel, and that powerlessness still haunted her. But, despite everything, every single other monster had made it out alive.
Diamond Alert: Local monster child missing since Monday, no signs of foul play, footprints leading into the snow...
When MK disappeared a month ago, that's what she had thought. Because she could talk down anyone, right? Underground, it was everything according to plan. Something goes wrong, terribly wrong? She always, always knew how to fix it.
The first time, she and the others went out into the snow, a parade of humans and monsters leaving varied footprints behind as they swept the forest. All she had to do was find him, and whyever he had run away, she could fix it. She always could.
My baby, my little MK... I just want him back. I just want him back!
When they returned empty-handed, everyone who had stayed behind looked at her. As if she had all the answers. As if she could do anything.
But what could be done? Her gaze had turned up to the hazy evening sky, where snowfall like feathers landed on her skin. And she realized that MK was gone, and she was entirely helpless.
The weeks passed. The search teams walked slower and slower every day. Until, soon enough, it was only Frisk who went alone every morning. She left Toriel sitting mutely in her chair, staring with empty eyes into the fire, as she tramped alone through snowdrifts. Looking for someone who was gone.
Because the others couldn't stand to find a body.
...even after a month, the police still have no suspects and detectives can find no sign of where the monster child could have gone.
"It's like he just got to the end of his yard and floated up into space!" So said the detective leading the project. "No footprints, no scent, no body, and an air-tight alibi from every single person in that town.
"Maybe he got buried under the snow. That's the only explanation I can think of. When spring comes, we might just have our body."
The world grew colder. She couldn't feel it anymore.
She checked, checked, and checked again. Every day. Because she was the ambassador of monsterkind, and if she stopped, they would all give up hope. But every nook was empty, every cranny undisturbed. In the oppressive snow, there was nowhere a kid could hide.
Happily she would have accepted having to carry his lifeless form back with her. But she couldn't even find that much.
She imagined walking over his body, perfectly preserved under layers of freezing snow. A grave that, when spring came, would open up and reveal his corpse like a treasure. Then she stopped thinking at all, so she wouldn't have those morbid dreams anymore. Numbly she tramped through the forest.
Where?
Frisk, Toriel! Please help. I can't... I can't find him anywhere!
Footprints leading to the treeline, abruptly disappearing. Just like last time. But this time, it wasn't a kid.
Sans wasn't a bad person. She had never thought that of him. But he looked after himself and his brother, only extending a bony hand when it didn't put either of them in danger. If it wasn't Papyrus who was missing, she couldn't imagine him chasing after some lost kid.
So why?
Is it the humans, you think? Picking us off one by one? Do they hate us that much, to kill even Sansy?
I can't believe that.
I can.
Maybe he had wanted to be less selfish. Maybe he had a soft bone for MK, since they'd lived close together. Either way, he was gone, and she knew what he was capable of. If Sans was dead or kidnapped or missing... If even that power wasn't enough...
What could they possibly be up against?
Of course we shouldn't rely on a child. I know it's stupid to say that, after everything she did... But what could she do about this? She's just a kid.
Stinging. Haunting. Sans' face on the wall next to MK's posters. Papyrus doesn't go out anymore. No one goes out anymore. Faces behind windows behind blinds behind the houses that couldn't save them.
She sits in a dark room, a blanket over her head, but she can't block out their voices inside her like a sickness. Reset looms, but she shoves it away, because she made a promise. A promise to the one who's now gone.
Please, my child, don't push yourself so hard. Please.
Sometimes, Frisk, we must learn to accept those we have lost... and try not to blame ourselves.
Hey, kid, you did everything you could.
Frisk, darling. People die all the time! I know they were your friends, but you have to stop doing this. You're killing yourself, sweetie.
I-I don't think there's anything else we can do for them.
She drowned in their pity, died in it.
B-But... I did find something. Nearby, about a mile from town, there's this c-cave... and I'm getting... strange readings from within. Maybe... But no–no, I can't ask that of you, or of anyone. If you went there, you'll...
Don't go there, Frisk. It's dangerous. Just... d-don't tell anyone I said anything!
She had to do something.
She had to do something.
Frisk... Please...
...
Please bring him back.
Maybe that's what drove her to take those first steps into the snow, fighting against freezing cold drops that singed her face like fire: Papyrus' shaking fingers, curled around her own, pleading. So into the drifts she walked, ignoring the rising screaming of the winter wind.
When she next looked back, she couldn't see that little town anymore. Only Mount Ebott looming.
And when she stumbled on the lip of the cave, nearly tumbling down into it, she took a few staggering steps back. It was a hole in the earth, leading down into a terrible darkness. Like the sunlight was devoured the moment it touched the interior. From within, she could hear a faint hum like magic that she brushed off as imagination.
She wondered, staring down at the entrance just big enough for her to squeeze through, if this is what Sans had felt. What MK had felt.
If they're not here, she thought, I'll reset.
Sans was going to kill her. She'd let him, after she gave him a hug. Maybe, she'd reset to the surface instead of the Underground. Even if that was years ago now, it was a little better. She didn't want the monsters to be forced back Underground again. But, she couldn't stand to lose these two, even if it meant she'd have to do it all over again.
She didn't care about abusing her power. She didn't care that Sans would never forgive her. Not them. Not like this.
The child exhaled as she stared at the dusky entrance again; her instincts were telling her not to go in there. But, looking about, she saw that the snowstorm was only getting worse. Unless she wanted to become another casualty, she needed shelter.
Not another casualty, she sternly reminded herself. They're still alive, and they're in here.
It was the only thing she could believe.
Enough stalling. Taking a deep breath, Frisk carefully slid down the incline leading to the hole and hopped right in, plunging herself into a sea of black.
She landed inside with a satisfying stamp that echoed through the cave. Frisk turned and looked back through the hole. Higher up than she thought. She'd have to climb to reach it, but she should be able to make it out again. Maybe, she hoped, she'd get a boost from Sans or MK.
But now standing fully within the interior, she realized that the light-trick hadn't just been an illusion. It seemed as if the sunlight just stopped at the entrance, refusing to touch the rocky floor. Prickles of fear ran up her backside, and she turned, peering into the pitch.
The lack of light prevented her from getting a full scope of the cave's size, but even so, she took a few steps forward. She should have brought a flashlight, she realized, smacking her head. Stupid. She hadn't been thinking, just stumbled out of the house like a drunk person. It was a miracle no one saw her walking away.
Well, she was just here to look around anyway. She could come back. Prepared, next time, with friends. She could...
The girl skidded to a stop, her heart leaping into her throat. The sound, like pulsating waves of magic, was right next to her now. She had almost run into... it.
Frisk stumbled back, falling backwards as she put distance between herself and the thing. Now with her eyes adjusted, she realized... What she had thought of as the back wall of the cave was rippling, shimmering like the ocean depths. Like it was alive. Tendrils curled and crawled, seeping out of the wall as if they were searching. Frisk wondered if she was dreaming. If all of this had been some awful nightmare, culminating in the demon that stood before her.
I'll wake up, she thought urgently, staring wide-eyed at that undulating black slime. I'll wake up, and I'll smell Tori's butterscotch pie, and Sans and Papyrus will be in the kitchen, and MK will be knocking at the door–
What brings you to my domain, child?
The booming voice shook the cave and sent her to the ground again, covering herself in terror. One eye peeked out from beneath her arm, and she saw that the wall had paused for a moment, rippling slower as if curious.
Do not be afraid, child.
Out of the black, something was stretching, coming for her. She wanted to scream but her voice caught. Legs too weak to stand. Arms too weak to fight. She threw herself towards the cave entrance, crawling desperately towards it.
Do not run, child.
She turned, seeing that coil of shadow approaching fast.
Can't move. Back pressed into the rock below the entrance. Light not quite touching her, couldn't pierce the unnatural gloom.
It came before her, a black thing like a long, long arm... And then it stopped. The child quivered, terrified that if she moved, she might be killed on the spot.
At the end of the shadow, inside a crater at the tip, something was changing. Her eyes traced the form of it: the curves of a cheek, a nose, a bare forehead. Two wide open eyes, blank and textureless. Intricate, carved by a master sculptor.
A face. A human countenance made of darkness, staring into her soul.
The two stared at each other for a long time, until the child's chest stopped heaving. She began to relax. Wasn't dead yet, anyway. The voice nearly made her panic again, but she managed to retain her composure. The mouth on the face opened wide as it spoke, as if gulping in air, without moving its lips.
Why have you come to this place, child?
The face at the end backed up a few inches as she stood, mustering as much bravery as she could. She had seen amalgamations, true monsters, people melted together like sticky candy left in a pocket. She had seen children turn into flowers, and flowers turn into monsters.
Maybe this wall, underground in a cave, was like the others, a person hiding behind a scary face. So she couldn't be afraid.
"I..." She swallowed and spoke louder. "I'm looking for my friends."
The head tilted, considering. We are all searching for something. You seek your friends. I seek their dreams.
"Their... dreams?" Frisk looked up as the face retreated to the ceiling, slinking about the room like a spider. Two long, sharp tendrils had slithered out of its snaky body, allowing it to cling to the rock. What was it looking for? "Who are you?"
The humans named me "Dream-Eater". I have accepted this, as they find themselves less afraid of me if they can project their humanity on me through naming.
Frisk sat down, though she kept an eye on the shadow-face as the cirrus connected to it flew about the room. "Why do you need their dreams?"
Sustenance. I feel no mortal hunger, but nonetheless, I must consume.
"And what..." The child took a breath, quelling her beating heart. She couldn't be certain that this thing was dangerous... yet. "How do you do that? What happens to them?"
They do not die. They live on, dreaming forever. For life itself is just a kind of dreaming.
Frisk swallowed. Something about that sounded wrong... But if they were here, that meant they were still alive, right?
It was at this point that Frisk, had she any sense of self-preservation, should have immediately dove through the hole and never returned without the entirety of the Royal Guard and maybe the army behind her.
But she was a curious child, and a stubborn child, and she had promised herself that she wouldn't return without her friends. The girl hopped to her feet and took a few steps forward. "Do you know where my friends are? Did they come here?"
Indeed. Your friends did come to this place. The child without arms, the one without body. Frisk watched as the face-tendril lowered, approaching slowly. Come, child, and I will show you them.
The girl looked at that twisted face came towards her, and she scrambled back towards the exit. "N-no, I..." She stumbled, barely catching herself from smacking her head on the cave wall. "I'll bring my other friends, and we'll come back, and–"
No. You c̸An͠n̕OT leave.
Before she could blink, the long line of blackness whizzed past her, its body curling around and blocking the entrance. The human was wreathed in shadow as the last of the light was blocked out. Like a snake, the face crawled forward.
Do you not wish to find your friends?
Frisk took a step back, then another step, until she hit the eastern wall. Still the face drew closer. "I-I, I w-want to go h-home," she rasped, so quietly it was nearly a whisper.
Dream-Eater stopped before her, its murky nose an inch from her own. This is your home now, child.
Never before had she wanted to feel Toriel or Asgore's warm, fuzzy arms around her, or sit in the peace of a brightly-lit house in the winter, or feel the warmth of the kitchen and smell the scent of pie. Chasing MK around, Toriel telling them sternly, unable to keep the laughter out of her voice, not to tear the house apart.
Now, even, she missed the bleachy smell of Alphys lab, or the heart-pounding training sessions with Undyne, or tasting terrible rock-hard pasta while hearing, for once, Sans laughing behind her. For all his constant grinning, there was often something darker behind those eyes.
Sans' smile, his real smile when she promised never to reset again...
She had come here for a reason.
Frisk squared her shoulders and threw her hair back, like Undyne would. "I want–" she caught her breath, "I want to see my friends."
The whole cave seemed to rumble at that, and the child crouched down in terror again. Was it–was it laughing at her?
Then, step forward should you truly wish to witness your friends' fates. There was no pretense of kindness left in that voice.
The face retreated into the wall of shadow, being absorbed by it like two pieces of putty reunited. For a moment, she thought she saw MK's face flickering where the bald, expressionless human had once been. Twisted into a scream.
Frisk stumbled back, covering her eyes, as a light suddenly appeared in the middle of the room. It flickered and shone bright blue-white, nearly blinding her with its beauty. It looked like a portal, and the girl felt like she was supposed to step into it. She walked forward, her skin lit blue.
But her eyes drifted over, to the entrance now wide open. She could leave. She could make a run for it, come back later with Alphys, with Asgore–
Coward. Coward. Coward. Coward.
The cave seemed to rumble and rock with every chant, until it seemed that the cave might crumble in on itself. Louder and louder the voice became, until the cave quaked with the monster's rage and Frisk's ears were ringing.
Coward. COWARD. COWARD. COWARD. COWARD.
"Stop!" She held her hands over her ears, and the wall stilled and went quiet. "I'll go. Just stop."
So she did. Into the light she stepped, and the blue wrapped around her and pulled her into the darkness. It was the last mistake she ever made.
When she awoke, she saw that she was back in the town again. It was night, the only illumination coming from Sans and Papyrus' garishly decorated house–the Christmas lights Papyrus had taken down by now–and a few windows still lit.
She couldn't move her body, but the body she was in was moving itself. It looked back, and she saw the silhouette of MK's house in the night. Frisk realized that she was in MK's memories when she heard his snickers.
Into the snow and shadow he went.
Your friend heard my call, though he did not know it. He has always been a vivid dreamer. I knew his nightmares would be delicious.
Frisk would have shivered if she still had a body. Instead, she watched as MK got further and further away from the town. She screamed as he approached the cave, drawn to it, and, unable to contain his curiosity, hopped inside.
Of course, he couldn't hear her.
She had to watch as MK, entranced, spoke to the Dream-Eater. She had to watch as it enticed him into that same blue light. At the last moment, he broke away and, crying, threw himself at the cave entrance that was too high for him to reach. When the coils of gloaming wrapped themselves around him, he went still.
And, horrified, she watched as the boy, with wide dead eyes, was pulled silently into the wall of darkness and devoured whole.
He is not dead. Only dreaming.
Frisk thrashed, or tried to, but her real body wasn't obeying. She came back to herself and saw that her vision had been blotted out by the murk. Dimly, she realized that it was the tendrils of shadow, wrapping themselves around her body.
She wanted to break free, to run, but it wasn't working.
Do not resist, child. Soon you will sleep. Soon, you will know nothing but dreams.
She felt herself being dragged across the rocky floor. Her fingers twitched, but that was all she could do. She was a bug, wrapped up in webbing, now being pulled towards the spider's sharp teeth. Barely, she mustered the strength to raise her head as the shimmering wall approached. She could feel the unnatural magical aura wrapping around her and draining her strength even more.
First went her legs into it. It felt like they had been severed, like they were just gone. No pain; evaporated into air. She wanted to cry out, but when she opened her mouth, only an inaudible squeak came out.
Your friends are waiting.
The voice was almost soothing. She wanted to sleep.
With another pull, in went her whole lower body. She couldn't lift her arms. Another tug, and suddenly she no longer had arms. She was just a head. That was all that was left of her.
And with a final big heave, there wasn't even that much.
Frisk was submerged in shadow, floating as if in space. No body, just a soul with nothing to hold onto. The tendrils were all around her, an ocean of writhing masses, tugging her towards a small light in the distance. She opened her mouth and choked on the bitter-tasting darkness that flooded her lungs.
As she was dragged through this hellish realm, she saw people lined up like a procession to see her on. Humans and monsters in a row, almost all of them children, their arms crossed across their chest and their faces violently blank. Some had their eyes closed, some open, and some seemed to be staring at her with mouths agape.
And then she saw MK.
He was sleeping, or seemed to be; occasionally he would give a violent twitch before going still again. His eyes were always closed, and in the faint, unnatural lighting, his scales were a sickly green-yellow. He looked drained, face no longer plump, like his very life essence had been sucked out of him.
Frisk suddenly found herself gloriously in control of her body again, and she struggled free for a moment. Wildly she reached for her friend, if only to drag him along with her. But the shadow was all around her, and it pulled her down again. For a brief moment, she seized MK by the shoulder. He was colder than death, but she held on. Then the tendrils gave a tug; he slipped through her fingers and was gone.
Her soul was wracked with the loss of it, but there was nothing she could do but let go, and allow herself to be dragged through this endless ocean of nightmares. Towards the beacon of blue light that lay so far away.
When they finally reached it, suddenly, the bonds holding her were gone. Of course, the shadows were still swarming with them, but the girl could move herself freely at last. She reached out towards the light, a perfectly round ring like a blazing fire.
Familiar...
Normally I only care for the dreams of children, but this one gave me no choice. His power was almost enough to kill the unkillable, and I could not allow it.
Her eyes drifted to the figure just barely illuminated by that light. She saw white skin like bone, a hollow where his right iris should have been, the blue jacket that, once, he had worn everywhere. His face distorted into an empty, vacant smile.
She screamed. She screamed and screamed and screamed. She cried out for Sans, for Toriel, for even Asriel to save her. But in that eternal darkness, clinging to Sans' unresponsive body now planted in a field of endless nightmares, no one but the incubus could hear her.
Still she screamed, until the shadow had filled her mouth and lungs, and her vision began to dim and go black. At the cusp of her new reality, she saw lain before her a future of nightmares that never ended. Inescapable and unchanging.
In her last moments of sanity, Frisk remembered her reset abilities and reached out for them... and found nothing. Desperately, she searched for those powers, the only thing that could save her, and saw that they were gone. Gently, the Dream-Eater laughed and pulled her back into his world.
You won't be needing that anymore.
With his hunger now sated, the creature, if it could even be called a creature, sealed off the entrance to the cave and went dormant. Inside it, the last flickers of rebellion faded out, and the eternal children trapped within went once again still and quiet.
Back in the town beneath Ebott, they found her footsteps leading into the snow before suddenly vanishing as if she had just stopped existing, and they mourned their third and final disappearance.
Papyrus and Alphys both wondered if they had sent that child to their death, but, consumed with guilt, said nothing. Toriel disappeared quietly one day; the whispers said that she had willingly returned to the Ruins to live out her days alone. Deep beneath the surface, what was left of Asriel realized that something terrible had happened to Frisk, but there was nothing he could do.
And so Frisk and the Dream-Eater once more faded into legend, forgotten.
A/N:
If you're wondering why this story is so screwed up, has a confusing plot, ends violently for no reason, and basically makes no sense... It's because it's based on a dream I had! It was, uh, very vivid, and so I decided to write it. I'm sorry.
Some scenes were added for plot's sake, like the segment at the beginning, MK's memories, and Frisk being pulled through the nightmare realm (except the bit at the end with Sans, in my dream that was what Frisk saw right after she stepped into the light). Essentially, I had the context in my head that MK and Sans had gone missing, and Frisk went insane and was devoured by the monster, but I only actually dreamed the scene inside the cave.
Also, the only dialogue from the monster I remember is it chanting "coward" when Frisk refused to step into the light, so that's all made up too.
So yeah. I have weird dreams. Hope you enjoyed this mess. I don't know why I wrote this.