[PROLOGUE] Once Upon a Tale...
A long time ago...
Two races co-existed peacefully on the earth: the Humans and the Monsters. They once all lived on the upper part of the Earth, known as the Surface, where many humans and monsters thrived.
However, a conflict broke out between the humans and monsters. Soon, the minor conflicts grew into a small war, now known as the Surface War. The humans and monsters fought fiercely on both sides, hoping to claim the right to rule over the Surface.
In the end, the humans gained victory over the monsters, who were unfairly weaker physically than humans. The humans drove the monsters into the depths of the lower part of the Earth, known as the Underground, and had seven young hearts, who learned magic of the monsters, create a magic barrier that held the monsters trapped in their prison: Mount Ebott.
The humans continued to rule over the Surface, but developed a fear of the trapped monsters, fearing that, one day, the monsters would find the way to break the Barrier and take revenge on them. To prevent humans from nearing Mount Ebott, the adults told the children that they would disappear forever if they headed for Mount Ebott.
UNDERTALE: Frisk's Adventure
Mount Ebott. It was a quiet spot; a tall peak lush with bright green, blooming with flowers in the spring. Though it was highly suggested against to go and scale this particular mountain, the view from Mount Ebott was incredible. You could see the towering buildings of East Metro, the neighboring peak of Mount Phinn to the west, and the glistening waters of the sea beyond your eyes.
Near Mount Ebott, sitting a mere five miles from the foot of the mountain, was a small human town called Ebottville, named after the famous mountain. In this town, it was quiet, as little activity happened much. It was a fairly small community, with only four schools, two libraries, several small stores, and a hospital. A good place for eating was the nearby diner, The Ebott Diner, where the food is homemade and cooked to a delicious taste.
Two young boys, both friends and adoptive brothers, lived in this small town. The boys' names were Jacob and Frisk.
Jacob had shaggy blond hair, wore a green tee, and blue jeans. Jacob was confident, adventurous, but also kind and caring. His sense for adventures usually involved dragging Frisk with him everywhere he went, usually to Mount Ebott, despite Frisk's opinion. However, Jacob found ways to help others when they were down, helping them feel better.
Jacob was Frisk's adopted older brother, being only a year older than Frisk. Jacob never really knew his parents, since they both perished in an unsuspecting house fire. He was lucky to have survived, but had to live in an orphanage for a short while. He was adopted by Frisk and his mother when Jacob was three years of age.
Frisk was a timid young fellow, but well-mannered, friendly, and willing to help others. He had short brown-auburn hair that was a little messy, and was originally the shirt-and-overalls kid. He loves his adopted brother much, even if Frisk gets dragged into Jacob's adventure games. In school, Frisk was a target for bullies because of his timid nature, but Jacob always stands up for his adoptive little brother against Frisk's aggressors.
Frisk's parents, Lori and Eric Young, loved Frisk greatly; however, Eric had died in a car accident, leaving Frisk and Lori without any financial support. They had to live off welfare to survive in their original home in South City. Sometime after Jacob was adopted, Lori decided to move to Ebottville to live with her mother, Granny Aubrey Young, hoping to find better support there.
The boys loved living in the calm, quiet community of Ebottville. The boys would go hiking on Mount Ebott, going on picnics with their mother and grandmother, swimming in the nearby ocean, or even eating pie on special, starry nights. However, they pale in comparison to the best part of living in Ebottville: Granny Aubrey telling stories of when she was a young girl, especially before the Surface War. She revealed about a hidden entrance into the depths of the mountain, where the children disappeared into. Both boys enjoyed the stories, but Jacob enjoyed the stories most; he always talked of one day being able to free the monsters, bringing peace to the Surface.
Unfortunately, such joyous times came with a heavy price. On the day before Jacob's fifth birthday, Jacob himself began to feel severely ill. When the family took Jacob to the hospital, the doctors revealed a shocking revelation: Jacob had leukemia. The doctors stated that Jacob had leukemia since he was a small infant since his immune system was poorly developed, but it was greatly weaker then; but now, the illness had reached a severe point of concern. Jacob would need treatment and be hospitalized to lower the risk of the leukemia advancing.
Frisk felt terrible for Jacob's condition, but Jacob constantly reassured Frisk that he would be fine, and they'll be able to go on picnics and hikes again. During Jacob's time in the hospital, Jacob and Frisk would play games, talk about their day, schoolwork, retold themselves Granny's stories, and even ate lunch together. Though Frisk felt a little better, his heart still felt heavy.
After four months of hospitalization, Jacob had recovered enough to leave the hospital, but Jacob's leukemia was still active, requiring close attention for any new progression. This prevented Jacob from playing outside much, as he would get dizzy, greatly tired, or get fevers, and wound up being confined to his bed. Jacob wasn't bothered by his leukemia, but Frisk still harbored greatly concern for his ailing health. During that time, Frisk would help Jacob be comfortable in his bed, give his medicine, and assist Jacob when he felt nauseous.
By the time Frisk turned five, Jacob's ill spells and dizziness grew slightly intense, with Jacob's face becoming pale, him breaking into a cold sweat, and barfing into trash bins. Lori, worried sick for Jacob, pulled him from school until he made full recovery. Frisk still felt worried, yet Jacob reassured his younger brother and ignored his current condition.
As Jacob reached the age of six, his leukemia grew less severe, though it remain severe, getting slight illness or nausea. Frisk began to feel better, seeing his adopted brother recover from a lengthy period of leukemia. Jacob and Frisk continued on with their daily lives, going on short hikes, playing catch, and going butterfly catching.
Though joy had returned to their lives, this joy would soon fade away once more...
3 YEARS PRIOR TO THE PRESENT DAY...
It was a brisk, sunny August day. Frisk, Jacob, and their guardians had decided to have a picnic on Mount Ebott, specifically in a special spot the boys called "The Outlook", since it looked out upon the town, the sea, Mount Phinn, and East Metro. The Outlook was littered with a few trees, with one tree, a big oak tree, being a unique one out of the elm trees there. The Outlook had two nearby cave openings: one had a faded stone door within it, near the oak tree, and a second cave farther to the right of the Outlook, which Frisk and Jacob never explored before.
"Come on, Frisk! I know you can get up the path!" Jacob yelled teasingly at Frisk, who was weakly running up a steep path, huffing with a shortness of breath.
"Huff, huff..." Frisk wheezed, "Okay, I've managed to catch... huff... up... Can we rest for a moment?" Frisk fell to his knees in exhaustion, his head covered a bit of sweat. "It isn't easy hiking up the path in the August heat, y'know," Frisk managed to huff out.
"Yeah, it's a real scorcher!" Jacob replied, before pointing towards their guardians, sitting on a picnic blanket, "Anyways, Mom's already got the food ready, and Granny might tell us a story while we eat!"
Frisk simply beamed from ear to ear. Granny's stories never really got old on the boys; they were always dying to hear more of the monsters' lives before the Surface War, and Granny's wisdom on things or ideas the boys were unknowing or unsure of.
"That sounds... huff... great!" Frisk gasped, breathing heavily.
After eating some ham sandwiches and chips, the two boys cleaned the mess quickly, sitting back down to hear Granny's tales and pieces of wisdom. She simply chuckled with delight.
"Alright, my little munchkins," Granny began, "what would you like to hear about today?"
The boys thought about what they wanted to hear about. Soon, Frisk spoke up, "Can you tell us about SOULS?"
"Well, now!" Granny chuckled, "You want to know more about souls? Well, that's something I've wanted to tell you youngsters about!"
"Yeah, Granny," Jacob piped, "what are souls?"
Granny cleared her throat. "Well, it's a little difficult to explain them..." she joked.
The boys sat patiently, waiting for their grandmother to continue. She simply chuckled softly.
"Let's see now," Granny began calmly, "souls are the very thing every living being has. It allows us to feel love, keep us alive, and provide us with strange powers.
The boys muttered in excitement over this, then quieting down to hear Granny again.
"However," she continued, "human souls and monster souls are rather different. Monster souls are very fragile, and do not persist long after death, unless it was a Boss Monster, but those souls only persist for only a short time. However, human souls don't disappear easily; they last even after the original owner of that soul has passed on. Both types of souls usually disperse the last of their energy to revitalize the very Earth we walk."
The two boys simply listened carefully with eagerness.
"A human soul usually has a special color that represents its main virtue. Some represent bravery, some kindness, others long for justice; however, there is one virtue that is semi-common, yet unique, even to this day: DETERMINATION."
"Determination?" Frisk puzzled.
"Determination," Granny answered, "is a virtue of mysterious nature. Every human soul has determination, but an individual whose soul represents Determination strongest have enough to even resist death, and give them other powers I'm not even aware of."
"Wow!" Jacob said with awe, "That's so cool!"
Granny frowned a bit. "Unfortunately, these powers can be dangerous if used for impure purposes. If the person who wields it has pure intentions, it will benefit others; those with tainted desires will bring harm to all."
Silence simply brushed over the two awestruck boys. Jacob stifled a small cough.
"Some people," Granny began with a smile, "have the ability to see the soul of a person, be it monster or human. I am one of such people."
"That's awesome!" Jacob said with vigor, "Can you tell us what our souls are like, Granny? Please?"
Granny laughed heartily. "Alright. Let's see now... Jacob, your soul is a rare color: silver. Silver represents Compassion the strongest. Frisk..." Granny paused a moment before becoming surprised a bit. "Frisk, you have a red soul. You strongly represent Determination!"
Jacob was stunned, and so was Frisk. Frisk never realized that he had a soul of determination within him. He was both anxious and excited, he couldn;t even bring himself to describe how he felt about having a powerful soul.
"What's your soul like, Granny?" Frisk asked with wonder.
"My soul," Granny replied, "is gold, which means I strongly represent Honesty. I've never shown a shred of dishonesty to anyone in my life, nor becoming ignorant about the true nature of a person."
Jacob and Frisk nodded with amazement. Granny spoke truly, as she never went out of her way to hurt others feelings with constant lies. She really did have a heart of gold.
After the story, however, Jacob began to cough hard. His face began to turn very pale.
"Jacob!? Are you okay!?" Frisk panicked.
"I-I-I'm f-fine..." Jacob whispered weakly.
"Jacob...!" Lori gasped.
Jacob fainted, his breathing get weak and his heart racing wildly. Frisk's eyes only saw fear at what he had once witnessed only months ago: the attack of Jacob's leukemia.
Oh no... Not this again...! Frisk thought in deep fear.
It had been only two dreaded weeks since that fateful afternoon. Jacob had landed himself back in the hospital once again; his leukemia had become active once again, but more severe than the previous time. The doctors showed much concern for Jacob ailing health, noting that his immune system was weaker than before; they concluded he might have a slim chance of surviving his leukemia.
That chance was much slimmer than they thought...
On a cold September afternoon, Frisk and his mother came to visit their sickened family member. Upon entering the room where he stayed, one could see Jacob in bed, barely awake, rigged to several machines, and a nurse constantly caring for him.
Frisk entered the room, silently and nervously; he saw his ailing brother confined to the hospital bed, bringing more fear and worry into his eyes. Jacob slowly turned his head towards his adoptive brother, smiling underneath the respirator mask he wore.
"H-h-hey, Frisk..." Jacob weakly said.
Frisk was silent. He was at a loss for a response. What could he even say to his brother, who was constrained to his bed, seriously, maybe fatally, ill? He shuffled quietly up to his brother's hospital bed. He extended his arms, gift in his hands, towards Jacob.
"What's this?" Jacob said, coughing a bit.
"It's... a small get-well gift... for you..." Frisk whispered, his voice rather shaky.
Jacob let out a small chuckle. He took the small gift, a small box wrapped in silver paper and topped with a blue bow. It was lightweight, and when Jacob shook it lightly, a faint rustle came from the box.
"... go ahead and open it... please..." Frisk squeaked, a tear welling up in his eye. His mouth contorted into a weak smile.
Jacob carefully unwrapped the gift, revealing a small black box. Opening the box, he found a small silver locket, its main decoration being a silver heart. Jacob read its little inscription: "Compassion".
"It... is a fine... gift. Thanks, brother..." Jacob coughed, a bit of blood showing, "...R-really describes m-me well..." The machine rigged to Jacob to check his pulse began to beep slower.
"J-Jacob-!" Frisk weakly screeched in horror.
The nurse caring for Jacob began to phone for a doctor. "Yes, he's in Room 205B in the left wing! His pulse is faltering!"
"Jacob, I'm scared that... that... that you're not gonna make it this time!" Frisk quivered with fright.
At that moment, Jacob gathered his remaining strength, and placed his hand on his frightened brother's shoulder. He pulled the young boy closer, embracing a small hug to comfort the boy.
"Frisk..." Jacob replied with calm reassurance, "... I need to tell you something that I've wanted to tell you before..."
Frisk began to fell his throat tighten and his eyes welling up with tears.
"I've always wondered about what it's like to see the Underworld... to meet a monster..." Jacob coughed more severely, "Do you remember the cave on Mount Ebott, farthest from the Outlook... Granny told me once... that it leads deep down into the Underworld..."
Frisk began to whimper, but Jacob patted his head and smiled.
"I've dreamt of going to the Underworld... and freeing the monsters from the Underworld... but it seems like I won't..." Jacob paused a bit. "If you ever end up there... please... free the monsters f-for me... and keep Mom... and Granny... safe..."
Jacob weakly handed the locket to Frisk, who took it in his hands.
"Listen closely... take my soul... and keep it in the locket... keep them both with you.. no matter what..." Jacob said, his voice beginning to fade, "... maybe my soul may serve you well..." Jake smiled. "Good... bye... Frisk... I love you... as my brother... forever..."
Jacob weakly coughed, then his eyes closed, his chest relaxing. The machine straight-lined. Silence rang out throughout the hospital, with only the constant whine of the straight-lining pulse machine being audible.
Frisk soon collapsed to his knees, beginning to sob uncontrollably. Frisk's mother, Lori, and a doctor came in, both seeing Jacob lying peacefully and lifeless in the bed, Frisk sobbing into the covers.
Frisk's mother quietly walked over, tears forming in her own eyes. She knelt beside Frisk, hugging him to comfort both him and her of losing their most loved family member: an adopted, but caring son and faithful brother.
As Jacob's lifeless body laid on the bed, his soul, a silver heart, appeared, floating into the air for a bit. Frisk managed to gather enough confidence to gently grab the soul, pulling it down close to him and his mother.
"...he wanted me to keep it with me... to protect me..." Frisk whimpered sorrowfully, his hands soon placing the soul carefully inside the locket, infusing the locket with Jacob's soul, its power of Compassion.
Frisk, soon after placing the soul in the locket, grasped it close to his heart. He broke into tears, burying his face deep into his mother's arms, who attempted to comfort him over the loss of his only sibling.
While he didn't know it, Frisk's soul sparked a red glow: a glow of Determination. A determination that would manifest within time.
After the hospital incident, Jacob's nurse walked solemnly towards the post office, with a small, wooden box in her hand. She was instructed to have the box delivered to a specific address within a period of three years time.
Inside the box was a note and a item of importance within three years.
PRESENT DAY
It was a brisk September day, the sun shining behind a thick wall of clouds. In Ebottville, the streets were quiet, with the occasional barking dog or group of kids playing in backyards. A school bus stopped near the home of Frisk. Frisk walked off the bus, heading into his house as the school bus continued on its route.
As Frisk entered his home, he was greeted by Granny, who was sitting in the living room reading some old novels, some written by monsters prior to the Surface War, and his mom, who was baking a butterscotch-cinnamon pie for a dessert (Frisk's favorite).
"Hello, grandchild!" Granny said in a jovial tone.
"Hello, sweetie." Lori said heartily, "A package arrived for you today. It's in your room."
Frisk's face displayed wonder and curiosity. A package? That's odd, I don't remember anyone telling me about a package... he thought, walking into his room. "Thank you for the heads up, Mom!" Frisk responded politely, entering his bedroom.
Frisk's room was a small room, containing two beds, a dresser, a toy box, wardrobe, and a desk with a lamp and a cup full of pencils. The room originally housed Jacob, but afterwards, the second bed was left in a neat, made manner. Sitting on Frisk's bed was a small wooden box, labeled "To: Frisk Young".
"Weird," Frisk mumbled to himself, setting his school pack on his bed, "this package has no sender identity..."
Picking up the package, Frisk walked over to his desk. He set the box down and opened it. Inside was a note and a slingshot. Picking up the note first, Frisk read the note:
Dear Frisk,
I've told my nurse to withhold this item
until three years passed.
I figured that my time was near,
so I left this for your future quest.
Use this only when you can't spare them.
-Jacob (age 4)-
When Frisk saw the name, he crumpled the note and toss it at the wall. His eyes glistened of sorrow. It had been three years since Jacob had passed away, and Frisk barely had the spirit to talk about the touchy subject.
He calmed himself, then proceeded to grab the slingshot. It was a wooden slingshot, inscribed with Jacob's name in marker, sturdy in its build. "Even before now, Jacob thought of this beforehand?" Frisk mumbled, "But why?"
Frisk shuffled over to where the crumpled note laid, picked it up, and smoothed it out again. He turned it over, seeing another piece of the note:
Frisk,
if I don't live to see the monsters go free,
then take this slingshot and travel to Mount Ebott.
Go free 'em for me.
~Jacob
Frisk just sat in silence for a while. Soon, he made a crucial decision.
After a while, Frisk changed out of his school clothes and into more comfortable clothes: a blue shirt with purple stripes, blue-gray shorts, and brown leather boots. Grabbing the silver locket, he walked out of his room, towards the kitchen. His mother was still cooking, this time it was soup.
"Hey, Mom?" Frisk asked quietly.
"Yes, Frisk?"
"May I go to Mount Ebott for a bit. I want to visit our old picnic spot for a bit."
Lori hesitated, but calmly replied. "Yes, but be back before dinnertime."
After that, Frisk grabbed a dark blue-grey hoodie to keep him warm, and walked towards Mount Ebott, with his slingshot in his hand.
After a while, Frisk arrived at the Outlook. It looked the same as before, but the Outlook had one new addition: Jacob's grave. Frisk walked over to the gravestone. He told his mom that Jacob would've wanted to buried here, so that he could watch from Mount Ebott peacefully. He smiled.
"Hey, Jacob," Frisk said to himself, though he pretended that Jacob was listening, "it's been rough these past few years. Mom's been working from home, though she still feels upset from losing you. Granny's doing fine, but she hasn't been in the mood for her stories much. I want to let you know that I'm doing fine. I've been doing well in school and I've got some good friends. I wish you were still here though..."
Frisk sat in silence for a moment. He looked at the locket, smiling.
"I've taken good care of your locket and soul. It's kept me from losing hope and I feel that your compassion is having a good effect on us all. Especially my good friends..."
Frisk stood up, then smiled again at the gravestone.
"Also, thanks for the slingshot. It's nice and well-made."
A boom of thunder startled Frisk, who looked up at the sky, noticing that clouds had rolled in. Rain began to pour down hard, Frisk clutching both the locket and slingshot, and began running towards some shelter: the farthest cave from the Outlook. He would've ran back home, but the rain made the path muddy and slippery, making it treacherous to scale down.
After running for a few minutes, slipping occasionally on a mud patch, Frisk reached the unexplored cave, the one Granny had spoken of that lead into the Underworld. Catching his breath, Frisk looked outside, seeing the rain come down harder. Frisk was slightly drenched, mainly near his head area.
"Crud, this storm's gonna last a while. And dinnertime's almost here." Frisk grumbled, "Man, I'm gonna miss dinner and have Granny and Mom mad at me."
Frisk turned his vision to the cave's interior. The cave was pretty bare, with rocky formations and several vines. Near Frisk's location was a large pit, where a howling, cool wind blew from. The air was stale, but Frisk didn't mind.
"I wonder," Frisk muttered, "if I just take a quick peek at the pit..."
Frisk began to walk towards the pit, swallowing hard. His hands shook nervously, clutching the locket and slingshot tight. Sweat broke out on Frisk's forehead, despite the cave being cool as the rain. As he inched closer to the gaping hole, the wind howled louder, the rain becoming a soothing rumble.
However, Frisk wasn't paying attention to where he was stepping. As he was very close to the pit, his foot snagged onto a vine, tripping Frisk. Frisk lost his balance and fell forward. However, there was no ledge to grab onto, so Frisk fell into the pit.
"Augh!" Frisk screamed as he fell deep into the mountain, "Jacob, Mom, Granny... someone! Help me!"
Frisk fell far down the chasm, the wind howling past him as he continued his descent. As he fell, he gripped both the locket and the slingshot tight.
Frisk soon began to cry, believing that once he hit the bottom, he'd never see the light of day again. Afterwards, he passed out. Unbeknownst to him, Frisk's unconscious body landed softly on a patch of golden flowers. As he laid there, unconscious, the wind became a gentle, stiff breeze.
Thus, Frisk's journey, his Undertale, had begun.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Welcome, one and all, to Undertale: Frisk's Quest!
So, this is practically my telling of the Pacifist Run, so expect there to be headcanon AU things in this fanfiction, mainly the things that account for a truly True Pacifist Ending.
There will be many changes, and most of the dialog in the fanfiction will stay as truthful to the original game as possible, but I cannot make a definite promise there!
I would put more into this author's note, but I'm tired, so the only final thing here is that this version of the prologue is a rewritten version (the official version of the prologue) since the original had details that were rather dull or easily dismissive, or it contained little supporting detail.
I hope you all enjoy this story, as I enjoy writing for a great game such as this! :)
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Undertale! Undertale is owned entirely by Toby Fox. Certain characters, like Jacob, belong to me. This is a non-profit, fan-based story! Don't judge me!
Zephire98 - "Reading this chapter fills you with DETERMINATION! However, I have a heart of integrity!"