The small child stands up and rubs their hands together for warmth. A bitter winter breeze bites through their thin sweater and the child wipes a tear away from their face. They contemplate about their life and if they really want to carry out on this. Sure, their home life is a living nightmare; filled with endless terror and hungry, sleepless nights; but, is this something that they can go through with?
At school, they heard whispers about if you go to a certain mountain, you'll never be heard from again. Of course at that time, the child barely thought about coming here. Just a small fantasy to keep them from facing the harsh reality of their miserable, yet young life. Last night, however, was the last straw. They finally grew tired of being shoved around, yelled at and being stomped into the ground like a cigarette butt.
Such dark thoughts swirled around their head and as anger swelled up in their small chest they clenched their fists tightly. They never asked for any of this. They try so hard to be good and obedient for their parents. When they were younger, they looked up to their parents so much. Nothing could compete with the greatness of dear mother and father. They never meant to hit their child, mother promised, "It was just a mistake, sweetie, you know we would never hurt you. We love you. Look, dad is going to buy you some ice cream. Please stop crying." As the child grew up, they saw through their parents' honey dipped lies and fake smiles. They truly knew what happened behind shut doors, something that they promised over and over to both mother and father that they would never tell to any one else.
"I can't do this." The child whimpers out loud as they stare down the dark hole of the mountain. They wipe away another tear and sit down near the hole and cry into their hands. Even at something like this, they're still a failure, just like what father always said.
The setting sun finally disappears over the horizon and the air grows colder by the second. The sweet child shivers and closes their eyes for a moment. They're so tired, the trek up the mountain itself was a great feat for someone so young. As the stars begin to twinkle in the sky, the child's beaten and exhausted body starts to give out.
The child stares up at the sky as they lose feeling in their limbs and they frown. This is not what they wanted, they begin to ponder about their actions. They could have changed things, they didn't have to use this as a solution. This was a mistake. It's too late to turn back though, there's no way they could make it back down the mountain and to somewhere warm. There was just no chance in that happening.
As the child's eyes grow more and more heavy, they begin to panic more. They want to go home. Not to mother and father, but to a friend's house perhaps. They never really thought about any place being a home, they just want to escape this. They are so young, with what is supposed to be a long life ahead of them.
They close their eyes and let out a sigh, they suppose that everyone fears death. Some are taken peacefully, some are taken in the most horrendous ways. For this young child though, they fight off the inevitable with waning strength. They're scared of what's beyond their own life.
"This all must be a dream," the child mutters to no one in particular, "It has to be." They grit their teeth, they don't want to die. They truly never wanted to die, they just wanted an escape.
Their eyes open and they're in a small and dark room. They let out a sigh of relief, it was all just a dream. There was no way that they would have actually had the gall to climb the mountain. They're too much of a coward, hiding from everything. A coward and a fool.
They sit up and fear rises in their throat. This is not their room. They are laying in a bed of golden flowers, after letting their eyes adjust to the dim light, they note that they must be in some sort of cave. At one side of the small cave is an opening and the child makes their way to the opening.
After a long walk down an all too silent corridor, they tentatively step into a large room. The only noise is the rapid beat of their heart and their shallow, labored breaths. They were never a very active child but a simple walk like this should not have left them gasping for air. The child rests a small and clammy hand against the cool cave wall and they stare at the being in the middle of the room which happens to be staring right back at them with a peculiar look. Surely this must be a dream. There's no way that a flower with an odd little grin on its face can be real. Its golden petals glow slightly, as if pleased with the current events and it bobs slightly, the sound of its leaves rustling as it stretches its steam to get a closer look at the child invading its home.
"I never thought to see the likes of you, gosh, you took quite a beating; haven't you," Its syrupy sweet voice echoes off the walls, "Do you know where you are?" When met with silence, the flower's grin wanes and the light in its eyes disappears for only a moment.
"I suppose I can't blame you, you've been asleep for a while now. I was starting to get worried. Well, you're in the Ruins. I'm sure you just need to wake up a little bit more and you'll begin to remember this place and hopefully other things. My name is Flowey, Flowey the Flower. You, uh, probably don't remember me. Do you, pal?" The child shakes their head and Flowey lets out a sigh. Of course they wouldn't remember anything, after all, it's been such a long time.
"That's fine, I know all of this seems like it's all new to you and I'll give you some time to remember everything. Do you at least know your name?" The child's brow furrows in concentration. Their name, what is their name? Why can't they remember something as simple as their name? They recall that Flowey said they've been asleep for some time, but how long does "some time" mean? They weren't feeling particularly hungry so it couldn't have been all that long.
A sudden name pops into their head and they let out a shy smile, "Frisk, my name is Frisk." They are surprised by how gravely their voice is and only then realizes how parched they are.
Flowey studies the small human and a slight frown appears. Frisk? Surely they must be confused. Flowey never even heard of that name before, how did they come up with such a curious name? Flowey decided to play along with their game. It's best not to confuse the child too much.
"Well, hello Frisk. I'm sure that you want to go back home. I'll be happy to inform you that I can help you." At one point, Flowey might have felt some remorse for spinning lies. However, now, they are immune to such feelings. Only now, a boiling rage fuels its existence. Nothing can quench it except for its long awaited freedom.
Flowey pats the ground next to it, inviting the dirty child over. Frisk complies and sits down next to the flower, bringing their knees up to their chest and rests their arms over their knees. Frisk studies the flower with a silent fascination. Flowey bends towards Frisk and gives them its sweetest and biggest smile.
"Do you want to know how to get out of here?" The child nods excitedly, Flowey chuckles at Frisk's eagerness.
"I'm glad that you want to get out of here, you're such a good child." Frisk hangs on to every word with a growing smile, "Before I tell you, you have to promise me that you'll do exactly what I tell you."
"I promise!"
"That's wonderful, I'm so happy! You are such a good friend." Flowey notes Frisk's blush and it gives them a sly grin, "I mean, we are friends; right?" Something about this flower gives Frisk a warm feeling. Like they've known each other for ages. They feel like they can trust this smiling flower.
"Of course. I always wanted to be friends with a flower."
"Heh, well, then I'm happy and you should be too. Say, I bet we can even help each other out. I can help you through this place and in turn, you can take me with you when you leave. How does that sound Frisk? We can be friends forever. You can take me everywhere you go when you return to the surface. We'll be best friends." Frisk once more nods, their bedraggled brown hair bounces and falls over their eyes.
"Boy, am I so relieved to have such a good friend! Okay, since you made that promise to me, I'm happy to tell you how to leave now. This first part is easy! You just have to wait. Soon, there will be a sweet old lady that comes through here. I want you to go with her, she'll lead you out of here and you'll be one step closer to leaving!" Frisk's smile falls and they cock their head to their left.
"You won't be coming with?"
"That's so sweet of you to be so worried about little old me. For this part, I won't be coming with you. I'll be close by though, I promise. I have some things to take care of first, I'll catch up to you two when she takes you to the door. Now, before I go, I have a little present for you. Since you are being so good; I decided to give this to you. Close your eyes and hold out your hands and I'll give you a big surprise!" Frisk lets out an excited squeal and quickly shuts their eyes and thrusts their hands out.
Flowey sets a rusty dagger gingerly on their hands, noting the sickly grey tint of their palms, "Okay, Frisk, you can open your eyes." Frisk opens their eyes and gazes at the dagger with confusion and looks back at Flowey with a scared look.
"Why do I need this Flowey?" Flowey's face turns crestfallen and they look down at the ground, seemingly wilting.
"I can't be around all the time, Frisk. I'm not going to lie to you, this is going to be a dangerous time for you. There are monsters out there who will gladly kill you. I'm not sure that you're aware of this, but down here, it's kill or be killed. You need that if you want to leave here alive," Flowey begins to sink into the ground, "Make sure to hide that and keep it close to you at all times. The lady will be here soon. Stick with her, she knows what to do. Remember what I said."
"No! Please don't leave me! I'm scared." Frisk barks out as they grip the dagger close to their chest. Flowey turns back to Frisk and gives them a reassuring smile.
"Just listen to what I said, you'll be safe. Oh, before I do leave though, I have one more thing to say. Out there, there is someone that you cannot trust. Someone that you must stay away from at all times. He isn't good, he's evil and he'll try to eat your soul and use your skin for his own. Watch out for a skeleton. The one in the blue jacket." Tears fall freely from Frisk's eyes and they rub the sleeve of their sweater against their nose.
"I-I don't want to die!"
"Then kill him as soon as you can. I have to go now." Frisk scrambles towards Flowey as Flowey disappears into the ground. It's best to leave for now. Make fear strike down into the child. Flowey thinks as it moves underground. It doesn't know why the child doesn't remember who they are but it supposes that it doesn't matter for the time being. As long as that damn skeleton doesn't interfere. He's given Flowey more than a hard time and the sooner the kid kills him, the better for Flowey. Perhaps this timeline is the one.
"I don't want to kill anyone though." They blubber to the ground where their friend was just a moment ago. Frisk sobs as they pack away the knife. They just want to go home, they don't want to kill anything but they don't want to be killed either. They'll wait here like what Flowey said. After all, Flowey said that they were friends. Friends don't let each other be in danger, right?
"Oh, my goodness, my sweet child. How long have you been down here?" A concerned voice startles Frisk and they look up. Blurred by their tears, they see a tall, white bipedal goat looking monster staring down at them with soft brown eyes. She extends a soft, furry hand to Frisk, "You must be so scared. Fear not anymore, sweet one. I'm here for you." This must be the lady that Flowey was talking about, trusting Flowey's word. Frisk takes the gentle monster's hand and stands up. The monster studies Frisk for a moment as they stand up, something is not quite right with this child. There is something to their ragged body that she does not like. Something familiar. Despite her better judgment to leave the child here and abscond quickly out of this part of the ruins. She picks up the child and is surprised by how light this one is. Most humans that fall are heavier than this human, not to mention that they also have some sort of life in their eyes. This child, however, has dull and dead eyes.
"What is your name, sweet one?"
"Frisk." As the monster makes her way through the ruins, with the child in her arms, she smiles down at them.
"That's such a lovely name. My name is Toriel, you're safe now. Worry not, we're almost home." As Toriel makes one final turn, Frisk sees a cozy cottage nestled between two walls, "This will be your new home now."
She sets Frisk down and Frisk stares up at the cottage in amazement, they turn to Toriel and wraps their arms around Toriel's legs, giving out a muffled thanks. Toriel smiles and suppresses the shudder that passes through her body as Frisk hugs her. The strange child doesn't seem to give out body heat and Toriel ponders if it was a good idea to let this creature into her home.
Toriel leads Frisk into her home and guides them into a room, "Here is your room, I hope you like it. I always keep it clean in case a human falls from the mountain." Being in a smaller space with Frisk, Toriel smells something strange emitting from the child. They are dirty, perhaps they just haven't had a good shower in a while; or perhaps whatever this is, is not even human.
Frisk runs into the room and looks around with an elated grin and stares back at Toriel with wide, innocent eyes.
"Thank you!" Toriel's eyes soften as her hand rests on the doorknob.
"You are welcome, young one, you must be very tired. Before you go to sleep, maybe you would like a nice, hot bath and some clean clothes?" Without waiting for an answer, she motions Frisk to follow her. They reach the bathroom and Toriel starts the bath water.
"Would you like a bubble bath?" Frisk nods and gives Toriel a goofy grin, one of their upper front teeth is missing. She reaches over and pours some liquid into the bath. Instantly bubbles start appearing. Frisk dips their hand in and begins to play with the bubbles. Toriel stands up after turning the bath water off.
"I'll be back with some clean clothes for you, okay?" After Toriel returns with a thick, woolen blue sweater and a matching set of blue shorts, she pauses at the door.
"By the way, do you like cinnamon or butterscotch more?" After a moment of contemplation, Frisk answers with cinnamon. Toriel nods thoughtfully and shuts the door gently behind her.
Frisk stands before the sink's mirror and stares into their face. After such a long day, they're glad to see that it's still them. Or so they hope, they understand that monsters probably don't see humans very often and don't know how to act around them. That, however, does not mean that Frisk doesn't see the way how both Flowey and Toriel have been giving them strange looks when they thought Frisk wasn't looking. Nor the way that Toriel seems to shy away from Frisk.
They continue to stare at their reflection and for a moment, something shimmers. Frisk takes a step back and lets out a surprised gasp. For a moment, they thought they saw someone behind them. It must be part of their imagination, it has to be. Frisk peels off their grimy clothing, folding their own clothing and setting it on the toilet seat, gently they put their little backpack on top of their folded clothes. Flowey said to keep the knife safe so they're not about to disappoint Flowey by letting their backpack that holds the knife leave their sight. They don't think that Toriel would take kindly to them having a knife.
Frisk jumps into the tub and sighs with happiness, the hot water feels so nice against their cool skin and they begin to scrub away at the dirt. Humming softly to themselves, they play quietly in the bathtub for some time.
As Toriel tucks Frisk into bed, she gives the child a gentle kiss on their forehead. After the bath, the child has seemed to gain more color, though, there's still a strange smell to them. Toriel takes out a book and asks if they would like to be read to, Frisk smiles and nods. After reading Peek-A-Boo with Fluffy Bunny, Toriel takes her leave. She keeps the door open a sliver so that the soft light of the hallway comforts the small child.
As Frisk closes their eyes, they hear something that sounds like talking but it's so faint, they can't pick up on any words. It's probably just Toriel, maybe she's on the phone with someone.
Frisk strains their ears to listen to the one sided conversation when a sudden pain erupts in Frisk's head, shooting up from bed, they bring their hands to their temples and squeeze their eyes shut. They've only felt this pain a few times before when they've suffered a few broken bones at the hands of their parents.
Frisk lets out a whimper and the talking grows louder, they realize that the talking cannot be Toriel because the voice that Frisk hears is actually a child. The voice continues to grow louder until it's just a constant screaming, the only word that Frisk can make out from the screaming is kill over and over again. Frisk lets out a scream of their own as they feel like their head is being split open.
Toriel runs back into the room and sees Frisk gripping their head with such force that their knuckles are white. Toriel rushes over to the child and pick them up and holds them against her chest. Wiping the hair and tears away from their face, she rocks back and forth gently as Frisk begins to calm down. Their headache disappears as suddenly as it appeared and the only thing left is the fear.
"My sweet child, what has happened?" Toriel's soft voice soothes Frisk further and they begin to relax, burying their face into Toriel's chest Frisk only answers in a series of incoherent and muffled words.
"It was only a nightmare, my sweet child. Go back to sleep, I'll be right here with you." Frisk climbs back into bed and holds out a small hand, Toriel takes it and smiles down at the child. They give a slight and uncertain smile back but their eyes grow heavy again and soon they are fast asleep.
Toriel examines them as they sleep. This certainly cannot be like the other humans that she's come into contact with. There's something so off but so familiar with Frisk. She can't quite place her finger on why this small child is giving them such an odd feeling but every time Toriel lays eyes on Frisk, a lump works its way up to her throat and the fur on her back rises ever so slightly.
Frisk's grip on Toriel's hand loosens and falls away, hitting the mattress with a soft thump and a serene smile passes on Frisk's slightly chapped lips. Whatever caused them to freak out earlier, is gone. Hopefully for good, Toriel knows however, this is only the start of this child's new life in Home.
Author's Note
Wow, it certainly has been a long time since I've been on here. I want to apologize, everything has just been pretty hectic and for the longest time it felt like I couldn't pull my life together. Anyway, I should have some more free time with the new job that I picked up so I'll be able to get back to writing. It does feel nice to be writing again. Well, I hope that you like this story, I'm pretty excited about this story and I have a lot of things in store for this one. I'm aiming to release a new chapter of this story every Monday. That should give me more than enough time to stop being so lazy and actually do something with my life. Well, until then, see you guys in the next chapter!