Authors Note: Hi all, I hope you enjoy this one shot. I've never written an undertale one shot before, so sorry if it isn't took good. Please review, I hope you like it.
It was a calm spring day in the city. The season had barely changed a couple weeks ago, and mother nature wasted no time, the flowers blooming, trees growing their leaves back in their luscious green foliage. Inside a house, a young girl was in her room, looking at herself in a mirror, her nearby single bed was neatly made. She had short auburn hair that reached her shoulders, and she was wearing a pair of suspender short jeans that were poofy around the legs, and a vibrant blue and red striped shirt underneath. There was a big bright red heart on the front of her overalls. There was not anything special to her room, it had a hard wood floor, a laptop set up nearby on a desk with a chair in front of it, and a decent window view of the backyard.
"Frisk, my child, are you awake?" a cheerful voice rung out, as did a knocking on the door. Frisk was an average nine-year-old child turned ten. Her birthday was today. The young preteen got out from in front of the mirror, going to the door and opening it. There stood Toriel, a goat woman in a purple dress and coat, holding a plate that had a slice of butterscotch pie on it with a candle a top it lit by a tiny flame.
"Happy birthday!" Toriel, her adoptive mother, exclaimed. Frisk jumped up and hugged her mother, tightly wrapping her arms around her neck. Monsters were a common thing in the world now. After the barrier was broken, Frisk had become an ambassador for monsters. Thus far she had done her best to make sure everyone was at peace and could enjoy harmony. The birthday girl was a mute, however, as she had been her whole life, but that did not stop her from showing her clear determination whenever she had to handle important matters.
"Ten years old. Before you know it, you'll be twenty," Toriel claimed, being a teacher to the school a few miles away like she had wanted to be for some time. Frisk enjoyed the butterscotch pie, loving the taste of her adoptive mother's cooking. Butterscotch was the ten-year-old's favorite meal of all, her mother cooked it often which was even better.
Frisk had changed the world. After freeing the monsters from the underground, they had all adapted to their above ground lives quite grandly. All the friends the young girl made who were almost close enough to be considered family brightened her day ever so often.
"Frisk, I want to ask you something. What does every birthday end with?" the goat woman quirked. Her daughter tilted her head while chewing on the food. As she finished her pie, she had no clue how to answer that. Her birthday had barely begun, so she had no clue what it was going to end with.
"Every birthday ends with a Y, of course," Toriel laughed, having tricked her adoptive child into a joke. Frisk stared at her mother, not sure how to feel about that one. The pun was so bad she wanted to laugh. The auburn haired girl heard jokes and puns quite often. She returned the plate to her mother as the two began to make their way downstairs, their feet creaking the wooden floor beneath them.
There were a few pictures hanging off the walls, depicting them and their close friends and their various loved ones. One of these people was asleep in all of the pictures aside from one. Frisk wandered into the living room while her mother went to the kitchen. She yawned while observing the intact room. A long L shaped couch stretched in the corner with a coffee table in front of it, a wooden rocking chair lay in front of the fireplace, a television rested nearby, and lastly there was a shelf full of books of various topics and interests, a few Frisk perused often, especially whenever there was a test coming up from her mother.
"Well, well, well, the birthday girl is up," an odd voice chimed, the tone changing constantly. Frisk turned over to see a flowerpot nearby on a windowsill. A decently sized sunflower with an unhappy face was in it. A sunflower that was passively aggressive with murderous intent, Flowey had tried to murder Frisk about a dozen times, and that was only after the monsters got freed from the underground. Before that the young girl lost count of how many murder attempts had been made on her life by the angry sunflower, but Frisk treated Flowey with a lot of care and respect. When the barrier was shattered, she went back with a trowel and a pot and dug the sunflower up to bring with them to the surface. It was just the three of them living in this home. It was an odd friendship, but Frisk did not mind.
"If you expect to get a gift from me than you're in for a sur…" Flowey glared, looking very irritated as he stopped, feeling water being sprinkled on him by a tiny watering can. The constant kind treatment drove the golden-petaled plant nuts. Frisk hummed a little while watering her close friend. Once she finished, she rested the watering can back aside.
"You know what, I do have a gift for you! I just forgot it! Open that cabinet!" Flowey exclaimed, pointing his head toward the nearby cabinet. Frisk smiled brightly as she went over and excitedly opened the cabinet. She could immediately hear the flower's scary laugh.
"I threw your leftover candy in there last night, and now the cabinet is full of fire ants! Enjoy being bitten a thousand times over!" Flowey laughed. However, nothing happened. Frisk stepped aside. Inside the cabinet was a small white fluffy dog slumbering away. It looked very content, like it had received a tasty treat or several. The annoying dog just knew perfect timing. Frisk patted its side before closing the cabinet to let it sleep.
"Raaaaaah!" Flowey began bashing his head against the flowerpot in rage. Frisk felt bad for upsetting her friend. She did not really care if she got any birthday gifts, or not. Today, just having her family and friends around was a great enough birthday present to her. suddenly the birthday girl had an idea on how to cheer the flower up. She reached under the table and pulled out an ultraviolet lamp.
"What is it now?" Flowey sighed, feeling the back of his head being patted to get his attention. He saw the lamp set up over him directly. Frisk turned it on, watching the lamp shine its lights on the sunflower.
"Do you think doing this would make me happy? I don't care about a bright… warm… comforting… cozy… light." Flowey rambled, beginning to doze off. The ultraviolet lamp always had an odd effect of putting the flower to sleep. Frisk had found that out by complete accident, but apparently the sunflower loved the ultraviolet light. Thus the monster ambassador made sure to have two in the house, one in her room and one in the living room, just for the living potted plant.
"Is everything alright? I heard a lot of noise…" Toriel asked while entering the living room. Frisk nodded, giving a thumbs up. The scene to her adoptive mother depicted Flowey just sleeping in and enjoying the bright light's rays. The school teacher decided to not press further into the topic, trusting that her daughter had whatever situation under control.
"I need you to help me with an errand. Would you mind?" Toriel requested. Her daughter nodded, more than glad to help. She had no real plans for her own birthday today anyway, and did not wish to spend it being lazy.
"I need an item of stable magic energy that can last a long time without fading, for our class. I want to teach them a little about magic. Of course, the only person who has anything like that in plentiful demand is Undyne. Would you go with Papyrus to get one?" Toriel explained. Normally the schools did not tolerate magic being used on campus. Monster kids attacking bullies with scary attacks was the last thing the school needed. However, the goat woman had found a way around this by labeling it an extra credit's Sunday class. For some reason, her employer was terrified of her, and she never could figure out why.
Frisk nodded with a smile, more than glad to go with Papyrus, who was another friend of theirs, all the way to visit Undyne. She pointed to the slumbering Flowey, wondering if she could bring him along as well.
"Well… I suppose there is no harm in taking Flowey with you. He looks pretty sleepy today," Toriel stated. From the sunflower's appearance, she hoped Papyrus would be able to watch out for any antics the flower might cause.
"He'll be here in a little, so get ready," the goat monster hummed. Frisk smiled and nodded, and thus went around the home to get ready.
She spent the next thirty minutes putting a few items in a small bag, a book and a small bag of chips, as well as two cans of soda. The trip to Undyne's took a bit of time. Ever since the city began construction on a new highway, the only way to get to the former royal guard's home was through a long, but still beautiful scenic route. However, she also had a form of baby carrier attached to the front of her chest, with straps wrapped around her shoulders.
"Wuh… what happened?" Flowey yawned, waking back up from his slumber, when he realized that he was being picked up by the smiling Frisk, who placed his flower pot in the carrier. The sunflower wished he had stayed asleep, feeling the person he despised petting his head. Then they heard a car pulling up in the driveway.
"Papyrus is here!" Toriel called out. Flowey looked very unhappy by this. He hated Papyrus. He recalled the last time he was alone with him, when he had to solve dozens of puzzles just to get him to leave him alone. The young girl bid her adoptive mother goodbye, before heading outside to where a bright red sports car waited in the driveway.
"Ah! Human! Hello!" said a familiar skeleton in a personal set of poorly made Armour and blue pants, with personal medals on the left, and a red scarf around his neck. Puzzle enthusiast and spaghetti lover, Papyrus had a little bit of a self-esteem issue, but ever since he met the young human girl, she had helped boost it up a lot.
"Are you ready to go to Undyne's?" Papyrus took his sunglasses off his face. Frisk smiled and nodded as she climbed into the passenger seat and pulled the seat belt across her shoulder, making sure it was on both her and Flowey. The birthday girl waved to Toriel before the sports car began to back out of the driveway, and it took off down the road at a high speed.
"Ohhh, Papyrus… please do not mess this up," Toriel mentally prayed. What the monster ambassador did not know was that her adoptive mother made up the whole energy spear deal to get her adopted daughter out for a while, so a surprise party could be prepared for her. She hoped to the heavens Papyrus could help serve as a distraction so she could prepare the surprise party. She went off to begin to work, not wanting to waste any time.
During the drive, Papyrus pulled out something from the floorboard. It was a gift wrapped bone with a little tie on the center.
"Here, human! I got you a present for your tenth nascency day!" Papyrus exclaimed. Frisk took the bone with a smile, thanking him.
"Gee I wonder what's in it…" the sunflower sarcastically muttered with a clear bored expression, watching as the birthday girl unwrapped it. Indeed, there was a bone in there. However, it seemed light, like it was hollow. One of the ends of the bone opened up like a bottle, and a key fell out into her lap.
"Nyeheheh! So that's where the key to my glove treasury went to!" Papyrus chuckled. Frisk smirked, assuming her real gift was inside the glove compartment. She stuck the key into the small keyhole in front of her and turned it, watching it open up. It revealed a lot of recently cooked spaghetti, the entire glove box looking full of it.
"Don't even think of trying to get me to eat that," Flowey warned, Frisk smiling sincerely. Papyrus did his best at cooking, though it was not exactly too good. He was improving gradually, at a very slow pace.
"Oh dear! My gloves are at the bottom of that delicious noodle pile! Human, could you please reach in and get them?" the skeleton of the royal guard requested. Frisk was finding this game fun, but if it kept continuing at this rate, there was going to be nothing but a big mess in her lap. She let her friend focus on the road, Flowey gagging in disgust as the girl reached into the spaghetti. After a few seconds of rummaging around, she pulled out a box that had a skeleton pattern symbol on the front. Most found the symbol scary, but she knew Papyrus only saw it as a symbol for skeletons. The young girl did not notice that they had ran three red lights by now.
Frisk opened the box with a bright smile, seeing what was inside. She reached in and pulled out a hand puppet, matching her likeness. It was strongly resembling her. The auburn haired child reached over and hugged the skeleton's bony arm.
"Nyehehe! I'm glad you like it, human! Sans said I would look creepy gathering your hair for that miniature hand human," Papyrus exclaimed, referring to his brother. Frisk kept a smile up, but could not deny that was disturbing. She had to wonder how, when and where he could have gathered her hair and for how long he had been doing it.
"Oh great… two of you…" Flowey sighed, seeing the puppet of Frisk beside him. At least it was something he could beat up when no one was looking. They all heard the sounds of a siren behind them. There was a police car coming up beside them. Papyrus happily pulled over. Frisk just closed the spaghetti filled glove compartment and put the puppet back in its box, resting it in the floorboard. It took only a brief moment for the officer to exit his vehicle and approach the sports car.
"Excuse me, sir- uhh…" the police officer observed the monster behind the steering wheel and the little girl beside him.
"Good evening, my fellow guard. How can I the great Papyrus be of assistance?" Papyrus asked. The cop was not used to monsters yet. He shook it off and coughed.
"License and registration, please… do you know why I pulled you over?" the officer asked while being handed the papers from the skeleton, which he began to look over. Papyrus shook his head, not an idea in his cranium at all. Flowey was about to say something, but Frisk covered his mouth up, not wanting him to add onto the situation.
"You ran three red lights, and were going forty-five miles an hour in the thirty zone. I'm going to have to give you a ticket," the officer claimed, beginning to write down the ticket. He handed it over after a brief moment. Frisk looked over it. The fine was $200, which probably was a lucky break for the skeleton.
"Wowie! Another signature written in recognition of my driving skill! Thank you!" Papyrus exclaimed. To him, a ticket was as good as a trophy. Before the officer could say anything more, the skeleton had drove off. The cop just shrugged it off. Still, that was the first time he had seen someone happy to get a ticket.
Frisk and Flowey watched Papyrus put the ticket aside in the cup holder. They were nearing the road that would take them to the scenic route. They really had no choice but to take this road. Otherwise it would be an insufferable nightmare of cars and oceans of traffic in their way.
"Did you even take a driving test?" Flowey quirked with a raised eyebrow.
"Eh? Driving test? I remember when I walked into the driver approval station. They were so impressed with my looks they were shaking behind their desks, and they gave me the license in minutes!" Papyrus laughed, recalling this. Frisk giggled, trying her best to suppress her laughter.
During the drive, they arrived to a more gravel path, leading to another road that appeared to direct them to a tunnel. Tall trees surrounded them, and lots of bushes added to it. When they drove through the tunnel, they arrived on a very long road that appeared to just be a single road of turns and twists. This was the long but still beautifully scenic route to another part of town. The trees went so high and had so many leaves that the sun was barely getting through.
Frisk smiled, patting Flowey's head before pointing out the window. They were driving by a patch of flowers, various colors and types blending together to make one beautiful flower bed.
"Haha… funny kid," the sunflower unamusingly commented, not caring much for the flowers. Papyrus was enjoying the feeling of the wind flowing against his skull and the high speed of his sports car. It would take some time to reach the end of this big forest, but it was still nice to take in the sights.
"Ahh, yes… days like this are what I, the great Papyrus, will always welcome," Papyrus commented. Ever since he got out from the underground, he had probably become the most social monster out of them all, telling various tales to people from what went on down there and his brave adventures to really draw attention. It all had made him quite famous on the internet. His attempts at making a cook book though did not go through too well. Every recipe was just spaghetti.
"I wish I had stayed asleep," Flowey groaned in annoyance. He did not even want to imagine how long they would be at Undyne's for. She liked having her friends around and tended to make her house guests feel forcibly welcomed. However, soon enough they felt an odd vibrating from the sports car itself. The skeleton behind the wheel pulled over to the side of the road.
They all climbed out of the car, Frisk still having Flowey in the carrier on her chest as she went around to the other side of the sports car. Papyrus was on one knee, looking at the back left tire. They had suddenly gotten a flat tire out of nowhere.
"Oh dear… it appears my trusty transportation vehicle has become injured," Papyrus said. The birthday girl swore she could hear the sunflower mentally screaming in rage at the thought of being stuck here.
"Do. You. Have. A. Spare." Flowey demanded. He hated to imagine being stuck out in the middle of nowhere near the city in this remote location with these two.
"Nyeheheh! Of course! Frisk, help me get it from the luxury compartment," Papyrus requested. Frisk nodded, more than happy to help. She took Flowey out of the carrier and rested him on the hood of the sports car, and then she went to the back to help her friend. He had the trunk open, and sure enough, the tire was there. She helped the skeleton pull it out of the back of the vehicle. It was heavy, and it hurt her arms a little. She was a lot stronger than he was in comparison, but the young girl assumed that was from a lack of muscles.
"How long until we're out of here?" the sunflower requested as the tire was rested against the car, Papyrus going to the trunk to get the tools again. He felt bad for having the birthday girl have to get her hands dirty in aiding him, but he knew his best friend would tell him if she did not want to help.
Frisk went and got her bag from the passenger seat, getting the bag of chips from it. She brought it to the sunflower, trying to reassure they would be back on the road in no time. Thankfully the skeleton was equipped to handle this situation. She opened the bag and pulled out a chip, offering it to the sunflower she saw as a close friend.
"Thanks, I guess," Flowey sighed, taking the chip with his mouth and munching away. She rested the bag beside the sunflower, letting him eat as much as he wanted. Afterwards Frisk went over to help Papyrus get the flat tire off the sports car. The two had to work together to get each individual lug nut removed, as they clattered to the ground once removed. Frisk pulled while Papyrus pushed, so they could turn the tool. Flowey had his head stuffed in the bag of chips, pulling out another few in his mouth to eat up while he watched the two work away.
After another twenty minutes was spent removing the tire and putting it in the trunk, before putting the spare tire on in its place. When they were done, Frisk wiped the running sweat off her forehead. She had some dust on her hands, wrists and on the pant part of her overalls. Papyrus was not much cleaner either.
"There we are! Now let us go," Papyrus exclaimed happily.
"About time," Flowey said. He had eaten the entire bag of chips within that time, the empty bag having been blown away by the wind to go litter itself somewhere. Frisk picked the sunflower up and put him back in the baby carrier on her chest, and she got in the passenger seat, Papyrus getting in the driver's seat. He grabbed the key in the ignition that had too many trinkets attached from the key chain. The skeleton turned the key, and they heard the engine trying to start. However, there was a stuttering sound, and then nothing.
"Oh dear," Papyrus muttered, trying to start his sports car again. The engine still refused to begin. Frisk frowned, sensing the aura of rage from Flowey. All she could do was pet his petals to try and make him calm down. It appeared they were stuck here, and Papyrus had no tools available for handling engine trouble, nor the know how.
"Welp… we're stuck… but at least we have spaghetti!" Papyrus exclaimed, trying to look on the bright side of things. He reached over and opened the glove compartment. However, it opened and out popped that same annoying dog that Frisk had seen earlier in her home, coming out from a now empty glove box and landing in Frisk's lap. The awestruck Frisk quickly got over the surprise, before she pet it with her hand.
"Why you… this meddling canine has been a nuisance to my life and cooking for too long!" Papyrus complained. The annoying dog had no reaction, just barking before lying down, wanting to rest. This dog had the weird ability to appear anywhere it wanted, no matter how small the space or what was inside of it. If the dog wanted something it was going to get it, though there was no way to tell if it was just from how it was raised in the underground, or if there was some other third party involvement in this dog's spectacular powers.
Frisk patted the skeleton's back, insisting that he would gain nothing from attempting to assault the dog beyond a few dents in his car with all the bones that would most likely be thrown. Papyrus sighed with his head on the steering wheel, giving up, now appearing demoralized. He had worked all night to cook that pasta for the birthday girl.
"So what do we do now…?" Flowey asked the big question on all their minds. Frisk put the tiny white dog in the back seat of the sports car to let it rest with more room. She had no clue what to do, and it was a long trip back home wherever they went, and going through the woods blindly was dangerous. Papyrus could put up a great fight if anything threatened them, but it would not matter how strong they were if they wound up getting lost, and Frisk preferred to be merciful and not fight at all unless she had to.
After a few minutes, Frisk stood outside with her cellphone, upgraded by Alphys into an advanced piece of technology with a lot of applications and special features. However, their luck appeared to still be going poorly because they had no service here. Flowey was still in the car with the sleeping dog, and Papyrus was just sitting beside the sports car. She tried her best, but she could not get a signal. She walked around the car, returning to her friend. She really wished she had gotten the jet pack fuel refilled on her phone.
"No luck, nyeh?" Papyrus asked. Frisk nodded. They were indeed on their own, just a skeleton, an angry sunflower, an annoying dog, and a now ten-year-old girl with her hand puppet. She was keeping the box containing the miniature version of her close for good luck. This scenic route had become quite scary, now that anything that could go wrong unfortunately has.
"Well, I'm sure all we have to do is wait patiently for someone to drive by and pick us up," the royal guard exclaimed. Hitch hiking indeed seemed like their only option, but they had not seen a single other car yet since they had been here. No one else was around to be seen.
"But in the meantime, we can all have fun making puzzles!" Papyrus hummed, thinking they could revel in the luxury and joy of creating puzzles, his favorite pass time.
"OH MY GOD, SOMEBODY KILL ME!" Flowey screamed from the passenger seat. Frisk did not mind though, as she had to admit it sounded very fun even if she would inevitably be the one put up to the task of testing said puzzles. However, the auburn haired girl took notice of something. It looked like their luck was changing. She pointed to the left part of the road, where she could see a bright yellow Cadillac that was driving slow, almost as if the driver enjoyed taking in the atmosphere.
"Oh, fortunes of fortunes!" Papyrus stepped to the side of the road, waving his arms, trying to get the drivers attention. The Cadillac with the tinted windows came to a stop. There was a hood ornament that looked like a black book, but the other half of it was missing. The confused birthday girl let her friend handle this. The window on the driver's side rolled down.
"Excuse me sir, but I am the great Papyrus. Me and my friends are stuck here, and we could do with a ride," Papyrus requested, Frisk just watching from afar. After a few moments, the skeleton gave a thumbs up with a bright smile. The driver had agreed to let them ride. The auburn haired girl smiled, going over and resting the box in her bag, putting it on her back. She picked up Flowey and put him in her carrier. The annoying dog hopped out of the car, yipping, intent on following Frisk, which she didn't complain about.
"I will ride in the luxury compartment!" Papyrus declared, getting into the trunk. Frisk did not judge him for it. The skeleton enjoyed riding in the trunks of cars for some reason. She opened the passenger door, the annoying dog hopping in and climbing into the backseat before she got into the passenger seat with Flowey, closing the door.
"Hello…" a deeper toned voice greeted. Frisk and Flowey's eyes widened when they saw the man in the driver's seat. He was in his early twenties with a skinny body build, but he was pale, like he had been fighting several different colds for months on end, but otherwise he seemed perfectly healthy. The man was wearing a grey vest with a long sleeved black shirt underneath it, and his tired expression showed, with bags under his eyes.
"I really wish you had left me at home," Flowey reminded the birthday girl, though they did notice stacks of books in the backseat of the Cadillac, so many that the annoying dog had his small fluffy head sticking out of a pile that he had dove into by complete accident.
"It's nice… to meet you… I'm SD," SD held out a hand. Frisk shook it, despite the eerie atmosphere. She was not going to act rude to someone who had saved them from a grueling walk. Frisk introduced herself and Flowey, since Papyrus already had introduced himself and was in the trunk.
"Just enjoy… the ride…" SD slowly put his foot on the gas pedal, and the Cadillac began to drive forward down the road of the scenic route, leaving behind the sports car, which Papyrus predicted would have to be towed and repaired at a professional mechanics before it would be driving again.
Frisk was enjoying the ride. The Cadillac's leather seats felt comfortable, and the tinted windows kept any sunlight from being in the driver or passenger's eyes. The annoying dog was sleeping on the pile of books. The strange driver was focused on the road, and for some odd reason, there was still no traffic on that road.
"What is with all the books?" Flowey quirked, reaching over and grabbing one from the back, the only one he could really reach, resting it beside them and opening it. The sunflower was not able to read this book at all. It was written in another language, Frisk took a peek as well, guessing it was German.
"Do you… like stories, too?" SD looked at the two. Frisk gulped, a little scared. She didn't mean to invade his personal items and read one of his many books. She assumed that the book collector just spoke two languages. At least he wasn't mad by the looks of it, but whenever he talked, he had pauses between words, like his voice box was terribly overused and required rest.
"Uhhh…" Flowey got his mouth covered by Frisk who nodded. She enjoyed stories, but the last time she had read a book at all was a school requirement, though Toriel had a lot of books in her own collection, but they did not rival this man's truckload of novelizations.
"Would you like… to hear a story?" SD offered with a smile. The birthday girl decided to agree to listening to a story of any kind. She was thinking this man probably had a lot of experiences over the course of his life, and a story would be a grand way to pass the time. He pointed to the many books, motioning her to pick one out at complete random. Frisk took Flowey out of the carrier and put his flower pot on the dashboard of the Cadillac. She then reached into the back and grabbed a book out from under the annoying dog that had an orange hardcover.
"Ahh… good choice," the driver hummed, sounding happy to have her pick this. Frisk handed the book over to him. He took the book with one hand and opened it, his other hand on the steering wheel, though this book made Frisk more confused. She could see the writing, but it was once again in a completely different language, which instead looked Arabic. The birthday girl tried to relax, not wanting to think too much on it, believing he was just a man with a talent of translating languages. She could hear a mental message from Toriel that stating that immersing ones self in another culture is a great learning experience.
SD coughed, preparing himself, taking in a deep breath and then gaining a small smile. Flowey felt disturbed by their driver.
"Once upon a time, there was a small village. The day was adequate. They lived in peace, not meaning harm to anyone. But one day, an odd traveler appeared," SD began telling the story but then stopped midway, appearing to need to recover his voice. He was putting a lot of his heart into telling this tale.
"This guy is scaring me…" Flowey whispered in admittance, Frisk focusing on the story more, wanting to enjoy the ride. She wished Papyrus was not in the trunk. He loved stories, though she doubted there would be room in the car for him.
"His name was the Alllss Almiah. The village welcomed him like any traveler. However, he was not here for a friendly visit. Before anyone realized it, clouds had taken over the sky, and all the water from the village river was being sucked away into the clouds. As suddenly as it happened, the Alllss Almiah, and their only source of water, was gone. It was as if he had taken the clouds as well. The village went through a huge drought, and were forced to leave to seek a new place to build," SD finished the tale, coughing the soreness out of his throat. Frisk, having listened to it all, was surprised. That was all to this chapter of the book though. This Alllss Almiah character sounded interesting, but judging by how long the Arabic book was, there was another few chapters left before it was done, seeming to be a book all about this one village's story.
"I'll continue reading… in a moment," SD stated. Frisk noticed that Flowey had fallen asleep toward the end of the reading. Frisk looked through the windshield, and she saw the same scenic route, which she brushed aside, thinking they weren't too far away. This person was nice at least, considering he picked up random hitchhikers. The tired man treated them like very important guests. Suddenly, Frisk was beginning to feel tired herself. She had been up late last night, which made her feel bad for acting rude to the person giving them a ride.
"If you must… you can sleep… I can continue reading… I love reading…" the tired driver offered. Frisk thanked him, though she checked her cellphone one more time to see if she could get a signal to inform someone of what happened. Sadly, her phone was without any bars. She pocketed it, before laying back in her seat, yawning. Her eyelids felt heavy and in need of closing. She heard SD continue telling the story, and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep with a small smile on her face.
Frisk felt something tugging on some of her hair painfully. She opened her eyes to see Flowey who reached over from the dashboard and biting while pulling her hair with his mouth to wake her up. The birthday girl tended to be a heavy sleeper. She grabbed the potted plant unhappily, bringing him to her lap.
"Finally! I've been trying to wake you up for the last hour!" Flowey exclaimed. Frisk quirked an eyebrow. SD was still driving the car, looking ahead. The annoying dog was still sleeping while lying on his back. Frisk found it strange because the scenic route drive should not have lasted near that long or even the ride itself, which should have only taken twenty minutes from where the four of them were picked up.
Frisk reached over and tugged on SD's sleeve, gaining his attention.
"Yes… what is it?" their driver put his current book on the dashboard as the vehicle continued on its calm drive down the road, the white lines vanishing underneath their car as they went over them.
"What's going on! We've been driving on this same road for over an hour! We should have been at the exit by now!" Flowey exclaimed for his mute friend. The birthday girl nodded in agreement. This road was not supposed to be this long. They should have been at Undyne's by now.
"I don't know what you mean… you've been slumbering… for only a few minutes…" SD pointed at his clock to make his point. His radio claimed only a few minutes had passed. The sunflower glared, not buying it. Frisk just tried to shrug it off, believing her friend to be paranoid or had a bad dream.
Before the two could exchange any words or motions in her case, the birthday girl saw a tunnel up ahead that indicated the end of the scenic route. She smiled, pointing it out to Flowey. The sunflower tilted his head, looking at that direction as the vehicle drove into the tunnel. However, it took a moment for her, but the monster ambassador blinked in shock upon realizing one drastic thing. Instead of being back in the city, they were back in the very beginning of the scenic route. It was as if entering one tunnel brought them out at the start again.
"I told you we've been driving for over an hour now…" the sunflower spoke. Frisk was completely lost now. She requested an explanation from the driver of the Cadillac. The annoying dog still slumbered away in the piles of books.
"Stories can do a lot… they can make time pass… inspire people… record nightmares or dreams… document the history of races or those long gone… books are so nice… that sometimes you get sucked in… and can never get out... just reading from start to end, over and over," SD exclaimed with that creepy smile on his face. The ten-year-old was now afraid. Even Flowey was scared. At times like this, he wished he was planted. If the sunflower was just planted in the ground anywhere, he would be able to be more threatening. Sadly, being in a flowerpot made him very confined and weaker.
Frisk requested nicely to be taken out of this area to the city. She did not care if they went back or forward. She just wanted out to make sure her friends would be safe, though she was doing her best to hide the fear inside her now.
"Skipping to the end… of a story?" SD responded. They suddenly found themselves back in front of the exit that they had just drove through a minute ago, which had sent them back to the entrance of the scenic route. Frisk wondered if something was in the tunnel. She forcibly reached over and flicked on the headlights of the Cadillac as they drove toward it.
"Whoa…" Flowey said, seeing the darkness of the tunnel illuminate. There was a black heart there, like someone's soul, though was large enough to let their car go through it like a majestic portal. Once the Cadillac went through the soul heart, they appeared back at the beginning of the scenic route. Frisk looked back behind the Cadillac. Outside the rear view window was another soul heart. This one was just as big, but it was grey.
"Okay. This is getting annoying. Stop the car now!" Flowey demanded. The stories' analogy was getting creepier, but it was safe to assume that they were this person's souls. Human souls could come in a variety of colors like how Frisk's was red, however the main oddity to this was that this man had two souls. The birthday girl agreed that they had to stop. However, SD refused to pull over. Therefore, she had no other option. Frisk grabbed the emergency break and pulled hard. They could hear the tires screeching as some of the books got thrown around, the annoying dog being tossed into the front. Flowey bit into the dashboard, trying to hold on before he went flying through the windshield.
The Cadillac came to an abrupt halt, almost toppled over. Frisk immediately grabbed her bag, Flowey and the annoying dog before climbing out of the passenger seat, feeling a lot better to be out of the car. The dog seemed happy to just be held by someone. She put both the dog and Flowey down before heading to the back of the Cadillac, trying to open the trunk. However, it was locked. She banged on it, desperate to leave with her friends, and quickly.
"Nyeh? Are we there? Can someone let the great Papyrus out of the luxury compartment? It is becoming less luxurious when I'm locked in," Papyrus spoke. The mute girl wished she could talk right now. Otherwise she would be shouting at him to use his magic to bust out. SD climbed out of the driver's seat, holding his keys.
"You want… it open? This story… can't be stopped so soon," he let out a light laugh before coughing, his voice box not up to laughter. He held the key to unlock the trunk. Under his other arm was a big book that was black and grey. Frisk looked to the man, just when the two souls came back to him, floating onto his coat. SD chuckled, feeling the sensation of those two souls. Flowey saw a grey heart appear under his flowerpot, before a black one appeared overhead.
"Oh no…" Flowey gulped, when suddenly he was forced through the black heart, like a gravitational blast pulling him in.
"Ahhhhhh!" Flowey screamed. He fell into one heart and appeared through the other, and then fell again. He was stuck in an infinite loop that seemed to only get faster each second. The annoying dog just watched with his tongue out. Frisk was about to go help her friend before she heard the driver speak up.
"If you want… to get out of this tale… how about a battle?" SD offered. One simple battle, and things would be over. It was clear that he had the ability to create multiple souls, a scary ability indeed. She never had heard of this, but Frisk had no choice but to nod in agreement, because Papyrus was still in the trunk, and even if she did somehow get him out and they escaped, they would be stuck in the great cycle of a scenic route. There was an open area on the side of the road. The two began to walk over one step at a time. She wished she did not have to fight, but Frisk was determined to find a peaceful way out.
"Are you… ready now?" SD asked as the two stood far apart from each other, Flowey still screaming in the distance from the constant infinite loop of falling. Frisk nodded, ready for battle, though mentally wished she had some form of equipment. She was defenseless against SD. The former driver opened his book wide in both hands. A wide thick square fell around Frisk, still leaving her a wide range for movement. Everything around both of them went black and white, including them, their souls still being the only thing left with color.
Frisk had four options: Fight, Act, Item and Mercy. As normal, she refused to select fight, not even once. The poor button looked so old and unused that it had cobwebs and dust all over it. She decided to act. Thankfully, another small box appeared beside her head. She chose her action.
"You request him to turn over the keys," the tiny box wrote. SD shook his head.
"Well… I can't trust… a complete stranger my keys," the book fanatic joked before coughing again. All the actions available to the birthday girl vanished, as well as the useful tiny box. The red heart on her overalls came off, floating in front of her. She saw one grey heart appear aside her. It had a huge sharp spear erupt out of it. Frisk gulped, jumping back. The sharp weapon missed her and dug into one of the white lines, trapping her there on the lower half and rattling the entire box, before the spear got retracted and the grey heart vanished. Frisk gulped, feeling that this was just his opening attack. She hated to see what he would do next.
SD flipped through a few pages of his book. There were so many pages that she hated to imagine being forced to read it all, but she could assume he had read it a lot. It seemed to be his favorite book. Frisk decided to take a different action, the tiny box appearing again.
"You ask to be told a grand story," the message then read. SD smiled, licking his finger before turning pages rapidly, trying to find a perfect story that was written in the big book. Everything cleared out once more as a black heart with a white outline appeared, beginning to pulse and throb. Frisk, scared as she was, began to feel herself being pulled into it like it was trying to suck her in. She did not want to imagine what would happen if she fell into the black heart. She saw multiple rocks and random items that had been forgotten in the forest of the scenic route, and they were being sucked toward it, threatening to hit her in their path. Frisk just began to run around the hazards, but a tree branch smacked her in the face, knocking her onto her back. Thankfully, her enemy's attack was over, and the black heart vanished. The young girl stood up, holding her now scratched face that was slightly bleeding, having lost 3 of her 20 health points during that, according to the yellow bar dangling below her buttons.
Frisk rubbed her head, trying to ignore her injury. She hit Act again, watching the tiny box appear once more. She really wished she could use this during congress meetings. It would make things so much simpler than using a translator or a text to speech program.
"You ask once more to be told a grand story," the tiny box wrote. SD smiled as he finally found the page, ready to begin telling the story.
"Survive these attacks… while I tell the story," the book lover claimed. The young girl's smile faded fast, and she felt like she was just going to get weird commentary on the side to her dodging more spears. She saw four tiny black hearts appear around her, and four grey hearts appearing in the corners of her white border. The black hearts began to pulse and throb, starting to pull in their separate directions. Frisk found it easy to not get sucked up this time because she was in the center of the four. They all had equal gravitational force, so they weren't threatening.
Frisk wished she had not thought that, as suddenly a fireball emerged from multiple grey hearts. The black hearts pulled them in like a planet with a fast orbiting moon, slinging the fire ball at the birthday girl. She dodged the first one, before another five suddenly flew at her from many directions. She dodged the first one, which harmlessly burned out after colliding with the white barrier outline. However, the next one hit her directly in the stomach. Frisk lost another 5 health from that, and was down to 12. The birthday girl ducked under the next fireball as she stepped aside, watching the fireballs miss her harmlessly. Much to her relief, she watched the many hearts all vanish. SD seemed excited to share his story now that the time arrived.
"A long time ago, when monsters lost to humans, they were sent underground…" the scary book lover started. Frisk recognized this story all too well. The event that changed so many monsters' lives and had them trapped underground, until she saved them all and freed them. The auburn haired girl saw her buttons appear once more, and she decided to hit Act once again.
"You request more of the story his turn," the tiny text box wrote. The reader seemed more than glad to do it. He could not wait for after his attack to continue sharing this familiar tale, even if it was to the only person who was willing to listen to his storytelling. Frisk however still was unsure about this.
"The humans' seven strongest mages created a barrier… to make sure the monsters could never return… things were far from peaceful for the mages once they returned to their kingdom…" he continued to tell the tale, peaking Frisk's interest. His next attack came, one grey heart appearing above her and one on each side. As suddenly as they appeared, giant spears erupted from each one. She stumbled backwards, barely dodging the first one before she fell on the ground, landing on her back. The other two launched upwards, but thankfully the grey heart she was by missed her by inches.
Relieved, Frisk stood back up, hitting the Act button again.
"You request to not be attacked during the next part of the story," the tiny box read, but it appeared to be ignored by her enemy. Frisk saw two grey hearts appear, separated at the end of the white border. She had a bad feeling about this, so she went with her gut and ran up, getting between the two grey hearts to protect her soul. Sure enough, her gut feeling was right as the two grey souls began spewing out a wave of fire each. She just pressed herself against the white line, relieved to have avoided that easily.
"The people of the kingdom had their souls revealed to them… each soul was different and unique… the seven mages were the ones with the strongest souls able to control them almost perfectly… one mage was able to absorb anything with his soul, and another was able to emit anything she desired… when combined, the two could travel long distances, or create multiple copies of itself…" SD continued as Frisk watched the grey hearts vanish. With a sigh of relief, she decided to just hit Mercy, and then Spare. So far, the Act commands were not doing her any favors. If anything, they actually made things harder for her.
The birthday girl saw four grey hearts appear in each corner of the white box she was in. Frisk felt like she had been attacked by this before. She kept still in the center, watching four huge gaster blaster energy blasts erupt from the hearts, missing her and crashing into the white border with great force. The four huge blasts ended after a brief few seconds, and the grey hearts vanished.
"Souls had special unique powers… when combined, they gained new ones. The people wanted to know the mages' powers to master their souls… they began to revolt, and despite the ruler's orders and the strongest knights' best attempts to prevent this, the numbers were overwhelming… as such, the seven strongest magic users were forced to FIGHT," he continued reading. Frisk was wondering what it was like ages ago for those poor magic users, though she doubted peace would instantly start once the monsters were trapped. When the monsters were trapped underground, it probably caused even more of those terrible wars over the now empty lands.
Frisk hit Act again, hoping she was prepared for his next attack, but she had no clue what to expect.
"You say this story is very interesting," the tiny box wrote. SD nodded, agreeing over this. This really was his favorite book, but the way he told the tale was stranger than the other stories. He had more emotion invested in this.
"Many suffered and perished… when five of the mages died, the last two knew it would not be long before they were found…" he continued. Frisk saw a black heart appear underneath her that she slipped into and fell, having noticed it far too late. The fall felt brief, as a grey heart threw her out back at the top of a very suddenly long rectangular white box.
Frisk saw several more grey hearts appear along the side in various heights, ready to attack her. The first one fired two small missiles. The birthday girl fell fast enough to get past them before they could get near her. The next one launched a huge spear out that smashed into the white wall. Frisk could not dodge this. The sharp part went by so fast that she was safe from that. However, she fell into the pole of the spear, feeling a shock wave of pain in her stomach like a rock hard punch, taking another 4 health from her. Frisk saw the next two below grey hearts which shot out an upward rain of fireballs. She hung onto the spear, beginning to shimmy over to the left, thinking it would be safer to fall closer to one side and farther away from the other side.
Frisk let go when she thought the timing was right, falling right past the grey hearts and the fire. Thankfully she was near the end of the long fall. However, she saw the widened last grey heart at the bottom. A huge giant gaster blaster appeared. It was like a fat head of a skeleton. It opened wide and released a huge beam of energy. Frisk could not dodge it, and she did not have a chance to. A direct hit, and she felt her entire body thrive in pain. She bit her lip, trying to resist the red hot pain. Once the beam ended, the gaster blaster withdrew into the heart before it vanished. The birthday girl landed face first onto the ground as the white lines retracted into the square shape. All the attacks she had taken had dropped her health to 3. She forced herself onto her feet, panting, being covered in scrapes and bruises.
"The last two magic users made a decision… to put both of their souls into one object, so the first being who finds it could absorb the souls to save their legacy… they did just that… they took a book from the royal library, and they had recorded all their knowledge, and their souls, into those pages…" SD finished explaining the unfortunate demise and end of the seven mages, that had unfortunately occurred as result of people's greed, their desire their overwhelming determination for power.
Frisk rubbed her arm sorely. She suddenly noticed an odd depressing look on this very man before her.
"Heh…hahaha… and only months ago, someone found the ruins of said kingdom… and opened that book… that person gained the two souls… but… he was filled with an odd sensation… this person wanted to go gather the information from around the world… of villains… of heroes... of histories… of the past… and the prophecies and theories that may be the future… this man was no longer himself. He was now… the story dweller," the man began to have tears coming from his eyes. Frisk now understood the name SD. It was just an acronym.
Frisk saw a half black and half grey heart in front of her. One began to pulse and throb while the other began to shake and quiver, before it vanished. A huge wall of grey hearts appeared in front of her, and then a single line of black hearts filled up behind her. But at this point, the Story Dweller himself was not controlling them, and she would be faced with a devastating chain of attacks after she made her decision on what to do for a turn. The young girl racked her brain desperately for an idea. She suddenly had it hit her, at least her best chance to end this. She had no food to heal with because she had let Flowey eat up her bag of chips, so she had to be aggressively defensive.
Frisk pulled out her cellphone. She couldn't call anyone or make use of most of its apps, but the phone had one feature on it that was handy. She hit the yellow Act button, and her red soul heart that was floating a bit off her chest began to rotate until it turned upside down and then suddenly turned yellow. She pocketed her cellphone and aimed her hands like finger guns with a smirk. The birthday girl fired two narrow yellow blasts that destroyed two of the grey hearts upon contact. SD was still crying, his emotional stability lost. As well as his interest in the fight.
The black hearts all began to pulse and throb, attempting to draw Frisk to them. She turned around, beginning to back away fast to keep her distance. She continued firing more blasts, each black heart being destroyed and vanishing into thin air. Frisk kept firing as fast as she could until all of the black hearts were gone. Now she could move around without worry about falling into another one of those long traps.
"There was no happily ever after… for a story with… continuous pain and anguish…" SD sobbed as the grey hearts all began to shake, until they began to shoot out huge bolts of thunder in a pattern. First one would strike loudly first, then two of them at once, and the pattern repeated. Frisk saw this and immediately dodged the first bolt of thunder, firing a yellow blast from her finger and watching the grey heart vanish. She then ran over to the opening where that heart was to get out of the way of the rest of the hearts. She began firing rapidly, getting rid of one grey heart after another. Finally, all the hearts were gone, beyond the yellow upside down one representing her soul.
As her optional buttons appeared, Frisk thought this over for a minute, trying to decide what to do now. There was a new option on the list of actions, reading Fight. She hit it, and then aimed her hands at SD. He did not even see her doing this before she fired. The yellow blasts hit the two souls in front of the Story Dweller. They both began to shake violently and quiver, before they broke in half and shattered into a lot of small pieces, and clattered to the ground.
"Wha… what did you do?" SD questioned. He began to feel odd. Everything was feeling calmer, his stress beginning to wash away. Frisk had destroyed the souls of what she assumed were the last of the seven great mages from the past, and she had no regrets. These souls were doing nothing but torturing a man to travel the land. Her determination was focused to bring peace to this poor man.
"I feel… free…" SD closed the big book. Frisk's heart turned back to normal and reverted back to its red color, attaching back to her overalls. She saw a plaid soul heart emerge from the Story Dwellers chest, which attached to his coat's front pocket. The fight was over, everything was back to its normal colors, and Frisk was freed from the tiny arena she was forced into like any normal fight. She approached the now freed man.
"I'm sorry… for trying to trap you… and for harming you…" SD apologized, fighting against his tired voice box. He pulled out his keys and handed them over to the birthday girl. She happily went over to the trunk of the Cadillac, but she had to take a moment to find the right key of the tons on this key ring. Meanwhile the annoying dog approached her, carrying Flowey on his back who looked nauseous from the constant falling at the speed of sound. Finally, Frisk found the right key, putting it in the lock and turning it with a pop. The trunk opened and out popped the familiar skeleton.
"Nyeheheh! The great Papyrus is fully refreshed from that long nap!" Papyrus exclaimed. The drive and fight had taken so long that he had taken the opportunity to catch up on some sleep. He looked immensely confused, as his best friend was hurt, Flowey looked ready to hurl at a moment's notice, and they were still on the scenic route.
"I'm terribly sorry… I've spent so long wandering the world, trying to find books and information, and I never knew why… but it was just so lonely that I wanted to have companions with me…" SD apologized, adding onto more of the royal guard's confusion as he climbed out of the trunk. Frisk approached the Story Dweller, returning his keys to him. She hugged his waist in humble forgiveness. He rubbed her head, smiling, glad to feel so much better, though as suddenly as he was free from those souls, he no longer was filled with the desire to roam the world for information. He could feel just his own soul, once more. Now that it was no longer being repressed.
"Ohhh… I can't feel my petals…" Flowey groaned, still too dizzy, the annoying dog barking.
"Don't worry! For we, including I, the great Papyrus, enjoyed riding with you! After all, you saved us from being stranded out here," Papyrus exclaimed, still far too oblivious to the situation. Frisk looked up to the Story Dweller, wondering what he wished to do now.
"Hm… I don't know… instead of roaming the world for information… I'll allow those that roam to come to me for information… I'm sure I can get a loan for a library once I present my unique collection," SD rambled, thinking it was time to settle down. He did not have a clue where he came from, or if he even had a home. Ever since he got those two souls, he had nearly gone insane. Thankfully, they helped free him, though Frisk never expected this kind of experience from hitchhiking. She really was starting to realize there was no such thing as simple or easy in life, or at least for her life there wasn't. She didn't mind that though.
"A library! That sounds lovely… um… wait, why are we still by my car?" Papyrus quirked, seeing his sports car nearby. If Flowey could control his twisted stomach, he would inform the skeleton gladly that they had gone in circles for hours. Frisk giggled at her friend, but then she was handed the big book that almost made her fall over. It took a lot of strength to hold it up.
"Enjoy the gift… because that is the most valuable one in my collection… but remember… history is a painful reminder for grave mistakes, and a great example for good decisions… have a good day," SD bid them farewell. Before Frisk could gesture anything more, her new friend had climbed into the Cadillac, having immediately started it up and floored it, the tires screeching before the vehicle darted off at a high speed.
"Nyeheh… heh? What just happened? Human are you okay?" Papyrus asked, realizing how she was hurt. Frisk motioned that all was fine, though now they were back at square one. They all approached the sports car. The annoying dog jumped into the backseat, panting happily, with the sunflower falling off him and clattering into the floor. The skeleton reached in with his keys and put them in the ignition. He turned the key, and the sports car started up instantly.
"Well! Our luck is changing! Come on! Let's go, before our transportation is too tired to continue again!" Papyrus exclaimed. Frisk nodded happily, the both of them getting into the car fast, the young girl reaching back getting Flowey, not wanting him to be rolling around in the floorboard to make him even more nauseous than now. The annoying dog would leave them once it was at a comfortable place to disembark, otherwise it would gladly continue sleeping in the back. The sports car drove back onto the road, and continued off to head to the city.
"Ohh… Frisk… do me a favor…" the sunflower groaned, the birthday girl raising an eyebrow.
"Next time it's your birthday, LEAVE ME AT HOME!" Flowey screamed in his rapidly changing tone of voice. Frisk smiled, beginning to laugh a little as she hugged the sunflower close, aware that if he had not noticed the oddities in the beginning, they might have been stuck riding in that Cadillac for days. She kept the big book beside her, planning on hiding it once she got back home, mostly because that book had tortured a man, even if the souls that came from it were destroyed. The birthday girl did not want to risk being the next one to get multiple souls absorbed into her body without choice. Frisk just wanted to enjoy her birthday now, even if the sun was beginning to set. It was nice to know they weren't stuck in a loop.
"This will make for a good story, I'm certain…"