FRISK LV 1 0:00

Frisk blinked in the low cavern light, feeling the oily slick surface of buttercups underneath. She rose, hiding her eyes from the light. Briskly she walked forward through a tunnel until she came upon a flower.

"Howdy, I'm-"

Frisk broke into a run. Her feet pounded against the ground, cracking the dry earth. Dust kicked up into Flowey's face.

"...I'm really annoyed that you keep doing this."

More vines. Flowey surged forward, plant stems outstretched, periodically catching up to the human. Each time, she managed to evade his blows; the whips of Flowey's blade-like stems bounced off of the rocky cavern.

"Golly! You're a pain-"

Finally, Flowey had her cornered. It had taken two tries, but it was possible.

A wall of vines surrounded the human at every exit. Up, down, left, right, even south and north: covered in vines. Only the ambient cerise light of Frisk's soul lit up the empty cavern. He closed in on the light.

"See that? That's the culmination of your very being, your SOUL. I bet it's filthy on the inside."

Frisk stared blankly, immobile. She seemed neither afraid not eager, just passively there.

"You sure know how things work around here. In this world, after all... it's kill or be killed!"

Flowey spawned a small wave of bullets, lining them up in a perfect circle around Frisk. Flowey began chuckling erratically, which made his entire body shake. Crumbles of dead plant matter brushed against Frisk as they rained down from the impromptu vine enclosure.

"Heh, since you were so rude... DIE!"

The orb of white projectiles descended at a furious pace, slamming into Frisk. She didn't move, clinging to her one HP, which flailed wildly under its own weakness.

"Whoops! Careless me. Guess we'll just have to take our sweet time~!" Flowey stuck his tongue out playfully, letting vines creep closer to Frisk. More bullets surrounded her.

"Oh!" someone exclaimed. There was the sound of a lit match.

Suddenly, Flowey contorted into a knot. His right side had caught aflame.

"Mmmmmmmmo-!" Flowey retreated underground, half cackling, half crying.

"What a terrible creature, attacking such a poor, innocent youth! Are you alright, my child?"

Frisk stood statue still. The new voice presented itself as a stately goat, garbed in a lilac and periwinkle. Her dark red eyes glimmered with hope, her hand smoked with vestiges of flame magic. She smelled like freshly baked cookies.

"Come, my child! The ruins is no safe place for a human. Please, follow me."

Frisk walked methodically towards the new figure, almost mechanically. Every movement was the same speed, and upon closer inspection, it could be seen that only one of her legs was moving at a time. The same blank expression covered the human's face as before: eyes lidded, mouth a tight, inexpressive line.

The goat lady put a paw on Frisk's rounded scalp.

"My name is Toriel. I come here every day to check for fallen humans. You are the first to drop by in a long time!"

Frisk followed Toriel at that same, steady pace as the goat lady gabbled about the ruins. When she stopped, Frisk automatically moved ahead, flipping two switches along the walls.

"My, that was fast!" Toriel gasped. "Perhaps you already know a little about the underground...?"

Toriel gestured to a cloth dummy, whom Frisk rudely disregarded. She dashed around her new guardian and into another hall. Toriel gathered her skirts, feet skipping over the purple floor. The pair arrived in another corridor. Frisk looked especially inattentive to her surroundings.

"Oh, my child, take my hand. This puzzle is too-"

Frisk moved across the spiked puzzle on her own. Toriel gave a startled exclamation before showering her with praise.

"You solved it! What a smart boy you are."

Frisk turned around, freezing in place. She stared at Toriel with an intense expression, eyelids flat and mouth a disapproving straight line.

"M-my, perhaps I was mistaken?"

Frisk nodded passionately, displaying the most expressive gesture since she fell.

"I see. What is your name, sweet child?"

Frisk did not speak, instead turning around and continuing forward, forcing Toriel to rush forwards to keep up.

They came into an empty room with one column at the end.

"I must ask you, my child, to make your way through this room-"

Yet, Frisk was already at the end, darting through the doorway.

"WAIT! For safety's sake, stop running so far ahead!" Toriel dashed after the errant child, feet pounding and claws clacking against ancient stones.

When Toriel finally caught up to the child, she grasped Frisk by the sweater, lifting her in midair. "My goodness, you're fast, little one! If you'd like to explore the ruins, I won't stop you-"

The human kicked her legs again, aching to be on the ground, but Toriel did not let go.

"Here, I'll give you a cell phone and my number. Call me if you need anything. Oh, and my house is at the end of these ruins. You're plenty welcome to stop by! I'll even have a surprise waiting for you!"

The dialogue flew over Frisk's impatient head.

"Alright, go on and play. I'll call to check in after a while, alright?"

Frisk was already zooming down the hall with pent up energy, tripping into a pile of red leaves. After crinkling through them, Frisk resumed her journey. She jumped upwards into a room filled with monster candies, snagging so many that she knocked over the bowl. Even then, the little human snatched as many as her pockets could hold, and a timer ticked slowly down-

At five seconds, Frisk had seven candies in her hand|-|-|-