WARNING: I WANT NO RESPONSIBILITY OVER SPOILING THINGS FOR OTHERS. THAT BEING SAID, THIS IS HOW FILE NAME NOT FOUND WOULD FUNCTION IN THE AU OF UNDERFELL. BEFORE YOU READ THIS, UNLIKE THE NICE TIME OF UNDERTALE, THIS WORLD IS KILL OR BE KILLED. THIS STORY WILL BE GRAPHIC, GORY, USE SWEARS LIKE NOBODY'S BUSINESS, AND DEAL WITH SENSITIVE SUBJECT MATTERS. FOR EXAMPLE, THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE READ THE FILE NAME RELOCATED SPOOF WILL KNOW HOW I PICTURE THIS VERSION OF LYNSIE COMING TO THE UNDERGROUND. IT IS NOT AN ACCIDENT. IT IS NOT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING DUMB. IT IS BECAUSE SHE CHOOSES TO END HER LIFE. SO TAKE THIS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT. I MADE IT BECAUSE I NEEDED TO LET SOME OF THIS EDGINESS OUT OF MYSELF. WHICH I GUESS MAKES UNDERFELL LYNSIE EVEN MORE TRUE TO WHO I REALLY AM. ANYWAY, ENJOY. ^_^
"Oh, my! That was pretty close. A second later and you would have been a pile of ashes."
Such a weird combination of tones in this voice. There's the tone of someone that is concerned about having attacked us and yet also the tone of twisted delight in the idea of death. This "HER" steps out of the shadows and I almost can't take her seriously. Toriel seems to be a monster that resembles a white-furred Nubian Goat, complete with droopy ears and short horns. She has a pair of visible fangs and long eyelashes, her irises have a dark red tint that looks insane or exhausted in the glow of the yellow sclera of her eyes. She has an anthropomorphic body, with paws at the end of her limbs. Which has me wondering why paws and not hooves? She wears a black and blood red robe that is frayed at the bottom, though the sleeves and leggings are a dusty gray. The robe displays a symbol of sorts on her chest that probably has a deeper meaning then I'm willing to care about right now. Right now, I'm more focused on the fire-wielding goat lady that is looking at me funny from across this really long room.
"Ah, do not be afraid, my child. I am TORIEL, caretaker of the RUINS. I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come here in a long time. I will do my best to ensure your protection during your time here."
I look at Flowey.
"Dude, is she for real?"
"She hasn't been the most stable since she left her husband."
"She left him? Huh...Judging by this intro of hers, I'd say he dodged a bullet."
Flowey shoots me a mean look and I'm confused.
"Come! I will guide you through the catacombs."
"You just threw a ball of freaking fire at us. I think we're better off going solo...or tandem? What do we call this thing we're doing?"
"Temporary joint union."
"Yeah! We're doing that."
Toriel's eye twitches and she step a bit more into the room.
"C-Child, please. I-I-I have only the b-best intentions for you."
"Considering we've just met and it started with you sneak attacking us, I'm calling bullshit on that. Flowey, do you have anything to add on why we shouldn't go along with her?"
"While she is motherly and caring some of the time, under the most minimal tension, she will become aggressive. She tries to keep the humans for herself. Always offering love and care. However, when the human inevitably tries to leave, she will fight them and attempt to kill them. Offering them a comparatively quick death, rather than a long and painful death at the hands of Asgore or any other monster."
"Huh...So what you're saying is, she's lonely?"
"Uh...I guess? Wait...What's with that look? Don't tell me you're actually considering it?"
"...Maybe."
Flowey proceeds to berate me and my questionable life choice when I notice something more urgent. Toriel is sprinting...towards us...and FAST!
"Fuck!"
"Huh? Holy sh-!"
I don't have enough time to evade to the side. Gotta go with a risky maneuver. I take a drive and skid under Toriel as she charges by. Once she's able to slow down, she sees us making a beeline out of here.
"You brats are making this so much harder than it needs to BE!"
Fireballs chase us out of the room, some getting way too close for comfort.
"I think we made her mad."
"We? Oh no, this is all on you."
"What did I do?"
"Less talky and more run for our lives!"
Now out of the room of fiery hell but with a crazed goat woman after us, we find a split path. There's a room to my left where a Froggit sits by and a hallway down the right.
"Which way?"
"That room's a dead end. Go right."
"Understood."
I ignore Flowey and the Froggit as it seems to ignore me as I enter the room on the left. The only thing there's nothing there but a bowl of candy on a pillar with two channels of water on either side.
"What are you doing?! She'll find us for sure."
"Can you hold your breath?"
"What?"
I slowly make us go into one of the channels and Flowey is shivering badly from the cold water.
"This is a stupid idea."
"Be quiet. She'll be gaining on us soon. You don't want to attract attention. Now hold your breath. We're going under."
We take in big gulps of air and I hold my nose as we sink beneath the placid surface. Flowey glares at me for doing this but then we hear the sound of someone enter the room. Heavy footsteps wander around the small room, obviously confused. There's silence for a time. Flowey begins tugging on me to get me to surface but I refuse. I won't go up till I feel it's safe. Soon, the heavy footfalls patter away out of the room and I wait an additional moment or two before carefully raising for air.
"*gasp*! Didn't you feel me pulling?! I needed air!"
"*sigh* She was still here. Going up would've been suicide."
"Fine...Can we get out now?"
"For the moment, yes."
"What do you mean for the moment?"
I drag us out and sit on the edge.
"Do you see what I see? The water is flowing into this room."
"Okay? So what?"
"If it's doing that, then that means there's a tunnel system. We can bypass running into her altogether and pop out somewhere else maybe ahead of her."
Flowey blinks a couple times.
"That's...That's actually a smart idea."
"The only issue would be air. Might be a tight squeeze in there, so we'll have to keep our faces up and hold our breath for a while."
"I was afraid you'd say something like that."
"You ready for this?"
"Wait...Eat some candy first."
"Uh...Why?"
"It'll restore your HP."
"..."
"Human?"
"It makes so much sense that I died in the fall and ended up in a purgatory that acts like a video game."
"That again? Look...I 100% assure you, you are not dead and this is real. Now go eat the candy, refill your HP, then get us back in the water so we can avoid the Boss Monster."
I stare at him blankly.
"You hear the words coming out of your mouth, right?"
"Yeah yeah. Just do it."
I stand up and go over to the precariously placed bowel.
[In this hellish world, you can only take 3 pieces of candy...Has a distinct, non-licorice flavor.]
"How would I even know that?!"
"Who are you talking to?"
"You really don't hear that?"
"You talking to yourself? Yeah. I'm pretty sure the Froggit heard you too."
"Ribbit." [I did.]
My eye twitches in frustration but I give up trying to understand and take a piece of candy.
[You took a piece of candy.]
"I swear I'm losing my mind."
[You ate the Monster Candy. Very un-licorice-like.]
"It's not wrong about that. Pretty tasty stuff."
[HP ██████████████████ 18/20]
"Mind sharing?"
"Croak?" [Me too?]
"Sure. Why not."
[You took more candy. How disgusting...]
"Bite me, voice in my head."
I give it to Flowey who happily munches on the treat.
[You took another piece. You feel like the scum of the earth...]
"No, I most certainly don't."
I toss a cady to the Froggit and it snaps it up with its long tongue.
"Ribbit." [Thank you.]
"No problem. Enjoy. And one more for me to max out my health."
[You took too much. Look at what you've done. You monster.]
"Whatever."
[You ate the Monster Candy.]
[HP ████████████████████ 20/20]
"Okay, back in the water we go. Yo, Froggit, if you see Toriel around here again, can you not say anything?"
"Croak, croak." [You got a deal, human.]
"Thanks, buddy."
Flowey and I take a deep breath before diving back in. It's dark in these tunnels, I have to feel my way along the walls for guidance. Luckily for Flowey, I stay close to the very tiny surface so he can breath more easily. Oddly, I find myself coming up for air less often than I'm used to. A crazy thought comes to me. Flowey's sort of fused to me in a parasitic fashion...What if he's able to filter some of the air he's getting into my own body? That would be so badass.
We skim along for a while. Aimlessly following the current as tries to push weakly against us. This is actually really relaxing. It's like going on the lazy river ride in water parks. It's a small break in the mad dash of the world where one can just forget all the insanity that goes on in our lives. But a reprieve like this is one that doesn't last long enough to my liking.
"Hey, I think I see light up ahead."
I can't really speak without gargling water, so I opt for nodding and move slowly towards it. I do so in caution. I know not what is out there. So when we near the opening I hold the walls and keep us stuck.
"Why did you stop?"
"*burbles* Check it out."
"*snickers* I'm sorry? I didn't quite get that."
"*growls*"
"Okay, okay. I'll take a look."
Flowey stretches his stem out to let his petal head take a look.
"The coast is clear."
He returns to me as I swim out the opening and pull us ashore in yet another room in the Ruins. I ring out my hair and clothes in a pretty dull room. On the end where I guess we would've entered are three boulders and three corresponding floor switches that would seem to go with the spikes that cover the bridge to this side of the room. I would say this is a smart puzzle but lying isn't nice. One can easily do what we did and swim across. Hell, with enough of a running start, you can jump the gap. Or even walk through the gaps in the spikes. Whoever is making these "puzzles" are terrible at making them trap anything. Unless...They aren't really trying to do so in the first place. Toriel...What are you up to?
"Wow! We made great progress."
"Did we?"
"Oh yeah. We skipped a bunch of annoying trap. I say we've got a mighty fine lead on Toriel."
"Good to know."
"Are you okay? You sound a little disappointed?"
"No. I'm just thinking is all."
"About what?"
"...Nothing. Let's keep going."
The room following this lame boulder-pushing puzzle is a room containing a mouse hole and a small table with a piece of cheese on it. Checking the table, the cheese appears to be stuck to the table due to being there so long.
"Hey rodent, I wouldn't try to eat that. That will definitely make you sick."
"Why bother? It's just going to eat it anyway."
"Better to speak up than say nothing at all."
"...You are a strange human."
"So I've been told."
Entering the next area another split off to two more passages. One going straight and one continuing on the left. Both paths are, however, blocked by what I can only imagine is a ghost. The ghost is like that of a simple bed sheet costume. But instead of the sheet being white, the sheet is black. The ghost has red eyes with black sclerae and aside from that is very undetailed long body apart from a mouth. A thin red line separates the eyes. It's just laying there on a pile of dead leaves, not even asleep either, though it's pretending to be.
"zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...zzzzzzzzzzzzzz..."
"Should we say something?"
"It's a ghost. Walk through it."
"That's rude."
"How? It's not like it can feel anything. It's incorporeal."
"Dude, you are so racist."
"How is that racist?"
"That be like me walking on you just because you're a flower."
"Fine. Point taken. But we still need to get past him."
"Okay, I'll handle this. *ahem* Excuse me, Mr. Ghost?"
"zzzzzzzzzz...(are they gone yet) zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...(can't they tell I want to left alone) zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..."
[This ghost keeps saying 'z' out loud repeatedly, pretending to sleep.]
No shit, Sherlock. I don't want to provoke it. But it seems like I have no choice but to bug the thing.
"Look, pal. I hate to bother you, but would you mind moving out of the way? I need to pass by."
"grrr...who's the moron that can't take a hint?"
It rolls over to sit up and face me. I'm not surprised to see it confused to see me.
"Yo. That would be Ms. Moron. Nice to meet you too."
I do a little bow for derpy effect and Flowey rolls his eyes.
"Don't mind her. She hit her head pretty hard earlier. Though I'm starting to think she's always been like this."
"Took you long enough to notice."
I pat Flowey's head but the ghost is unamused.
"oh...so it's a human that thinks it's funny. *scoff* just my luck. not only does a human have the nerve to piss me off. but it's a retard too."
I mock a gasp.
"Sir! I'll have you know I am far from that abhorred word. If anything, I'm special. With just a hint of A.D.D."
Flowey slaps himself.
"If you were trying to make yourself sound better, you failed miserably."
"that was trying? I'd hate to see what it's like when it actually makes an effort."
"*scoff* I'm surrounded by haters. But I've dealt with worse. My skin's gotten so thick I doubt any insult you throw at me will strike a nerve."
This intrigues our spooky new acquaintance.
"is that so? heh...alright human, you asked for it. *inhale* you are physically repulsive, intellectually retarded, your soul isn't even worth taking, you have no taste, a lousy sense of humor, and you smell. you're not even interesting enough to make me sick. you are nothing! if you were in my toilet I wouldn't bother flushing it. my bathmat means more to me than you. you pompous, stuck-up, snot-nosed, scumbag, fuck-face, dickhead, asshole of a human being!"
Wow...Who knew ghost could get winded.
"*panting* how...was that...human...?"
I clap impressively.
"Not bad, dude. That has to be a record for the most insults said to me in a single go. I give you a ten out of ten. Flowey?"
"...That was so messed up."
"And another ten from the second judge. The results are in. And...Yes! The ghost takes home the gold! The crowd is going wild!"
The room is dead silent.
"...are mocking me?"
"Far from it. If you think that's mockery than you're mistaken. If anything, I was trying to flatter you."
Another thing I didn't know about ghosts...apparently they can blush.
"f-flatter me? w-wow...heh...no one's ever done that before."
This ghost is adorable. I must resist the need to hug him. Unfortunately, while I'm having this internal battle to do something super awkward, the ghost shakes off the effect of my charm and smirks wickedly.
"I'll admit, you got me there human. but that's the last time that trick will work on me."
"Dude, I wasn't tricking you."
"I don't think it cares."
[GHOST FIGHT begins to play in the background.]
Huh? Is that...music?
[Here comes Napstablook.]
"Wait, what?"
"you talk a lot, human. but let's see how good you are at fighting!"
"Oh, you are so not ready for this."
"I am so not ready for this. I mean, how fair is this? He's a ghost! You can't hurt a ghost."
"that's right. you can't hurt me...but I can hurt you!"
My now purple soul emerges and the ghost, now known as Napstablook, proceeds to attack me with music notes. How does that work? Easy, he fires them like bullets at me! Sure the , , , and are easy to avoid, but the 🎼, , , and symbols are a lot trickier. Those are the ones that hit me quite a bit and riddled me with holes.
[HP ██████████████ 14/20]
"Damn it...*pant* I had just replenished my HP."
"We should've taken more candy with us."
"So true."
[FIGHT]
[ACT]
[ITEM]
[MERCY]
"Let's see what I'm dealing with here."
[ACT selected.]
[New options available.]
[CHECK]
[THREATEN]
[CHEER]
[FLIRT]
"Hold the ding dong phone here...I can flirt with him?"
"Please, human, for the love of god, do not flirt with him! Resist any sort of sentimentality and defend yourself!"
"Hmmm...Tough call here. I think I'll check first."
[CHECK selected.]
[Napstablook – HP: 88 ATK: 10 DEF: 10 – This monster doesn't seem to have a sense of humor...]
"oh, I'm REAL funny. make your move and find out."
Threat feels like the stupid option here and I really do want to see how flirting would go, but...I did only just meet the guy. I'd rather not make this too awkward right away.
[CHEER selected.]
"As far as fights go, you're doing a hell of a good job. Best one I've had all day. Keep it up, my spooky friend."
"...Did you really just say that?"
"*whisper* Shut it, flower-boy. I'm working here."
[Napstablook is wishing they weren't here.]
"heh...you think this is my good material? nah, you haven't seen anything yet. I've got jams way hotter than this. in fact...here's my latest remix!"
Napstablook shuts his eyes and concentrates. Curiously, he begins to sing a ghostly tune. These notes are floating notes are surrounded by purple bubbles They slowly fill the room more and more as he sings. Frankly, if this keeps up I won't be able to maneuver around these things.
"They're getting closer."
"I can see that Flowey. Not much I can do about it."
"What do you think will happen if you touch one?"
"I don't want to find out."
I find out when one pops on my head and the weirdest numbing sensation happens that is soon followed by my nervous system going nuts and I'm rocked with painful spasms.
[HP █████████ 9/20]
"Holy hell! Are you alright?"
"*slurred* C-Can't...m-move...B-Body...s-stuck..."
"Not good. This is not good at all."
Napstablook peeks with one eye and smirks at the sight before him.
"heh...that's the face of some that likes good tunes. tell me human, what do you think of my music?"
Concentrate Lynsie! Say or do something before he finishes you off!
"*slurred* I-I know...y-you're mocking me...B-But honestly...y-you have a...l-lovely voice.."
[FLIRT selected.]
Wait! I didn't select that!
Napstablook is flustered by this as much as Flowey and myself are. But this also breaks his concentration and bursts all the bubbles, allowing me time to recover in this confusion.
[The faint odor of ectoplasm permeates the vicinity.]
"w-w-what?! w-why would you say something like that?!"
I slap myself a couple of times to get the tingles out of my system.
"Because it's true. We might be fighting and acting like jerks, but that doesn't mean I'm going to lie about something like this. I mean, think about it, what would be the point?"
Napstablook averts his eyes from me.
"you're just making fun of me."
"Dude...Are you for real? Since we've met, have I even come off like a dick that would sling hate at you?"
"...no."
"Exactly. Life beats on people enough as it is. I'm not about to add more bullshit onto anyone's plate."
For a moment, this scary ghost holds a soft smile that makes him looks so damn cute. Yet it doesn't last long and he glares daggers at me seconds later.
"stop that."
"Stop what?"
"stop being nice to me."
"That's what I've been trying to tell her!"
"Zip it, Flowey. This is a serious moment. Napstablook is trying to speak and we should respect his turn to do so."
"just stop! you don't even know me. you're just some strange human. why don't you just back off?"
"To be fair, I can't really leave you alone. You started the fight and it won't let me leave unless we fulfill the 'end the fight' requirements."
"*scoff* that's not my problem."
"Though now that you mention it...Heh, I am coming on a little strong, aren't I?"
"Just a little?"
"Yeah...Tell ya what. Let's start over. S'up, I'm Lynsie the human. It's nice to meet you, Napstablook."
Napstablook fidgets and appears unsure how to respond.
"I come here because I don't want others to bother me...guess that turned out badly on my end."
"You do that too?"
His eyes widen.
"It makes it easier to be alone. To shut everything out. No one can hurt you when there's no one else around."
Napstablook looks sadden by my words and even Flowey is looking at me oddly. But Napstablook shakes this off.
"hey! mind your own business."
I frown.
"I know that tone. That's the voice of someone that is in pain and isn't ready to talk about it."
"*growls* hmph...I'm telling you, I'm fine. but soon you won't be..."
He summons more music note bullets.
"and it's not like you really care anyway!"
He fires them at me and I do my best to avoid taking damage as best I can, at least this attack isn't as strong as the last one. Purple bubbles hit for 5 HP while the note mullets hit for only 3 HP. My soul changes color, from purple to cyan light blue.
[This battle is taking everything you have...It's difficult and bringing up things you're not ready to go into either...But despite everything, you are filled with the need to him this ghost...No matter what.]
[HP ███ 3/20]
"*huffing* That...should've killed me..."
"Yeah, you took enough hits to have hit zero. What happened?"
"n-nothing! nothing happened...I'm just useless is all. I can't do anything right..."
Napstablook looks sullen, his inner pain creeping out to consume him. Damn it! I don't like this. I don't like that I can see myself in him and the tears that are threatening to pool in his eyes.
"Don't say that!"
Napstablook and Flowey flinch at my snap. I ball up my fists trying to keep calm.
"Don't talk like that! You're not useless. No one is ever useless. Everyone matters. It may never feel like it. It might always feel like everything is your fault and the world is better off never even knowing you exist. But damn it...That's not true! *sorrowful* It's not true..."
Don't you fucking cry! Don't you do it, you stupid bitch! Not now...Not like this.
"Lynsie? Hey, you're shaking..."
I bite my tongue and force a fake smile. No one's buying it.
"h-human...you shouldn't waste your nice words on me. I mean, I am trying to take your soul. no one should care about me...I'll just weigh them down and they'll end up getting hurt anyway..."
[CHEER selected.]
"You don't know that. It may be what you feel, but you don't know if that's the only outcome. The possibilities are as infinite as the stars in the sky. The only one that is really stopping you from finding out is yourself."
[Napstablook is staring into the distance.]
"..."
"Napstablook...*sigh* I know this is awkward as fuck. But I'm telling you these things not to be weird or upset up. But because I don't like feeling this pain. The same pain I see in you."
"...stop it human. this will get you nowhere. I don't want your pity."
"I'm not pitying you. I'm being sincere."
"Lynsie, maybe you should stop and...you're not going to listen to me again. *mumbles* Why do I even open my mouth?"
"I don't...just be quiet human!"
"It doesn't have to hurt. If you just talk to me..."
"stop it! stop doing this! can't you see I want you dead?!"
"Killing me isn't going to make you feel better! That won't make the pain stop!"
"SHUT UP!"
All this agitation is getting to Napstablook to the point his attacks change. Now he attacks me with his bloody tears. How does this attack me? Simple...He starts crying long wiggly tears that change direction upon approaching the walls, they climb up the walls and eventually fall once they are above me. So yeah, I'm trying to dodge blood tear rain. What the fuck is my life right now?! Either way, I manage to avoid everything up until the last couple of drops which burns my soul like acid!
[HP ███ 3/20]
"It burns! Argh! Why do tears burn?!"
"Here, let me..."
Flowey holds my soul and rubs it in his leaves. I don't question why this relieves the pain, I'm just incredibly grateful it does. Hooray for the healing power of plant aloe! I think?
"Mmmm...Thanks a million, Flowey."
"Thank me after we get out of this. It's your turn."
[REALLY NOT FEELING UP TO IT RIGHT NOW. SORRY.]
Poor Napstablook. He's crying and it's all my fault. I have to make this right. But how? Could it really just as simple as cheering? I mean, it is an option for a reason. I know if I felt this bad I'd like someone to cheer me up...Not like anyone ever gave a shit about me. No! Not now. Save the pity party for later. My light blue soul changes color again...now it's green.
[CHEER selected.]
"Napstablook...Please don't cry. I know this hurts. And you don't know how to deal with it. But the more you hold it in, the worse it will get."
"s-s-shut up! I'm not crying! *bawling* just shut up and die already!"
Napstablook starts crying normal looking magic blood tears that rise up before falling at a curved trajectory towards me. This attack is, by comparison, the easiest to avoid, as there aren't as many tears coming down like the other attack. This gives me a crazy idea that Flowey would so tell me not to do. I use this to my advantage and move inward, going straight for the sad specter.
[HP █ 1/20]
"What are you doing?! Get away from him, you idiot!"
"s-s-stay back...d-d-don't come any closer!"
"I can't do that."
"w-why not?"
I stop in front of him and he shuts his eyes in anticipation of some sort of hit. I just shack my head and put my hand on top of his head much to his surprise.
"I can't stay away, because I can't do this from afar."
I kneel down and wrap my arms around the poor guy in comfort. Once more, Flowey is both amazed and disappointed. But he's not my concern. Napstablook is confused, unsure whether or not to accept this.
[You hug NAPSTABLOOK.]
"*sobbing* why...w-why are you being so nice to me...?"
"I know the ache you're feeling. But no one ever took the time to ask if I needed help. I don't want to see anyone go through this like I did. So please...No more tears."
"*sniffling* I-I'm not crying...I'm not crying so you can just shut up...I don't need you to understand me...I don't need you to bother with me..."
"That's where you're wrong. I want to understand you. I want you to know that you can't do anything that would bother me. I...I want to be your friend, Napstablook. *sniffle* I want you to know that you're not alone."
Napstablook flinches at a sudden cold feeling. Turning to look at me his eyes widen. I'm crying. I couldn't hold it anymore. It's not as bad as I want to, but the tears are steadily falling. Napstablook looks over at Flowey who is just bewildered by the entire event.
"Don't look at me, she's the weirdo hugging you."
"Hugs are nice. Hugs make the pain stop."
Napstablook frowns and pats my back. Wait, he has hands? Where? How? Ghost logic!
"you...you're not bad...for a human."
"Thanks."
I let him go and he just floats sadly.
"I know this whole thing was weird between us. And you probably want to, you know, go sort some stuff out on your own instead of yukking it up with some strange human chick. But I want you to know...*nervous* If you ever feel like just...being around someone or...maybe talk for a bit...I won't mind being that person you come to. I-If that's cool with you and all? *nervous giggle*"
I rub my arm sheepishly. Why am I so nervous all of a sudden? Napstablook gives me a patient smile.
[Cheering seems to have improved Napstablook's mood.]
"heh...heh...heh...oh gee...you...you really are something else. but...maybe that's a good thing. I usually come to the RUINS because there's nobody around...but today...I met somebody nice. odd, but nice."
I smile fondly at him. I did good. I can be proud of myself.
"oh! I'm blocking the way...I'll let you pass now."
With that, Napstablook fades away.
[YOU WON!]
[You earned 0 XP and 0 gold.]
This clears the way for me and Flowey to continue, but I find myself frowning.
"What's wrong? You won. Now we can continue."
"I...I kinda was hoping he'd stick around. Maybe tag along?"
"What? Why?"
"He seemed like a nice guy."
"Nice? He tried to kill you! You have 1 HP left!"
"He was lashing out because he's hurting. I won't blame him for it."
"You are without a doubt the stupidest human I have ever known."
"If being kind to those that need it the most is stupid than I rather be a nice idiot than an intelligent asshole."
"That way of thinking is going to get you killed."
"Whatever."
I stand still for a while, my head looking down at the ground and my hair draping my face. Flowey becomes uneasy by this.
"Uh...Human? You do realize we can walk, right?"
"...Flowey, I need a minute."
"But, Toriel can be anywhere! We don't have time to..."
"FLOWEY!"
Little guy flinches and I rub my face trying to settle down.
"Please...I need a minute...Just one..."
"Human..."
Halfway into that moment of silence Flowey speaks again.
"Um...Sorry to bother you, but...That stuff you were telling the ghost...Was...W-Was that stuff true?"
I don't reply.
"Lynsie?"
"...I'm not ready to talk about it. Not yet. Not now..."
"O-Oh. O-Okay."
"...Sorry I snapped at you."
"...I forgive you."
He pats my head with his leaf and I start walking into the room straight ahead of us. This room is empty apart from two spiderwebs and a sign. The sign informs us of a Spider Extortion Racket, which is held in the two nearby spiderwebs. All proceeds will go to befit some monster named Muffet and her plans on taking over the Underground for all spider kind. Sounds lame to me. The smaller web wants 7 G for a single Spider Donut? Weird. The larger web wants 18G a thing of Spider Cider? What? Wait...There's small print on the sign. 'Please note, since we spiders are trapped in the Ruins and therefore can't give our gold to Muffet, we really don't give a crap if you pay us or not'. Well...I feel awkward.
"Take the food and let's go."
"None of these sounds good."
"Of course not. It's made by spiders, for spiders, with spiders. Who would WANT to eat a spider?"
"Not me, that's for sure."
"You don't really have a choice. You need something to heal. You can't go walking around with only 1 HP. You're a target waiting to be hit and hit hard."
"I'd rather press my luck without eating or drinking spiders."
Still, part of me feels odd about this place. So I take the 2G I got from the fight with Froggit and put it in one of the webs.
"Why'd you do that?"
"Meh. I don't need it."
A tiny spider comes down and takes the gold with a small snicker.
"Have a nice day."
I wave it off as we exit the room. Only now do we see that we have a slight problem. My fight with Napstablook has taken more of a toll than we knew, as I have been bleeding from bullet wounds this whole time and leaving a trail in my wake.
"We better go."
"Yeah."
Taking the other path leads us into a large room with three Froggits, who have huddled around and playing a game of craps. They look at us and for a second, it seems that they are about to attack us. But I think of something to distract them.
"Look behind you! There's something in the way!"
They look at the wall and much to our surprise, there IS something there. A fourth ant-sized Froggit is found in a crack in the wall and its got a tiny switchblade. While confusing as hell and so many questions coming to my mind, Flowey gets my body moving into the next room before the Froggits take notice of us again.
"...That was so weird."
"I know, right?"
This new room is just as odd. This room has spikes blocking the exit and six cracks, three on either side, on the floor. A plaque on the wall reads "There is just one switch." hinting that we need to trigger one switch to solve the puzzle in this room.
"Do you know where it is?"
"Nope. I don't really 'do' a lot of the puzzles here. I can just shift around in the ground and get by them."
"Cheater. *sigh* I guess we have to check each spot till we find it."
"Seems like it."
Starting with the three parts on the left, I kneel near the crack and push on it. This breaks the floor and we look inside.
"I don't see a switch. Do you?"
"Nah. Just a rooted Vegetoid. Let's keep looking."
Moving on to the next on the left side, we once more break the cracks. But lady luck smiles on us this time.
"I see it!"
"Great. Drop down."
"Drop down? How will we get out?"
"There's a set of stairs to get back up here. See those ledges? You climb over those to get back out here."
"...You monsters and your crazy puzzles, I swear."
Flowey doesn't get a chance to respond as I drop down the hole and land in a pile of dead leaves. Flipping the switch, we hear a loud clank and head up the stairs to return to the upper floor. Once there, we see the spikes are down.
"Great, let's keep going."
"Aren't you curious as to what the others have?"
"No."
"...We're looking."
"Why?"
"Because you never know unless you try."
Flowey sighs as I move over to the last hole on the left, but this one contains nothing but a leaf pile.
"Lame."
I go back to the start of the room and begin now on the right side. Breaking this first crack has me tilting my head in puzzlement.
"What is that?"
Flowey looks down and a look of familiarity hits him.
"Be right back..."
I watch as the flower-boy stretches down the hole and comes back with an old red ribbon.
"Why'd you get that?"
"For this..."
Flowey pulls my hair back with a couple vines and ties the ribbon tightly around it, making a ponytail.
"There. Now you can see better and not look so darn creepy."
[You equipped the Bloodstained Ribbon.]
[You gain 3 Defense.]
"Huh? Neat. A little gross, but neat."
[If you're cute, the monsters will still hit you just as hard...but now they might feel bad about doing it.]
"Really? Okay, I can dig this."
Moving on to the next crack, I break it open and I can't help the smile I get.
"What? What's with that goofy face?"
"Shhhh...You'll see."
I climb over the ledge to the hole's corresponding stairway and head down. Flowey is deeply confused until we get to the bottom. There, laying in a pile of leaves and facing the wall, is our spooky buddy Napstablook. Flowey's about to chastise me but I cover his mouth. Slowly I take careful steps closer.
"don't come any closer human..."
I shrug.
"Damn, and here I thought my ninja skills were top notch."
I try to be funny to show we're still cool. Though Napstablook does make a small chuckle, he doesn't turn around to face me.
"So...How ya doing, dude?"
He doesn't answer and I frown.
"Guess I really do suck at this whole friend thing. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you."
I turn to leave from whence we came.
"wait..."
I pause.
"...I didn't say you had to leave."
The smile I get hurts from how big it is and Flowey is at least glad to see I'm in a better mood. I turn back and go near Napstablook, sitting on the ground just a foot or two from the pile of leaves he's on.
"human..."
"Yeah?"
"I...I've been thinking...about the stuff you said...did...did you really mean it?"
"Every word."
Don't choke up now. He's willing to talk. Don't make this awkward.
"heh...you were right about some things...I...I have some problems...I'm angry and hurt...but not at you...there's just so much shit in my life...I need to really resolve so much and think about how to handle things..."
"Do you maybe wanna...talk about it?"
"no...not yet..."
"I understand."
"thank you...it's hard for me to say stuff like this...but I just want you to know that...that I'm grateful to you...no one here has the patience or kindness or mercy to put up with someone like me..."
"Is that what you think? That I put up with you? *groan* This is harder than I thought it would be."
"Lynsie? What are you doing?"
I move closer to Napstablook and lay behind him. The ghost visibly tenses up and flinches when I drape my left arm over him. Yep...Kind of spooning a ghost that tried to kill me some time ago. This is my life now.
"h-h-human?"
"I'm not 'putting up' with you. I know the people down here tend to be douchebags, but I genuinely care about you."
I nuzzle the back of his head and he sniffles at the possibility of tears happening.
"I'm sorry I attacked you so badly."
"It's okay. I forgive you."
"I..."
"Shhhhh...You don't have say anything, Napstablook. We can just lay here."
I feel him relax and feel a hand take hold of mine.
"human..."
"Hmmm?"
"this...this is nice."
I smile and shut my eyes.
"Yeah. It is."
I would love to see the look on his face, but at this point, I couldn't open my eyes even if I wanted to. I'm so worn out and low on health, exhaustion takes over.
"Lynsie? Aren't you worried about...?
"*sleepy* A little nap...Please?"
Flowey frowns but can't help that he's stuck on a lump of dead weight at the moment.
"Fine. But only for a little while. Besides, sleeping can recover your health above your maximum HP. So I guess it's for the best."
I'm out cold in moments. With me unconscious and Napstablook snoring soft Zs, Flowey gives in to the group. He curls up and lays his head on mine. Peaceful slumber soon fills the room in a place that knows no peace.
[Hours later]
Napstablook can't remember the last time he slept so well. Not that ghosts need sleep, but it still doesn't hurt to do so either. This human...Very strange, yes. But she made him feel so comfortable. From the kindness of her words to the gentleness of her actions, and the warmth of her body laying there against...wait...Where did the warm go?
Napstablook sat up and looked around. The human was nowhere to be seen. The only evidence she was there at some point was the indent in the leaves and small blood drops on the ground. Something doesn't feel right. Her behavior didn't match this. He had to investigate. Floating up to the upper level he found his answer as it was leaving the room. There was the human, still unconscious, but now being held and carried away by Toriel. Most likely taking the human to her home.
"oh, shit..."
