A/N: Howdy! I would just like to say... that I love life. This world is so beautiful. It is far from perfect... but, there is so much beauty in us. There is so much potential in each of us... We have potential to move mountains. There is nothing that we can't do together. There is a story in the Bible about the tower of Babel. All of humanity shared one language and decided to build a tower to the heavens, but before they could finish it God confused their languages. Regardless of belief in the bible, the story has one undeniable moral. Together in ancient days, people we're working together to create something so great, that God decided to intervene. Just imagine the wonderful things we could do NOW in modern day. Moral of the story, rely on your friends and those you love. We can only do and handle so much alone. There are people out there who love you. Reach out for them, because they will catch you. I love you guys, everyone who reads this and those who don't. I love you because you exist and because you are you. I would love to know every single one of you personally. There is so much beauty in our individuality and that should be celebrated. I love you FOR your differences and your similarities alike. I am here if anyone ever needs someone to talk to or... simply to have someone to listen to you... I just felt like saying that. On to the story.
As Frisk sat against the marble pillar at the end of the lengthy hallway they had passed through earlier, they hummed a small tune. They had been sitting there for a few minutes in silence, just... enjoying the peace. The strange (goat?) monster had healed them after the rescue from Flowey. They were grateful for the release from the dull ache in their bones.
"Why are we still here? Are you that worn out already, or just that lazy?"
Frisk felt a smile come to their lips. Their sarcastic, corporeal companion was a pleasant addition to their life.
"Just that lazy." They signed, with a wide grin. If their partner wanted to be sarcastic, Frisk would play too.
"Wow... Careful with the sign language there... Wouldn't do for you to die from the effort." The voice deadpanned.
Frisk laughed, there was no sound, but that didn't stop their heaving chest.
"Do you find my sarcasm funny? Perhaps you need me to spell it out. I. Do. Not. Like. You. You are a human. You shouldn't be here. You come from that race of 'monsters'. We don't need you here. Your kind bring nothing but pain." The voice held nothing but loathing in their tone.
Frisk sobered up quickly during the voices rant. Their face devoid of emotion as they listened. Their fists were unconsciously curling into balls. After the voice quit speaking, Frisk still didn't move. They felt something akin to amusement from the voice.
"Finally run out of words? About time, I thought you'd never shut up." The voice teased.
"I hate me too." Frisk signed with a false smile, "I'm glad you feel the same way. However... If you hate me, then how are you any better than I am? You can't condemn me for being 'human' when you are too. HYPOCRITE."
Frisk finished and there was silence from the voice.
"Finally run out of words? About time, I thought you'd never shut up." Frisk signed. As they finished, the phone they had been given by the woman, Toriel, began to ring.
They hit the answer button and put the phone to their ear. It was Toriel's voice on the other side.
"Hello! This is Toriel. My errands are taking longer than I thought they would," Toriel admitted with a guilty chuckle, "You must wait five more minutes. Thank you for being patient." Click...
Frisk heaved a sigh, they had decided to wait for Toriel earlier, but after the argument they had just come out of... they needed to move. They stood up and stretched out. A few bones popped in their spine as they did. They looked at the decorated door leading deeper into the ruins.
If I come across something I can't handle, I could always wait for her there. They shrugged and slipped their hands into their pockets. They slouched down as they walked out of the hallway.
The first thing they saw was a bright sparkle in the red leaves directly ahead. They paused to take a quick look around for danger. All they saw in the room was a monster, Froggit, standing by the path a little ways ahead.
As they went to walk ahead their phone began to ring again. They answered on the second ring.
"Hello? This is Toriel. You have not left the room have you?" She sounded slightly concerned, "There are still a few puzzles ahead that I have yet to explain. It would be dangerous to try and solve them yourself. Be good, alright?" Click...
Frisk sighed, they weren't sure how Toriel expected this whole cellphone thing to work. Honestly, it was silly. Frisk couldn't speak. How would the cellphone be useful to them? Toriel did strike Frisk as slightly impulsive. They didn't think she was the type to really think things through.
They spotted the Froggit beckoning them over. Frisk waved and approached the monster with a friendly smile.
"Ribbit, ribbit," the monster said. Frisk couldn't understand it at all, "Ribbit.
"He said, 'Excuse me, human. I have some advice for you about battling monsters. If you ACT a certain way or FIGHT until you almost defeat them, then they might not want to fight you anymore. If a monster does not want to fight you, please, use some MERCY, human.'"
Frisk nodded politely to Froggit. "Thank You." they signed, "I will most assuredly, heed your kind advice."
Froggit seemed satisfied with their answer and hopped off. Frisk watched them leave. After they had gone. They began to sign once more.
"Thank you for translating..." They paused and took a deep breath, gathering their determination, "I apologize for my harsh words just earlier. It wasn't kind of me, regardless of your words. I'm sure you have your reasons to feel the way you do... I hope that I can prove you wrong..."
There was a moment of silence... then, "I... don't hate you. I just... I know what the human race is capable of and... I hate that... I hate the power to do evil that they have... The monsters... Have you ever heard the expression, 'Too good for this world"? That fits monsters perfectly..."
Frisk knew that was the closest they would get to an apology and they stored the information away. They were skeptical however... They doubted that the monsters were that 'good'. To be truly good... that goal seemed out of reach.
Frisk left their thoughts behind and turned their attention to the familiar yellow sparkle. They knew what it was, their companion had explained it before. It was a SAVE point. It was a way to mark where they would return after death, or if they wanted to reset.
They touched the bright sparkle and felt a refreshing wave of determination to continue.
Frisk turned to the closest door to them. It was more of an unassuming, short hallway. They walked through it to find what looked to be a bowl of bright, colorful objects in a bowl on a pedestal. The pedestal in question was surrounded by a square of the red leaves and two streams of fresh water flowed on either side of the room.
Frisk felt a strong wave of nostalgia from their companion.
"I remember... setting this up with... Toriel... and... Anyway, the bowl is filled with candy... go ahead and take one. They're good," the voice finished speaking and seemed to be waiting for Frisk to follow their orders.
Frisk was more than happy to comply. Candy, any candy, was good candy. They took a piece from the bowl and popped it into their mouth. It tasted delicous... like butterscotch. The only type of candy that was as good as chocolate.
"What do you think?" Their companion seemed almost... nervous.
"I love it," Frisk replied truthfully, "The only candy better than butterscotch is chocolate. I haven't had butterscotch this good before though."
Frisk could feel the satisfaction rolling off of their companion in waves.
"It's a family recipe. Everyone enjoyed it so much that we set up a bowl of them right here for anyone to enjoy... I even put up a sign so that monsters knew they could have one... They don't like to take things without permission. I... I knew you'd like it."
Frisk questioned the truth of the last statement, but thought better than calling their partner out. They picked up two more pieces... and felt disapproval from their companion. They ignored it, stuffing the candy into their pocket. They felt selfish, but the candy was just so good... they couldn't resist. They turned and left the room, pushing the guilt away.
They continued ahead, following the worn path in the floor. They weren't paying attention to the ground, so when the ground below them gave out... needless to say they were shocked.
The fall wasn't far, but after their recent dive into the Underground... it sent them into a panic attack. They hit the floor and crumpled to the ground. Their eyes were squeezed shut, their heart was beating a mile a minute and they were close to hyperventilating.
"Hey you're okay. Snap out of it. It wasn't that much of a fall. Come on... It's okay."
The sound of their partner had a calming effect and Frisk was able to calm completely after a couple more minutes of gentle coaxing from their partner. Frisk finally found the strength to rise off of the ground and swipe away the leaves that had gotten caught in their messy hair.
"Thank you... I apologize for being so weak..." Frisk gave a silent, mirthless chuckle and began to climb the staircase back up.
"It... It's okay... I... was the same way when I first... when I fell in." the voice admitted.
Frisk was a more than a little shocked. Did that mean the voice was human too? Were they one of the people who had climbed the mountain, only to never return? Frisk didn't think they would get answers if they asked, so they forged ahead. They would ask later... if they ever grew closer to their companion.
As they exited the hallway where they had fallen, their phone rang again. They slipped the clunky device out of their pocket and answered.
"Hello? This is Toriel. For no reason in particular... Which do you prefer? Cinnamon or Butterscotch? Tap on the speaker once for Cinnamon and twice for Butterscotch." She stated.
Frisk didn't hesitate before firmly tapping twice on the receiver. They put the phone back up to their.
"Okay. Thank you very much." Toriel said, and with a click the call ended.
Frisk smiled warmly and put the phone back in their pocket. Toriel seemed like a truly caring woman. They decided to stop wasting time thinking and forge ahead once more.
They spotted a rock in the middle of the room. The ground was worn between it and a switch that lay a few paces past it. Frisk started towards it when their phone began to ring once more. They felt a twinge of annoyance, but crushed it vehemently, as they answered the phone.
"Hello. This is Toriel. You do not dislike Cinnamon, do you?" Toriel questioned, "I know you're preference, but would you turn up your nose if you found it on your plate? Tap once for no and twice for yes."
Frisk tapped the receiver once. They technically would, if presented with a plate of just Cinnamon, turn their nose up. They had made that mistake once and they weren't eager to repeat it. However, they were sure that Toriel wasn't being literal.
"Right, right, I understand. Thank you for being patient, by the way." Click...
Frisk sighed and put the phone away. They had a feeling that this was going to be a long trek.
By the time they had reached the next SAVE point... Frisk was feeling slightly frustrated. The room with the wrecked floor... Frisk didn't want to think about it again. They were developing a phobia of falling. Then, came the talking rock... Frisk was losing patience. They touched the SAVE, feeling the familiar rush of determination.
They continued ahead … only to find their path blocked. This time a ghost was in the way. It was laying in the red leaves and kept saying 'z', pretending to be asleep. Frisk felt their patience snap and decide to move the ghost with force. The felt the soul be pulled out once more. It was an odd feeling.
Also, now that they were feeling better, they noticed something they hadn't seen with Flowey. There was, outside of the box, four floating options reading; FIGHT, ACT, ITEM, and MERCY. There was also a floating word, Chara. Beside the word was LV 1 and HP 20/20.
Frisk had played video games before falling into the Underground so the numbers and options. They also decided that their word was a name. They assumed it belonged to the voice inside their head.
"This is Napstablook," Chara said, "They've been down here for a long time. They... they seem different."
Frisk nodded their acknowledgment and touched the ACT button. Four more buttons took its place: Check, Flirt, Threat, and Cheer. Frisk pressed Check. A text box appeared in front of them.
*Napstablook- ATK 10 DEF 10
*This monster doesn't seem to have a sense of humor...
After a few seconds the text box disappeared leaving the sight of the soul in the box.
"Good to know..." Chara hummed out.
"Oh, I'm REAL funny," Napstablook stated. They began to attack with their tears.
Chara's yelp of surprise reverberated in Frisk's skull. Their partner's red soul began to dodge the tears deftly. The stream stopped quickly and the text boxes reappeared. Frisk clicked ACT again and decided to try and Flirt with Napstablook.
"Are you made of Butterscotch? Because you look as sweet as candy." Frisk signed with a flirtatious grin.
Napstablook sighed heavily and replied, "I'd just weigh you down."
The text box disappeared and Frisk felt Chara prepare for the next attack. None came, instead, the background of the box Chara's soul was in had 'Sorry, not feeling up to it right now' written inside. The 'attack?' ended and the buttons appeared again. Frisk frowned, they didn't like that the ghost was depressed. They tried to Cheer them up. Frisk noted Chara's feelings of approval.
Frisk gave Napstablook a patient smile.
Napstablook seemed shocked at the action. "Heh..." they said, and began their attack. Chara dodged easily... it seemed to be half hearted. After the attack Frisk noticed Napsta's improving mood.
"Try a joke. Napstablook always did enjoy a good joke." Chara suggested.
Frisk decided that there were worse ideas and signed a quick joke.
"What do you call a sleepy ghost?"
"what?"
"A dead-head."
Napstablook chuckled slightly. Their attack this round seemed to specifically avoid Chara.
Napstablook seemed to be feeling a lot better. They wanted to show Frisk something. Frisk clicked Cheer.
Napstablook's tears went up and formed a tall, dapper hat on their head. "I call it 'dapper' blook... do you like it?"
Frisk gave a thumbs up. Napstablook seemed to be pleased. The soul went back into Frisk's body. It seemed that the fight was over.
"i usually come to the ruins because there's nobody around, but today I met somebody nice... oh, i'm rambling again. i'll get out of your way" Napstablook stated in a warm manner. They slowly disappeared.
"Hey... Thanks for not attacking... It wouldn't have worked, because Blooky is a ghost... but I appreciate you cheering them up... This doesn't mean I like you though. You are a human after all. For all I know, you're just biding your time before you start killing. But... I've decided to give you a chance. You could be kind... Only time will tell." Chara stated with a soft hum.
Frisk decided to ask a question. "Is your name Chara?" They signed, hoping that this didn't back fire.
There was silence at first then... "Caught that did you... Yeah... my name is Chara... What's yours?"
"Frisk." They replied.
"Frisk huh? I guess... Well... you do seem pretty, FRISK-Y." Chara joked with a laugh.
Frisk sighed and shook their head. How many times had they heard that joke? Too many.
A/N: I would like to note, for those of you that think Chara is acting OoC. The first time we meet her at the end of a Genocide run. She claims that it was YOU who turned her into an evil killing machine. I think that after you murder everything but Toriel in the RUINS, Chara becomes straight up evil and takes over Frisk's body. I think it lines up with what she says. This is, however, a tentative thesis. The main focus is on the fact though, that Chara is evil because our actions in the RUINS dictate her psyche. Therefore, she isn't evil now. She wasn't evil in the videos in the True Lab either. Just... messed up? She had it out for humanity, she still does... but dying tends to change a person. I'm still not sure how my view of Chara is going to come out in this. I can tell that she's decided to be a bit of an ass though.
By the way. What do bony guys use to unlock their door? A SKELETON KEY!
Peace.