Chapter 3: Moldy Adventure
"FRISK!" Toriel cried as she saw her child fade from sight. The drain began to close, but Toriel ran and tried to keep It open with her hands, but the old mechanism was too strong and she was forced to let go before it crushed her hands. The drain shut with a SLAM!, as if to punctuate the fact that Toriel may never see her son again. Tears slid down her face as she fell to her hands and knees.
"No, not again…why does this always happen? All I want is to keep them safe, to have someone to love, why must they always be taken from me? Why…?" She then started sobbing.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" Flowey laughed, cutting through the sadness of the moment, Toriel looked up, shocked.
"You think you can protect humans like him? You actually think you can CARE FOR ANYTHING? That's hilarious. Someone as broken as you can't care for ANYTHING! AHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAH!"
Toriel got on her feet and ignited her hands, her eyes now filled with a mix of hatred and sorrow. "SHUT UP! This is your fault!" She then opened her palms and unleashed a storm of fireballs, all aimed at the nasty flower.
"Yipe!" Flowey squeaked as he retreated into the drain, but not before getting even more singed than he was before.
After he left, Toriel sank back to her knees. "Frisk…" She then clenched her fist. "No. I am not giving up. He may still be alive. I'll go down and look for him, let's see…if I remember right below the Central Drain is…." She then straightened up abruptly, then got up and broke into a run. "Nonononono! That place is a death trap!"
Frisk screamed as he fell down the Central Drain, fearful that this time, his fall would end with him splattering on the ground. He was thankfully proven wrong as he landed in a large pool of water. He held his breath as a current carried him from there through a series of pipes, until finally he plopped out of a pipe and onto the floor. Frisk coughed and sputtered a she desperately tried to get air into his lungs. After a few minutes of wheezing he stood up and looked around. "Where am I?" He asked.
The new area he was in was a straight, rectangular chamber with what looked like an aqueduct running through it, most likely sending the water to purification. Frisk followed the duct until he hit the end of the room. Below him was a waterfall of dirty water that went into a large, complicated-looking cylinder-shaped machine that had various moving doodads that purified the water-and looked like they would've crushed him had he been light enough to be carried away by the aqueduct, luckily it appeared he'd managed to land on its' side. Frisk looked around for a way down, and saw a ladder on the left side of the aqueduct. He climbed down the long ladder, eventually hitting the ground.
"I'd better find my back to Toriel, she's probably worried sick." He stated, looking around. "But how, the way I just came from isn't an option, hmmm, I suppose I should just keep going forward and keep an eye out." Frisk then began walking, stealing a glance back at the purifying machine and seeing that a clear pipe delivered the fruit of its labors upward. Once again that odd feeling filled him, and he felt his wounds were healed. He looked at his clothes and saw they were now magically dry. "What the hell is this?" He asked internally, but then remembered Toriel and looked forward. "Later, I have to get back to her, it must be killing her, thinking I'm dead." He then started walking, determined to get back to his "oh
Toriel ran as fast as her legs could carry her down the stairs that led further into the Waterways, panting as she exerted herself. She had to get to him before SHE did. Frisk wouldn't stand a chance.
Back with the little human, he was busy making his way through the bowls of the Waterways. Twisting pipes surrounded him on all sides and there seemed to be end in sight. Suddenly, a frog-like creature jumped out of the darkness and in front of him. Frisk shrieked and fell backward, the frog looked completely unfazed, and merely ribbited. Frisk calmed a bit. "Aw, it's just a little frog monster. And here I thought-"But Frisk's thoughts were interrupted as the frog ribbited a second time, much lower in pitch, and its mouth ballooned, and before Frisk could even fathom what was happening, the frog belched out a storm of white, glowing flies. Frisk, remembering Flowey, rolled out of its way. The frog ribbited again, but this time no flies came out. "WHAT THE HELL MAN?" Frisk snapped, but the frog didn't respond, at least not with words, and sent another swarm Frisk's way. The human dodged again, now he was getting angry. It was then he noticed the same HUD from when Flowey "taught" him had appeared. He looked it over and pondered which to choose. "Fight seems like the most logical choice…" He looked at the frog and saw no malice or any indication that it seemed aware that they were fighting. Frisk quirked an eyebrow. "But this little guy doesn't seem bad, or at the very least isn't like Flowey, and if he's a monster like Toriel he could have people who care about him. Hmmm." Pressed the ACT button and a new menu appeared, showing various options. "Huh, weird, it's like a video game." The frog monster's name was now displayed, apparently it was a Froggit. Frisk tapped the name and a new window appeared, it had the options of Check, Compliment, and Threaten. Frisk tapped Check. Froggit's stats were now displayed, it had 30 HP, 4 DF, and apparently life was difficult for it. "Weird, how does this thing know what life is like for him? Ah well, I probably shouldn't question things down here, it'll probably make things easier." Frisk then tapped his chin as he pondered what to do. "Threatening him will probably just make him fight harder, plus I don't wanna be a bully, so that just leaves…" Frisk pressed the Compliment button. The screens then went away and Frisk was once again just facing Froggit. Silence filled the room.
"Oh right, I probably I have to do this part myself." He looked over Froggit to try and find something to praise, his eyes caught sight of the triangles that looked tattooed on his chest.
"Uh…your tattoo is pretty cool." Frisk said.
Froggit blushed. "Ribbit, thank you." He said.
A new screen appeared. "Froggit seems reluctant to fight you." The MERCY button then flashed yellow. Frisk tapped it and saw two options, Spare or Flee, the former was flashing yellow. Frisk tapped it, and the menu faded and his SOUL went back inside him.
"Huh, guess that means I won." Silence once again filled the room, and Frisk and the blushing frog monster were left standing there awkwardly.
After a few minutes Froggit spoke up. "Um, human, do you need anything else? Because I kinda have to be somewhere." He said. Frisk flinched, but recovered quickly. "Um, n-"But then Frisk thought of the obvious question. "Why did you attack me?" He asked.
Froggit shrugged. "The King's orders. We have to kill any human who falls down here. At least that's what I heard. If it makes you feel better, I really wasn't into it. I just want to be the best frog I can be." He explained. "But if I were you I'd tread lightly, not everyone is as easygoing as me."
Frisk gulped, EVERY monster, (except Toriel apparently,) was out to get him, all because their King told them to?! "Why does your King want me dead?" Frisk asked.
Froggit shrugged. "It's a long story, but I don't have time to tell it, see ya later." Froggit then began hopping away, but before it got out of sight it looked back and said. "If you need something, The Nest is northwest of here, they have plenty of stuff that could be useful, here." The frog monster then spat something at Frisk, he flinched and held up his hands, but all he felt was something soft hitting his arms. He looked down and saw it was a small pink felt sack tied shut by a string, a lily pad was emblazoned on the front of it. Frisk picked it up and felt something jingling inside, he looked at it questioningly.
"That's my emergency gold, you seem like you'll need it more, use it to buy something at The Nest, good luck, human." He then hopped into the shadows.
"Gold…?" Frisk opened the sack and dumped its contents into his hand. Twenty gold coins spilled out, all having the same symbol he'd seen on Toriel's robe and the secret door. Frisk gasped. "This is real gold! Holy shit! These guys are loaded!" Frisk put them back in the sack and retied the bag, then put it in his pocket. "I guess I should go where Froggit said. Maybe there's someone there that can help me find a way back up. If they don't kill me first…" Frisk then continued walking, eventually meeting a crossroads, two paths branched out before him, one left and one right. Remembering Froggit's directions, Frisk turned left.
As he travelled further, the scenery began to change, the number of pipes was decreasing, and brick walls now filled the sides of the path, as well as a strange substance that clung to both. Frisk didn't dare touch it and continued on. Eventually, he reached a door, it had the same symbol that was one the coins at the top of its threshold, and had its sides covered in the same substance on the walls and pipes.
"Gross…what is this stuff?" He questioned aloud. No one answered. Frisk mustered his courage and touched the slimy door. It opened with a sound like that of an airlock. Frisk stepped through and gasped at what he saw.
What looked like a town was spread out before him in a large, cylindrical chamber that had the same clear pipes that were at the purifier, only much bigger and dripping water all over the place like rain, but that wasn't what Frisk gasped at, it was what the town was made of.
The same slimy substance that was all over the hallways was what made up the town. And Frisk now knew what it was, mold. He figured this out because of the fact the same lumps that were usually found on moldy sandwiches were now more abundant and noticeable. From the houses to the lights to even the monsters, everything was moldy.
Speaking of monsters, they came in about two forms, ones that looked kind of like jello, and ones that looked kinda like Like-Likes from the legend of Zelda only they had vertical faces with a singular eye at the center. They were all unaware of Frisk's presence, and he wanted to keep it that way.
"Screw buying something! These things'll probably try to eat me…or infect me…. whatever! I have to get out of here before…" But his thoughts were interrupted by a loud and gruff male voice.
"Yo! Kid! Over here!" It said.
Frisk fearfully looked over and saw one of the moldy cakes hop up to him, it was red and had a moustache.
"Yo little guy you look nervous. Somethin' the matter?" He asked.
Frisk gained a quizzical look on his face. "Does he not know I'm a monster?" He asked internally.
"Yo! Kid! I'm talking to you!" The red mold cake said irritably.
"Roll with it." "Um, sorry. It's just I'm new to town. This is The Nest, right?" Frisk asked.
"Yer darn tootin' it is! Best place In all the Underground! A place where all us slimy folk can live in peace! Well, slimies AND non-slimies like you too. Here we treat each other right. So, what'cha lookin' for?" He asked.
"Oh a, um, Froggit told me I could find useful stuff here. Do you know where the shop is?" Frisk asked.
"Hell yeah I do! I run it! Gary's Shop of Slimy Stuff! I'm Gary by the way. Follow me!" Gary then started hopping towards a red mold building at the center of town, Frisk followed. Along the way they passed a few other slime monsters, none of them paid Frisk mind in the slightest. "Do they not know what a human looks like?" He wondered.
"Here we are!" Gary announced, snapping Frisk out of his thoughts. The mustachioed mold opened the door and hopped inside, Frisk followed. The inside of the shop was just as moldy as the outside, it had shelves full of strange and slimy objects, some weren't made of mold and just covered in slime, others were made of the stuff and Frisk couldn't discern their use. Gary hopped behind the store's counter. "So, what can I get you?" He asked. Frisk approached the counter and pulled out the sack of gold. "What can I get for twenty gold?" He asked.
"Oho! You're in luck! I have a special item from someone who claimed to have been form the outside! Here, let me get it!" The small slimy hopped behind the counter and came back up holding a shield bearing the strange winged symbol that was everywhere. "This is a genuine Guard's Shield! A bit worn, but it'll keep you safe if you're a traveler! Which I can tell you are by your strange attire! How's about it?" He asked, holding up the shield.
"That could be really useful." "Sure, I'll take it." Frisk said, throwing the pouch on the counter, he then took the shield from the shopkeep.
"Excellent! I knew you had a keen eye for merchandise! And here, since you've been so nice I'll give you five of our famous Lemon Cakes!" He said, putting five, (surprisingly,) not moldy bright yellow cakes on the counter, Frisk took them eagerly. "Thank you."
"No prob! You need anything else?" Gary asked.
Frisk perked up, remembering the other reason he came to The Nest. "Um, do you know how to get back up to the Ruins?"
"Oh! You mean the upper levels. Yeah, head east and you should arrive at the Maintenance Elevator, it'll take you back up. You just have to get cleared by Moldessa, she's the boss down here." Gary explained.
"Okay! Thanks Gary! See ya later!" Frisk said, strapping his new shield to his arm and running out the door.
Frisk then headed east, walking though the moldy and slimy town until he reached another moldy door, reluctantly he opened it and walk inside into a new hallway which you guessed it, was covered in slimy mold.
"Ugh, I'm gonna have to take a millions baths when I get home." Frisk thought grumpily as he walked through the hallway. Eventually he reached some stairs and ascended to the next level of the Waterways, it was an open area with bunch of clear pipes running through it, the mold was still present, some of it on the pipes, but thankfully it didn't appear to effect the purified water. Frisk continued on until he hit what appeared to be a puzzle.
It made up of an grate floor with a bunch of pipes blasting water into it in various patterns, a mold monster was near it, this one was cyan and small, with a striped baseball cap on. He noticed Frisk and perked up. "Oh, hey! You trying to get past here too?" It said in a male voice.
"Yeah, do you know how?" Frisk asked.
"Sure do! This puzzle is all about timing, you have to wait for the right opening to appear and hop to the next clear space on the floor. Fail and you get blasted by ultra-hot water. It's a very difficult puzzle for us moldies." He explained.
Frisk quirked his head. "Why's that?" He asked.
The little mold kid slumped. "We aren't really quick hoppers. Though we hop everywhere we tend to stick to the floor, so our jumps take a bit longer than everyone else." He then gestured to the puzzle. "None of us who try to get past here succeed, well except Mom, but I think she cheats." He stated.
Frisk looked toward the puzzle and his expression turned resolute. "No dumb puzzle is gonna keep me away from my Mom!"
He thought, but then caught himself. "Did I just cal Toriel Mom? is-is that appropriate?" He thought, then looked down, and raised his head. "Yeah...it is. She's the only one who's ever treated me like family, not even the Headmistress treated me like she does. Toriel's more than earned it."
"Uh, hello?"
Frisk snapped at attention and looked at the little kid slime. "Sorry, I was just thinking. I'll help you cross." Frisk said.
The little moldy jumped up. "Yay! Thanks so much!" He cheered, then jumped into Frisk's arms. "Let's go!"
Frisk smiled and faced the puzzle. It was going through patterns quickly, steam billowing from where it poured into the grate. He waited until it reached an arrow pattern that left the front open, he jumped quickly, just before it switched. He didn't let himself get comfortable and stayed vigilant, jumping when it switched to a square pattern, then waited again until it switched again to a rectangle. They were almost there.
Frisk waited...a longer while, until the water seemed to clear completely. He took a hesitant step forward.
This proved to be a mistake.
Boiling hot water poured down onto him, Frisk and the little mold monster screamed as the water jet forced the human onto the floor. He watched helplessly as the little slime dissolved. And he continued to scream as the rest of him did the same...
All was darkness, he felt nothing, he couldn't even feel his body.
"Am...am I dead?"
He looked around, he was currently in a black void with nothing else. The Waterways were gone, he was alone.
"NO! I can't be dead! I can't! This is unfair! I finally found someone who loved me! This can't be it! I won't accept it! I WON'T! WHOEVER'S IN CHARGE, PLEASE! GIVE ME A SECOND CHANCE! PLEASE! I BEG OF YOU!"
Frisk started sobbing. "Please...please...it can't end like this..."
Suddenly, a light appeared, and Frisk looked at it.
CONTINUE
Frisk didn't even question what it was, he just pressed it and suddenly white light filled his eyes.
Before he knew it he was back in the Waterways, back in front of the puzzle that killed him, the little mold kid snug in his arms. He stood, there, dumbfounded.
"What the hell just happened? Did I dream all that? No, no dream is that real. So I died and came back? But how? Did God hear my prayers?"
"Hey! Are we going or not?" The mold kid asked.
Frisk once again snapped to attention. "Um, yeah. Just waiting for the way to become clear." He said, facing the puzzle. He once again jumped the first two open patterns. And once again faced the same pattern before he died. This time he threw the little mold forward and rolled after him, just as the deadly water jet hit where he was standing.
"Whoa! That was cool! How'd you know to do that?" The mold kid asked.
Frisk scratched the back of his head. "Um, I dunno, intuition?" He said lamely.
"Aw that's awesome! You're almost as cool as Undyne! Now c'mon! We gotta keep moving forward!" The mold kid then hopped forwards, eager to explore. Frisk ran after him, fearful for the little slime's life after what he just experienced.
"But, wait, why do I remember and he doesn't seem to? Am I the only one who can? And how were we brought back?" He then remembered that weird feeling, and thinking back he remembered feeling it in the background when he was debating about Toriel.
"A tether that would keep me from falling...is this what that feeling was? Some sort of anchor in time that I can come back to?" Frisk though as he chased after the mold kid.
After a few minutes of walking they came upon another puzzle. This one seemed less deadly than the last one, being the same as the one Toriel showed him earlier, only this one had ten valves. Frisk looked around for any indication on what they were supposed to do, then spotted a plate with text on it. He walked over and read it.
"Prince's Rosario. What does that mean?" Frisk asked.
The mold kid perked up. "Ooh! I know this! It's a song dedicated to the Fallen Prince! My dad whistles it all the time! You probably have to play it using the valves!" He explained.
Frisk moved over to the valves. "Alright, you whistle and I'll turn." He said, grabbing two of the valves. Thankfully, these ones were smaller and had notes determining which ones to turn. Luckily, Frisk knew what they meant because he had learned to play the flute.
The mold kid then started whistling, and Frisk followed the tune. It was a beautiful yet melancholy song, evoking a sense of grief and loss. With a final twist of a valve Frisk ended the tune and the path opened.
"Woo! We are KILLING it! C'mon!" The mold kid cheered, moving forward.
"Wait up!" Frisk begged, running after the little slimy.
The two then continued walking, eventually entering another walled corridor. This one was even more bloated with mold than the last one, making the rectangular passage look circular like a cave. They soon came upon a wide chamber, the walls were thick with mold, but they were slightly different in that they had little glowy bits on them. At the far end of the chamber was what must have been the Maintenance Elevator, more pristine than any other part of the room.
"There it is!" Frisk exclaimed, running toward it. Before he could reach it, though, something big dropped down from the ceiling, causing a dust cloud to form and stopping Frisk dead in his tracks. The cloud was soon dispelled when a vine-like tendril swiped it away, revealing its owner.
It was a mold monster like everything else Frisk had encountered traveling through the Waterways, only WAY bigger. It had a light-bulb shaped gooey body that had shapes moving and shifting on its surface in a circle, a pair of slimy vines protruded from a crown of leaves at its top. Upon seeing the human, the shapes formed a gleeful expression.
"Ooh! So the rumors were true! A human has fallen down! Excellent!" It said in a female voice.
"Wait! You're a human?" The mold kid asked, shocked.
The big mold monster crossed her vine-arms. "Rudd! What ARE you doing here!? I told you not to bother me at work!" She lectured.
The mold kid, apparently named Rudd, looked at the giant mold monster. "But MOM you haven't been home in days! Dad was worried!"
The giant mold mother pointed towards the way Frisk and Rudd had came. "I don't want to hear it! You know this area is dangerous for such a little thing like you! Go back home! I'll be back as soon as I kill this human!" She said, readying her tendrils and molding her face into an angry expression.
"B-But this human helped me! Please don't hurt him!" Rudd begged.
"You know the King's orders Rudd! Besides, if I got a human SOUL, I would become the most beautiful creature in the Underground! Our family would gain fame! Fortune! Status! Everything we could ever want!" Rudd's Mom said, her arms glowing.
"No! Please! He's my friend!" Rudd continued to beg.
"Enough!" The moldy mother yelled as she shot her arms up. As if answering her call, the mold in the room shifted and morphed into a ring around her and Frisk, keeping Rudd away.
"No!" Rudd cried.
Rudd's Mom then shifted her gaze towards Frisk, her expression now morphed into one of anticipation. "Now then, human, get ready to face the Queen of Mold! The Mistress of Slime! MOLDESSA!" She roared, her arms glowing with a powerful light. Frisk raised his shield to defend himself. The world flashed and the battle men appeared along with Frisk's SOUL.
"Ah! There it is! Come to Mama!" Moldessa cooed, shooting projectiles at Frisk, who stood his ground. A few hit his shield and dissolved, others missed but exploded around him, hitting him, his HP dropped to 17.
"Crap! She's strong, and I can't hurt her because she's Rudd's mom, what do I do?" He thought. He then gasped as he remembered the ACT button, but before he could push it Moldessa shot a bunch of bullets in a zigzag pattern. Frisk dodged, using his shield to block any that came close. He then clicked the FIGHT button to check her stats.
"Moldessa-Mayor of The Nest, has self-esteem issues. ATK 3 DF 7 Beware her vines" It read.
"Hmm, maybe if I compliment her she'll calm down?"
Frisk shot her the double guns. "You, uh, have some nice leaves." He said.
Moldessa blushed and gasped, then her expression shifted to anger and she shot out her vine-arms to try and grab him. "YOU PERVERT!" She roared.
"Oh crap!" Frisk cried and ran away, the arms trailing after him. He was soon cornered at the mold wall and brought his shield up to block the attack, which it did, but it broke into two soon after. The vine-arms quickly came back and grabbed him. Moldessa held him upside down and brought her free arm up to where his SOUL was, it started to glow.
"HAHAHAHAHA finally! I'll get what I deserve!" She cackled. Before she could fire though, something very hot hit her in the back, forcing her to drop Frisk. Moldessa's face twisted to an angry expression. "WHO DARES?!" She roared.
The source of the fireball was none other than Toriel, who stood in front of the open elevator. "I do. Now get away from my son before I make you into a charred pickle." She said flatly, igniting her hands.
Moldessa bristled and growled. "How dare you! I am an elegant flower! I'll teach you you horned bitch!" She then roared and sproted tow other vine-arms from her back. Toriel just made her flames brighter.
