HELLO. BEEN WATCHING TOO MANY LP'S OF UNDERTALE. If you're wondering whose voices I prefer for most characters... Jack's, obvs. Jacksepticeye's playthrough is sooooo goood~ So whilst reading this, just imagine his voices for the characters :P
Giving a shout out to Lanny-Sama! Pretty sure that's her username here, otherwise Insecuriosity over on AO3. Been bugging 'em with my writing loads, forcing them to read this P: man I'm so inhuman. Thanks for some suggestions and beta-reading this C:
Enjoy this! It's a little bit shorter than the others, but I hope you enjoy this nonetheless! :P
Chapter 4 Beyond the Door
Day after day, I returned back to the door, exchanging knock knock jokes with Sans on the other side of the door. Day after day, Toriel taught me more about how monsters worked. She told me the most common problems that the Underground was facing, that being the overcrowding and claustrophobia. However, most monsters took it well with a grain of salt, knowing that there wasn't anything that they could do about it and handling it in their own way. I knew that would change if they heard a human was in the Underground. Not just a child human either, a fully grown adult. Toriel wasn't sure how the monsters would react to an adult human, one had never fallen before as far as she knew, so there was chance that none of the others outside of the Ruins would have seen a full grown human. After all, they have to pass through her house to exit the Ruins. I don't question why she thought it was a good idea to build her house there, but whatever. Her house.
After the fourth day of talking to Sans behind the door, I finally managed to pop the question; "So, my friend said she saw a human go through this door about a month ago. You ever seen a human?"
There was a long bit of silence on the other side, making me worried whether I had asked him too soon. Things had been going well, they were getting rather flirty which both excited and worried me at the same time. "wow really? sure, i saw a human pass here." was the reply. I took that information in, Beatrice hadn't been careful it seems. At least, I hoped it was Beatrice he had found.
One way to find out. "Wow. I've uh... I've never seen a human before," I hope he didn't hear my voice waver, hoping to be convincing. "What did it look like?" saying 'it' sure felt rather horrible as opposed to she, a child.
"hard to describe. no fur, standing on two legs, wears a lot of clothes, oh guess a patch of fur or something on the round head, two eyes, a nose, mouth, two ears. pink/white skin, two arms, two legs, five fingered hands... think skeleton but with flesh and skin and hair. this one had blonde hair, think it was female, sounded it anyway. was a bit short for a human, too, 4'3 or something." That was definitely Beatrice! Finally! So I knew for sure that she had passed through those doors, maybe Sans had an idea of where she had gone. I knew now I had to keep a grip with Sans, if he had valuable information. "looked fine if you're into flesh-covered skeletons... cuz you sure seem pretty keen." Was he hinting at something here? I could almost hear the wink. What was he getting at?
"Wow, that sounds... bit weird, yeah." I wasn't entirely sure how to reply, quite honestly. I had Froggit, Whimsun, Loox, Moldsmals and Toriel to go on for monsters. That was about it. From what Sans was telling me, skeletons were real and monsters too. Interesting, always had to wonder if the classic would actually be a monster. "What did you do when you saw the human?"
"curious, kitten?" I flushed, thankful Sans couldn't see how I reacted. I felt a poke to my side to see Shadow there, staring at me with big eyes, tail wagging, panting. He tilted his head, wondering why I was changing colour. Or maybe he was being smug. He looked smug. I glared at him. He didn't care. "had a chat with them, they seemed pretty nice, pretty friendly. i just told 'em not to harm my brother and sent them on their way. supposed to stop humans but eh. that's a lot of required effort just to stop a small human that just wants to go home. besides, my brother never saw 'em, the dog team got 'em in, I heard. felt pretty bad about that, they seemed really nice."
Dog team? His slang words were ones that I was very familiar with, through TV mostly, but I had heard the stories from other precincts. Translate: the dog team had killed Beatrice. Yet, as he said this, Sans didn't seem the least bit put out by the fact. That unnerved me, very much so. How can a guy be so chill about someone dying, been killed? He said he was disappointed, but he really didn't seem that bothered. His tone of voice was all wrong. Who thinks like that?
"That sounds horrible!" I was being totally honest here, feelings and all. Maybe monsters did live up to their name sometimes. Dogs killing children, shit children, and here's a guy behind a door telling me it happened whilst still seeming pretty chill about everything. Who acts like that!?
Sans didn't seem to know how to react, from the silence and no moving I heard from the other side of the door. I hadn't heard him move, so he hadn't left. Was that a good or a bad thing?
"yeah... it's pretty horrible, alright." That... his voice sounded so very tired all of a sudden. "lot of monsters are desperate to get to the surface, so things this side of the door can be pretty rough. after the King's message, things got better and worse at the same time. uh... if you get me." I didn't, but I hummed anyway. I wasn't sure I could ask more about it without giving too much away. Maybe it was safe? I wasn't sure. But what were the chances Sans could guess?
"Uh, no sorry. I don't get it. Don't really get the news here in the Ruins." Hopefully, that was a believable excuse.
Sans chuckled, seems that I was in the clear there. "guess without a knock knock buddy, i gettit. see, even though it's a human, even though it's kind kinda trapped us down here and declared war on us for no reason a while ago, don't make it right we kill a kid cuz it's in the wrong place. ain't the kid's fault we're trapped here, happened long before this kid was alive. kid did nothing wrong." At least I was thankful there seemed to be at least one monster on the other side of the door that didn't like killing humans. So he seems to say, anyway. That was a relief, but also left me thinking, why didn't he? If everyone else on the other side didn't care, why did he? If what Toriel was telling me is true, humans' souls were the key to getting out of this place. Sans' words seem to be backing up her claim.
Human souls, the key to getting to the surface. Sans saying people were hopeful again after the King's message. How long had they been trapped down here? Probably for generations, if we forgot about them. The chance to finally escape... how close were they to getting out? How many souls did they need? Well done, Frisk. Forget to ask Tori that question. Guess she couldn't answer every question and I couldn't remember to ask every question. But of course, I guess it took a lot of time for it to really sink in. Monsters were probably reacting this way not because the King declared it so, as Tori explained, but because they were desperate. Sans' responses threw in that new theory, people were hopeful, they could see the surface again soon. So, it seemed the human souls were actually working if they were getting excited. I'd be walking into a place that wouldn't hesitate to take my soul if it meant getting out of this place and up to where humans were. Jesus, this was like... a zombie film or something. Yeah, those kind of zombie films, where you wouldn't hesitate to kill another person if it meant that you would live and survive. Never imagined I'd be living one before, but hope I don't have to use the same tactics.
Huh, wow, yeah, uh. Heh. Um. Boy, I'm shaking pretty hard. Didn't realise. Oh. Yeah. I know the symptoms. My breathing was a little fast... quite fast, yes. I was shaking, my throat was dry, I have trouble focusing... panic attack. I'm having a panic attack. Shit.
"you okay, pal? you're kinda quiet." Sans sounded worried, but I was having trouble focusing on what he was saying, like my ears were blocked. I really didn't need to be having a panic attack in front of Sans of all people.
"Yeah yeah... just need some laughs." I think I almost sounded like I wasn't needing a paper bag. Yeah. Sure. Cool. Jesus, when did my hands sweat so much?
There was a brief pause. "how did the little scottish dog feel when he saw a monster? terrierfied." Had to admit, it put a smile on my face, even if my chest felt like it was taking a right beating. I heard a whine and suddenly pressure on my stomach. Oh, Shadow was still here. That woke me up a little bit, but I was still shaking and breathing too quickly. "what do you call a cold dog? A chilli dog." Jesus, these were fucking terrible. "what's a dogs favourite kind of pizza? sure your pal can answer this." Shadow didn't seem to think so. He looked to the door and tilted his head. "pupperoni." Okay, that got a chuckle out of me.
Sans continued to tell bad jokes for a while longer, all dog related, as I slowly but surely calmed down from my shock. Honestly, I wasn't surprised that it happened, but I was surprised it took this long for it to finally sink in. I had been with Toriel for almost two months and it's only now I'm truly getting scared about what is behind the door? Maybe because I didn't think too much of it, I wasn't going there for a while. But... the time was coming soon. I was able to stand without the help of the crutch now, though running was still a challenge, I felt confident enough to move on forward. I had to do this. I can do this. I can do this! For Beatrice. For Chara. For Oliver, William, Godfrey, Bruce and Allan. All the children that had fallen into this Underground. For the village, I'd do it for them.
Yes. It was time to go. But, I needed to do a few things before I go.
"Sans?" I heard Sans hum a reply. "Can you promise me something?"
Hesitation. "er, bud, i'm no good with promises..." that wasn't a surprising response, Sans was a pretty private individual from what I learnt. He talked about his brother a lot, but always hesitated to talk about himself. Keeps his cards close to his chest.
"Can you try? For me?"
He hesitated longer, before I heard a sigh. "guess i can't say no to ya, doll."
I didn't really stop to think what he meant by that. "If... if a human were to come through here. Will you please keep them safe? Keep them from harm and protect them?"
He whistled. "you don't ask for small things, do ya doll?" Let's just say I was so glad that he didn't ask for why I asked him to protect humans, let's be thankful for the small things.
"I'm sorry to ask a lot, especially with how it must be on the other side, but do you trust me?"
Silence. Ugh, maybe this was a stupid idea, a horrible cruel idea. Sans had been nothing but lovely, and here I was asking for- "alright. i'm no good with promises, but i'll try."
I smiled. This was the best news I had heard in a while. At least I didn't have to worry about Sans killing me on sight when I pass those doors. But, I was pretty sure he was going to be hurt with finding out the truth anyway, that his 'doll' was one of those 'flesh-covered skeletons' as he nicely put it. I wasn't really looking forward to that, but it seemed like a small penalty to saving seven souls and seven bodies. If Chara's soul was trapped like the others, that is.
"Thank you, Sans. It means a lot to me."
I heard an embarrassed cough on the other side. Wow, really? I got him worked up? "uh, yeah sure. whatever. whatever pleases you, dollface." Oh, dollface now?
"Am I working you up, Sansy boy?"
I heard a thump on the door, like someone banged on it. No guesses as to who that was. "c'mon, frisky. don't be frisking on me. might get the wrong idea if ya keep at it."
Had to laugh at that. "Don't worry, Sansy. My leg is getting a lot better now... I should be able to leave the Ruins soon."
That must've gotten his attention, because I could hear him shuffling around a lot, but near the door. Like he was... pacing? "really? cool. cool. heh, get to see this handsome face soon. betcha can't wait." Poor guy was nervous, if the pacing was anything to go by, though his voice didn't really betray it too much. He did seem to have more trouble keeping his cool lately, though.
I chuckled. "Can't wait to get out of this dump, more like. What's Snowdin like?"
"snowed in, really."
"Bugger me backwards, who'd have thought?"
"king ain't the best with names, doll. look at the name, you know its game." Then he chuckled. "gotta say the same to your parents. frisk is rather frisky, being a little risky, eh?" He didn't know the half of it.
After a few more exchanged jokes, we both called it in for the night, as it was getting close to 3am. Guess I could say goodbye to that nice sleeping pattern I had. And still, as I made it to bed and laid down, I couldn't relax. Shadow was snoring away in the corner of my room and I could hear Spot snoring down the hallway too. Just had to have snoring dogs, of course. Pretty sure Tori snored too. Then there's me, the only relatively normal person without a nose problem.
With a sigh, I got out of bed and decided to get changed into my inspector uniform. It had been completely repaired and it felt so good to be in my uniform again after so long. It felt... almost like home. I smiled to myself, it was strange how my inspectors uniform that did come with a stab-proof vest could make me feel so much safer. It was just a uniform, really, it symbolised nothing down here, but it gave me a nice feeling regardless.
I left a note on the table for Tori should she wake up at some point in the night, telling her not to worry I just needed a walk. I had my phone on me, Tori had phone chargers but not one that fit my tablet apparently, and took my bag with the taser on my belt just in case. I hadn't been around the Ruins on my own before, I always had Shadow with me. But I felt confident, my leg was much better now. The monsters in the Ruins didn't seem to be bothered by my presence anymore and I was fitting in well.
I didn't see a problem walking around the Ruins late at night.
There were no monsters around the place whilst I walked. The place seemed like a different area when it was night... whatever night was here without the sun telling us so. It seemed like the lights around the Ruins just dimmed when it became late more than anything, like the Ruins were alive, only enough to tell you the time. I stopped to relax just outside Tori's house, leaning against the dead tree that was probably a lovely tree once upon a time. I took deep breaths. I hadn't really calmed down from the earlier panic attack. This was happening. I was going to leave the Ruins tomorrow. I had to, my heart was telling me so. I was ready. Hopefully. Probably. Shadow would be with me, Tori just a phone call away, Sans wouldn't instantly kill me when I cross the door. I had this handled. I got this.
"Howdy!"
What? I blinked, looking around me. I hadn't heard anyone approach and it was easily 4am, why was anyone around at this hour? Looking around, there was nothing. Up the tree? Nope.
"Hey! Down here!"
Looking down, I was greeted by a smiling face. Seemed friendly enough, though this was a monster that I hadn't seen before, and I had explored the Ruins a lot. Smiling up at me, standing at about 30cms tall was a smiling golden flower, the stigma (pretty sure that was the stigma) had a huge grin on its face, petals wide open and pretty golden. Flowers. Even the flowers were talking, moving and smiling at me. This place wouldn't cease to surprise me.
"Howdy! You're looking pretty lonely, thought I'd come brighten your day!" I blinked. I don't think it really registered that I'm talking to a flower, or a flower is talking to me. Wow, I was being pretty rude.
I smiled. "Sorry, I think I'm just tired, but I just can't sleep. You know how it is."
The flower danced a little, moving from side to side with a thoughtful look on its face. "Sure do! I only sleep a few hours a day, if even that. It gets pretty boring late at night when everyone else is asleep." Wow, that was rather unusual. I felt a little bad for the guy, I could imagine what trouble it'd have.
"I can only imagine. What brings you here to the Ruins? I have been here a while and I haven't seen you around here before."
The flower looked from side to side, as if worried someone would overhear our conversation. Odd. When it was satisfied we were the only ones around, it turned back to smile at me again brightly. "I've always been here. I'm just... I don't like people." Ah, an introvert, then? That didn't explain why it suddenly saddled over to me, expecting company, if so. "They just seem so boring. Going about, doing the same things over and over. Talking about the same things. Never changing their ways, no lessons being learnt, nothing." It smiles wider, looking at me with some sort of excitement. "But you! You're different! I've never seen you here before either, and boy do you have determination!" That word was being thrown about a lot, Tori mentioned it quite often to describe me, and now this flower was using it too. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a nice word, but I don't see how it is so special. tenacious seems to work just as well. Or resolute. Or, bet Sans would love this, dogged.
The flower seemed to sense my confusion and just continued to beam a happy smile. "Golly! I forgot to introduce myself! Howdy! The name's Flowey!" You cannot be serious. My face must've said it all, as the flower seemed to sigh. "Nobody here really has a good idea for coming up with names." Then he beams again. "What's your name?"
"It's Frisk, Frisk Fanshaw." I smile politely. I'd hold out my hand but since Flowey doesn't have hands... don't make this awkward, Frisk.
"That's a nice name!" I thanked the flower for his comment, not sure what else to really say. I mean, what do you say to a flower that popped up out of nowhere to greet you? "So, you're living with that goat woman, are you?" I nodded, though I scrunched my nose slightly, his tone seemed rather odd. This flower... "You know she's hiding things from you, right?" This flower wasn't such a nice flower, it seemed!
"What's it to you?" I put my defences up. I was used to this kind, the gossipers. They found everything boring, life dull and wanted to spice things up a bit. What's the best way to do that? Cause minor trouble and inconveniences, of course!
"Well, she looked after me for a while too. I got cold outside in Snowdin and buried away, ending up in her house. She helped me out but she never told me who she really was. Kept saying that the king was horrible for killing those humans." If a flower could shrug, this one would have. "Can't argue with that. Nobody else seems to care though, everybody else seems happy to see the humans die, why does she care?" This flower was treading on dangerous territory, its smile never wavering, staying exactly the same, as if it weren't talking about the murder of children. "Honestly, who cares about some dead kids?"
My hand went to my taser, but I clenched it down. No time for a temper tantrum. Don't show a reaction, that is what it is looking for! Calm it down! Don't let it get to you! I pulled my hand away from my taser, trying to play it cool pretty much, and just grinned. "Hah, wow. Little vindictive, are we? Suppose I shouldn't expect much more, flowers don't really have a heart to understand, I suppose."
Flowey seemed to grin at that, not phased in the least. He grinned wide, it was almost creepy. You know, if it wasn't 30cm tall. "Sure, I got a heart! Wanna take a peak?" He winks, sticking his tongue out as the air in the area got tense. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end and I stood up straight, my gut instinct telling me this wasn't a good place to be. For a moment, my chest felt a little tight, like I had phlegm in the back of my throat. I tried clearing it, about to bump my chest with my fist when I stopped. What the fuck was that? No, seriously, what the fuck was that?
I looked down, having not noticed the change of lighting, and there floating just above my chest, slightly to the left, was a cartoon looking heart, with text reading FRISK LV 1 HP 84/90. Huh. Heh. Well. I remember comparing this to a zombie's apocalypse or something, but this is ridiculous. I heard laughing and I looked up at Flowey's laughing creepy face. Yeah, creepy! Who knew flowers had teeth to grin with, not to mention sharp, dirty teeth too.
"That. That's your soul, the very culmination of your being." He explained, but it seemed very through one ear and out the other because... seriously, was that my REAL heart that came from my chest? My soul? Yes, I remember Toriel saying something about souls. That if your soul was ever pulled out of your chest, you were in a FIGHT. The person that pulled your soul out of your chest was an enemy. It was like stripping armour off of your body, leaving your vulnerable, easy weak point exposed. The person that pulls your soul out of your body wants you dead.
Bastard was trying to steal my soul!
Well. I laughed. I laughed and laughed. Enough for Flowey to pause, become agitated as his petals ruffled almost like feathers slightly as I laughed enough I bent down, slapping my good leg before wiping my eyes with tears.
"Why're you laughing? What's so funny?" He sounded like he was getting more and more angry and that just made it more funny really. It was hilarious!
"Of course! Of course it's hilarious!" I still was trying to get my breath together, but I finally calmed myself down enough to stand up straight and smirk at the flower. "I know what a FIGHT is, I know what a soul is, I'm fully aware of what your intention here is. That's why it's so hilarious. Because, quite honestly, who can possibly be scared of a 30cm tall flower like you?" I shrugged my shoulders. "Sorry dude, the scary flower thing just ain't working for me. You can make creepy faces all you like, but it doesn't change the fact that I could accidental step on you and kill you. Wouldn't want that."
Flowey seemed very, very annoyed about that fact. Like, how dare I not take his antics seriously. He was practically shaking, he was so angry. And still I stood there, smirking with my arms crossed, staring down at him even bending down to look closer at him. It was rather amusing to see a monster, anyone really, put out and one upped. It was a great feeling.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a white... pill shaped object? What? I stood up straight, confused as it flew closer towards me. What on earth? Then, as I blinked, it flew right towards me. Idiot that I was, didn't react in time and it collided with my... soul. Fuckme! Like getting hit in the leg with a bowling ball, my bad leg collapsed underneath me. Goddamn! HP 74/90. Guessing I wouldn't have a good time if that ever reached zero.
Flowey cackled, just like an evil villain would, only this was like it went through a computer and sped up to sound high pitched. "Idiot! Of course I can still kill you now! I have more power than you know, a power you can't hope to possess or understand!" Okay, I was getting a little nervous now. "Too bad, you really should have listened to me, maybe then we wouldn't be in this situation now. You could have lived a little longer, but you went and pissed me off!" Leaning on my good leg, I struggled to get myself standing, though Flowey didn't seem to enjoy that. He starting shouting some evil nonsense to me, before summoning more of those white pill things, all around me. Of course, I freaked out.
I, uh, oops, oh shit. Didn't mean to. Bollocks.
I freaked out and, with my good leg, I kicked him with all my might. Oh, he went flying, screaming profanities as he went, wishing me a painful death and promises he'd rip my soul out. He flew far, until I couldn't see him anymore. Ah. Did I kill him by accident? My LV remained one, so... I imagine not? My soul then disappeared back into my chest, and suddenly it was like that combat had never happened. The pain in my leg said otherwise. Fantastic, back to square one.
I had enough!
Without hesitating, I limped my way back to Tori's. She wasn't awake yet and neither of the dogs had woken up to find out what the noise was. With a painful grunt, I got back into bed, hoping my leg would recover in the morning. I didn't want to bother Toriel with what that flower said right now, it was just a flower and a simple kick seemed to do the job of telling it to beat it. I was just tired. So fucking tired. Tired of everything. Fuck it. I fell asleep easily after resolving to do something about it in the morning.
…
Tori noticed alright. Oh boy, did Tori notice. And she was pissed. Apparently, going out at night was dangerous and going alone through the Ruins was even more dangerous. Of course, I explained quickly that the Froggit was no match for me, just a kind telling off after it blew flies into my face and I walked away. No harm, no foul, that Froggit just got a little excitable. Tori didn't take the lie very well. My HP clearly stated I took more damage than from a mere Froggit, or that Froggit just stayed a while and I sucked at dodging. Yeah, sure, go with that story. Tori sighed, troubled but not able to do much about it as she gave me and the dogs our breakfast. Did I mention how much I loved Tori? I was going to miss her food, and most of all her company, when Shadow and I had to leave today.
"Thank you very much for having me here, Tori. You've been lovely." I smiled as she blushed slightly at the compliment, giggling.
"Oh, it's been no trouble at all, Frisk, dear! Thank you for keeping this old woman company, it has been an absolute pleasure." She kissed my forehead and gave me a hug I had to return, she was just so lovely and motherly. I was really going to miss her.
"Well, I best be packing up the things I need. Today is the day, Tori, me and Shadow will find those souls and the bodies and bring them home where they belong." I put a hand on her shoulder, comforting her knowing she wouldn't take the news well, but I had to remain positive. "Not to mention, kick Asgore's arse, can't forget that."
Toriel smiled, amused by the thought. Man, she really didn't like Asgore. "What are you going to do to him when you find him?"
That was the question, wasn't it? Under normal circumstances, it'd be arrest him, put him under trial, punishment then lock up until he learns the errors of his ways. Seven counts of murder was life time in prison, several lifetimes. If he were arrested, he'd never be let out of prison again. Thing is... can monsters be arrested? How do you punish a monster? "Uh... probably figure that bit out when I reach Asgore. But don't worry, I won't harm him. Even if he is a scumbag murderer, the goal is to punish, not harm, to teach him the error of his ways." Toriel seemed satisfied with that answer, probably worried I would kill him. That wouldn't be a very good lesson learnt there, the goal was to prevent, not become. I could see her getting worried about that though, rightfully so.
"Alright, Frisk. I'm..." She cuts off, she's smiling but her eyes are tearing up. "It's been a pleasure having you here. If you are ever in trouble... don't hesitate to give me a call, or knock on the Ruins door. I'll always answer." She wiped her eye, trying her best not to cry. I smiled, giving Toriel a hug as she sniffed. "I wish you the best of luck, my dear. I'm going to miss you." Try as I might, I found myself sniffing as well, though I tried to pretend that I wasn't crying. Toriel didn't seem to mind. She pulled away, holding her hands on my shoulder as she smiled. "Now, don't forget to grab your things, be prepared for the snow and don't forget to take a slice of cinnamon pie."
Toriel, always looking after me. I grinned at her, "Thank you, Tori. You're the best. Wish me the best, eh?" I pulled away, turning to my chair where my hat was hanging on the top. I grabbed it, putting it nicely on my head and gave Tori a wink. "Well. Thank you very much for letting me stay, Tori. We better get going, before it gets too late. I wouldn't want to walk around Snowdin too late." I whistled, Shadow coming to my side immediately and flopping down on the floor. I pet him for a long while, getting him excited. He deserves to be pet every so often.
I probably had prepared a little too well. As well as wearing my work uniform, Tori bought me a jacket, saying that too many layers was better than not enough. There were gloves, leather too, and a torch. Not to forget, Tori's cinnamon pie wrapped in tinfoil in my bag, along with my mobile in my jacket pocket, cuffs on my belt tablet and note book in my bag. My taser was also close to my cuffs on my belt along with a baton (though, admittedly probably useless against monsters). This was the best I could do, I don't believe I was missing anything.
After I had everything settled, I walked down the familiar hallway that used to be an escape from my problems and reality, for a little while. Now. Now, this was the doorway to my final goal, to find Asgore Dreemurr and bring him to justice. That was the plan, anyway. I was nervous, won't be lying. When I pass through those doors, if I wasn't careful, monsters wouldn't hesitate to take my soul, or take me to Asgore himself, chained up. I could only hope that I wouldn't mess this up, I didn't want to hurt anyone, I didn't want to be hurt either and deep down, I really didn't want to go through those doors. But I had to. It needed to be done. There, the doors stood strong and shut. They looked heavy, incredibly so, but it seemed simple enough. More than likely, Sans would be asleep right now... maybe I was really hoping for that, to put off having to face me lying to him, tricking and manipulating him. Man, I was so nervous! I'm terrified!
Shadow barked a couple of times, tilting his head in confusion, wondering what was wrong with me. I smiled, petting Shadow again and he wagged his tail, happy again. Life must seem so much easier for him, he didn't have to deal with stupid emotions that people have to deal with. It's not the first time I'm jealous of Shadow's free attitude.
Okay. Here we go!
Taking a deep breath, resolve burning through my soul, I brought both my arms out on the right door and pushed with all my might. Slowly, the door pushed open, snow blowing through the crack. I blinked, surprised even though I had been told to expect it. Weather, in the Underground. How was that possible? Magic? I shook my head, I didn't want to begin to try to understand how such a thing was possible. Pushing the door open enough, Shadow hopped out through the door, tail wagging, excited to be somewhere new. He started barking madly and ran off, from what I heard. Worried, I got out through the door quickly wondering if someone was on the other side.
Nope. Shadow was just extremely excited about the snow. He was jumping up and down, running around in circles, then looking up, seeing the snow dropping from the sky. His tail continued wagging really fast, then jumped up, trying to catch the snow in his mouth. I began laughing, Shadow hadn't seen snow before, Ebott shockingly didn't get much snow despite being at the bottom of a mountain. Probably on the wrong side of the mountain to get the snow properly. I was just glad Shadow was happy, finding some enjoyment in something so simple. He needed to unwind every so often.
Looking around whilst Shadow was barking away, jumping up and down, I looked around. Somehow, shockingly, there were trees growing down in this underground forest. All the trees were dead, standing ridiculously tall, as tall as buildings, but none of them had any leaves. It continued to boggle my mind how things worked down here, fallen leaves in the Ruins, flowers at the start of the Ruins, trees here towards Snowdin and the weather... the snow. I shook my head, there was no point trying to dwell on it.
I looked on the floor (why didn't I think to do that first?) and spotted footprints. Shoe footprints. Fairly fresh. The snow hadn't settled down on top of the tracks yet. Shadow's running around didn't disturb them somehow, from my guessing, I'd say the wearer was a size 5 or 6, guessing at about my height going for average human size. They seemed like normal human shoe tracks, but too big for a child like Beatrice. No other humans had fallen down in the time I had lived with Tori, and I could see Tori wearing shoes if she wanted to.
Someone was here, someone had been here, pacing in front of the door, then heading towards a bush to the left side of the door. What? Why? I had to squint, lean slightly when something glinted. A camera lens. Someone was watching me! I am freaking out right now. So much for trying to sneak in, I didn't stand a chance. Quickly, I walked to Shadow, whistling. Trained like he was, he instantly came to attention, going from 'play' to 'work' mode. His tail still wagged, though much slower. I tilted my head towards me, Shadow didn't hesitate, going to my side and sitting down to attention. He stared up at me, without fail. He was always such a good, trained dog. No, a partner, full fledged loyal partner.
I looked around the forest, but there was nothing I could see through the trees. They were pretty thick, considering they were all dead. There was nothing living, as far as the eye could see. Nothing but me and Shadow. With a deep breath, moving my hat slightly so it was almost covering my hair and covering my ears, hopefully, I walked forward. Shadow followed, right by my side without being a step in front or behind. A dog on a mission.
For a while, nothing happened. The forest was still as dead as the trees. It was pretty freaky. There was no wind, even though there was weather and snow was falling from the sky... ceiling, but no wind. It felt... wrong.
Shadow stopped. His ears prick up to attention. I stopped next to him, he seems to have caught something, or heard something. He sniffs a few times, then sneezes as snow landed on his nose. He wags his tail. Huh, false alarm? I don't blame him, he must be pretty shocked at all the new smells that I can't detect in the area. I did look around quickly.
There! For a second, I saw something in the corner of my eyes. A dark, humanoid like shape for a split second, gone the next when I focused my eyes back on that spot. Did I imagine it? Was I going crazy? Was someone watching us right now? Shadow didn't seem bothered as he was still wagging his tail, his tail banging slightly against my leg, his panting breaking the silence of the forest. Maybe... I had heard, in moments of increased stress, your mind starts imagining things that are there, but they aren't. Your mind fears that something is there, something is watching, so your brain makes it feel like you are, makes you... see things, hear things. I trusted Shadow, he had a way better nose and better hearing than me. Though, I did have better eyesight than him, but I don't think Shadow could suffer the same paranoia that I could. I don't know...
I don't like this. Chills are going up my spine. I need to get out of this forest. Someone is definitely watching me, I feel it. Shadow started whining, he can feel my uneasiness, he can feel me shaking. He doesn't understand why, but he wants to make me feel better. I feel his tongue licking my hand, finally tearing my eyes away from the tree corpse. He whined again, closing his mouth, staring at me with his puppy eyes. Heh. Thanks, Shadow. I smiled and patted his head, running my gloved fingers through his fur. He opens his mouth again, panting, happy again, comfortable.
I'm being stupid, I'm letting this get to me. I'm just stressed. Yeah. Calm down. I got this.
Deep breath. I fidgeted with my hat again, moving it to its respectable place, before I walked forward again. We didn't have much time, I had to move, I had no time to freak out over a little thing. I have to be resolved. I've got to stay determined.
Crack.
Shadow reacted. He stood to attention, stopping. His ears perked. I stopped before he had, frozen. Someone was here. Someone was here. Someone was here.
Someone was here!
Shadow stayed there, ears perked, for a long while. He had definitely heard the branch break like I had, he was worried now. He growled slightly, looking around. No, he was just as much at a loss as I was. Was this a haunted forest? Was this... like the Aokigahara Forest? No, don't imagine it. Stop freaking out. You're Frisk Fanshaw, Inspector Frisk Fanshaw, you can do this! Remember your training.
Training had nothing to do with being in a forest of the dead!
Shit.
Fuck.
Okay. Deep breath. Deep breath. Shadow is with you. You're not alone. Remember why you're here. You need to find the souls, the seven souls, save them. Yes. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this! Yes! C'mon! Move!
Shadow seemed to think the same thing, nudging my legs with his head, whining. He didn't like this place either. Let's get out of here, buddy.
In front, there was finally something other than snow. There, in the distance, stood a structure. It appeared to be a bridge, a wooden, rickety bridge. For some reason, there were thick logs standing on either side, as well as another log sticking down through the gap, like someone was going to block the way past this door and gave up halfway, or cut the log a bit too low and left a bit too much log than they had meant to. Huh. Interesting. Interesting architecture.
Together, Shadow and I walked to the structure. We could easily pass through it and walk through to the other side. I patted my lap for Shadow to stick close, he did without question. I took a deep breath. I walked closer to the bridge, ready to step onto it, when Shadow growled. I stopped.
There was something behind me.
There was something behind me.
Fuckmetherewassomethingbehindme.
"HUMAN."
Fanfiction formatting does not like me. I like writing smilies and fanfiction rejects them. Cold bastard. :'c maaaan. If it doesn't work, the last line was supposed to say HUMAN with gaps in the middle, just like his dialogue shows in the game. But FANFICTION HATES ME. Y U DO DIS?
EDIT!It didn't work. So I've made it BOLD instead. To... stand out... and shit. Fanfiction is such a controlling biatch. AH well! I can get around barriers just fine! :)
I'm kinda still flailing about the whole kicking Flowey into outer space. Best thing I've ever written, bitch deserves it.
So guess what's next chapter? THAT'S RIGHT. Poor Papyrus is gonna be tortured with terrible people telling shitty jokes. My soul died a little writing it. I'm actually pretty bad at puns, my housemate is much better.
Roommate's bf: *playing rpg* Why is there money inside the fridge omfg wot.
Roommate: COLD HARD CASH.
Next chapter... oh, you know what's coming. Stay tuned! The flirting has only just begun! ;D
~Blackie
