Next chapter! As you may have noticed from the title, we meet Pearl in this chapter. So, yay? Stay tuned for tomorrow's chapter, though, as that is where all the action begins. Also, please please PLEASE give me some reviews on how I could improve. As someone who is fairly new to writing fanfiction, it really helps. Thanks!

~The Anti-Horcrux

"Monster Candy. Take one!" The sign read. Frisk took one and stuffed it in their pocket. They giggled a bit as they took three more pieces before the bowl tipped onto the floor.

They ran down the hall, occasionally encountering enemies but always finding a way to spare them. There were a few puzzles, but Frisk was fairly clever and figured them out after a few tries.

They reached another shimmering star that, again, filled them with a sense of determination. Frisk entered a room where a gem was sleeping on a pile of leaves. "A… a human? Humans aren't supposed to be here! Not in the Ruins!" The gem gasped.

She quickly laid down and pretended to be asleep. Frisk hesitantly poked her. They entered a fight.

"ACT" Frisk pressed. "CHECK". "Pearl - Attack 10 - Defense 10 - This gem is selfless. Too selfless," The voice said.

"Please go away," Pearl frowned. She summoned a spear and swung it lazily at Frisk. They could tell that that spear was immensely powerful and so was Pearl, but she didn't have the confidence to use it correctly.

"That spear's REALLY cool!" Frisk exclaimed.

Pearl gave a small smile. "Heh? You think?" She frowned again. "Please go away. That's all I'm asking," she shot a few ball of light from her spear at Frisk. Frisk dodged, but was hit by one of the light balls.

"You're pretty good," Frisk complimented. Pearl blushed and looked away.

"SORRY, I'M NOT FEELING UP TO IT RIGHT NOW," Appeared in text above Frisk's head. "Are you okay?" Frisk asked.

Pearl nodded. "Hey, look at this!" Pearl placed a hand to her gem and danced a bit before pulling out a top hat and placing it on her head.

"I call it 'Dapper Pearl'. Do you like it?" She asked hesitantly.

"I love it!" Frisk cheered. The fight ended.

"I usually come to the Ruins because it's so quiet… and Rose Quartz is so nice to me. But today… I guess I found a human that was nice to me, too. Oh, I guess I'm talking too much, I'll, I'll leave now."

"Wait!" Frisk called out, but Pearl had already run away.

Frisk sighed and journeyed on through the Ruins. Halfway through a puzzle where Frisk had to press hidden buttons, they encountered a Vegetoid, a corrupted Sard. Finding no way to spare it, Frisk's health depleted to 0.

They felt their SOUL shatter into a million pieces.

Everything went black.

Stay determined!

I… I should have listened to Rose Quartz, Frisk thought. I wonder what she'll think… now that I'm dead. Frisk opened their eyes to see a shimmering star in front of them. They looked around to see a mouse hole and a block of cheese.

Wierd, they thought. These shimmering stars must have been save points of some sort. Being able to save… only the most powerful human wizards could do that! Frisk giggled a bit at the thought of being magical.

Of course, Frisk wasn't the happiest about having to go back, but they spared Pearl again fairly quickly and thankfully got through the button puzzle without running into any more Vegetoids.

After completing the puzzle, Frisk picked up their phone and called Rose Quartz. She picked up before the second ring.

"This is Rose Quartz!" She answered.

"Hey… Mom.," Frisk asked nervously. There was a long pause on the other side of the phone.

"Huh? Did you just call me 'Mom'?" She asked. "Well, I suppose. If that'll make you happy… you're more than welcome to call me 'Mother'."

Frisk hung up and smiled, happy that the conversation went that well. Frisk never really had a mother back on the surface, well not one that they knew of, anyways. Rose Quartz was the closest thing to a mother they ever had.

Frisk explored for a short while until they reached a black tree.

"Oh no, I've been gone for far too long," They heard Rose Quartz's voice from behind the tree. They heard their phone ring. Rose Quartz came around the corner and saw Frisk and hung up.

"H-how did you get here, child?" She asked. "Are you okay?" She looked Frisk over. "There, I will heal you," Rose shed a single tear that fell onto Frisk's forehead. They were healed. "It was irresponsible of me to leave you alone for so long, I'm very sorry about that. But I think it might be worth it when you see the surprise I got for you. Come, child!" Frisk followed the tall woman into a cozy house.

Frisk noticed a save point in the leaves. And seeing such a small, cozy house in the Ruins… it filled them… with DETERMINATION.