THE NINTH FALL - Chapter 9 "Cyclical."
Somewhere else, some time else...
"Do you guys... want something to drink?" I ask the grieving couple sitting together in my living room.
"No thanks Kassandra." Asgore responds, his voice laced with grief, his wife embracing his side, crying into his sweater. I can see the damp circle in his dopey sweater from here, shes been doing that for a while. Her sobbing is lined with moaning and pained silence. It hurts to watch. Asgore just has this blank expression, but its obvious this has hurt him just as much as it has his wife.
The news is covering this now, Gabriel is due to make a statement on behalf of the Ambassadors soon, I hope he's ready... He's always been a bit of a crybaby, and he was acting much like Toriel for the majority of last night too.
I sit down on the love chair, just spectating the older monsters. Muffet and Charlotte are here too, in the chair across from me, both are very broken up, obviously... They both look defeated almost, Muffet embracing her child on her lap, they grip each others hands tightly.
*** has been silent all day, I don't think they've said a word since this morning... They sit against the foot of the couch Asgore and Toriel are on, their legs covering their face, as they hug them tightly, watching the TV, awaiting their Fathers words.
I feel so disconnected from all of this, I have no family and friends involved in this.
Indifference in this land of tears, I feel nothing but pity for their losses. Maybe it will hit me harder soon?
"And now... The newly leading relations Ambassador has a statement prepared from both the Human-Monster relations office and the rest of the Monster community." The New Providence anchor passes over to my husband, while the rest of the room starts to watch in silence.
The camera cuts to the Ambassador office, and my Husband in his suit. His eyes have very apparent bags, and are bloodshot. "Gabriel..." I mutter under my breath. The whole world may be watching this, please don't crack under pressure honey, you can do this!
It takes him a moment to speak, his mouth open looking for the words to start. He looks down at the papers at his desk, no doubt his recited statement. One of the other men in the office has his hands on Gabe's shoulder, whispers something to him, before walking off.
"Today, August 14th 2159... was supposed to be the NATO summit in Paris, France that would most likely lead to non-Human's receiving complete equality with Humans. What was supposed to be the greatest victory for the Monster community ended up being its greatest loss..."
He takes a deep breath, before resuming.
"Last night, there was a well coordinated attack at the Royale hotel that leveled the entire building. An attack powered by hate and racism by a well known extremist group, who's names we will not be a-acknowledging." His voice ends with a crack, his hand visibly trembling as he reads the paper.
"Many of my coworkers and best friends died in that attack, genuinely good people who wanted nothing more but equality for themselves, or their neighbors, all gone in an instant. Not only did their families lose their loved ones, the entire Monster community lost their greatest heroes and role models." His voice cracks again, and his voice becomes much more personal.
"I will state though, to those people, to those who don't like us, and to those who mourn with us; know we will NOT give up, we will not give up trying to live our lives, trying to be equal, and we will not relent to this hate. This has done nothing to drive the Monsters apart, this mourning... will only bring us closer." The camera stays on Gabriel trembling form for an uncomfortable moment, before cutting back to the news station, as they begin to talk about the attacks in more detail. The world is generally more interested in the attack itself rather then the people who died in it.
I turn off the TV with a voice command, and the room goes back to silence.
Toriel goes back to sobbing, beginning to mutter "why must the Humans take our child away again? Why?" Asgore only returns her question with an deeper embrace. Muffet and Charlotte stay silent, but I can see they aren't holding up well.
When I got married to Gabe, he told me something interesting about the past of the monsters, saying that "they had to say some lies about themselves to cover some things up," which is something I figured, and haven't pried deeper into because I don't care all that much to be honest. But one thing was that Toriel and Asgore had a child that died at a young age... I asked Asgore about it before, and he just said something unsettling.
*** gets up, and to my surprise, wants to sit with me. I scooch over to allow them to sit with me, before they start to embrace me, and I return it. They eventually start to sob too, as I still feel like an alien in my own home. Nothing but embraces and tears.
Asgore's unsettling words echo through my mind, as I grip my child a little more tightly.
"No easy life for a Dreemurr."
The silence is palpable, as Flowey looks at me in shock.
"Frisk is... dead?" He asks in disbelief.
I nod, still sitting cross legged. The dusty atmosphere of New Home is unsettling, but at least I'm not alone. Not my first choice of company, but I'll take it after the last few days.
His petals droop.
"Was she that old? When do Humans die of old age?" He asks, his voice laced with hurt.
I hate to have to break the news to someone, its still painful to think about this. "She was killed in a hate attack a few years ago." I say, ending with a sigh. "Hate attack? What for? What could she do to deserve that?" He says, some irritation in his voice.
"For defending the Monsters. She was an ambassador, trying to fight for the rights of Monsters. A bunch of religious nut-jobs who call the Monsters devils decided to kill her and almost all of her friends for that reason." I remember the day after it happened, everyone came over to my house and we pretty much just all cried for a few hours. Wasn't a fun get together... "Her entire hotel was bombed at the foundations, the building never stood a chance. Hundreds dead in an instant." I continue, shaking my head. Those idiot's killed so many unrelated people just to get at Frisk.
I see his face cycle through frustration and sadness.
His face goes to one of surprise. "Her friends? Who died?" He asks in a bit of a panic.
I try to recount the names. "Alphys, Undyne, and their daughter." I start, Zelda was way too young to die a stupid death like that... "Frisk's two skeleton friends." I continue, not remembering their names. "Ezikel." I remember the weird dude, I kinda liked him, even if he was a total klutz. "...Quill..." I say the last name with some pain. I miss him more then anyone, Charlotte and her Mom were never really the same after that, I can only be glad I didn't lose dad like that too...
"Toriel and Asgore? Are they still okay?" His squeaky voice asks with some desperation.
"Yeah, they're still fine, the last time I checked." I respond with some confusion, why would he want to know. Unless...
He seems to breath a sigh of sigh of relief.
"I... need a few minutes to myself. I'll meet you in the house when I'm ready." He mutters, before retreating to the earth, leaving me alone in the grey. I think about some things for a few moments, before sitting up, leaving a damp puddle in my wake, still soaked in tears.
Its pleasantly lukewarm here, something my bare wet skin appreciates. The soft concrete, or stone, is smooth and doesn't irritate my poor feet. I gently open the unlocked door to the house, to see a foyer much the same as the house in the ruins. Someone must have really liked the layout of this house, and...
Wait! Back in that house, the journal that taught me magic mentioned the name Asriel! That means this, and that one was Asgore's house! Ha! How convenient!
I start to look around for him, starting in the living room. There's a table with two large chairs, and two small ones, the full family... The kitchen is lined with a thick set of dust, much like the rest of the house. The fridge is empty, not surprising. On the way to the other end of the house, I begrudgingly eat a few pickles. The first room is the kids room, but this one has two beds, accurately enough.
"You in here?" I ask, plopping onto the bed on the west side of the room. "Can you sit on my- uh, the other bed please?" I hear him, as he sprouts from the center of the room. "Why's it matter?" I ask him abrasively, he only looks at me sternly in response. "Fine." I relent, sitting on the other bed, my arms crossed. I really don't want him angry, at least not when I'm exhausted.
"Uh... I want to..." He starts, sighing. "Apologize, for... attacking you in the ruins." He forces out. "Why are you sorry? You didn't seem to have any problem with it until I burned you." I spit back, not really believing him.
"Its not what Frisk would have wanted, I passed judgement on you when I had no right too. Once I sent you off to New Home, I started to feel really guilty about it, realizing I was pretty much damning you to countless deaths. I tried to look for you, but I couldn't find you, so I started to wait here, hoping you'd make it." He says, looking away from me.
"You... didn't find me?" I ask, my heart stopping a bit.
He looks at me with confusion. "Nope. Thought you saw me?"
I remember Grillby's, finding the flashlight and knife at the top of the stairs. If it wasn't him, who was it...? Is there someone else down here?
"Its nothing..." I brush it off. "So, you knew Frisk, huh?" I ask him.
"Yeah, I did. She helped me out..." He says. "What about you? Did you know her?" He asks me.
"Yeah, she was my aunt." Flowey's face lights up. "You knew her that closely? She was your family?"
"She wasn't blood family, but she was as close as it could get. My dad is an ambassador, got taught everything he knew by her. Me and her weren't the closest, but I still loved her, hell, everyone loved her." I say, reminiscing on the old days. "Did he die too?"
I close my eyes. "No, he was one of the few that stayed behind to hold down the fort. Ended up becoming the head ambassador because no one else was qualified enough after the culling."
I lay back in the bed, my legs hanging off the end. I can feel dirt in this bed too, what gives?
There's some silence.
"So, I have some questions for you now." I say, eager for knowledge.
"Whattaya wanna know?" He asks, sounding depressed.
"What happened down here?" I ask. "Frisk, how did she save you all?" I continue.
"You don't know already?" He asks incredulously. "Nope, everything they taught about monsters and their history on the surface was a lie." I say with some irritation.
He chuckles. "What did they say?"
"That monsters came from the forest around the mountain. Magic is a myth, I've never seen a monster or person use it on the surface, but from what I've learned down here, monsters are extremely capable of it." I explain. "Can you answer my question now?"
"She fell down here, and managed to make everyone fall in love with her, instead of killing her. I had a scheme to stop her, but she won. She even showed me kindness after I tried to kill her too. I stayed behind, everyone else left with her." He explains, not using much detail. They tried to kill her? To get her soul...
"How did she break the barrier?" I ask. "How do you know about that?" he responds. "All the history lessons written on the wall in the rainy place. It told me everything about the war." I respond back.
"...She didn't. I used the Human souls that Asgore had collected and shattered it, as thanks to Frisk." He continues. This isn't helping...
"What happened between Asgore and Toriel? I've gathered that they had split for some reason, but exactly why I don't know. " I continue, crossing my legs, now sitting up against the wall
"After their kids died, Asgore decreed that any human that fell down here must die. With seven souls, he could become godlike, shatter the barrier, and get revenge on the humans. Toriel didn't like that, and locked herself in the ruins, hoping to save any Humans that fell down here. She didn't do a good job. Frisk was going to be the seventh soul collected." He continues, starting to sound annoyed. He's leaving a lot of details out, or doing a really bad job explaining...
"Okay, I have two more questions." I start. "Go for it." he says at me with a frown.
"Who are Chara and Asriel, and what happened to them?" I ask, intently looking for a proper answer. His eyes shoot open a bit.
"How do you know about them...?" He asks defensively.
"There were a bunch of old tapes in the lab, I watched them all. All I know is that Chara sounded like a little shit, and Asriel sounded like the complete opposite more or less. So?" I continue. Man, this bed is comfy. Hopefully this doesn't take much longer, I may take a nap afterwards.
"...Chara was the first Human that fell down here. King and Queen adopted them. Asriel was their actual kid. Chara got sick and-" I interrupt him "They poisoned themselves right? It sounded like it from the tapes." I seemed to have hit a nerve, it takes him a moment to respond as his mouth hangs open.
"Yeah... Chara and Asriel had a plan to destroy the barrier. When Chara died, Asriel absorbed their soul, and became a god. Chara's soul wanted to see the flowers of their home once more, they made it to their home, but Chara's wish was a... lie... Chara wanted to kill all the humans of their home. Asriel was in control though, and they eventually made it back past the barrier, after Asriel took a lot of damage from the Humans, who attacked Asriel thinking he killed the child in his arms." I interrupt him again.
"Child in his arms?" I ask, confused at his lackluster telling of the story. "Oh, yeah, Chara's corpse. It was all a front, a lie to Asriel. Chara was just bitter about the people who did them wrong... When Asriel made it back, he succumbed to his injuries, and turned to dust, only leaving a dusty garden and corpse in his place. Asgore made his decree the next day, Toriel took Chara's corpse with her to the ruins. And thats the end of that." He takes a deep breath after finishing. Finally, some detail...
"Did you know them? You seem to know a lot about two kids that died... Probably over a hundred years ago." I ask, as I start to put some pieces together.
"Yeah... I was acquainted with them..." He says, looking the other way.
"Okay, last question, its related. Who are you? And why are you down here?" I ask, a question that's been burning in my head for a while.
"I'm... just a ghost, a bitter old ghost. I stayed behind because there was no place for something like me up there... is that all?" He asks. He sounds sad, but not at the same time. Just... Empty.
"Yeah, that's all for now." I say, deciding to put my questions aside, probably to ask my father. "So... Wheres the way out...?" I ask a question that's... not all that important anymore.
"Finally, a question I want to answer." He says, before returning to the earth. I hear his voice call me from back at the front door. "Over here!" I follow him, saying goodbye to a potential nap. My still damp feet feel strange on the wooden floors. It looks like the way out is through the basement, same as the other house in the ruins. I see him up ahead.
"Can I ask you a few more questions?" I hear him say as I approach him at the end of the corridor.
"Get a few in before I leave this dump." I say, passing him. He has to do a weird thing where he returns into the earth and sprouts back up ahead of me in order to talk as we walk. "Why are you a killer?" He starts with a doozy.
"...Thats not an easy question to answer." I respond. "Yeah it is." He responds with little tact. "Ugh. It started a few years ago. I was just a kid in school... I may have been a bit mean at times, but never enough to seriously hurt anyone. Until... something in my mind just snapped, I murdered this kid that was bothering me, voices in my head driving me nuts. It wasn't my fault, I would never have done that." I try to think back to the day, but its hazy.
"Some other stuff happened, then I... spent a few years, I don't even know how long at this point, hell, I don't even know what year it is right now, in a sanitarium." Flowey interjects. "Sanitarium? Whats that?" He asks, fair enough, if he's only lived down here he won't know a lot about Human stuff. "A place where mentally disabled people that either have no one to take care of them, or are dangerous to society are kept. It was hell, but eventually, I escaped, and something in my unwell mind attracted me here, and that's where we are now." I finish, looking at my abused feet as I walk.
"Do you feel bad about the people you've killed?" He asks me kinda quietly.
I scoff. "Not really. Like, obviously I didn't want to kill them, but it wasn't my fault." I say with no remorse. "Okay, that's not completely true. There's one that totally deserved it, I really enjoyed killin him." I continue, with a small grin.
"Explain?" Flowey asks meekly.
I sigh. "A guy who treated me really badly at the sanitarium, and when I say bad, I mean real bad. Had to kill him to escape. I would explain more, but I want to get the hell out of here." I say, not wanting to think about him any more.
There's a bit of silence for a while as we walk, our path overlooking the city. Its a beautiful sight, would have loved to see it in its prime.
Flowey breaks the ice. "So... Mental illness huh? You sound fine to me." Flowey asks me. "Yeah... Ever since falling down here, I've felt like myself... like normal."
"Hmm... You've gotten really proficient with magic, yes?" He asks a seemingly unrelated question.
"Enough." I say, summoning my white lined red fire, a floating fireball in each hand, and juggle them a bit. "Maybe that's why you were crazy? You may be a very talented mage that was just pent full of magical energy, and because that wasn't being released, it became sickness?" He points out.
"Wow... That makes a lot of sense, I've always been dealing with sickness my entire life..." I think about it. Would other Monsters have known that the entire time? How would they deal with it if they were pent up with magic?
"Ebott has a lot of magical energy still in it from the centuries the barrier had existed, that may be quelling the madness too. There's a real chance that once you leave the mountain, it could come back." He continues. I stop in my tracks, getting him to look back.
What if hes right? Is this insane place the only place I can't be? My mouth hangs open. I expect an abrasive comment from the flower, but I don't get one. He looks at me with a frown.
"I'm sure you'll be fine, after all, it seems like ya been through a lot down here..." He says, eyeing my up and down. "Why are you naked, again?" He asks, dumbfounded. "Clothes all burned away. A lot of crap happened with those stupid mimics, I almost died more times then I can count." I say, trying to get my mind off the last thing. "You look like hell, I believe it." He says, before we continue walking.
This path is more or less the same as the one to the house, but the castle is getting closer. The abomination on the top is silently looking down on both of us. Flowey seems to pay no mind to it. We keep walking, staying in silence, until I break the ice. "How long have these... things been down here?"
"Not that long, obviously before you came down here, maybe a few months, maybe a few years? I dunno, I spent most of my time napping in the ruins, only occasionally doing some exploring to keep myself occupied. The things always tried to attack me, and they hurt, I think you should know that..." He says, as I look down at my arm, the white burn still coiling down it. "They've always looked like this, its weird. I didn't even connect them with you when I first saw you, but yeah, you're a dead ringer. You have any idea why?"
"No... I've only run into them a few times. In the swampy place, one of them talked to me, some weird stuff, but... I know almost nothing about them. They leave behind melting corpses, so they definitely aren't monsters..." I say, letting out a small yawn. "You think we're okay to just march up to that big one?" I ask.
"No clue." How reassuring... "The exit is right after the throne room. King pretty much went as far as he could, and built the castle at the dead end." The grey cityscape reinforces the feeling of a world lost to time, ruins of buildings litter my sight. This must have been so nice... They should have just stayed down here, it would have been better in the long term. I suppose they didn't know that though.
"What was life like down here? Before the children died." I ask, as I'm looking at the buildings.
"Full of hope. We thought Chara was the proof that we could get along with Humans after all. We were wrong, and from what you've said, it still may stay wrong." He has a point. We were so close... Frisk almost did it... "The people were happy, there was room to go around, biomes for every type of monster, and we were safe... Even after me and..." He lets out a deep sigh. "Its like remembering a life I never lived, its been so long." He reminisces. How old is he?
"How long ago... did Chara fall into Ebott?" I ask, trying to suss more information out of him.
"2015." He says without skipping a beat. "I'm done answering questions. Shut up for a bit." He says sternly, wow rude.
Hmm, that is a long time ago, almost a hundred fifty years ago if my math is right. Making Flowey at least that old. I know monsters only age after reaching maturity if they have children, but he isn't a monster if I'm to believe the lab entries... Wait a minute, if he was created down there AFTER the kids died, how does he know so much about them? Wait, he said he KNEW them... Somethings not adding up. Trying to remember all the information given to me in the last day or so is getting difficult, it only points towards one theory.
Eventually, we take a turn inside, into a corridor. Stain glass lets in light to the otherwise dark room, its gorgeous... "What are you going to do when you get out?" he asks, as we take a walk in stained darkness.
"Probably get in a fight with the people who watch the mountain, find my parents, ask my father the questions you either aren't answering or are answering awfully, hope not to go insane again, try not to get arrested. The works." I respond.
"Will you kill again if it means your freedom...?" He asks.
"I have magic now. They don't. If they try to take me away again, they'll regret it." I sternly remark.
"Magic can't stop bullets." He says in a strange tone.
"How would you know?" I ask, squinting.
"You'd be surprised..." He says, before taking a deep breath, his eyes closed. "What then? Even after everything, you'll never live a peaceful life. Always fighting or on the run. Is your approach really the right one?" he asks, patronizing me.
"I don't have a choice." I spit back.
"...You always have a choice, did Frisk not teach you that?" He says. I scoff.
We both stop in place, the door at the end of the corridor is visible.
"We're almost there. I'll make sure the throne room is clear." he says before returning into the earth. The corridor continues to an outwards path, which leads to a choice between a large door, and another forward path. A quick look into the door shows its the throne room. Flowey is waiting for me. This... is another nice room, its filled with flowers not too dissimilar to Flowey himself. This is where he was taken from, right? The throne room is... Gorgeous, and not full of itself. Its small, with only a single, simple throne in its center, which has been overgrown with golden flowers. What was Asgore like back then? Did he try to kill Frisk too? The Asgore I know has a hard time swatting flies, let alone killing children...
"The exits right past here." He says, his expression careless. The throne room makes way to a strange cave-like room, not too dissimilar from the room I fell into, where this all started. That was maybe over half a week ago, but it feels as if I've been here for months...
"Here's the way out, have a nice life. See ya soon." He says before vanishing into the earth. I woulda said goodbye, or maybe just regular bye, but nope, good ol' uncle Flowey, rude as ever, that apologetic side of him gone completely.
I can see light in the distance, after a small room that has a notable divot in the ground, its a long corridor. The light at the end of the tunnel is real.
I'm free.
As I step outside, my body is assaulted by a noticeable chill. After my eyes adjust, the first thing I notice is that its started lightly snowing.
The sunset is a sight for sore eyes, the wind and snow isn't such a good feeling on my battered body. New Providence is visible in the distance, the many streets and sky-ways bustling as always. Behind the towering high-rises, skyscrapers, and office buildings, somewhere, is my home.
Mom... Dad... I'm coming. I just need t-
"Put your hands up!" I can hear a voice shout at me. I turn my head to the source, not intimidated. Its a security detail, a small shed is visible from behind him, its door hangs open. The guard points a gun, or maybe a taser at me. He's kind of shaky, maybe because of the cold, maybe because hes intimidated. I'm a almost naked kid, whats there to be intimidated by? Or maybe that is the perfect thing to be scared of.
I can only look at him with a dead expression, I'm not afraid of some minimum wage monkey. I close my fists, and ready fire within them.
"I'm n-not gonna give you another warning! Hands where I can see them! I don't want to hurt you!" he shouts again, like he even has a chance.
Flowey's words echo through my mind... No... I'm not wearing cuffs again, not as long as I live.
"Three! Two! One-" he doesn't get to finish.
Not even a moment later, and I'm walking past a flaming corpse, as his soul shatters to pieces in my wake. Easy.
A radio in the security shed blares, asking for confirmation. He must have said something about me, shame he won't say anything else.
The late fall night is nothing compared to what I went through days ago, I don't even feel the need to light myself aflame. The hike down the mountain is a joke, and the walk towards the city even more so. I have to be careful on my hike, I can already see police lights behind me at the mountain side, probably looking for me, I should be careful in the city to, they probably have me on their most wanted list. My soar feet crunch through the dried and cold leaves beneath.
Ugh, that may have been real stupid of me. They probably already knew it was me in there, and now they are going to search for me. Damn it... They are probably gonna expect me to go to dad's house, so should I lay low somewhere?
I'm not waiting, I can do this. I'll go there, talk with him for a bit, and then run somewhere. Get a change of clothes, get some money maybe, get out. I can find somewhere to lay low, maybe even go back into the mountain if I need too. That sounds good actually, but I'll need to find a window to get in, seeing as its probably gonna be swarming with police soon, if they send someone to look for the dude.
The forests near Ebott have been protected for a long time, even before Monsters surfaced. Wilderness is important, an attack on the century old global warming epidemic led to a lot of wilderness being protected all around the world. This place was gonna get paved over back in the day, but didn't, thankfully.
I melt my way through the fence sectioning the mountain range off, warming my feet in the molten metal, before pressing on. I should have asked Flowey if there were any clothes I could take with me, but that chance is gone. The cold is only annoying, not dangerous, so its not all too bad.
I'm not in the public hiking trails of Ebott mountainside, imprints of camping sites everywhere, well worn dirt paths, and old burnt out campfires. This place is pretty bustling all summer long, but its empty now. Good.
My first sign of civilization is a road with a electric charging station, its kind of bootleg though, you can still see the old foundations from when it was a gas station. It means I'm getting closer and closer. I could go in and steal some candy or something, but it seems like a bad idea, at least right now.
Soon, I'm walking down the sidewalk of a small suburban neighborhood. Its late enough that there's almost no one walking in the streets here. Any of the people who do see me give me strange looks, which is fair. They can look all they want, as long as they don't touch.
Eventually, I'm in the streets of the city, the hard concrete hurts my feet, but I press on. The now night sky feels oddly bright as I stop to take in my surroundings, the neon signs advertising night clubs, bars and other less savory locations almost hurt my eyes, but I don't care at this point. I'm so close to home, I can almost taste it.
So many people, so many lights. Ad's litter the moving signs, floating cars whiz on the premium lanes while the older electrics race down the other sides. I push my way through crowds on their way home from work, half of them distracted by phones or eye displays, the other half eyeing me. I take glances at the stores and establishments I pass, sights that feel new, but I don't let them distract me, until I reach a TV in a window that grabs my attention. A news cast, whatever, but there's something important. A date.
October 25th 2163.
I was in the sanitarium for two years? It felt so much longer, but the realization of time lost stings.
I missed two birthdays. I'm fifteen now, sixteen in march.
I stop fogging up the glass window, and keep moving.
As I walk, I can spot more and more people eyeing me, my clothing, or lack thereof alongside my bruised and battered feet, sometimes I can see them mutter something to a partner of friend of theirs. Normally I'd tell them to piss off, but not now, not with this little time to spare. Red and blue lights flash on the windows next to me, police vehicles speeding by, prompting my surprise after a moment for my mind to catch on to its implications, after which I jump into nearby alleyway. This continues for a while, as I make short amounts of progress in between ducking out of sight. Its times like this I curse my albino hair, the biggest dead give away that its me, I stick out of any crowd like a soar, frostbitten thumb.
As I make my way through another alleyway, trying not to get lost, I get dizzy, lose balance, and fall to my knees. My nose begins to bleed, a warm trail down my cold face.
I was wrong about you.
I hear a voice whisper, I quickly scrabble to my feet and shoot around to respond, but there's no one there. After doing a double take as I grit my teeth, I start to move again, a little faster this time.
You learned nothing.
a whisper again, as I begin to run now. I'm much more scared by this whisper in my mind then any officer. No, no, no... I'm too far from the mountain. Just run!
I'm so close, almost into the suburbs...
The whispers intensify.
I'll make you come back.
"What do you want from me?" I ask in desperation, as I turn a corner, my house not too far away from here. The houses begin to look familiar, but my mind is clouded, making me confused on the path. These voices... feel different, and sinister...
Come back, and face your reckoning.
I see it! My dads car in the driveway, hes home!
I almost lose my balance as I sprint to my front door, past the car and gardens in the front of the house.
As I run up to my front door, and rings it bell multiple times, I can hear sirens in the distance getting closer, have they found me?
Please... I know you're here, the cars in the driveway...
He can't love a monster like you.
The voice taunts me "YOU'RE WRONG!" I shout at it. I start pounding on the door, I don't have much time, please, oh please open up.
HE HATES YOU. HE WISHES YOU WERE NEVER BORN.
The voice screams in my head, it makes me scream in agony, the malice in the voice feels like a red hot needle into my temple. Enough of this, I try to conjure fire, but to no avail, the whispers in my head deny me my one strength.
YOU TOOK AWAY EVERYTHING FROM HIM.
I focus as hard as I can, and eventually, I manage to summon a mighty fireball into the door, but only after that can I see the police lights flaring behind me. I turn around to see multiple cars with many officers training weapons on me. This isn't happening...
DESTROY THEM, BUT IT WON'T HELP YOU.
Training my hands among the sides of my head does me no good in silencing these voices. I can see the officers yelling at me, but I can't hear them over the droning in my head. One of the cops approaches me with a set of cuffs, and I respond with a violent outburst of tempest of flame, killing him, and the cops behind him in an instant, and making molten mess of the cars, but I can see more cars approaching, one by one, they come to the slaughter. They melt like butter, their souls fireworks for my success, its so easy now.
I feel so cold, I feel so warm.
LOOK AT THEM, LOOK AT YOU.
Nothing will take me back... Never again, i'll kill every one of them that tries to stop me. Eventually, thats all I see. Black and white. Their souls to the slaughter, why do they keep throwing their lives away? All I want to see is my father, my mother, to live in peace...
After taking down another group, the screams in my mind intensify;
BEHIND YOU.
BEHIND YOU.
BEHIND YOU.
I quickly turn around and lash out with a whip of fire, but their soul doesn't shatter, they try to bind me, putting me in a vice grip, pulling me to the ground. They scream my name, and tell me to stop.
YOU WILL NEVER BE FREE.
"I WON'T LET YOU TAKE ME!" I scream, as I pump the figure binding me with more magic then I've ever mustered before. "NEVER!" I shriek, as I'm over top of the figure.
I hear the voices whisper, as my vision becomes clearer again.
Now look at what you've done.
I look down at my father, my hands around his neck, his body charred black. His last look at me is one of horror, as he speaks my name in shock. I recoil, crawling backwards, my hands over my mouth in shock as I watch my fathers soul shatter in front of me, I drop into the space he occupied, a wet mess of charred bloody clothing.
I killed him.
I...killed my dad...
I...
Voices behind me, I pan my head to see dozens of my neighbors, people who have all treated me well in my life, they look at me in horror, some run away when I look in their direction. They tip toe around the molten slagheaps, and charred corpses I've left behind.
Crying, I see monsters sobbing, as they try to get handfuls of dust... I killed Monsters too? I can hear helicopters in the distance, no doubt coming this way. Every sound I can hear is one of terror. The voices are gone now, they let me look at what I've caused in perfect clarity. Is this a dream? Have I really done all of this...? I don't know if I'm crying or not, I don't feel a thing. I just feel cold...
I'm so cold.
A voice washes over my mind, as I look upon my failure.
The worst nightmares are those of the waking world.
I try to stand, but can't get off my knees. The monsters spectating me almost all scatter. A spotlight shines on me, a helicopter above. I have no will to fight left. I start to feel warmth, making me look down.
My torso is riddled with bullet holes, my robes in tatters. I lie down next to the remnants of my father, hugging my legs to my chest. I give up. Eventually, I lose strength.
I close my eyes.
I feel my body being dragged, as my senses fade.
...
...
Flowey... You were right, I should have listened.
I should have...
I...
My vision cuts from black, to Flowey speaking to me from the center of a room.
"Its not what Frisk would have wanted, I passed judgement on you when I had no right too. Once I sent you off to new home, I started to feel really guilty about it, realizing I was pretty much damning you to death. I tried to look for you, but I couldn't find you, so I started to wait here, hoping you'd make it." He says, looking away from me.
Where... What...?
I'm... back underground...? In New Home? I'm in the children's bed. I look at my hands, and then quickly pat my chest, looking for bullet holes, but no... Theres nothing... My hands shake, my whole body is quivering, I start hyper ventilating...
"Whats your problem? Oh... I remember now, told ya to be careful, you already went and died? That wasn't even a day ya idiot." Flowey tells me snidely, but I hardly even pay attention. I'm too busy shaking, tears start to leak out of my eyes, as I break down. Bawling, I scream as I grip the sides of my head, remembering what I did. I fall to the ground as I let out shrieks of terror, and convulse.
I don't see it, but Flowey's cocky grin slowly turns into a uneasy frown.
My screams echo the house, but eventually, I fall into a very uneasy sleep.