Toby Fox owns Undertale and all associated characters.
The young Frisk slowly lowered their hood, carefully walking through the field of Echo Flowers. It was usually a place they stayed away from, unless some of the plants needed tending to, but with the voices of the others gone, Frisk came here. It was either that, or calling numbers that wouldn't answer. They tread through the field, until they found a ring of red, rose-like flowers.
Asgore's Recital Flowers. The child remembered it-the last day before everything truly fell apart. They had came here with the brothers...Alphys and Undyne...Asgore and Toriel. It was a little picnic, and Asgore had revealed the red flowers. They were like Echo Flowers, but they only recorded once.
They sat in the center, closing their eyes, ear fins twitching as they listened to the voices of what had been their family. Even their own softly murmured quiet poem. They clenched their hands tight, listening to all of them. Voices that had been loud and clear that day-and by nightfall two days later, all of them were gone.
A short distance away, the older Frisk was also walking through the fields, a soft smile on his face. He had forgotten how much he had missed this. Whenever he had come through here when he had been in the Underground the first time, the voices here had given him strength to go on. He had so badly wanted to make all their wishes come true. And eventually… he had succeeded.
There were some different conversations now, it made sense, given that in this world, many Monsters remained Underground. It made the teen a little sad, that some of those conversations could so easily be written over.
As he sloshed through a shallow pool, his foot caught on a stone and he let out a surprised cry, stumbling and only just managing to catch himself before tumbling into the water.
The younger Frisk jumped with a yelp of alarm. Without a second thought they raced to the commotion, already extending a hand to whoever had fallen down.
Their elder counterpart groaned and found a relatively dry spot to sit, taking off his shoe and nursing his aching toe. He looked up as the younger one approached.
"Oh, hey. Didn't think I'd see you down here."
They jerked back in surprise, swiftly yanking their hand back, and pulling their hood up as far as they could, before nodding. "...didn't realize you'd go so far…"
"Yeah, well… between the elevators and Charon, it's a lot easier to get around down here than back home. " He grimaced, putting his shoe gingerly back on.
They frowned. "Who's Charon?" they asked.
"The River Person. Guess she's not vocal about who she is over here either, huh?"
Frisk shook their head as they folded their arms with a concentrated hum of thought. "...hmm, guess that's the one with the dog boat."
Their taller counterpart stood, wiping down his pants and frowning at the wetness before looking back to the child.
"You uh… say that like there's more than one."
Frisk nodded. "I think so...the one with the dog boat sounds like a girl, but the other doesn't…" Then, they mumbled the rest. "Though it's not like I saw them both at the same time…"
"Huh." The boy looked over to where the river flowed past in the distance. "I don't think there's more than one on my side, I'd think I would have noticed multiple cloaked figures ferrying people around the lake. Makes me think though, I wonder if being the River Person is like a job, or it's just what she likes to do?
"I would ask, but...I haven't been down here in a while… figured I'd see what the flowers still had to say."
His little counterpart nodded."They say different things now… new wishes," they mumbled to him. Wishes to be able to live freely under the sun, to go where they wanted to go, to not been as the enemy...to no longer be trapped in any sense of the word. Those were the wishes that would be murmured here.
"Yeah… I noticed that. How about you, why did you come down here?"
They were quiet; hesitating on an answer. "...to hear their voices," was the mostly vague reply.
"You find it relaxing too, huh?" The teen chuckled. "I always liked Waterfall… at least when Undyne wasn't throwing things at me."
"It's pretty," the young one agreed. "If I had to pick a spot to live down here...I think I'd find a place here…" It wasn't too hot, or too cold, it was quiet and pretty, and...there just seemed to be an echo to Undyne here, making this place feel safe, even in her long absence.
"Yeah… I could see that." He looked around, then his face creased in a slightly confused expression as he stared over in the direction his young counterpart had come from.
"Hang on… there's something red over there." He started to move towards it. "I don't remember anything like that…"
"Oh-" The younger one turned, biting their lip. "...those are the Recital Flowers," they murmured, letting their hidden tail coil around their legs-a habit they picked up shortly after becoming fused.
The older Frisk looked down in confusion
"Recital Flowers?" he echoed.
Frisk nodded. "They...were flowers my Asgore had found...they...they're like Echo Flowers...they only record once though. ...just before it all happened, we came here on a picnic, and he had one for everybody…they're still here..."
"Oh," their elder breathed. He closed his eyes for a moment. "So that's what you meant. You come down here… to be close to them."
There was a quiet sound of confirmation. "I like their voices…" they replied, though they were barely heard.
The teen chewed on his lip for a moment, running his fingers through his ambiguous length hair absently for a moment.
"Can… can I listen too?" he asked quietly.
There was a long pause as they considered their options. In truth, it wasn't like anyone wasn't allowed to go see the flowers...they could be seen by anyone if they so chose, and so...who were they to deny it? "...you can, if you want."
He gave them a small nod, then walked carefully over to where the red ring of flowers grew, seating himself close by and listening to the very familiar voices that played from the magic flowers.
One was simply an explanation to how they worked-a few were inspirational messages-one even had the theme song to Alphys's anime playing on it-and Sans's was just a short little message that sent listeners to Papyrus's. There was even a poem that had been quietly murmured into one. The moment the message ended, the flower would be silent for a moment, before repeating it again.
The little one watched him, and then cautiously shuffled over, glancing from their counterpart, to the flowers, and back, seeking his reactions.
The elder Frisk was silent for a time, listening to the flowers repeat their messages over and over again.
"You'll get them back again," he said finally, his voice faint. "But I'm… sorry this happened."
The young one shook their head. "Don't need to say that...you weren't here," they simply stated as they moved, kneeling by Sans's recital flower.
The older Human scratched at his arm absently.
"Maybe not, but I don't really know what else I can say. My sister's way better with words than me, maybe she'd figure something out." He paused. "Though... maybe it's better if she doesn't learn about this."
They didn't argue about it. "Don't need to say anything though...words aren't my thing either…" They turned, looking elsewhere. "...I hope she'll be happier later."
"Me too. It's been especially hard for her the past while, between the nightmares and nearly losing Kid… I think she's been getting better but…" His voice trailed off.
"...maybe...you should give her a hug when you see her next?" they suggested with a little tilt to their head.
"Did you know that being punched in the stomach by an irritated robot powered by magic and tech really hurts?" the teen asked conversationally. "Chara's not really the hugging type of person… with a few exceptions." He grinned. "The only one who can get away with it for any length of time is Kid… and he doesn't even have any arms!"
The little Frisk smiled. "They manage," was the reply, they said as they gently stroke the petals to one of the Recital Flowers.
"You'd know, huh?" the elder teased. "Noticed you seemed pretty close with your version."
The other tapped their fingers together sheepishly. "They're nice...and patient...and tolerant." They shrugged helplessly and then yanked their hood further over their face.
"Sounds like a rousing endorsement to me. Just do me a favour and don't let my sister know if you kiss them. I'll never hear the end of it."
They covered their face, shaking their whole form in a very obvious 'no'. They had no plans for that anyways! Why would they even-and even if they did-why would they even say!?
The taller Frisk laughed.
"Ah, young love," he said, holding the back of his hand to his head and looking away dramatically. "You're so easy to read, I can't even see your face, but that reaction tells me everything I need to know."
The little Frisk turned away, and folded their arms, flustered, unsure of what to do with their alien counterpart.
The teen laughed again, but it was abruptly cut off, and his face morphed into an unreadable expression. Then he groaned and put his head in his hands.
"I can't believe it, I'm now shipping a version of myself with a version of my sister's boyfriend. This is like some really really bad fanfiction. And I thought today couldn't get any weirder."
Frisk slowly turned, opening their eyes, giving him a quiet stare.
Their elder turned towards them after a moment, noticing their stare and grinning again.
"Disappointed yet?"
They kept their arms folded at first, and then came close, before beckoning him to lean a little closer.
The boy hesitated for a moment.
"Well, I guess we can end the day with me getting slapped by my counterpart, bring the whole weirdness circle to a close," he mumbled, doing as he was bid.
They stood on tiptoes, raised their hand…
And lightly bopped him on the head...it was so soft it was barely even registered.
The teen Frisk blinked for a moment, then his expression morphed into one of pain. He clutched at his head, falling to the ground with an overdramatic cry, thrashing about wildly.
"I've been hit! I've been slain! Oh, woe is me, to have come so far, just to be hoisted by my own petard! The mighty hero has vanquished me with but a single blow!"
The other Frisk had jumped in surprise at first, but then just silently stared at him, waiting for him to finish, their dual-colored eyes seeming to dim as they waited.
It lasted… far longer than it should have, but their counterpart tired himself out and sat up, panting slightly, mud and dirt covering his back and some of it even staining the front of his shirt. He looked up at the other.
"What?" he asked innocently.
They shut their eyes, and shook their head. "It's getting late."
"Yeah, I've probably hit my quota of making a fool of myself for the day," the teen agreed, standing up and attempting to wipe most of the mud off his back. "Probably best to go crash somewhere, especially if it's as weird going back through the Rift tomorrow as it was in the first place."
They nodded, and hesitantly held out a hand, normally, the little Frisk could have joked that they knew a shortcut. "You...can probably have one of the rooms at Asgore's…"
The boy smiled, taking the hand.
"Thanks. If nothing else, one good thing has come of this debacle," he said, beginning to walk back in the direction of New Home. "You learned that it could be worse… you could be me!"
They didn't dignify it with an answer, and instead, found another topic. "Talked to Sans earlier...don't tell Papyrus."
"I bet that was fun.. I hope he didn't freak out on you. If he did, don't take it to hard, like I said before, he gets a little antsy when it looks like things are starting to fall apart. Especially now since he's one of our leaders, got a lot more responsibility."
"It went...better than I expected...he's a leader?" they murmured, without sounding too surprised.
"Yeah, crazy huh? Him, Mom and Undyne are kind of in charge of Monsters now. It's uh…. Still pretty recent, and I'm not certain on the details, but apparently it has to do with some old roles or something." He shrugged. "Dad's just happy he still doesn't have to be king again, and it's a little easier to work with the Humans when we've got some form of government to point at again. So Chara tells me, anyway."
"He's not King…?" That one seemed to have gotten a little more surprise out of the child. "Huh…"
"Yeah, we kind of dropped the whole monarchy thing pretty quick after leaving the Underground," the elder Frisk explained, watching the river flow past as they walked near the shore. "We didn't want it to fall into a Humans and Monsters thing you know? We just wanted to have everyone under the same leadership, try and smooth over as many of the major differences as possible.
"It worked for the most part, not that there isn't still issues here and there, but it's mostly peaceful. Though it probably wouldn't have been nearly as smooth if the Shifters hadn't been working behind the scenes. Not everyone's thrilled about Monsters, even after four years."
They tilted their head in confusion, trying to figure out how to reply. "Due to...how things are, the Leader suggested we keep our Kingdom active…" They were quiet, always speaking softly in pauses. "...if it doesn't work out, we fall back to that, if it does…" Frisk shrugged. "That's for others to decide…"
They tilted their head the other way. "Shifters though?" Then they looked up. "And it's been four years too?"
The teen was silent for a moment, trying to process both the information he had received and the questions his counterpart had asked.
"Yeah, I guess our worlds must be in sync." He said at last. "It's even a Saturday here, maybe that's why the Rift ended up leading here instead of some other dimension." He cast a glance down at the horned child. "Do you… not know about Shifters? That… might explain a few things actually.."
The child shook their head quietly. "No...I've never heard about them before. Are they...are they some weird group organi...zation thingy?"
"Not… really. Shifters are a type of Monster. In my world, they were the only species of Monster that wasn't sealed Underground. Mostly because they have the ability to... change from a Monster form to a Human one. They can even make their bodies more solid and less dependant on magical energy if they have to.
"We only really found out about them in the spring. One of them, a guy called Vigil, helped my family get me back when Overwatch kidnapped me. Apparently, they've been keeping the worst of the Humans that want to get rid of us at bay. Maybe they didn't do so well in this world… it would explain why there was so much open hostility down in the city."
The little one shook their head. "We...I don't know about them...or an Overwatch either."
"Hmm… I guess that makes sense…" the older Frisk muttered. "Overwatch was started back when the Monsters were sealed to try and hunt down the last Shifters… They've stuck around over the centuries, and are obviously now heading any anti-Monster sentiment they can find. If things were different here, maybe whatever organization came after you might have had different origins.
"And goals, I guess, since your Humans have magic, and don't need to try and steal it from the Monsters instead."
The little one looked up. "It's confusing...things are a lot similar...and things are a lot different."
"Yeah, it'd probably be less confusing if everything was different," the elder agreed. "Then at least we'd know not to expect anything, but here there's just enough that's the same to make it feel weird when something's not."
"Like how you and Rex are so much taller…"
"You call them "Rex" here? That's way cooler than- hang on a minute. If it's been four years for both of us since the barrier shattered, how is it that you're so much younger than me? How old are you?"
The little Frisk gave a hum. "Uh...I was twelve when I fell down here...so...sixteen I think?"
"But… I'm sixteen!" the taller Human exclaimed. "And I mean.. It's kind of hard to tell with all your extra bits and that hood but... you don't look much older than twelve. And if yours works the same as mine, that means that your Kid's about the same age too… so what the hell?"
They blinked, and then slapped a hand over their face. "Duh…" They breathed out, realizing that they had to explain. "I'm not sure about Rex, but um…" They stared down at the ground. "According to Leader, I haven't grown at all since we met…" The young Frisk shrugged helplessly. "We're not sure...Uncle Mettaton looked into it...and we think...it might be that my aging slowed-or stopped altogether because I have…" They fell silent, and then just pointed at their horns without looking at their seemingly older counterpart.
"Huh." The other seemed about to say something, but thought better of it, looking away for a moment before asking;
"Who's this… Leader you keep mentioning? Leader of what?"
"The Humans," the little one replied. "He's the head of everything. I like him-he was willing to unite humans and Monsters...it's just taking a long time right now-especially because…" They bit their lip. "He's hurt right now...the people who drained our magic...they were able to hurt him. That's kinda why we're working together for once…"
"And he's just called… the Leader?"
"Uh-huh." They giggled-the sound a bit of a surprise as they remembered something. "He does have a name-but my Sans finds it a little funny to keep calling him by his title."
"Sounds like your Humans went to the Flowey school for naming things." The teen chuckled. "Though really, a lot of the names they use on our side are kind of overly complicated. And dumb."
They shrugged. "His real name is William at least...not that Sans really calls him that." However, the tone was out of fondness, rather than annoyance or irritation.
"At least he's got a decent name there," the boy said, snickering as they reached the edge of Waterfall and entered Hotlands, heading towards the elevators. "One of the politicians my sister works with a bunch is called "Ollie Oxford". Talk about parents with zero imagination."
"...ow?" They replied with a cringe, before letting the elevator in Hotlands open up, gently tugging their counterpart after them. "It's just the titles though that are simple. Besides...Sans gets to joke about liters every single time we go down there..."
"I bet that's just a gallon of fun," the taller Frisk joked, hitting the button that would bring them to the top level of Hotlands, watching the doors slide shut and breathing a sigh of relief at the slightly less oppressive heat inside the elevator.
"Uh-huh. And he'll never droplet."
The teen snorted, leaning against the wall of the elevator.
"Man, that was good. Though I guess that's only natural if you've had Sans in your head for a couple years. Learn from the best, right?"
There was a faint smile on their face as they nodded. "Mm-hmm...though when he makes a pun, it's usually followed by Papyrus being frustrated with him...and then a headache."
The boy winced.
"Ouch. I didn't think of that… bet you run through painkillers like nobodies business."
"Grandpa Gerson's got medicine, and…" They reached into their pocket, and drew out what seemed to be a tiara with an odd gem on it. The color changing depending on the angle it was seen at. "This…"
"Hey, that's really pretty!" the brown-eyed Frisk said, leaning forward to get a better look. "What does it do?"
Frisk paused, trying to find a way to explain it. "It would...tune the others out," they finally stated. "Kinda used it when I wasn't talking to them...or wanted to have a few moments alone to my own thoughts…"
"Kinda wish I had one of those," their counterpart mused. "It might keep Chara from yelling in my head every time she think's I'm doing something dumb… which is all the time."
They gave an odd little smile and held it out to him. "Well, I don't need it right now."
"Tcha." The taller Frisk waved a hand dismissively. "Are you kidding me? Chara would never let me hear the end of it if she ever saw me in that. She already gives me enough grief for wearing the tutu back in the Underground. Anyways, it sounds like you're going to need it more than I do… I know where Chara's off button is, after all."
They giggled, and hid it away again. "Yeah, but if her off switch is like Uncle Mettaton's…"
"Not quite, it's more of a mental off switch. There's no way Chara would have let her body have something that could shut her off at a moment's notice." The boy grinned suddenly. "I remember seeing Mettaton's transformation for the first time… Chara was so stunned that I got a chance to take control back from her. Nearly made it a whole day without fighting her after that Reset…"
Frisk nodded. "I was caught off guard too...he got me a few times before I figured it out." They rubbed the back of their neck sheepishly, not seeing it as an issue though. "I felt kinda bad when I broke him…"
"Yeah…" the elder one said quietly, his expression suddenly turning somber. "Me too…"
The child picked up on it. "But he's a lot more durable now. He and Blooky upgraded his form a lot from some blueprints Alphys had."
"That would be… the NEO form, yes?" The teen guessed. "Or based off of the blueprints from that one I suppose…"
"Oh?" the child asked in surprise. "You know about it too? Though they're always making it better."
"I only saw it once," the brown-eyed Frisk admitted. "I'm glad they're improving it here though."
The elevator doors open. "Uh-huh. Uncle Mettaton even has an anti-virus thingy that he's always updating."
"That's good to hear," The taller counterpart said absently, walking out of the elevator and heading to MTT Resort, seemingly lost his thoughts.
The smaller Frisk looked up in concern, uncertain of what to do as they climbed up the stairs to the MTT Resort that had mainly fallen back to being an apartment, though it seemed some of the Monsters still worked there.
It wasn't until they reached the first elevator just inside the entrance to the core and entered it that the technical elder of the two spoke again, leaning against the elevator wall and giving a slightly sheepish smile to his counterpart.
"Sorry… I just… have a lot on my mind. It's been an interesting day... On a lot of counts."
"It's fine," they said as the doors closed. "Same for me...we're just a little more used to taking weird things better…"
"When weird happens often enough, it becomes the new normal right?" The teen chuckled half-heartedly. "Honestly though… I'm mostly worried about Chara. She's not been acting like herself, and I'm pretty sure her battery's low. Which it shouldn't be, I mean, she recharged last night, and one time she flew all the way across an ocean in a day! And I know those wings are a massive drain on her system. Then she runs out of the room like that and… well…"
"Maybe she could recharge at the lab?" the little Frisk asked. "Though wow...I wonder if Uncle Mettaton could do that…" Not that they wanted him to go test it.
"To be fair, she did have a lot of motivation for doing that… and she crashed hardcore when she got back." Frisk frowned. "She should be able to recharge wherever… I think that she just needs to power down and her battery recharges itself…"
The younger Frisk gave a quiet hum of concern as the elevator doors opened and they quickly headed through the last part of the core. "I hope so…"
The elder shrugged.
"Maybe I'm being a bit paranoid," he admitted. "But despite everything, she's my sister and I love her." He gave a wry grin. "Plus, I'm pretty sure that other than Undyne and Sans, she's the most powerful person on my side of the Rift. Not exactly someone you want to be in an unstable position."
"...when do you want anyone like that?" was the quiet reply as they neared the other elevator.
The boy threw them a look.
"You've never had siblings, have you?"
"Nuh-uh-but I wouldn't want anyone to be scary." They had seen some of their family when pushed too far-they didn't need to see this Chara in a similar state.
The taller Human made a noise of vague agreement, waiting for a moment for the elevator doors to open and walking in, hitting the button to the top floor and rubbing the back of his neck.
"True enough. Couple months ago I just tried to talk to her and she attacked me. Good thing I'm so good at dodging…"
The little one jerked their head up in surprise, before making an uncertain sound to voice their concern over it.
"Oh!" The boy waved his hands, hastily trying to reassure his counterpart. "It's not like that's a usual thing! She was just mad and upset because Kid was dying and-" He cut himself short, realizing what he had just said. "Aw man… I should really just keep my mouth shut…"
The child stared wide eyed at him. "R...Rex was…"
"Uhh… yeah," the teen admitted. "He uh, got attacked and Fell Down by the time my sister found him. Obviously he survived! Aphys's research into souls really came in handy there, but… it was touch-and-go for a while, and Chara… took it pretty hard."
His counterpart closed their hands tight, fingers digging into the scarf as they trembled a little. Perhaps it was out of anger...but more likely, it was out of fear. The little Frisk knew that due to similarities-a fate like that could be awaiting their Rex, and that frightened them.
"Sorry... I really shouldn't have brought that up. You uh, okay over there?"
They nodded, but then grabbed his wrist, and as soon as the elevator door opened, they bolted forward.
"Wha- hey!" The boy cried, caught off guard by the sudden action. It was obvious that the child didn't have the strength to actually drag him anywhere, but once he realized what was happening he ran with them, allowing their grip to pull him forward.
"Uh, what's the sudden rush?"
They didn't respond, simply running along the path above the Monster City, swiftly getting to the Royal's Home, and busting in. "Rex!?" They looked about, releasing their counterpart's hand as they darted into the kitchen, and jumped on the back of a chair, their arms grabbing their Monster friend.
"Yo-what-!?" They both called out though, the chair threatening to fall, but Gerson managed to catch it.
"Alright, where's the fire?" he asked.
"Uhh.. no fire…" the tall Frisk mumbled, coming in and seeing where his counterpart had gone.
"They were just… making sure Rex was okay…"
"Yo...I'm fine-just a couple of bruises-" The little Frisk whined and held on tighter, while Gerson slowly shook his head in slight exasperation.
"Um, anyway, I should get some rest," the teen said, quickly excusing himself before he had to explain exactly why the child was suddenly so concerned for their friend.
The others blinked in confusion, while Frisk somehow scooted their way onto the chair with their friend, refusing to release them. Gerson shook his head. "Neck Warmer, what are you gonna do when they have to go home?"
Frisk slowly looked up at him. Go home?
"Oh, goodness, Frisk…
That evening, after Gerson managed to pry Frisk off their friend, he sent Rex home, and then finally sent the little one to bed-though not without at first being dragged in for a story. It always struck him as odd that while the child was technically sixteen, they kept habits from being twelve. He wasn't sure if it was because they weren't aging, or if they were just the kind to stay rooted in a child-like mindset.
Not that he complained though. The child was sweet, and he didn't mind reading one or two for them. Eventually, he lulled them to sleep...but later that night, he came in to check on the child. It was a habit that had formed after they had been taken. He had quietly opened the door, frowning when he saw them tossing and turning. He made his way over as they settled, mumbling in their sleep. Most were not something he could understand, but...there was one Gerson had started to pick up over the last month.
They jerked in their sleep, going still… "Just give up…" they muttered, clenching the blanket tight as they shuddered. "I did…"
Gerson reached out, resting a hand between their horns, watching them slowly relax. The turtle continued to worry, however. Ever since the magic draining, his little Frisk was having nightmares, and often, he heard that phrase. When he asked the next day, Frisk would claim they had no memory of any dreams. ...he couldn't tell if that had been the truth or not.
Still, it gave rise to concern, and he had been asking the other Monsters if they had any idea of what it meant. No one had an answer...he wanted to ask the ones they were fused with, if they knew, but...that wasn't an option. Though an idea lit in his eyes. Perhaps he could figure it out come tomorrow. It was better to try it that way instead of hunting down answers in the Human city-which he doubted had the key.
After staying a few minutes longer, the turtle gave a soft sigh, and slowly rose, wincing. He tucked them back in carefully, and then headed out, finally returning to his own bed.