Okay. Um...lemme just….*Positions self on a mountain and squeals.* Okay. So this chapter was originally 6000 words. 6300+ *Squeals again* I actually decided to split in half at about 3,500 words, and edited this half to 4000. So. Im. Like. Really. Happy. Excuse. My. Bragging.
*Coughs* ANYWAY. I hope y'all are as happy with this as i am! Also, a warning, there is some bloody stuff up ahead, and proceed with caution if that makes you queasy. It's fairly easy to skip. I didn't get any reviews this past chapter, so nothing to reply to right now.
So, I present to you all, Fishsticks Part 1!
If blood was something that poured from the wounds of monsters, Frisk would have been a disgusting, smelly mess. Instead her face was coated in a light, fine powder that paled her already unhealthy complexion. She inhaled some of it on occasion, especially right after her blade took the soul from a monster, and went into a small coughing fit. With the LV sucked out of it, dust had a sour, bitter flavor. It tasted of death, which was the alarming smell and air that Frisk had begun to carry with her.
She walked with cold precision, her footsteps smooth and silent and her neutral expression showing only the smallest flicker of emotion when another innocent fell at her hands. Occasionally, when Chara snuck a bit of LV away, they would exchange a couple words as the pressure relieved off of Frisk, subtle enough for her to not notice. It would quickly rebuild though as her desire for LV only doubled.
In other words, she became a psychopath. Her compassion falling to nothing and draining her ability to feel emotion. Yet when she reached the wooden docks, completely unprepared for her third encounter with Undyne, it struck a painful chord within her. Her and Chara moved along noiselessly, but soon that silence was filled with loud footsteps.
It only took two of them and a glance behind her for Frisk to run, even though Undyne was under them. She never understood why there were two levels, but didn't pause to think about it now. Her feet thudded against the wood and she pushed herself forward, not because of determination, but because of fear. It became a dominant factor in keeping wits about her as she ran, avoiding the bright blue lights and spears that surrounded her.
It was a trial to steer clear of them, and a wonder that none ran straight up through her foot. It was perhaps Chara screaming to move that kept her alive again, though not unharmed. She grazed many of the spears, and though not all their edges were sharp the light magic they were made of burned through her thin layers and scarred her skin.
Tears ran down her face, but her expression remained the same. Neutral with a broken soul pouring out of her brown red eyes. It was stupid. It was so stupid she knew, and yet fear spurred her forward. That and the determination to live a little longer.
The end came far too quickly and yet not quickly enough. Chara morphed herself into Frisk's mind, her ghostly appearance fading for the time being as Frisk found herself at the end of the long, twisting wooden dock. She whirled around as quickly as she stopped, her heart beating out of her chest and burning like wildfire.
Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened, the tears just beginning to dry on her cheeks.
Undyne couldn't help but grin. Her eye gleamed from under her helmet, and her narrow pupil honed in on the human, who stood helplessly in front of her. She put one foot in front of the other, her glorious armor grinding together and her steps echoing throughout the hollow cavern. There was little light, but it all seemed to reflect of her dark grey armor. It all hinted at the immense strength she truly possessed to even move in such protective, wicked material.
She chuckled slowly to herself, finding the urge to run a spear through the helpless little body almost undeniable. Her steps eventually came to a stop and she stood with her shoulders back, her hair out behind her like a waterfall of blood. The sharp, jagged teeth of her helmet were only darkened because of the shadows surrounding her, but Frisk could still see a hint of the pointed daggers that Undyne smirked with.
She had long forgotten about her goal, focusing completely on Undyne. The emotions with it came piling in. It drew a sob from her, momentarily relieving the burning in her chest as she still struggled to hold them back. She didn't know how much it simply satisfied the fish to witness that sign of weakness.
Indeed, Undyne's eye widened with pride, and she tilted her head downward to only glare harder. Confidence and death radiated off of her soul, and she took another step forward to see the human child's reaction, stomping down as hard as she could. It released a bout of the pent up magic she held, and she whole dock shook because of it.
The reaction she had received was perfect, but the outcome was not.
Frisk's face morphed into one of pure terror as she felt the world beneath her shake and disappear. She froze, a scream catching in her throat as she witnessed the warrior running to try and grab her, and yet the world suddenly disappeared into nothing. She had felt numb before, shutting out all her emotions, overwhelming fear from the prospect of Undyne's wrath, and now, as darkness surrounded her falling form, she felt absolutely nothing. She didn't even care.
And what happens when a soul made up of determination loses all cares in the world? Even with LV the human felt something, though it was all shut off. Even with the deadline goal set in her head, she had determination to die.
Now? She didn't care.
Frisk didn't bloody care.
She deserved to suffer. She deserved to die. There was absolutely nothing that would give her the punishment she truly deserved. With that realization, as the human fell, she felt her soul flickering out. She felt it sputter, she felt a heart wrenching cry from Chara echo throughout her mind, and she nearly felt it die.
What happens when a river loses the water it is made of? It no longer flows as a living source, but becomes a hollow abyss.
Likewise, when a soul made up of determination loses its determination, it dies.
Frisk saw her soul before her, and she knew she was in a battle with herself. Luckily, or maybe not so luckily, gravity ended it before she could. Determination had protected her before, but the last thing Frisk felt was jarring pain before everything really was gone.
Frisk? Frisk? Are you there? …..
Frisk? Are we dead?
I...felt everything? I saw your soul. I felt everything and saw everything you felt, and then I felt pain….Frisk? Frisk are we stil alive?! Oh Asgore, did you leave me to be trapped in an endless abyss forever?! FRISK! PLEASE! I won't be mad I swear! Just come back….please. Frisk….Frisk I can't leave you...are you still alive? I don't know if we are connected….if you're dead….Your determination was almost gone...dear Asgore FRISK. No. Please. Please. I swear I won't be mad.
"It sounds like it came from over here…."
Frisk?
Is that you?
"Oh! You've fallen down, haven't you! Are you okay? Here, get up."
F-frisk?...Azzy…?...Please...don't leave me!
"Chara, huh. That's a nice name. My...name….is…."
Frisk? Frisk…? What...please….
This isn't funny!
Frisk? I think I see you. Is that you?! That little red light...Frisk? Please come back.
...please…..
….I can't live without you…..
When she awoke, her determination had returned. It returned in mass amounts, at least compared to what was before, and yet spurred from one thought. Help. For indeed, Frisk's body hurt all over. It wasn't just the frigid ache from snowdin or the numbness of freezing recovery in waterfall, but the burning pain of broken bones.
Broken bones everywhere. Frisk felt like she had broken more bones than both skeleton brothers owned. Her voice came very slowly, but it was surely. It came out in a violent scream that she could still barely hear with her head pounding.
Chara's voice followed soon after. The ghost immediately disconnected from Frisk's body, tears running down her face as she continued to sob. She was relieved that Frisk was alive, but looking at even the smallest bit of blood around her friend broke her and she had to turn away, covering her ears and squeezing her eyes shut.
Things were twisted in the wrong way. Blood coated the yellow flowers around them and they dripped crimson. Frisk wanted the pain to end, yet she couldn't bring herself to grab food. It hurt to be alive, and she could not stop sobbing and screaming for whatever life she had left. Determination had let her live once again, but there hadn't been enough to protect her. Not even the cushioned pad of flowers saved her, though it might have helped keep her alive.
Frisk cursed them and then, with another broken screech, reached for her pouch and used her hand to dig in it for something, anything, to heal her. She could barely move her other arm, and gagged at the sight of her body as her screaming died to heavy sobs, which shook her shoulders and caused her more pain.
She wanted it to end, grabbing a piece of monster candy and shoving it in her mouth. Something cracked, and Frisk found herself sobbing all over again as her body began to repair herself. Healing had never been to painful. Things snapped into place very violently, and there was nothing to do but grab more monster food and shove it in her mouth She tried desperately to get to a place where it no longer hurt.
She almost shoved the Butterscotch pie in her mouth, but quickly realized that she needed to save them. The human had devoured all of her food, and yet still felt unbearable pain. Her body was in working condition however, and she managed to roll over and lower herself into the water. She left her back and threw herself into the hardest, most agonizing steps of her life. The water felt like syrup as she dragged her feet through.
Her legs were still marred and barely held together and one arm felt like it was being ripped off with even the slighted movement. She knew it was only because of determination that she moved forward, although it was in the fashion of a zombie, limping through the resistant water that stung her wounds. It was the fresh water from Waterfall, but mixed with trash and gunk from the surface.
It took a long time and a lot of determination, but Frisk managed to reach the spark. She reached out and grasped it with as much strength as she could muster, waves of it washing over her. Soon she could pull herself up onto the platform and to a complete standing position. Her hands remained wrapped around the spark.
Her shoulders slowly fell and began violently shaking, sobs pouring forth from her cracked lips. Her broken voice was hardly heard, so quiet compared to the screams from earlier. Everything still hurt, and she wanted to die all over again. Her determination to be better was never going away for one simple reason.
Frisk was never going to get better.
Frisk I thought you were dead…. Chara's trembling, shaky thought barely came through and her worry was obvious. Dead meant a lot of things to those two girls. They had died plenty of times, yet neither one's had been permanent. Chara died once, only to be revived by the flaming soul of Frisk, who had died several times and survived because of that very same determination.
The determination that almost ran dry.
It was only because of the pain she had felt that kept her alive.. And now, more dead inside then ever, her determination to end her life took hold. She remembered her task at hand and focused on the LOVE and her goal, shutting out as much as she could.
And you're sad because of that? Was the response that eventually came. It was so negative that Chara let out another sob, covering her eyes.
All this time she had wanted to be a person again, to feel and touch and live before she died, but now it was just too much. She told herself again and again to do it for the monsters. For her friends and family.
With her own set of determination, she picked herself up, floated behind Frisk, who had just grabbed her bag, and kept her distance. The human couldn't bring herself enough strength to stick to the few platforms so she lowered herself back into the water and began dragging herself forward.
Phantom pain still speared through her body, and she whined on occasion as they moved onward. She grabbed some Astronaut bars from the cooler, not wasting walking time as she devoured one of them. Her health was close to perfect, but she still felt absolutely horrible. Perhaps that would never change.
When she reached the dummy the full force that she attempted to give it wouldn't have squashed a fly, and she pulled her arm back and cradled it, whimpering before turning and continuing to walk. She didn't even look behind her when she heard it's frantic splashing.
"FOOL!" echoed throughout the caves, and the human just shut her eyes, taking a deep breath. This was the one battle she could make it through without getting hurt. "You think you can hurt me?"
She smiled softly.
"I am a ghost that lives inside a DUMMY!" it screeched in anger. She opened her eyes and met its gaze, her smile growing to a confident smirk. "My cousin used to live inside a DUMMY, too. Until…..YOU CAME ALONG!" As she faced the creature its body hovered above the water. It flailed around in absolute rage, turning a deep shade of red in even the smallest of stitches while it's mouth was turned downwards in a permanently terrible frown.
"Not only did YOUR actions cause them to leave their home, but now all of their neighbors are gone too! Despicable. Despicable! DESPICABLE!"
Ain't that the truth, Chara giggled. It was a pathetic giggle, really, but she felt the urge to get back at Frisk. It worked and she only damaged her friend more.
"You're the worst person I've ever met! I've NEVER been more mad!" It let out a sound that seemed very similar to a fish being strangled, and steam flowed more freely from it as it's form began to violently shake. "My mannequin levels are going OFF THE CHARTS!" The voice was so painfully loud that Frisk actually reached up to cover her ears, shutting her eyes again for a moment as a blinding flash of light followed the screech.
Frisk looked up at it, her smirk faltering as a long silence filled the room and she gazed at the monster. "This...this feeling…" it whispered, a smile growing on it's face. Complete joy seemed to radiate off of it's now complete form, and both humans couldn't help but feel envious. "Eureka. Eureka! EUREKA! Human!" It addressed her head on, floating down so it's bright face was right up against hers. "That moment of unbridled emotion. It allowed me to finally fuse with my body! I'm fully corporeal now! My lifelong dream, realized!
It laughed, voice that once was lined with pure terror full of golden joy. "In return, I guess I won't stomp you! How's that sound?" The dummy might have clapped its hands together if it had any. Its grin was so wide it didn't notice Frisk pull out her blade, dust from monsters and dried blood from her crusting it's tip.
The fusion between the ghost and the dummy was perhaps the only positive thing she had accomplished in nearly all of the timelines and she ended it with a simple slash of her knife. All she heard was a small gasp before the dummy faded away, dust filling the air and mixing with the water.
Her smirk turned into a grin and she let out a small sigh, the knife nearly falling out of her hand as another wave of death washed over her. That was what she had needed, of course. It had been so obvious! The LV made her feel replenished, and she found that cold, killer-like stance once again.
Her face was no longer completely neutral, but an evil grin spread out under those dim red eyes as she pulled herself up onto shore. Her goal had been refocused, and she shut out everything she could, even Chara, to try and ignore the pain that threatened to collapse her walls.
Chara only managed to sneak a little bit of LV before Frisk cut her off, and by the look on her friend's face the levels were getting dangerously high.
Chara had to resort to stealing small chunks of it when Frisk got distracted in the middle of a battle. Even the ghost, when in control, hadn't killed as much as Frisk found herself doing. She left piles of dust in her wake, killing off the people that even Chara couldn't bring herself to hurt with the LV. Absolutely no one was left behind, and her grin only grew as the thirst became more imminent.
Sh had to pray that her friend wouldn't get too powerful to end their connection completely. She just stayed back, trying to play invisible so Frisk would forget about her. She felt trapped and hidden, and for the first time in a very long time, she felt alone. Frisk had always been there, and now she had to hide from the murderous being that had gone completely mental.
Frisk walked on and Chara floated behind, focusing on random things throughout the caverns. It was sometime later when they encountered yet another dead end, something that seemed to be common. Undyne did enjoy cornering her victims.
And just like that, as Frisk turned another corner, they were encased in darkness. Her fear returned, an arrow piercing through her mental walls. There was a small light at the end of the tunnel and she hurried towards it, reaching out to grasp the petal of the echo flower as it whispered softly with a sweet, delicate voice.
"Behind you."
And all of the flowers repeated the phrase, lighting up the narrow hallway as the human slowly turned, her grin faltering for the first time in hours.
Undyne laughed and marched forward, tightening her fist around thin air, ready to summon a spear at any moment. She met the human's gaze, challenging them. The very air around her shook in fear, for the warrior was there to kill. Much had changed since their last encounter, and her eye was filled with a precise, murderous look. The human had dusted everybody. She hadn't spared a single soul.
It was worse than she thought.
It was worse than everybody thought.
Her grin faltered behind the mask and she took a deep breath, her voice coming out strong despite the fear that began to claw its way into her soul. "Seven. Seven human souls. With the power of seven human souls, our King…. King Asgore Dreemurr….will become a god." She took another step forward, standing as tall as she could.
She wasn't scared. She wasn't scared of this creature that had killed everybody in it's path. She wasn't absolutely terrified of this thing that had made the brave Papyrus flee from a battle. Undyne told herself to stand tall for her king. She would fight to the death for her king. "With that power, Asgore can finally shatter the barrier. He will finally take the surface back from humanity and give them back the pain and suffering that we have endured."
Frisk's grin turned to a glare, and she in turn took a step forward, tightening her grip on the dusty knife. The blood that had crusted upon it was hers from that painful fall. It wasn't about the barrier anymore. It was about her and Undyne. This would be their last battle, Frisk knew. It would be hard, but she would win. Frisk would not succumb to her fear.
Yet she still trembled in her boots.
"Understand, Human? This is your only chance at redemption…." Undyne's voice trailed off, and she narrowed her eye. This human would NEVER receive redemption. "Give me your soul, or I'll tear it from your body." Her laugh came from out of nowhere, pulling itself out of her chest and releasing itself into the cavern as she lifted her hand, summoning a large spear. Something broke within her and she suddenly broke into a run, pointing the thing straight towards the human.
Frisk knew what would happen next, but she still threw herself back against the wall and over the echo flower as Undyne ran towards her with full power. It had always confused her as to where Monster Kid came from, her eyes had often been closed, and she didn't watch to see what the answer was. The spear never penetrated her skin, and a shrill voice filled the sudden silence. "Undyne! I'll help you fight!"
Frisk was immediately straightening herself up just in time to meet the large, confused eyes of her 'friend.' She grinned. He seemed dumbstruck, and his mouth formed a quick, loud "YO!"
HIs confusion quickly turned to excitement. "You did it! Undyne is RIGHT in front of you! You've got front row seats to her fight!" His grin continued to grow as he turned back to Undyne, but something in him snapped. He whipped around to face Frisk, his jaw dropping.
It took a few minutes for the realization to totally set in. He stood between the two, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. His nose scrunched up and it was almost adorable.. "Wait…..who is she fighting?"
The question left his mouth and things quickly began to spiral for Undyne. She let out an extremely loud hiss, and if you've ever heard a fish hiss it's one of the most hideous sounds you might ever hear, and then brought her fist down on Monster. She grabbed him by his thick scales before turning on her heels and dragging him away. "H-Hey!" he exclaimed.
He yelped and struggled, unable to get his footing. Frisk watched him disappear around the corner, and she found herself able to breathe again only when his squeals faded and Undyne's steps were faint.
Chara let out a shuddering sigh, hugging herself. She floated near the echo flower for a moment longer before taking after Frisk, who was already headed towards the vines.
The human lowered herself into the water and waded over to the glowing plant before reaching up and grasping a sturdy section. It took a few minutes, possible the longest time spent climbing it yet, but she made it. Frisk reached the top and grasped the ledge, pulling herself up with shaking arms and letting out a groan.
She felt so weak.
With a few frantic kicks of her legs she rolled up and over before standing. It was pointless to brush any water off for she had to lower herself into more liquid. It was much fresher than that by the dump. The echo flowers lit the way and silence filled the room, save for the peaceful splashing she made.
There was a spark up ahead which she hurried to, jumping up on land and reaching out to touch it. Warmth washed over her and soothed her ache, relaxing her and giving her a fresh set of determination. Her legs were even dry, and she glanced down at her damp shoes before continuing onward.
She stepped onto the bridge ahead, shaking. It wasn't the bridge that was shaking, but her own nervousness was near petrifying her once again as she began to shuffle down the all-too-familiar path. There just wasn't enough time for her to recover between encounters.
The end was near, and she even considering the fact that maybe, just maybe, something had changed. Things had been different this whole timeline, but as a small, timid voice called out, she knew it would not be so. Her grip tightened on her dagger.
Her grin slowly grew.
Frisk swiftly turned around and met Monster Kid's gaze, tilting her head to the side as she stared with bright red eyes. He didn't even catch the warning signals, running over to her with a sheepish smile. "YO!"