The weekend came quickly, which was a bit rare, though it was possibly teenage adrenaline which made the wait more bearable. Zakiko held Frisk's hand as she wore her backpack that had anything they might need during this hike. Frisk still felt unsure about this, but Zakiko reassured that it would be fine and told her younger sibling to stop being such a baby.
"Well, well, well," Vee smirked. "Nice of you to join us at the cut-off, Z."
"Heh, no biggie," Zakiko chuckled bashfully at the bad girl of her school who was a good friend of hers. "So, you girls wanna do this thing or what?"
"Oh, we are," Porsche smirked. "This should be fun. I'm sure this is just a silly little bedtime story that Ms. Rose told us for funsies. Let's climb this thing."
Zakiko gulped a bit while looking at how high up Mount Ebott seemed before facing her sibling. "C'mon, Frisk, let's go." she then said.
Frisk looked just as scared, but faced away from Zakiko as they began to trudge up the mountain together. It was nearly the crack of dawn when they decided to meet up. Zakiko smirked as she looked ready to kick any monster butt that they would happen to cross their path, even though any monsters that were about were stuck underground. Zakiko thought of them as suckers and fools as did her friends who told her to feel the same way and she wanted to keep her friends, so whatever they believed in, she believed in.
It took quite a while as they climbed up further and further. Zakiko tried to pass the time by singing to herself about what Ms. Rose said in school as Vee and Porsche led the way, both with greedy and scummy smirks on their faces. Frisk always thought of their sibling's friends as not real friends, but then again, what would they know what friends are like? They've never really had any friends due to being so shy and quiet around new people and all they had in life.
"You guys should go on ahead," Porsche spoke up. "I might trip and break a nail."
"...Seriously?" Zakiko deadpanned. "That's a little petty, don't you think?"
"Oh, petty?" Porsche huffed. "Aren't you our friend?"
"I am!" Zakiko panicked instantly. "We are friends!"
"Of course you are," Vee smirked. "Then you should go on ahead of us."
Frisk seemed to shake their head at their older sister.
Zakiko looked down before bending down to their height. "Frisk, it's okay," she then said. "This is no time to play 'Chicken'. Don't you want me to keep my friends."
Frisk gave their sibling a long look at that question.
"Well, fine," Zakiko scoffed. "If that's how you're gonna be, then you can wait here for me."
Frisk looked a little sad at that, but they decided to stay put as that seemed like the smarter thing to do. Zakiko soon walked on ahead of Porsche and Vee and the three teenagers walked off together. Frisk put their hands to their mouth.
"See? Fine! Totally fine!" Zakiko told Frisk. "What could possibly go-" she then started to ask before gasping as she felt slippery before she cried out and began to fall down into the mountain edge.
Vee and Porsche looked a bit wide-eyed at that, though they didn't seem to try to help Zakiko. Frisk, however, looked scared and found themself going after Zakiko, though their left foot got caught in a broken root which began to make them trip and fall right after Zakiko. The two siblings then began to fall a very long way down and there didn't seem to be a way back up as the two landed face-first underground, though a big patch of yellow flowers broke their fall.
"Are they dead?" Vee wondered.
"Does it matter?" Porsche replied.
Many, many, many miles down underground...
"Ugh... My head..." Zakiko groaned as she rubbed her head before looking around. "Huh? What happened?"
"We fell." Frisk stated obviously.
"Thanks for the newsflash, Captain Obvious." Zakiko deadpanned.
"Well, you asked." Frisk retorted, defensively.
"I guess we're underground, but how do we-" Zakiko started to ask before she remembered what Ms. Rose told her and a bunch of other students in school. "There's no way out... THERE'S NO WAY OUT!" she then began to panic and started to hyperventilate. "I can't stay down here! I have a life! I gotta just! Just! Just! WAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Frisk then slapped their sister in the face to calm her down.
"Thanks, Frisk, I needed that..." Zakiko said, slowly calming down. "But either way, we gotta get out of here."
"Well, panicking is not gonna do anything," Frisk advised. "You always told me that, remember?"
"Yeah, I remember..." Zakiko sighed as she rubbed her face a bit from the slap. "I guess we better get up and look for some help."
"It beats sitting here and doing nothing." Frisk shrugged.
"All right, let's go," Zakiko replied as they walked together with her holding her hand out. "Come here."
Frisk took Zakiko's hand despite what happened before they fell and they soon walked all around. No one seemed to be around for a while before a yellow flower popped its head out from the ground and it seemed to have a face.
"Whoa!" Zakiko gasped as she saw the face while standing closely with Frisk as some bouncy music started to play.
"Hi, my name's Flowey! I'm your new best friend~" The flower began to greet them. "Welcome underground! Looks like you're new, Well, lucky for you guys, I can show you around!~"
"Sounds good to me." Zakiko remarked with a small smirk.
"Lots to do, so much to see, Spread the LOVE be friends with me, Friends are made with love, LOVE's spread through pellets, here I've got a few!" Flowey beamed warmly at them. "Catch them, why don'tcha? Catch all that you can!~"
Zakiko and Frisk shrugged at each other as they tried to get what was called "friendliness pellets" as it sounded so sweet and promising.
"Run into them, you fools!" Flowey then added.
"Wait, what?" Zakiko asked before she and Frisk were suddenly struck by the pellets as they suddenly looked hurt.
"Feeling woozy? Good, you're dumb!~" Flowey began to mock them right then. "You fell down, now I'll have fun!~" he then looked evil and fiendish. "Down here, there's one rule, KILL or you'll be KILLED, a lesson you'll soon learn, Level's of Violence, That's my kind of LOVE! Spread when I slash and burn!~"
"What the heck, man?" Zakiko groaned as she held onto Frisk protectively. "What did we ever do to you?"
"Take heart, guys, You met your end, Falling to your true best friend!~" Flowey sang evilly as he looked like he was going to kill them right then and there. "I will not bow down, I will not suffer, I will not ever cry! This is the end of your very short path! Toodle-loo, bozos! DIE!~"
Zakiko and Frisk held each other fearfully and looked very miserable as the "Friendliness Pellets" began to close in on them as this looked like the end. Not just to their new journey, but to their young and undeserving lives. However, before anything bad could happen, something soon sent the flower and pellets away and the flower let out a shriek of being hit.
"What a terrible creature, torturing such poor, innocent youths~" A warm and soothing voice cooed.
"Mom?" Zakiko muttered a bit from how sweet and happy the voice sounded before looking over to see a goat woman with Frisk.
"Ah, do not be afraid, my children," The goat woman cooed, sounding a lot like a loving mother. "It is I, Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins!"
Frisk and Zakiko soon stood up as they felt attached to this woman already even if they had just met her. It seemed very nice to see an adult who was very comforting and supportive of them, even if she was a monster from the underground.
"Oh, dear children, you've fallen down~," Toriel began to soothe them from their fears. "It's dark and there's no one around to guide you through the dark, But please don't you worry your little heads, I'll be here to guide you along, Right here by your side, through the maze, and teach you the way~"
Zakiko wiped her eyes a bit as Toriel soon reached out, patting Frisk on the head gently and lovingly.
"Just take my hand, don't be afraid~," Toriel sang as she reached her hand out for Frisk then. "It has been so long since a human has come by here, You two remind me of love I'd once known."
"You could say that I know the feeling." Zakiko said, a bit tearfully.
"Please do not cry, it will be all right, I promise." Toriel smiled warmly at her, but took out a hanky for Zakiko.
Zakiko began to dry her eyes and blew her nose as she felt so emotional over what was happening to her and Frisk right now.
"Listen well, my dear children, you're going to grow up and learn all that~," Toriel continued to soothe them. "Life will teach you, your mother is always so proud, and you will never leave me!"
"Why would I want to?!" Zakiko asked while nearly bawling.
"Here you two will stay, never will you be afraid, here with me~" Toriel soon continued. "You've fallen down, now get up! The underground isn't such an awful place to live, peacefully together and who would need to see the light of day?~"
Frisk and Zakiko soon followed behind Toriel as Zakiko felt a warm and loving sensation in her heart that she felt like she hadn't felt in a very long time.
"Oh, my children, bathed in light, I know that you're scared, that you've fallen down, but Toriel will spare your lives~," Toriel smiled warmly as they soon smiled back as she led them through the ruins. "Come, my children, let's move on and live in my world and just maybe you could teach me, how you stay determined and strong~"
Frisk and Zakiko continued to follow after Toriel. However, Frisk playfully crinkled through the leaves for a little bit. Toriel giggled, amused by how cute that looked while Zakiko put her hands in her hoodie pocket before they continued to get to know the ruins. This was truly where the story began. They would learn about meeting new monsters and some puzzle-solving skills in their sudden new adventure. The monsters had to wonder if these humans would make friends or just kill them all? After all, in this world it was kill or be killed like Flowey had said. They never knew when an angel would fall.
They would love to make it out of the ruins themselves, but these requests and wishes would just fall on deaf ears. Zakiko and Frisk really enjoyed their time with Toriel so far as she really felt like the mother they desparately needed back home. Frisk and Zakiko were warned by Toriel as they got adjusted to their new surroundings that felt too good to be true. Almost like a dream. Even some things that didn't normally talk would talk to them, such as rocks who had certain ways they liked to be moved. A crying ghost was soon shown which made Frisk and Zakiko look very curious.
"My children, many monsters you meet in the underground may wish to harm you or block your way," Toriel advised. "But if you merely talk to them, you will find there is no conflict you cannot escape!"
"That sounds like great advice." Zakiko remarked.
"That's what I'm here for." Toriel smiled warmly.
Zakiko smiled back as she felt very touched.
"Go ahead!" Toriel soon urged a bit. "Try it out on this ghost!"
Zakiko and Frisk soon approached the ghost in the middle of the ground who seemed to be pretending to be asleep.
"You're... Not much of a talker, are you?" Toriel asked the ghost oddly. "That's alright, I'm sure you-"
"DIE, GHOST!" Zakiko soon called out as she ran towards the ghost with a stick.
"My child, what are you-" Toriel began to ask Zakiko before panicking.
"Kill or be killed!" Zakiko glared. "I'm not letting some monster get between me and this adventure!"
"No! Put down the stick!" Toriel cried out as Zakiko began to hit the ghost with the stick. "Ghosts are not for hitting!"
"Oh..." The ghost groaned a bit as that hit him somehow. "Aw, jeez..."'
"My child!" Toriel cried while Frisk stood there blankly.
"A-A-Am I in your way?" The ghost asked them then. "Uh, hey... Hey, I'm sorry. My goodness... Yeah!"
Zakiko then suddenly stopped.
"Guess I look funny, I'm not real sunny though, no, no, no~," The ghost spoke to them. "Just pluggin' along, listening to the radio, I'm fine, excuse me, I'm sorry."
Frisk seemed to give the ghost a patient smile regardless of what their sister had done to him.
"Do what you gotta do, don't mind me, I'm not a barrel of sunshine~," The ghost replied through tears. "Even my tears are crying, Guess I'm in for a beating, Don't mind my frown, I'd just weigh you down, I'd just waste your time~"
"Oh... Now I feel bad." Zakiko said, biting her lip as she saw that certain other monsters had other feelings than murder or bloodshed.
"Incorporeal, sorry Toriel, I can barely rhyme~," The ghost continued to sing, sounding severally depressed with his existence. "Don't waste your life, Your pain and strife on a guy like me, Please stop it, slick, Put down that stick, Don't lower my HP~"
Zakiko looked at the stick and soon hit the ghost again, but stopped right again.
"I'm just sitting here, watching you try to hit me to be polite, you can't kill a ghost~," The ghost then told them. "We're kinda incorporeal... Yeah!"
"...I'm sorry," Zakiko said to him. "See, we're kinda new here, so we weren't really sure what to expect."
"It's okay, I guess," The ghost replied. "I'm just not really feeling up to it right now."
"You remind me a little of someone from school," Zakiko remarked. "I'm sorry, uh, Mr. Ghost?"
"I'm Napstablook," The ghost replied. "Look, I'm in your way. Why don't I just go?"
"Oh, no, please, wait, don't-" Zakiko tried to stop him, but it was too late as the ghost vanished from thin air. "...Leave. Oh, my..." she then pouted.
"You should not have hit him," Toriel told Zakiko. "That was not very nice."
"I-I'm sorry..." Zakiko sighed. "I wasn't sure what else to do."
"For now, you are forgiven," Toriel replied. "You have so much to learn about being underground. Do you understand?"
"Yes, ma'am." Zakiko replied as Frisk nodded firmly.
"Good," Toriel nodded. "I suppose you've both done enough for one day. Please, allow me to bring you home."
"Home?" Zakiko repeated curiously.
"Well, I suppose I cannot hide it any longer," Toriel said before she began to lead the way. "Come, small ones!"
"...I'm not small." Zakiko pouted before she followed Frisk and Toriel, passing by an old tree that had more leaves all around it like in the season of Autumn.
They soon came across such a cute and tidy house which made them feel both comfortable and determined. This was where Toriel lived of course.
"Do you smell that?" Toriel asked them as they came inside and were welcomed by a sweet smell. "Surprise! It's a butterscotch-cinnamon pie! I thought we might celebrate your arrival. I want you to have a nice time living here."
"It looks so comfortable and sweet..." Zakiko said softly and emotionally as she looked around with Frisk.
Toriel smiled warmly at that. "Come, my children, Stay with me, I'll protect you and your dreams, Rest, my children, 'Neath the tree, Like its branches, Reach for me, so let me keep you safe and warm, here in my arms, Think of the life that we could live, the joy that it could give, Even if we're worlds apart, Stay in my heart, Some day when you have a choice to make, I hope you'll think of me~"
Frisk was brought to their very own bedroom with a comfortable bed and some stuffed animals. Toriel then decided to let Zakiko stay in her bed for the time being as both siblings looked exhausted from the long journey so far.
"I see you have a cell phone," Toriel soon said to Zakiko. "Could I give you my number in case of an emergency?"
"Well... I guess that would be alright," Zakiko smiled sleepily as she slid her sneakers off and took her hoodie off to get comfortable. "I'm really sorry about that ghost."
"Oh, I'm sure he'll be back," Toriel smiled back as she added her number on the phone before giving it back to Zakiko. "You get some rest and we'll share some of that pie later."
"Thanks... Mom..." Zakiko said softly as she took her phone back and put it on the nightstand beside her as she yawned sleepily. "See ya..."
Toriel smiled warmly before she turned the light out and shut the door to let Zakiko get some sleep.
Zakiko was about to drift off to sleep before she dug in her hoodie pocket and brought out a memento from back home and looked tearfully at it. There appeared to be an adult woman inside the photograph who strongly resembled Zakiko and Frisk as she felt her heart nearly breaking with tears in her eyes.
"Mom..." Zakiko said softly as she felt so comfortable around Toriel as she looked emotional at the photograph too and what had just happened to her and Frisk, heaving a shallow sigh. "It's hard to remember, Summer or winter, When she hasn't been there for me, A friend and companion, I can always depend on, My mother, that's who I mean~," she then started to sing to herself as she hugged the photograph before crying herself to sleep. "I've taken for granted, Seeds that she's planted, She's always behind everything, A teacher, a seeker, A both-arms-outreacher, My mother, that's who I mean~"
There were memories of a very young Zakiko shown with a woman whose face that wasn't shown, wearing a purple/pink dress with a white apron with long dark brown hair who seemed to be playing with, eating with, and spending time with the teenage girl who was much younger than she was now.
"Wish I could slow down the hands of time, Keep things the way they are, If she said so, I would give her the world, If I could, I would~," Zakiko continued to sing as she had the memories before she was back in Toriel's bed while gently stroking the photograph. "My love and my laughter, From here ever after, Is all that she says that she needs, A friend and companion, I can always depend on, My mother, that's who I mean, My mother, that's who I mean, That's who I mean~" she then finished before she closed her eyes and began to fall fast asleep.
A/N: Yeah, the last song is from Alvin & the Chipmunks, but I thought it would be nice to let you guys get to know Zakiko a little better. Hope you liked this chapter as much as you liked the first one. Remember, Read & Review, I'll be watching :P