Chapter 1
Ruins

Soft. It was definitely soft.

Frisk never remembered her bed being this lush and comfortable. It had always been stiff, unjumpable, and unpleasant to a certain degree. After all, Frisk's bed had only been obtained from a garage sale in the neighborhood, but even her parents had tried to get it for an even lower price, two worn-out duvet covers included. The bed was springy in all the wrong places, but even then, she was still grateful to have something to lie onto every night.

Even her parents never had the luxury of what Frisk has.

She opened her eyes, and she was greeted by the sight of slightly tall, yellow buttercups. Immediately, all her senses were overwhelmed with the scent, sight, and touch (somehow, even taste?) of it. In her confusion, she sat up, and patted all around the patch for Mr. Buttercup.

More confusion. Her stuff toys were not around, and when she looked more, nothing resembled her room. There were no torn blue and pink wallpapers, no study table, and no faded wooden floorboards.

Just the yellow buttercups and the unsightly view of a place filled with rubble and ruins.

It was just now that she decided to take a proper look at where she was right now. The patch of flowers that she was on was the only piece of flora and nature around. If she peered through the faded darkness ahead, she could only see piles upon piles of cobblestone and sandstone rubble. It seemed like there used to be a huge structure that once stood, but with whatever happened, it just fell apart with time and erosion (that word was the only thing that she remembered from her Science class yesterday, because somehow, the spelling looked funny).

She looked up, and light peeked through a hole that was way above the ceiling.

The thought of her climbing up to the light was considered for a brief moment, but she quickly dismissed it. The walls were too steep for her to climb, and there weren't that much ledges for her to grab onto. Too dangerous, and she would rather explore another way out.

First order of business: she has to leave the comfy patch of flowers.

It sounds ridiculous, but she doesn't want to actually get up. The flowers were supporting her wonderfully, and it was a miracle that the flowers that were underneath her weren't completely crushed yet. Somehow, they look springy and firm.

No. She has to get out of here—who knows how worried her mom and dad are when they find out that she's missing?

That's if… if they even noticed that she was gone.

Okay, Frisk settles that she was not even in a rush to get out of this place. This was the perfect distraction from everything that was happening up there. The desolation, the isolation, and the destruction around did not even scare her in the first place. Rather, it was quite comforting that she was here. The tranquil and the quiet was enough for her to make her even want to stay. It seems very irrational and out of line, but it was what she had felt, seeing everything for the first time.

Before she can get too attached to the flowers, she stood up, patting her striped shirt and the back of her slacks. Quick adjustments to her boots were made before she headed east, to where most of the ruins lay in wait.

The only sounds around the place were her footsteps. It eerily echoed through the cavern, bouncing off the walls. At a distance, she sees an entrance to… somewhere. Two gigantic pillars stood tall at the gaping entrance, and as she squints as an attempt to peer further, all she sees is more darkness waiting for her.

Fear surges through her heart, but it was overridden by the determination to just get out.

She's ten years old. She can do this. After all, you can't spell Frisk without risk. She was born to explore.

Frisk walked through the entrance, looking back at the pillars with intimidation. They were astonishingly big, and she wondered how these things were even built inside. It was as mysterious as the Egyptian pyramids she had learned in her History class back in school, and she thinks if people ever knew this existed. No one in town seemed to even talk about this place.

But… wait. Frisk remembers a nursery rhyme that she used to sing. Something about falling into Mount Ebott, and humans winning a certain war.

A war with who…?

Her thoughts are interrupted when she had reached another bright spot in the cavern, much like the one at the flower patches. This time though, there was no patch. Just one golden flower, standing proudly in the middle of the light.

Curious, Frisk finds herself drawing nearer to this flower. She wonders if the petals were as soft as the ones in the other room, but before she could reach out—

"Howdy!"

Startled, Frisk takes several steps back. Did this flower just talk?

A face morphs on the flower, and it shows a happy, whimsical expression, like it—he? was happy to see Frisk.

?

"My name is Flowey. Flowey the flower."

When Frisk didn't react, Flowey takes in her confused and bewildered expression. He laughs, and his high-pitched giggles bounce off the cavern walls too.

"You're new to the Underground, aren'tcha?" Frisk doesn't answer, and he continues as he tilts his head to the side. "Golly, you must be so confused. Someone ought to teach you how things work around here!"

Flowey looks left and right, and seemingly pleased that he is the only person (entity?) around, he adds, "I guess little old me will have to do."

Frisk takes a moment to take in everything that was in front of her and everything that was said to her. Okay, a talking yellow flower that would teach her how everything works in this place. Okay. He seems friendly. Trustworthy. It had been a long time since Frisk made a friend.

Flowey breaks through Frisk's thoughts with a high-pitched question. "Ready?"

She nods.

"Here we go!"

When Frisk thought things wouldn't get any weirder, a floating bright red heart bursts forth from her chest, and everything turned dark all of a sudden. It was just her and Flowey, and this floating heart that seemed so foreign yet so familiar to her.

"See that heart? That is your soul, the very culmination of your being! Your soul starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV."

Frisk tilts her head, and Flowey seems to get the question.

"What's LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course! You want some love, don't you?"

This seemed to get Frisk on edge, and yet, her interest spiked through her cautious stance.

Love was something that she had always wanted to have. A hug from her parents. Maybe even just ruffle of her hair. A smile directed at her would be really nice too.

Love was something that seemed so abstract to her, but it was something that she would readily share to anyone who needed it. It was how she made some friends in school, before they closed her off the friend groups, just because of how her parents acted around. Because sometimes, their arguments would spark in public places, and oh, what a spectacle it was.

Frisk had never felt so alone.

Flowey picks up the long silence. "…Don't worry, I'll share some with you!"

Spinning white pellets surround Flowey. "Down here, LOVE is shared through... little white... friendliness pellets. Are you ready? Move around! Get as many as you can!"

Frisks moves her heart to get a hold on the pellets, and as she makes contact with one, searing pain strikes through her chest.

She falls down in shock, and her body freezes. Ow. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt.

Help.

Through the blinding pain and her tears, she looks up at Flowey, who is now wearing an evil smile. More confusion blurs her line of thought, and she could only muster:

Why?

"You idiot! In this world, it's kill or BE killed. Why would ANYONE pass up an opportunity like this!?"

More pellets materialized, and they now encompass Frisk, leaving her trapped. There was no way out.

With more hate than she could ever comprehend, she hears Flowey mutter through gritted teeth:

"Die."

The pellets move towards her, and she closes her eyes. What will she do? Is this really how she's going to go? She hasn't… she hasn't even said goodbye to her parents. No, how will they know that she still loved them, despite their lack of it?

If this was how love really was, bullets of aching pain and betrayal… it kind of makes sense. It's how her parents acted around each other anyways. Was that love?

Frisk wants none of it.

She feels magic on her skin, and she thinks it is the pellets drawing near—

As she closes her eyes tighter to brace for the pain, she hears a shrill EEK!

Her eyes fly open, and now she sees a towering goat-like creature walking towards her. She donned long-sleeve royal purple robes with an emblem in the middle. When she made eye contact, she felt the goat-like creature's worry and concern.

"What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth!"

The creature reaches out to Frisk, and she feels her shaking. "Ah, do not be afraid, my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down."

Frisk slowly felt better, and she looks up to Toriel. She must be the one healing her. "You are the first human to come here in a long time." A quick once-over was done and Toriel looks more concerned now. "Are you lost?"

In a heartbeat, she laughed for a bit. "Oh, of course you are. You have fallen, after all. Come, I will guide you through the catacombs."

Toriel stood up, and she offered her hand for Frisk to take. Toriel was gentle, and she felt that when she had held Frisk to check if she was all right. Despite her massive figure, and the fact that Frisk's head could easily cover her face, she was gentler than anyone else—everyone else, in the surface.

Despite Flowey's betrayal, it would be but common sense for Frisk to not trust anyone afterwards. But there was something in Toriel that was so caring, so maternal…

She took her hand, and stood up, and she allowed her to lead her to wherever Toriel wanted to go.

After a while, she had learned that in the Underground, puzzles were rampant, and they allowed her to get her to the next few rooms. It was mildly entertaining, and it was very interesting. Toriel had been patient enough to teach her how to solve a few of them and teach her what to do in every encounter that she may get through. Always be kind. Show mercy. Wait for Toriel to sort things out.

Seems very simple enough. Even though Frisk needed to get back to the surface, she was definitely warming up to this place. The Froggits seemed kind enough if you shower them compliments, the Whimsuns in the place were generally harmless.

Nothing was confusing for Frisk so far, until she saw bright golden shimmer that resembled a star just in front of Home.

Frisk asked what that mysterious object was as she looked up to Toriel for answers. But instead of confidence showing through her face, Toriel could only muster up confusion.

"My child, to which light were you pertaining to?"

Here, Frisk pointed, and leaned to touch the beaming star.

The world turned bright, and she was back again in her home. On the bed, covered with two massive duvet covers, embracing Mr. Buttercup and a bunch of other stuff toys.

"Frisk, I swear to God, you are going to be late for school, and I would HATE to think that we are wasting money on your lazy ass, even though that's EXACTLY what you're doing right now."

That was Dad. There was the blue and pink wallpaper, the study table, and the faded wooden floorboards.

She was back again in the surface.