Waterfall - Part 4

Frisk's entire body was practically on autopilot. She ran in any direction through the maze of trees following Flowey's improvising guide. She ran through bushes and foliage, jumped over branches, all while carrying Flowey on her back and MK in her arm. The kid was surprisingly light, about the weight of a large pillow. Not that she would've cared either way.

Behind them, they could hear the hunting horde in the distance. Umbla's gun pierced through the trees to their sides, roaring like lighting, while orders and obscenities came as disorganized yells.

Frisk didn't know where the blue forest would end. Her legs began to ache, but the paths kept expanding and the trees never-ending. MK lay shuddering in her arms throughout all of it, like a scared infant huddling by its mother.

But then suddenly, after running for god knows how long, the voices and the noises suddenly began to grow fainter, until they were gone entirely.

"What?" MK asked, looking over Frisk's shoulder. "Are they giving up?"

There was an obvious hint of hope in their voice. Frisk, still running, turned her head around to check. There was no sign of any of the hunters like they had all vanished.

"H… holy shit!" Frisk exclaimed and chuckled with joy. "It's true, they-"

The ground under her had vanished suddenly.

"Oh, shit!" Frisk exclaimed.

She ran down the slide, dropping MK from her arms. They tumbled down below her like a barrel, as she ran through the mud that splashed on her face. Then the bottom came rushing forward, and she closed her eyes on the impact, which came like a grassy boulder.

When she opened them, she was laying on the blue coloured grass, mud all over her face and hair. She looked up, seeing MK laying on their back and Flowey laying face down, having leapt from her backpack on the impact.

"Guys!" Frisk exclaimed. "Are you…"

She panted tiredly.

"Are you two alright?"

"Y-yeah," MK said.

"Ugh, just about, " Flowey answered grumpily.

Frisk forced herself back on her feet and walked towards MK. She reached out towards them, pulling the kid up by the shoulder with one arm.

"C'mon, kid," she said.

"Thanks," MK said. "But I think I can walk by myself now."

"You're sure?" Frisk asked.

"Pretty much," MK answered "But still. Thanks for the help."

Unsure, Frisk let go of her hold on them. They stumbled momentarily but quickly got back on track. Flowey, meanwhile, pulled himself upright with his vines, shaking his petal of dirt.

"Gah, I can walk by myself too," Flowey said.

"Heh, I doubt that," Frisk said, smiling.

"Just watch," Flowey replied.

As he began to crawl clumsily, Frisk stretched her back, feeling the cracking in her muscles.

"Ugh," she said tiredly. "Yeah. I'm definitely out of practice."

"Yo, I can't believe we actually got away," MK said.

"No, this isn't right," Flowey said with suspicion. "They… they would never give up so easily. Something's up."

Suddenly, they heard the rustling in the trees above them.

"Oh that doesn't bode good," Frisk said.

"What now?!" MK asked anxiously.

"Erm, across this bridge!" Flowey said.

He pointed towards a makeshift bridge in the distance, laying over a wide chasm. It looked pretty unprofessionally made, looking more like a pile of planks nailed together. But with the uncomfortable sense of the nearby presence, Frisk couldn't find a good enough reason to protest.

Frisk and MK followed Flowey, the kid slightly behind Frisk. She felt a rush of anxiety as she stood in front of the bridge, but she took a step anyway. The wooden board creaked uncomfortably, and so Frisk began to walk carefully, arms spread out like it was a tightrope. Unable to face the urge, she looked down between the cracks and saw a deep abyss with a distant, dark bottom covered with pointy rocks. It wasn't until Frisk was halfway through when she realized she couldn't hear any creaking behind her. She stopped and turned, seeing MK standing in front of the bridge, nervous.

"Kid?!" Frisk called out. "What's wrong?!"

"I… I can't do this!" they answered. "I'm scared of heights!"

"Hey, hey, kid!" Frisk called with encouragement. "It's alright! Just one step at a time, ok?! To start with!"

A sudden thunk sound came behind her, on the other end of the bridge. It sounded like something had fallen from a tree. Something heavy.

She saw MK's expression turn to utter horror as they slowly backed away, staring at whatever was now behind her.

Fearful, Frisk turned back around.

"Oh… shit!" Frisk exclaimed.

A tall, skinny humanoid entity with a monkey tail and monkey skull mask guarded the other end of the bridge, squatting. Frisk recognized him from Snowdin. It was Willy.

He calmly rose up on two legs and stared at them, coldly, doing nothing else as if waiting for them to approach him first.

"Get back!" Flowey exclaimed. "It's an ambush! GET BACK!"

Frisk quickly turned back around once, but only to see Umbla landing on the ground with a heavy thump. She landed right in front of MK, who froze as they stared up at the monstrously large warrior. On her shoulder, Vissie the goblin was perked atop like a parrot, holding herself stable by Umbla's large chains, and holding what looked like a sawed-off, double-barreled shotgun covered with some strange, ornamental decor in her other hand. MK barely had time to react before Umbla's arm came forward, covered in metal chains, and grabbed them fully in her palm.

"FRISK!" MK cried out, fearful.

Umbla quickly began wrapping the chain around his armless body as she held them by her grips.

"MK!" Frisk called back. "Let them go, you fucker!"

Umbla just looked at her and chuckled mockingly. Then as if to mock her further, she held MK up in the air by the metal chains, dangling them like a sack. They flailed their feet around helplessly, tears forming in their eyes.

"FRISK, FLOWEY, HELP!" MK cried.

Eldur The Drake walked from behind the fat monster, carrying a large black sword with spikes on the edge of the blade. The wideness of the blade made it look more like a meat cleaver. The warrior took a few steps onto the bridge before Flowey slapped him away with his vines like they were whips.

Eldur stood in place as he slashed and parried the strikes, while Flowey grunted with much effort.

"Stay back, you dingus!" Flowey said. "Frisk, help me! I can't hold him off much longer!"

Frisk, feeling utterly powerless, frantically looked at Flowey and Eldur fighting, and then immediately turned towards MK, who struggled as they dangled in mid-air. There was only one choice of option left, Frisk thought.

"Gah, FUCK!" she exclaimed.

She quickly pulled her knife out, not even bothering to mentally prepare herself.

Unfortunately, just as she was about to strike herself, a sudden heavy force struck the blade, causing it to fly out of her hand and vanish down into the dark pit below. The sudden force was a pain to her wrists, and Frisk winced, grasping it.

"BOOYAH!" Vissie exclaimed with ecstasy. "Nice try, little shit sucker!"

The goblin lady was holding aiming the shotgun towards Frisk's direction with smoke coming out of the recently fired barrel.

"HAHAHAHA, WHAT EVEN WERE YOU PLANNING TO DO WITH THAT FREAKING PENCIL?!" Vissie exclaimed. "POINT US TO DEATH?!"

She was laughing so hard it seemed she was going to fall off Umbla's shoulder, who laughed heartily as well in a booming voice.

Now, there was only one course of action Frisk could pull. She looked down at the pit below, the black, gaping maw of some dark nightmares. Unable to look at it anymore, Frisk closed her eyes before preparing to throw herself off.

But then, a cold hand grabbed her wrist after she made just one step of the planks. She turned and saw the skull-masked monkey monster gripping her, pulling her back up.

"Let go of me, you chicken shit!" Frisk exclaimed angrily.

Willy said nothing, just stared and moved without emotion. Frisk tried to pull away and reached her loose arm out down towards the crevice as if she could grab it. She was then yanked into the monkey's grasp, who placed his other arm over her throat. Frisk tried to fight with the loose hand, flailing it around, but she couldn't reach him.

Frisk looked at Flowey, her companion, who was still loose, flailing his extended vines, pushing away anyone that came close, and a horrible idea dawned on Frisk.

"Flowey!" Frisk called out with nervousness.

"Frisk?!" Flowey cried out as he turned around, looking exasperated.

His expression turned to that into fury as he saw Willy holding her.

"Grrr, let her go!" he cried.

"Flowey…" Frisk said. "It's… it's no use! You know what you have to do!"

"What?!" Flowey replied.

He looked at her for barely a second before he realized the implication. And he looked horrified.

"No…" he said. "No, no, NO!"

"Flowey, please!" Frisk begged. "If you can think of another way, then give it to me right now!"

Flowey stared at her, the conflict clear on his face.

"I'm… I'm sorry for this…" Flowey said sorrowfully.

"Don't worry," Frisk said and smiled reassuringly. "Remember? It's not a big deal. Now do it."

He squinted his closed eyes as if trying to wake from a nightmare. Frisk closed hers as well, preparing for an impact and the eventual waking. But then, nothing happened.

Frisk opened her eyes and saw that Flowey's vines had faded as he stared at the ground, looking aghast.

"I-I can't do it!" Flowey answered, sounding out of breath. "I… I'm sorry, Frisk, but I-I can't!"

"Flowey!" Frisk cried out. "It's alright! I'll just-"

Her focus was interrupted by the loud, slow clapping of armoured hands. Flowey's expression turned into pure horror as if he witnessed something unfathomable. Umbla moved to the side, revealing, to Frisk's horror, him standing there behind her, clapping his hands smugly. Mickey.

"Good job, guys," he said encouragingly. "Another hunt well done."

"How many souls is that, boss?" Eldur asked.

"I dunno, three?" Mickey answered. "Kinda lost count, to be honest."

"How… how did you know exactly where they were, boss?" Simon asked, who was just tailing behind Mickey.

"Heh, simple, recruit," Mickey said. "I just followed this… sensation I just got. Call it an epiphany or clairvoyance that pointed me here. Don't know what it is. But hell, I ain't complaining."

Frisk had a feeling what that sensation was and Flowey looked sure as well, as they looked down at the ground in melancholy.

"Don't," Frisk whispered. "Don't blame yourself."

"Wait, isn't that the same thing you felt back in Snowdin?" Eldur asked.

"Huh, now that you mention it," Mickey answered.

"What about those other two, boss?!" Vissie asked, sounding uncomfortably excited.

"Other two?" Mickey asked, sounding surprisingly confused. "Don't you mean "other one"?"

"No, I mean the kid and the flower," Vissie explained.

Mickey turned around as if to look for someone. Then he eyed the bridge and saw Flowey. He stared at the living flower for a moment as if hypnotised, and Flowey turned around to see him as well. Frisk saw her companion grab his "chest" as if he was having a heart attack. It was obviously due to the immense pulling sensation.

"What the hell?" Mickey said, his smug voice gone entirely. "Wait. That's not-"

Umbla laughed excitedly, interrupting his words.

"Didn't you read the message, V?!" the fat monster asked with excitement. "Boss-man said we can do whatever we want with the leftovers!"

She began to squeeze the chains tighter, making MK gasp for air.

"NO, LET THEM GO!" Frisk cried out with horror.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Mickey said, raising one finger towards Umbla. "That's enough, ok?"

Umbla immediately stopped the squeezing and MK immediately breathed quick breaths.

"But you said-" the large monster protested.

"I know what I said in the email," Mickey said sternly. "But there's been some change of plans. Sorry."

"Hmmph," Umbla muttered, annoyed.

She let go of the chain and MK fell on the ground with an audible thunk.

"So what the fuck do we do about this kid?!" Vissie asked.

"Give me a moment," Mickey answered. "I'll have a chat with them."

He walked up to MK, who, laying on their side, shivered once they saw his approach. He even tried to back away.

"Shh," Mickey uttered.

Mickey knelt down on one knee and looked them straight in the eyes while MK tried to look away.

"What's your name, kid?" Mickey asked.

MK said nothing.

"C'mon," Mickey said calmly. "Don't be shy."

He spoke like a teacher trying to calm down a guilty kid caught in trouble. That calmness was very unnerving to hear, coming from him. It was enough to make MK finally give him eye contact, although fearfully.

"M… Max…" MK answered, sounding reluctant. "My name is Max or MK and I'm an enby."

"Huh," Mickey said. "Alright, Maxie. Mind if I call you Maxie?"

"I… alright," MK answered nervously.

"Ok, Maxie the enby," Mickey began. "How old are you?"

"T… twelve. Turning thirteen this winter."

"Hmm."

"You're… you're not gonna tell my parents about this? Please don't tell them about this."

"Heh, kid? Your parents might be the least of your worries right now."

MK's eyes lit up with fear as a certain realization appeared to have dawned on them.

"Are you… going to… kill me?" they asked, scared.

"That might depend," Mickey said thoughtfully.

"O… on what?" MK asked, sounding terrified to know the answer.

"Eh, maybe a couple of things," Mickey said. "Like… the mood of my comrades here, for example. What they wanna do with you. If they wanna do anything with you."

He looked around across his warriors, and MK did too. What horrible wants did they have under those masks, Frisk wondered. Looking at MK's expression, she was sure they were wondering the same thing as well.

"Also," Mickey continued. "I have never killed a kid before. Of course, there's a first time for everything, but… child murder? I always saw such things to be such a pointlessly cruel waste. You have so much ahead of you. So many decades and centuries, if not millennia. You want to see the sun, for example. Don't you?"

MK quickly nodded.

"Right," Mickey said. "Your future is not yet written. Your most important choices haven't been made yet, and your mind has yet to be fully moulded and matured. However, you know I can't just let you go. It's not that simple, unfortunately. You know too much. Seen too much. Hell, you're an accomplice to a wanted target. To this Francisca."

MK looked over at Frisk, and she saw the discomfort clear in their eyes.

"W… what do you want with her?" MK asked.

"That does not concern you," Mickey said.

"No, I meant… why do you want her?" MK pried. "Like, what did she do that was so bad?"

"You mean you don't know?" Mickey asked, sounding thrown off guard by their question.

He chuckled and MK looked at his eyes with worry.

"That girl," Mickey began, pointing at Frisk. "She's human."

"What?!" MK asked in disbelief.

"Yep, a human being from the surface," Mickey answered. "Just ask her."

MK's face became wracked with utter discomfort and confusion. They looked at Frisk, looking utterly perplexed.

"Is that true, Frisk?!" they called out.

Frisk looked back, feeling the discomfort swelling in her gut.

"Y-yes," Frisk answered, not able to look them in the eyes.

"Oh, my gods…" MK muttered. "Flowey?! Did you know?!"

"Yes," Flowey said, sounding unsure of how to feel.

"Why… why didn't any of you tell me?!" MK cried out.

Frisk finally managed to look at them and saw how they looked like they couldn't believe anything anymore.

"I…" was all Frisk could answer.

"Sorry about the bad news, Maxie," Mickey said. "Anyway, nice meeting you, but it's time I continue."

He stood up and headed towards the bridge. Frisk saw him stare at her, examining her with his bright, blue eyes as he approached. That cold, obsessive stare was enough to weaken her determination. But to her surprise, he only looked at her for a moment before his attention quickly turned to Flowey, who sat alone in the centre of the bridge, long vines spread out.

"Don't come any closer!" Flowey threatened. "I order you to stay where you are and make your warriors let them both go in an instant!"

Mickey stopped halfway across the bridge from him, his metal boots making the planks creak. Mickey stared at him calmly as he lit another green weed cigar with fire from his fingertips.

"Otherwise what?" he asked nonchalantly while extinguishing the small flame on his hand.

"Otherwise…" Flowey began. "I'll… I'll kill you all! I'll tear this bridge apart and throw you all down into this crevice if you don't let us go, right now."

"Well, why haven't you done so already, little flower?" Mickey asked, puffing green smoke. "Don't see anything stopping you."

Flowey paused a bit. It was clear to Frisk he hadn't a good answer.

Mickey looked at him for a moment, as if he was considering his threat seriously.

"I know you," Mickey said. "That presence. That pull you give off. You're the same flower from Snowdin, aren't you? I knew there was something weird about you. Didn't expect you to be the sentient type, though."

"Alright, look here-!" Flowey began with a stern voice.

"Why the hell couldn't I sense your soul back in the woods?" Mickey asked in a demanding tone before it turned to confusion. "Hang on. You don't have a soul? How?"

Flowey looked down, hiding his sadness from him under an expression of disgust. The mad ape walked a few steps closer to him as if to examine him up close.

"I see," Mickey answered. "Now I could ask you how you're functioning, how you're even alive. If that is what you are. But what I'm more interested to know is, what is this… connection? Is it some trick you're using? Magic? Some form of hypnotism? And why?"

"I…" Flowey began.

"Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute," Mickey said with realization. "I think I've seen you somewhere before. Before Snowdin, I mean?"

Great confusion formed on Flowey's face as he tried to wrap his head around that.

"Uh…" he began.

Before Flowey could finish, Mickey gave out a quick peal of audible laughter as if he just remembered an old joke.

"Holy hell!" Mickey said, sounding slightly amazed. "Guys, do you know who this is?! It's that flower guy from a few years back! Remember?! The one who had that amazing freakout, and screamed as he skittered towards those old abandoned ruins! Remember that!?"

As if on cue, a few of his Hunters began to chuckle alongside him.

"How the… how the hell did I not recognise you at first?!" Mickey exclaimed. "Oh my! The fucking wails you made, Jesus Christ! I should have guessed the moment I felt your presence it was you! Hell, thinking back, I seem to recall I had that exact same sensation all those years ago! That same pull! Didn't think much of it back then, though."

"What's he talking about, Flowey?" Frisk asked.

"I don't frigging know!" Flowey replied, agitated. "I… I can't remember."

"You don't remember?" Mickey said. "Well, that's a shame. Anyway, what are you exactly? You're not a monster, and you're definitely not a human. Are you a golem of some kind? Some sort of familiar? Or are you perhaps a ghost? Or maybe some living essence somehow trapped in a flower?"

Flowey did not answer. But that last suggestion wracked his face with unease and anger.

"God, little flower, you intrigue me so much," Mickey said. "What is your name again?"

"My name…" Flowey began, sounding hesitant and frustrated. "My name is… Flowey…"

Mickey snickered from that.

"Wow, really?!" he asked sarcastically. "Flowey as in flower? Fuck me. Your parents must've hated you."

Mickey obviously struck a nerve in Flowey, as his frustration turned into a look of pure anger. Still, Flowey seemed unable to bring himself to do anything about it, as if restrained by some invisible chains.

"Hey, hey, no offence of course," Mickey said. "Just a little jest, is all."

Then he pulled the cigar from his mouth and carelessly flicked it off into the abyss below.

"But I think it's about time I finally meet the guest of honour," he said.

He casually walked past Flowey, who stared at him like an angry deer in headlights. He shuddered as Mickey's boots lightly brushed over his vine.

"Look, mister," Frisk began. "Whatever you want-"

"I'm afraid you've got nothing to bargain with, Francisca," Mickey answered. "Seems you don't understand the state you're in."

He stood in front of her, examining her in Willy's arms like a butcher examining a specimen. He then pulled out her phone from his endless pocket and opened it up.

"Francisca… Esperanza Montgommero," Mickey said. "That's kind of a mouthful. Is "Montgommero" even a name? Shouldn't it be Montgomery?"

Frisk did not answer.

"Eh, just a thought," Mickey said. "Anyway, seems you were born in the town of Ebbot, Ireland. A child of Chinese and Mexican immigrants. And you're about 16 years old. Is that right?"

Frisk refused to answer that either.

"You have a lot of interesting photos on your device," Mickey continued. "Lots of people. There's what looks like a mother, a father I'm guessing, and a brother, I think? Now an interesting thing I noticed, is that the family photo, where you're just a baby, is only one with those two adults. Meanwhile, I can't find a single picture of any them anywhere else. Not even a solo pic, or a family vacation photo. Speaking of, there's barely any other adults in this gallery. That's unusual. Very unusual."

"Why the fuck do you care?!" Frisk finally asked, unable to hold in her annoyance anymore.

"Heh, sorry kid," Mickey said, mockingly. "I'm just curious, that's all. I think I can glean a lot from your life from this. Dead parents, presumably. What looks like a foster home. Or an orphanage. Frankly, it's no wonder you came down here. Your life must've been hard. Dare I say I'm kinda sympathetic?"

He kept running through her phone, while Frisk began to feel the annoyance turning into a rage. She closed her eyes momentarily, trying not to let it get to her. But it was hard.

"You don't know half of it," she muttered.

Mickey looked up from her phone and straight at her.

"Right, I don't," he said. "These are just photos and videos. No context or anything. They could literally mean anything."

Without looking, he threw the phone towards Simon, who just managed to grab it mid-air.

"Where the fuck are you going with all this?!" Frisk asked in a demanding tone.

Mickey looked at her like she just insulted him.

"I don't think you understood me properly in the forest," he said. "This could have been easy, y'know? I offered you a chance to come out peacefully, and you just kept hiding. It's alright, I get it. But the truth is, I'm not the bad guy you think you are."

"Yeah, right," Frisk muttered.

Mickey heard her but decided to ignore the remarks.

"Despite everything though," he continued. "I'm willing to forgive and forget. Even the fact that you slapped my face with, what was it? A branch? Whatever the case, I don't blame you for your acts of defiance. I would have done the same thing, given the context. But my men and women are tired. I doubt any of them are in a proper mood to fight that much at this point. However, if push comes to shove, they won't hesitate to get rough either way. And frankly, you don't have any choice right now. Except… on how you're willing to proceed. Are you willing to accept and, as they say, go gently into that good night? Or will you deny, and make the inevitable moment very painful?"

Frisk stared at him, at his metal mask of a blank mannequin face. The only sign of life were those piercing blue eyes that seemed almost unnaturally bright. Just looking at them was enough for her stomach to twist in anxiety.

In just several seconds, her brain became wracked with her brainstorming many possible paths. None she could think of, however, led her out of this situation. At least not peacefully.

Her thoughts went to Flowey and MK. What would happen to them? If she fought back, they would clearly suffer as a result. If she came willingly what then? Would Mickey let them go? And what would happen to her? What could they want with her?

The story of the rabbit journalist tortured to death came to her mind. If they were planning to pull even just one bit from that on her, she would rather be dead. It was only certain that resistance would inevitably lead to something on that level. Would the same count for Flowey and MK?

The skinny monkey wizard's hold on her began to noticeably sting. The metal of the gloves was pressing into her skin, leaving marks on her sweat-soaked arms.

Her eyes went to the cracks on the bridge. It was so close. If only she could have a moment, just a few seconds of freedom, and she would fix everything. Go back before everything went so terribly wrong.

It was then, in a moment of pure desperation, she had an idea. A bargain that needed only a moment's attention. There was no backup plan she could think of, so all hinged on it working. But Frisk thought it was worth a shot.

Mickey leaned closer, clearly impatient from waiting for answers. He was so close now that Frisk could feel his breath.

"C'mon, kiddo," Mickey inquired. "What do you say? Willing to make it easy for us? For yourself? It's alright. I can make you feel right at home in The Capital."

She looked at him, at his faceless metal mask merely a nose length from her face, with disgust, fear, and uncertainty. No matter the cost, Frisk knew failure with her idea would only bring the same result as resistance. If it failed, all would be over. She swallowed and prepared the right words.

"O-one condition," she began.

"I think you didn't hear me," Mickey answered. "You don't have anything to bargain with. You're coming with us, willingly or not."

"J-just hear me out," Frisk began. "Please. I… I know a lot of things about the human world. A lot of things."

"So?" Mickey asked.

"I… you monsters have been trapped here for a long time," Frisk continued. "You're pissed as hell and you want revenge. I get it. But the surface world has changed so much in the last thousand years or so. Hell, the earth isn't the same place as it was just 200 years ago. And if you didn't stand a chance like 3000 years ago, what makes you think you have a chance today? Today, there are countries or kingdoms as you call them filled with stockpiles of weapons that can literally obliterate the whole planet several times. And that's not a well-kept secret. That's just general knowledge anyone on The Surface can look up. B-but I can tell you more. Much, much more. I can prepare you properly. I can tell you about all the different countries and governments and… please. If you don't believe me, then you can just… you can maybe just hook me up with one of your magic gizmos and stuff and give me access to the entire freaking internet. The Surface version, I mean, and-"

"Alright, alright, I get it, kid," Mickey said. "No need to oversell it."

He backed away a bit, looking thoughtful.

"Your offer," Mickey said with consideration. "Honestly? It sounds tempting. But what's the condition? You said there was a condition, right?"

Frisk looked at Flowey, who despite his annoyed look, seemed to be almost frozen on the spot. Then she looked at MK, dangling from the chain in Umbla's arms. They looked like they had completely given up, only able to surrender to hopelessness.

"Ok," Frisk began and gulped. "I will come with you. Peacefully, and with no resistance. And I'll give you everything I can give you about the human world and more. Only… if you let them both go."

"Frisk?" Flowey asked with surprise.

"What, these two?" Mickey asked.

"Yes," Frisk stated. "They have nothing to do with any of this. Nothing to do with me. Hell, they didn't even want to be here. I practically forced them to come with me. Also, the entire freaking underground already knows about you guys. What you're capable of. Neither of them can spill anything people don't already know. But if you don't let them loose or, hell, lay a single finger on either of them, then the deal's off. For good. You can drag me kicking and screaming to your fortress or torture dungeon or whatever, but I will never give you a god damn thing. Not ever. At that point… you might as well just kill me."

"Hmm," Mickey muttered and stroked his masked chin thoughtfully. "You do know what you're offering, right? Tons of human knowledge in exchange for two kids? Not to mention, if what you say is true, you could be placing the entirety of humanity in danger with this."

"Yes…" Frisk answered. "I've noticed."

"You really don't care for humanity that much?" Mickey asked. "Hmm…"

Frisk noticed that sweat leaking down her face again, and hoped that wouldn't make Mickey take her offer less seriously and cause her plan to fail. Assuming that he was taking it seriously in the first place. He could be mocking her for all she knew, only pretending to consider it.

"Frisk?" Flowey asked, sounding concerned. "What are you doing?"

Before Frisk could think of how to answer him, Vissie the goblin, in her sneering, serpentine voice, began to chuckle. Not long after, that chuckle evolved into another of her howling, ear-piercing laughter.

"Are you fucking serious, girly?!" she asked smugly. "Of all the choices you can make in this bloody chaotic universe, are you seriously thinking that Mickey, of all fucking people, will actually, seriously, unequivocally-?!"

"Fine!" Mickey said and casually lit another smoke. "I'll accept your offer."

It was then that a large glimmer of hope grew within Frisk. She did not expect him to say that. It was clear no one did.

MK's face turned to a mixture of joy and worry, while Flowey looked like this was the last thing he expected to hear. The armoured warriors, despite being fully masked, Frisk could somehow tell they were just as taken aback.

"Seriously?!" Vissie asked, sounding more pissed off rather than surprised. "For the… UGH! I can't fucking believe it, Mickey! There's a fucking reason why none of my fucking predictions ever lead to you falling for obvious fucking baits like this! Because it's utterly moronic, especially for you!"

"She's right," Umbla called out. "If you're really that desperate for info, boss, just drag her away and we'll beat it out of her. Heh, maybe Vissie could-"

"Tortures are for punishment, Umbla," Mickey said without looking at her. "Not interrogations. As hard as it is to believe, torture is not a valuable tool if you want to learn something. You see, the human mind, and even the monster mind, is not rational. It's not able to think well under much pressure or pain, and thus people more often than not say the first things that come to mind, even if it's full-on bullshit. Just anything they can think of as long as the pain stops or lessens. She could tell us a bunch of half-truths and or lies, and we wouldn't know until it's too late. Do you get what I'm saying, Umbla? If this girl is gonna lie, she will lie. Torture or no torture."

"Hmph!" the large monster muttered grumpily.

"So… you'll let them go?" Frisk asked.

"Sure," Mickey said and shrugged. "Just as soon as I can trust you can hold your end of the bargain."

"And how do I prove it?" Frisk asked.

Mickey took the cigar from his mouth and flicked it off into the abyss. After that, he walked a few steps backwards to the edge of the bridge.

Frisk focus lit up as she sensed her opportunity coming much sooner than she expected.

"Just walk across," Mickey said. "Willy will let you loose, and you will walk."

"That's all?" Frisk asked.

She was finding it increasingly difficult to hold a stern expression.

"Yep," Mickey said. "Just walk across and… I'll set them free. No tricks or backsies."

Frisk couldn't believe it. Inwardly, she was ecstatic.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, BOSS?!" Vissie screamed with frustration.

"Trust me, Vissie!" Mickey answered, sounding annoyed at her. "I know what I'm doing."

Vissie backed away towards Umbla, placing her hands on her head with frustration. The large monster then proceeded to softly pat her on the shoulder.

It was then that doubts began manifesting. This couldn't be this easy, right? There had to be a trick Mickey was pulling on her. Some loophole she was missing.

Mickey nodded at Frisk's direction and Willy immediately dropped his grip on her. Frisk touched the marks his gloves left on her arm while the monkey backed a few steps away without removing his silent gaze off her.

"Well?" Mickey asked, his arms wide open, no weapon in hand. "You're coming?"

Frisk took one small step forward, hearing the board creak ominously. She looked down, seeing the pit between the cracks. Her exit.

At that moment, all worries faded. Whatever Mickey was planning, it was too late. So she looked up at him and gave Mickey a smug smile.

"You're a fucking moron," Frisk said.

With that, she opened her arms wide and let herself fall off the edge of the bridge.

"FRISK, NO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" MK cried out with shock.

Frisk felt the rushing air strike across her skin as she saw the bottom of the chasm closing up. She closed her eyes, prepping for impact. In a moment, this would all be over.

But then, something yanked her foot, forcing her eyes open wildly. She was hanging upside down, with the rocky bottom just in front of her eyes.

Nervously, she looked up at her feet and saw what held her. What looked like a large, wooden tree vine was tangled around her feet. She tried to shake it off, but the bark was too strong. She was in disbelief.

"What the fuck, Flowey!" Frisk exclaimed. "Why did you-!"

Then she looked at the bridge and saw that Willy, not Flowey, had a coiled vine made of bark coming from his open palm. A strange green serpentine strings came from his fingertips and spread through the vine, like green veins. Meanwhile, Mickey stood beside him, staring down and clapping his hands.

"REALLY NOW?!" Mickey yelled down at her. "DID YOU HONESTLY THINK I DIDN'T EXPECT YOU TO PULL THIS FROM THE START?! GOD, HOW… HOW STUPID DO YOU THINK I AM?!"

Frisk looked around frantically for something, anything that could kill her. Maybe a rock that she could bash on her head, although she hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Then she saw it. Her red-hued knife, just out of reach.

She tried to reach for it, but it was too far. She tried again. She believed she just had to reach a bit further, just stretch her muscles a little bit. Maybe she could swing on the vine and grab it, then slice her throat.

But then, she felt a pull on her knee, and both the knife and ground began shrinking from sight.

"No!" Frisk cried out. "No, no, no!"

She felt herself being raised as the ground faded further and further. Now the knife was no longer in even swinging range.

"Let me go!" Frisk cried out.

Exasperated, she looked up and saw Willy heaving her back up like an anchor with the muscle sense of a machine. Frisk trashed harder and screamed with frustration. It was no use.

A moment later, she was pulled back up and Willy held her tight in his grips. Having adjusted to no longer being upside down, she looked at Flowey, who seemed to be in disbelief, and then at MK, who looked like they couldn't comprehend her recent action.

Sorry guys, Frisk thought. I ruined it. I'm a failure.

"Not a bad try, kid," Mickey said to her. "Not bad."

Frisk tried to resist Willy's hold on her. She shook much harder than before. Then Mickey walked up to her and leaned down.

"But still…" he began, sounding on the verge of anger. "I really don't like the way you just-!"

Suddenly, Mickey clenched his fists and struck her. Frisk felt her front teeth break in half. The heaviness of his armoured fist was like a hammer to her face. The shock was enough to dull the pain.

"FRISK!" Flowey cried out.

"Frisk, eh?" Mickey asked with a sneer. "That's what I'm supposed to be calling you? Well, Frisk, that stunt you just pulled? Even though I had a hunch, that still really… really… pissed me off! Know why? Because I was genuinely starting to believe you. But then you went ahead and insulted my trust. And I really don't like it when people insult my trust!"

Frisk looked up at him, disgust on her face. As soon as he saw it, Mickey quickly struck her again.

This one hit heavier than the last, and a front tooth loosened. Frisk almost thought he broke her jaw for a moment.

"Stop it!" Flowey cried out, sounding angrier. "If you dare to lay one more hand on her-!"

"You'll what?" Mickey asked without looking away from her. "You'll pollinate on me? Sorry, but your friend needs to know her place!"

Everything grew so dizzy, and what tasted like iron filled her mouth. Frisk spat out some blood, and a loose tooth followed, falling into the abyss below.

"Boss, is that necessary?" Eldur asked with concern.

Frisk managed to look up at Mickey again. Despite the pain, she refused to give him the satisfaction of weakness, of fragility. Instead, she looked at him with anger and loathing while blood leaked down her mouth and chin.

"It is!" Mickey growled.

He raised his fist in the air to prepare the heaviest strike so far. Frisk closed her eyes, preparing for the pain.

"Let… GO OF HER!" Flowey screamed.

What happened next, Frisk could only absorb at the beginning as a barrage of loudness and chaos. First, a loud piercing wave of screeching noise manifested, causing most of the warriors to grasp their ears in pain. Frisk noticed she was pushed down onto the bridge, no hand on her. When Frisk opened her eyes, she saw that most of the warriors, including Willy, were busy grasping their ears in pain. Suddenly, several of them were pushed down on the ground as they were struck by dozens of pointy dagger-like objects that appeared suddenly in the air, pointing in all directions.

"The fuck is-!" Mickey began.

A large, thick pointy vine struck him, throwing him off the edge of the bridge.

As the ringing in her ear subsided, Frisk turned and saw Flowey. And he looked monstrously different. His mouth seemed incredibly pointy as if he had teeth with a black void underneath. His eyes followed suit as only a white dot remained in each of them over an inky emptiness, and they bent into an expression of pure, unfiltered rage.

"What the shit?!" MK cried out, perplexed.

Umbla, who dropped them carelessly on the ground like a sack of potatoes a moment ago, began stomping towards Flowey and the bridge.

She took only one step on the bridge before the first plank creaked and she broke through. Her hoof was now stuck in the hole, and Umbla began to wonder what she was thinking. When the large monster tried to pull herself out, Flowey slapped her with a large vine, knocking her unconscious immediately.

While that was happening, Frisk felt Willy's armoured hand grasp her shoulder. Without thinking, Frisk elbowed Willy in his stomach and then smacked him in his mask with the back of her closed fist.

"Hya!" Frisk cried out.

He let go of her and backed away without making a sound, clinging his face in pain, before tripping on one of Flowey's vines. Frisk felt an immense sting in her fists from the impact of metal, and a small amount of blood began leaking down her palm. She paid no heed to it, however, as she stood up and began to sprint away.

Flowey left the bridge and began unwrapping the chains around MK, while plenty of additional vines held Eldur and Vissie at bay, who slashed and trashed as hard as they could. Frisk began running towards Flowey to help, but then something gripped her leg and she stumbled down on her stomach.

Frisk looked at the sudden assailant. Hanging onto the bridge with one hand, and grasping Frisk's foot with incredible strength in the other, was a familiar masked primate figure. He stared at her with his blue eyes unblinking underneath a loose metal mask on the verge of falling off.

"So clever and resilient, Frisk!" Mickey said in a furiously growling voice. "But despite everything, despite your short-lived victory today, you will never escape! Mark my words, Francisca! Wherever you go, wherever you hide, we'll hunt you down! We'll find you and burn the path you walked on! And each passing day you're out of our grasp, the worse the suffering shall become! And not just for you, but anyone else who tries to stand in our way to protect you will suffer tenfold in comparison! Then in the end, once your determination has reached its limits, you'll learn that not even death itself can shield you from us! From The Hunt!"

Feeling immense panic, Frisk, almost instinctively, began to furiously stomp his masked face with her loose foot.

The monster paid no heed, while his mask loosened more of his face till it appeared to be literally dangling by a thread. Frisk could almost see his face now.

"FLOWEY!" Frisk cried out.

MK and Flowey quickly stopped and turned to her directions. The kid gasped while Flowey's black eyes turned even more furious as he saw the mad ape grasping her.

"Try to stand still, Frisk!" Flowey called out. "I'm going to-"

Finally, from the combined weight of the Frisk, Mickey and the two unconscious warriors nearby, the bridge snapped, and Frisk felt herself being pulled down into the abyss.

"FRISK!" Flowey and MK cried out in unison.

She reached her arm out as if she could grab something in the air. But all there was, was the air piercing her flesh. She barely had enough time to react before she slammed shoulder-first into the pile of rocks.

It was like someone had smashed her arm with a sledgehammer. The impact was so quick, and suddenly she could barely make herself scream from the pain.

The pain was almost incredible. So unfathomable that Frisk was sure she was going to die. She couldn't breathe. With horror, Frisk looked down at her shoulder, scared at what she would find.

"Oh god, oh god!" she wailed.

Her arm was almost dangling from her shoulder like a half-broken twig. She felt the blood inside of her rushing through the pieces, up her body. And finally, as the truth dawned on her, she screamed in agony.

Tears forming in her eyes, Frisk forced herself up on two feet. She tried to pull her bone back in place. It hurt so much, it was like she was ripping her own arm off. She collapsed on one knee, biting her bottom lip hard enough to make it bleed.

"GAH, MY LEGS!" Mickey screamed nearby with pain and fury. "MY FUCKING LEGS! LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID, YOU STUPID… FUCKING… WHORE!"

A pool of blood was forming just a few feet away. They leaked out slowly from an armoured pair of legs that had been twisted and turned beyond use. Frisk gagged at the sight.

Then she looked up and finally saw his face. His true face. The mask had loosened off in the fall and now lay somewhere else. She saw his bright blue eyes filled with hate, and his brown hair and beard. As for the rest, Frisk almost gasped in surprise.

She couldn't believe her own eyes, what she was seeing. Yet it explained so much. All the unknowns about him, all the vague descriptions and secrets, and why he appeared out of nowhere. Why didn't she figure it out sooner? In hindsight, it seemed so obvious.

"You're…" Frisk muttered in shock. "Y-you're a…"

All she heard of him in terms of look were merely lies tangled around a much more confusing truth. His fur wasn't shaved off anywhere, for he never had fur. What everyone said were tentacles for hair, was merely normal brown hair braided into a pair of dreadlocks. He was not an ape monster. He wasn't even a monster creature in general.

Underneath it all, underneath his mask and the lies, he was like her.

Mickey was a human being.


Author's note:

Oh, shoot! I almost completely forgot about the author's note.

Eh. Better late than never.

Anyway, so yeah, this chapter. I guess the first thing to talk about would be the very last scene, aka, the Mickey reveal. This was something I have been excited to reveal for a long, long time. God, it was almost kind of tempting to just reveal it early on, but yeah.
But at least one inquisitive reader had guessed it. I won't tell who of course, but instead of feeling annoyed that someone figured it out ahead of time, I was kind of excited actually. I laid a bunch of clues there, and the fact that someone was devoted enough to piece at least some of them together was a treat, so congrats person.
Honestly, I kind of feel like I could've done the reveal better. Hell, maybe I could've done the entire chapter better. Not really sure how, but it feels like something just doesn't add up. I'll probably just leave it as it is, for the time being though.

Now, the question is of course, how the hell did a human get so high up in the monster kingdom in the first place, and don't worry, that will be revealed. I have Mickey's almost entire backstory, how he got down there and how he ended up so powerful, fully formed in my head.

Speaking of, the next chapter will be an interlude relating to Mickey. I know, it might be weird to have an interlude in the middle of a chapter, but I just think it fits here. I was going to have it at the beginning, but then I realized it was almost impossible to write without giving away his identity, and writing it without anyone mentioning his name was really contrived, so I decided to delay it just a bit.
It's also a semi-sequel to the first interlude, the one with Gil. That's all I will say on that matter.