Preface:This project has been in the works for a while. It's a co-written work by myself and my fiance which first began as a simple 'what if' situation when we started delving into the Undertale fandom. Now, it's spiraled into multiple chapters and is currently more than 100,000 words in. We've only recently felt confident enough to start uploading, as we wanted to make sure that we would have the drive to actually finish. I believe that point has been reached. So, I hope all the Undertale fans out there will find something to enjoy in this story.

Cheers,

ShiningwingX, and Kiki Rukata


Chapter 1: Recurrence


The following log is currently saved upon a certain terminal in a certain workshop existing outside of time. At the present, it has never been written… it should not exist.

It is written in the language of stars…

To the person I once was;

If you are reading this, let me first apologize for what I mean to put you through. This is not a burden that should fall upon anyone, and I feel horrible foisting it onto you. But believe me when I tell you this is the only way… the only hope to preserve what we've gained and to right the wrongs that we – that I – have committed. Please, read these words and know them well… because this is our only chance.

This is not how it was supposed to be. I swore once that I would never again use this power… a power greater and more terrible than that of any god. I was tired… after so many attempts, so many failures, and so many crimes, I'd done it. I'd found the true path, one final run to give them all the happy ending they deserved. That was enough… I could move on, knowing that I had finally atoned for all my sins.

Or so I thought… I did not foresee just how serious the repercussions were. This power I hold… this great, terrible power that should never have been mine: I should have known that it would have a higher price… though I could never fathom just how great a price it was. I thought that, despite everything, I'd managed to avoid the consequences of playing with this world like a toy. Every SAVE, every Load, and every Reset; I'd convinced myself they were just stepping stones to this point… that the end result justified the mistakes made on the path to reach it.

Oh, how wrong I was…

The situation has grown out of control. Nothing I've tried has been successful in preserving the stability of this timeline. The more it consumes, the more it hungers. There is nothing I can do to stop it. I've lost everything… even if I found a way to stop this, there's nothing left to save. I've failed, once again…

Maybe this is my punishment for everything I've done. To know my efforts to undo my mistakes meant nothing in the end. I remember someone else who once said something similar to me… I wonder if this is what he must have felt. You know what they say about other people and walking in their shoes… or maybe you don't. I'm not exactly sure where I learned that one.

Still, even now I can't give up, though I want to. I guess that's what happens when your SOUL is driven by Determination. It is my blessing and curse, my greatest strength and most crippling weakness all in one. And now it forces me to do the unthinkable. For our future, no, for all futures… I must go back on the promise I made. I have to play God once again.

If you are able to read this message, then by now you must surely have some knowledge of the thing I speak of. If not, you will learn soon enough. It will find you, sooner or later. I only hope that by that point you will be able to discover the means to succeed where I have failed.

This will be a great burden for you, I am sure. For both of you, I suppose.

I know it is a gamble in itself to place my faith in her words. I've never truly known her intentions… or even how she came to me in the first place. But I have no other options. Even if I ignored her it would change nothing about our current situation. If I am right, then perhaps there is yet a chance for us. If I am wrong, well… then there was never hope to begin with. I pray that the former proves true.

No one will have any memory of this… Maybe that's for the best. I wouldn't want them to see the things I have. I suppose that I – that you – will also have the illusion of ignorance, at least for a while. To impart this knowledge all at once would be crippling to say the least. No… control is necessary if this is to work. The seal will take care of that…

Please, do not blame yourself for the sins I have committed. Think of them as the mistakes of a foolish predecessor. Though they might haunt you, please know that you are not at fault. With this, I grant you a clean slate: an opportunity to do better than I had. This is my final Mercy to you.

One final thing. There is another that will likely hold some of the pieces. He's probably the one who showed you this message come to think of it. Trust him… he may be hard to read sometimes, but I can think of no greater ally or a better friend.

Well, time to go. There's nothing left for us here now… let's start the experiment.

* Quarantine process: Begin.

* Isolate timeline parameters.
* Stabilize chrono-arcane fluctuations.
* Compensate for margin of error.

* Location: summit of Mount Ebott, year 1437X, 8:34 PM.

* Subject A: Frisk
* Chronal recollection: Stage four memory seal.
* LOVE/EXP accumulation: Purge.

* Subject B: &^*r#
* Isolate essential data.
* LOVE/EXP accumulation: Purge.
* Current link with Subject A: Inhabitation
- Cleared
* New link with Subject A: SOUL Tether.

* All other subjects – purge vestigial memory, restore default.

I leave all our hopes with you, my untainted self… and with the one at your side. Let this world live on…

[TRUE RESET]

The mountain's silhouette loomed large above the surrounding forest, an inky colossus somehow blacker than the surrounding night. No stars shone above its peak. Their radiance had been impeded long ago by the clouds above which seemed content to leave the world in darkness. It was quiet, so quiet that it almost seemed empty. The only sound for miles was the gentle whisper of wind as it caressed the treetops, and the lazy sigh of leaves given in response.

And the footsteps.

A rhythmic crunch of dead leaf matter split the silence time and again. Its owner was a young boy, not even into his teenage years. He was small, even for a child his age, standing a good few inches shorter than most. He was also incredibly thin… frail even, with arms and legs like fragile saplings. His brown hair hung loosely from his head in desperate need of a trim. A few bangs dangled in front of his eyes which were little more than thin slits, invisible beneath shuttered lids. A blue, long sleeved shirt hung loose around his body stripped with thin lines of purple and a pair of blue jeans covered his legs ending at the ankle where his worn brown shoes began. An old bandage was pressed firmly against his dark-skinned cheek, no doubt nursing some forgotten wound.

He looked like he might shatter at the slightest gust of wind, vanishing without a single trace that he'd ever been there at all.

In his left hand he gripped tight upon a sturdy looking stick. It waved this way and that like the feeler on an insect, occasionally catching on the ground, bending and then wiggling free as he moved forward, taking care to step around whatever had snared it.

A deep growl echoed from high above, startling the boy and causing him to jump. The sudden action robbed him of balance and he fell, landing face-first into the dirt of the long disused path.

"Ow…" He pushed himself up with one shaky arm, his other still clutching the branch.

Once more, he stood, dusting a few specks of dirt and leaf-matter from his clothing with his free hand. That could have been worse. Gravity had robbed him of his footing and his pride all at once, but at least it had failed in taking his stick as well. The sky rumbled once again in annoyance of that fact, but he ignored it. Trudging steadily up the mountain's incline, and weaving his way onward.

The night had grown darker still when the clouds above decided they'd had enough. A crash of roiling thunder echoed throughout Mt. Ebott. Lightning split the sky, releasing its contents onto the world and the child below. A single raindrop struck him in the nose a split second before a million others followed its lead. Rain stung the back of his neck and washed away the sound of his footsteps. It felt like he'd suddenly walked beneath a waterfall. Yet still he walked on, faster now, relying on the stick to guide his steps. He couldn't go back… it was too late for that. He only hoped he could find shelter before the storm swallowed him alive.

On and on, he traveled, battling the countless aquatic blades that continued to strike him from all sides. Eventually, he felt the rain's force lessen ever so slightly in one direction. Using it as a guide he moved toward it, hand outstretched until eventually his fingers rested upon something rough and wet. Stone… a rock face most likely. And where there were rock faces there were often caves…

Shelter.

Driven by the hope of a way out of this storm, he followed along the rough stone, using his stick to guide him through the night and the storm which seemed to have allied in an effort to bring him down. Eventually he felt the precipice curve inward, and he followed, sighing as the force of the rain against his back became weaker and weaker before leaving him completely. He could still hear the countless droplets battering the ground outside but could no longer feel them against his drenched body.

He was inside.

A breath he hadn't known he was holding in escaped his lungs in a long sigh of relief. His clothes were heavy from the storm's fury but at least he'd found a place to rest while waiting for it to pass. He moved further inward, hoping to put as much distance between himself and the torrent raging outside. His footsteps echoed against the cavern walls, bouncing around and confusing his senses as he delved deeper within.

It wasn't until his foot met empty air that he realized the mistake. He gasped, and instinctively tried to retreat. Too late. His balance faltered once again and his body lurched forward. He twisted, grabbing blindly for an edge he could not see, yet found nothing. He fell. His shirt fluttered like a sheet on a clothesline as the darkness drew him deeper into its embrace.

'Is this… how it ends?' He thought, feeling the wind whipping his hair into his face. 'Just like that… one mistake. I'm… I'm gonna die, aren't I?'

Seconds passed… minutes… still, he continued to fall.

'Huh…is this all? I thought it would be scarier.' He mused. 'Will it hurt…? Maybe I won't even feel it. Yeah… that's a nice thought. Just like taking a nap. That's not so bad, right?'

Feet… yards… miles… still, he continued to fall.

'I wonder if anyone will remember me?' A small, humorless chuckle tumbled from his mouth. 'I doubt it. But that's alright… I don't want to be a burden on anyone.'

Further and further without end… still, he continued to fall.

'No… no that's not right… This isn't what I want!' His thoughts turned to panic, his cold skin shaking. 'No, this can't be the end! I don't… I don't want to die! Someone… please help me! I don't want to die…!'

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

The boy's voice rang through the darkness as he fell, a scream of desperation that filled the abyss. Tears streamed from his lidded eyes, falling upward as he was dragged further down. Terror gripped his heart, chilling it to ice as the inevitability of his own demise crashed against him like a wave.

Darker, and deeper… still, he continued to fall.

And then, suddenly, he stopped. His back landed against something solid, and he instinctively braced himself against a pain that never arrived. He lay still upon his back, something soft and pillowy beneath him. That silky texture… a smell like honey and fresh lemons.

Flowers?

All around him, bloomed a bed of golden flowers; six-petalled with blossoms like a hundred miniature suns. Their stems were a vibrant green, with tiny leaves sprouting from each one.

He laid there for a long while, afraid to even try to move his body in case it might break. Was he dead…? Is this what the afterlife was like? He couldn't tell.

He was so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn't noticed at first that he wasn't alone. Sensing a presence he instinctively turned his head in its direction, cringing as if he expected it to roll off his shoulders. His eyes fell upon something a few paces away, which was strange in and of itself… he couldn't remember the last time he'd actually seen anything. The figure was set ghostlike against his unseeing vision, like the phantom images that appear behind closed lids. But no… there was more to this figure than just a simple apparition. It was prominent… it was clear.

It was… a girl?


Authors' Notes: Well, here we are. The prologue chapter in what is probably going to be a pretty lengthy Undertale fanfic. We started writing this thing some months ago, and we've gotten pretty far in (about fifteen chapters as of the time of this writing). We'll try to update semi-regularly as the chapters get written and edited, though please accept a bit of fluctuation once we do get caught up.

A few things to note here: For one, yes. Frisk is blind. While I'm pretty sure we aren't the first to go this route, there is a bit of evidence in game that may suggest it. Their squinted or even "closed eyes" expression, and the emphasis on smell in the narration to name a couple.

Also, that mysterious log entry was written by a much older Frisk. It'll be a while before we learn exactly what happened in the previous timeline…

One thing to get out of the way now, since people love to do it: Please don't argue about the genders of Frisk and the First Human. We're well aware of the gender-neutrality in canon, but for the purpose of this story, Frisk is male and the First is female. Please respect this, even if you prefer different gender denominations.

ShiningwingX: Something that's recently come to my attention is that at some point during the Kickstarter for Undertale, Toby Fox allegedly (I haven't been able to find a source, but it's been brought up in a few places) said that Frisk was seeking shelter from a storm while climbing the mountain. While it's surely defunct information at this point, if he wasn't trolling to begin with, I did not know this when we wrote that part. Just something I found kind of funny.

On my other projects: Some of you might have read the chapters I posted a long time ago of my Zelda fic: Trials of the Heart: Angel's Call. Though it's been a long time since I last updated it, I wanted to let those who still care know that that story is still being written. It's been a slow process considering the complex beast it's grown into but I don't plan on giving up on it. Writing this story has also helped get my creative muse flowing again, and I'm eager to keep going with both as time permits. So for the two of you who might have been clinging to the hope that it would return… there you go.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this story. Feel free to share your thoughts!

KikiRukata: Something that he forgot to mention is that if you see this on another site do not worry. I will be posting the same thing on Archive Of Our Own under the name KikiRukata as well so no worries.

I'm really happy with how this has started. Like Shining said we're about 15 chapters in when writing these notes so be prepared! We wont give up on this story. In fact this story has made my creativity skyrocket! We co-write this story. He mainly comes up with things for Frisk while I have a whole long thought out backstory for the First! I can't wait!

Addendum: The year was originally listed as 21YZ, but has since been changed to 1437X. This means that the X is, in fact, an era notation rather a 'placeholder year'. We always wanted to do something with that X and after a lot of discussions and changes since the story first released we decided this was the best way to use it.