Chapter 4: The Ruins

I calmed down from my hysteria fit a few moments later. I let the pain embrace me. Giving me focus, I glanced at the bell in my hand then glared on head, towards the only exit from this room. I use one of my crumbling hands to slide against the wall as I neared the doorway. Looking at my hand as I moved, I noticed only my bones were left behind on my palm. Left hand was half bones. My right hand still had flesh on it.

Getting an idea, I jingled the bell in my right hand. I smiled for a moment. Then I noticed the purple string had snapped a the knot. I pursed my lips. Rage flared for a moment at imagining the scenario for this to happen. A metallic groan sounded from my fist. I immediately check to see if I dented it worriedly. With DETERMINATION and using what was left of my left hand and my teeth, I retied the knot with the bell around my wrist. I will find Frisk, and I will give this back. Staring resolutely, I took the first step in the direction of the unknown.

Passing through, I was stopped by yellow bloom with a face. I was turning into a zombie/skeleton monster. Why NOT a flower, with a face and can talk. I really want to roll my eyes. Did MS create this thing too? Maybe, maybe not. I spaced out while staring at its false smile. Eventually, I ignored it and started to move past.

"Hey! Hey! HEY! Don't want to listen, fine. I'll just have to take your SOUL!" *cackles*

I stopped to glare over my shoulder at the annoying weed. A strange red glow softly illuminated the cloth on my shoulder. The flower had changed its smile to a malice grin as little white seeds flouted around it. It doesn't seem like something MS would create, but it has been a long time.

"So the human decided to listen to me, well TOO LATE!"

Suddenly, colors drained into black and white as a white boarder like rectangle surrounded us. The same cracked and bleeding heart I kept on seeing over and over again showed up in front of me, glowing bright red as usual. So, it was my soul? I expected it to look like something else. It was tilted still.

I waited for the Flower to attack. Nothing happened. Was it full of hot air? Glancing at it, its face had a horrified look to it. So it wasn't created by MS, it wouldn't be that shocked. I grinned, full teeth. It was kind of funny. Even a flower was shocked. Of course. Of course, it would be scared. The heart in front of me fractured more. Pain coursed through me again. I coughed up more sand/blood.

"No, no, it can't be! That is impossible!"

I shook my head and moved. The flower flinched and disappeared back underground. I noticed that the color in my surroundings came back. Ignoring that too, I continued walking. I crumbled a bit more.

I came to a room with two sets of stairs, both leading to the same door. Just beyond a square of dirt, there was an orb of light just flouting there. No electronics as far as I could see. I eyed the flouting star suspiciously. I didn't want to touch it in case it was really hot. I didn't want to lose my hand so quickly.

I fell into it instead with one misstep on a misplaced leaf. That and I think a part of the lame leg that slipped crumbled a bit. I had expected to feel the burn as I should be consumed by fire. Instead, my vision went white. Usually when I'm close to a black out, everything would turn black. A kind of darkness would creep at the edges, consuming my vision. This white vision was different.

My mind froze for a moment. I stared at the ceiling, taking in the jagged rocks and rough texture. Slowly, I began to see some kind of pearly white pulsating thing. I continued to stare at it as somehow it became, I don't know, like wet glue. The thing shimmered and a large dollop began to stretch towards me. I winced and tried to move. Nothing happened. I struggled more. Nothing happened. I started to get extremely nervous as it grew closer to me.

With loud BLIP, the drop speeds towards me. I expected it to hit me full force and disintegrate me instantly. Instead, the drop pulled me in and disappeared through my pores. It felt like I was suffocating before as I took a deep clear breath. Warmth surrounded me. It was really comforting, considering everything.

I blinked open my eyes, wishing I hadn't. I was still on the floor. I slowly got up, looking down as I did so at the suspicious lack of pain. My clothes were still torn and dirty. My wounds seem to still be there, only weeks old. I looked up at the red glow. The bleeding heart reversed its turning a bit, almost as if it was on its side. Brow furrowed, I watched it disappear back into my chest.

Immediately after, I lifted my shirt to show my midriff. It was still tinged gray around my wounds. The crumbling seems to have stopped, but some parts of my flesh were visibly missing in ash gray dented spots. Poking one spot and wincing, my finger came away covered in bloody dust. There was a layer of painful spongey gray on top of my healthy flesh. I clenched my fist in DETERMINATION.

I sighed and got up. I wobbled and almost fell over. A chime from my other hand, I hardened my expression. I firmed my stance. I scaled the stairs and passed through the doorway. I looked around the next room. Same purple surroundings, but there were raised gray bricks before a yellow switch on the opposite wall. I pursed my lips. I continued looking. A stone plank on the wall on the other side of the sealed door way out of here.

I wobbled over to the plank. The words seem to be readable.

'Only the fearless may proceed. Brave ones, foolish ones. Both not walk the middle road.'

I glanced at the gray stones. Counting them, I found six in a cluster. Easy enough. I waked on the four stones on either side on the middle two and pulled the switch. With a grind of stone against stone, the door way was free to walk through. Pulling some of my filthy long hair behind me, I clutched my side with my other hand and proceeded. The next room, I stuck to the path until I came to the spikes in my way. This place was rigged everywhere!

This was quickly getting annoying.

I back tracked and looked about the room more carefully. There were three switches in total along the wall on my left. I was able to pull the first two and was going to pull the third when there was a loud metallic thunk. The spikes were gone. I moved on and passed a dummy to the next room. I walked through the strangely paved room to the hallway.

Before I could make the first turn in the hallway, something leaped into the spot in front of me. Quite honestly, it looked like an albino, oversized frog squatting on its child. Things are so weird down here. What other kind of creatures reside here? Then it did something I didn't expect it to do. It spoke.

"Wait! Taller Human! What are you doing here?"

It sounded like a cross between a croak overlaid with words. Wait! Taller Human? Has it come across Frisk? I was going to respond but the Frog-thing leaped towards me. I sidestepped.

"Now hold on a minute! Have you seen a small child come by here?"

"I have! Ribbit Ribbit! The Caretaker took them in. The Caretaker is very kind."

The Frog-thing leaped again. I side stepped again. I didn't like the sound of that. How can I trust this Frog-thing's word? A stranger took in my child! What are they going to do to them!?

"I must know where this 'Caretaker' lives. Will you tell me? I just want to know that my child is safe! Please"

The Frog-thing stopped its leaping attack and stared at me before smiling.

"She lives at the end of The Ruins. She is very nice. I'm sure she'll listen to you about the kid."

I don't really know about that. I don't exactly trust this Frog-thing, but it is the most I can go on right now. I gave an unsure smile before leaving.

"Thank you"

I turned the corner. I read the plank on this wall.

'The western room is the eastern room's blueprint.'

I didn't really know what it meant until I came to the next room. The spiked floor was a dead giveaway. Now I am worried even more about Frisk. I inspected the spikes. There wasn't any blood or bits of clothing, so I would like to believe that they are alright. Huffing, I dipped my feet into the water. The water was lukewarm. I waded in chest high water. Pausing for a moment, I thought for a moment before dunking under the water. Rubbing my thick hair every which way, I cleaned off as best as I could. Coming back up, I breathed a sigh of relief. It felt better being clean-ish. I lifted myself up and flopped onto the wood. Water seeped and poured down the edges of the bridge.

Taking a glance back, the water had sticks and leaves flouting on the surface. It also turned a gray-brown color instead of the cool light blue it was. I hadn't really realized how dirty I actually was. Feeling kind of guilty for soiling the water, I left towards the next room. After crossing the corridor, I came to a smaller area filled with leaves, a Frog-thing, and another one of those stars.

I headed towards the star. I went through the glue drop once again only standing and less nervous. My soul was almost right side up. My wounds were just pink now. Rolling my shoulders, I looked ahead with DETERMINTION. Once the experience was over, I moved over to the room on my left. All there was a pedestal with a candy filled bowl on top.

'Take one'

Not one to eat candy much, I took one and left. I went down to other doorway beyond the neat piles of leave. I came across a crying fly-ghost? It trembled under my gaze and fidgeted. Feeling bad and a bit guilty, I moved on beyond the strange white butterflies it was trying to attack with. It was almost pathetic and pitiful.

I walked down the hallway and made a leap over the cracks on the floor. I came over to another room with spikes blocking my path. Seeing the gray tile and rock, I proceeded to pick it up to set them on the button. The spikes went down. I passed through. The next corridor, I fell through the floor on my first step. I grunted when I made impact with the neat pile of leaves. It was a good thing my wounds are all but gone at this point.

Sitting up, I looked around, grumbling in annoyance. I noticed the path the leaves made. I followed it to a plank.

'Please don't step on the leaves'

Raising an eyebrow, I did as followed. I walked through the only door in sight. I yelped when I was sucked in and spat out on the upper floor. I sat up immediately to see where I was. I sighed in a gust of frustration. Not even gonna question this place, I carefully walked on the cracks in the path pattern in the leaves down below. I toed the cracks until either: I fell and start over or finally getting on the other side. Calming down my anxiety and rising temper for a moment, I continued.

I was picking up a rock in the next room when I dropped it, hugging my hands to my chest, in surprise/shock at a moving land jellyfish jiggled in front of me warningly. A shiver slithered down my spine, wiggling my hips at the living jelly in front of me. These things are making me uncomfortable. I stared at them warily when they paused and jiggled, giving off a happy feeling. Clearly befuddled, I tried wiggling my hips again since I don't really know to shiver my spine consciously. They responded by swaying with my hips in rhythm. They moved away eventually, jiggling themselves further away with every sway.

Thoroughly creeped out, I moved back to solving this rock puzzle. I was on my third one when it spoke. Barely even touching it, I retreated my hands back in alarm.

"Jeez, everyone is getting hand-z today. First a kid, now taller version of them, what is this world coming to?"

I immediately crouched down to get face to, uh, surface with the rock. My hair had straightened and darkened to a deep brown color during my improvised bath. It should lighten and curl when it dries, but the point was that if this rock said that a smaller version of me came by, it must me Frisk!

"You said kid. Did you meet a young child before I came here?"

"Well, yes, I did indeed. They were polite little thing. They asked me move to the button."

"Well, I apologize for my rudeness. I would you move to the button, so I may pass on to the next room, please."

"Ah, well, if you say it like that, sure thing sugar!"

Mr. Rock moved to the button. I thanked him and moved over to cross the retreated spikes to find them reappeared before my toes. Startled, I jumped back. My temper rising. I struggled to remain calm.

This place will bring about the end my patience, I know it!