Chapter Six: Foreshadowing
"It sounds like it came from over here. Oh! You've fallen down, haven't you? Are you okay? Here, I'll help. . . . Chara, huh? That's a nice name. My name is . . ."
Frisk woke with a start. He was laying, face-down in a patch of yellow flowers. Oddly enough, the same kind of flowers he had been laying in when he first fell down. He groaned, wiped his face, and found dried blood on his face. He wiped it, and sat up, his muscles complaining. He coughed as he got to his knees. He looked down at his shirt. It was cut, almost to the middle of his chest, the shirt stained with blood. The blue and purple-striped fabric was a wreck. He looked at his lightly-tanned skin through the hole.
There was not a mark to be seen, save for the dried blood.
"Huh. Must have been out at least three hours," he mused, getting to his feet shakily. Frisk looked around. He was at the base of a large waterfall, and there were huge piles of garbage. He groaned, rubbed his face and hair. He took a handful of water, and wiped the dried blood from his face. He then removed his shirt and inspected it. It was the only shirt he had, and while not any kind of fashion statement, he rather liked it. He sighed gently, put the ends of the fabric together, and placed his fingers over it, as if zipping up a ziplock bag. He closed his eyes, muttered a few words, and tried to focus as he drew his fingers along the damaged fabric. After almost a minute, he opened his eyes, and looked at his handiwork. The fabric was repaired, as if nothing had happened. He sighed with both relief, and weariness as he slipped the shirt on, wobbled a bit, and tucked it in. With a quick check of the cloth bag, and his other goods, he was relieved to find his shirt got the worst of it. With that, he waded into the water to continue his quest.
The piles of garbage he guessed were from the surface, as he recognized quite a few brands. He waded through the water, and saw things like old mattresses, a rusted bike, empty DVD cases, things he would not at all be surprised to find in a landfill on the surface. It was clear the monsters had been down there, as he saw a DVD case for an anime with claw marks all around it. He scratched his hair and wove his way through. He stopped, and even saw a mannequin or dummy, although it seemed to be a monster one, as the form was not human. He paid it little mind, and continued onwards. That was when he heard a splash. He whirled, expecting Undyne to have followed him, but there was no one there. He looked around and raised an eyebrow. Wait a minute. Where did the dummy go?
"Behind ya, stupid!" Frisk jumped and whirled. To his shock, the dummy was floating in the air, and it now had a pair of menacing, angry eyes. "Ha ha! Too intimidated to fight me, eh?! I'm a ghost who lives inside a dummy!" Frisk stared at this odd turn of events.
"Well, it's, ah, very nice to meet you," Frisk said, trying to be nice, but he had doubts he could resolve this peacefully.
"Ah, same here! 'Cause now I can take your soul!" Frisk got ready for a fight. The Mad Dummy danced around in the air. "With a human soul, I can cross the barrier! Then, I can fulfill my dream, and stand in the window of a fancy shop!" Frisk groaned at that.
Great. Him, in the window of a Macy's Christmas display . . . he thought with a shudder. The Mad Dummy glared at him.
"All that stands in my way is you! Human! Prepare to meet your end!" With that, smaller dummies popped out of the water, and launched glowing balls of, what looked like . . . cotton stuffing? Needless to say, Frisk dodged out of the way, and was surprised when they flew past, and hit the Mad Dummy, who helped.
"Ow! Hey, Dummies! Watch where you're aiming your magic attacks!" Suddenly, the Dummy froze, realizing what he said. "I, uh . . . Forget I said anything about magic attacks!" Frisk grinned at this. Physical attacks wouldn't hurt a ghost, but magic ones would! Frisk turned to the smaller dummies, and taunted them, sticking out his tongue and making faces.
"Nyah! You couldn't hit the side of a barn from the inside!" he taunted. They angrily launched a volley of glowing cotton, Frisk almost pirouetting out of the way, letting the Mad Dummy get hit by the full barrage.
"Agh! Dummies, knock it off! Hit him, not me!" Frisk made more faces and taunted the dummies, and made a few choice insults about rotten cotton. Needless to say, it worked, and again, the Mad Dummy got the full brunt of it as Frisk dove under the water. Man Dummy screeched as he faced the smaller dummies. "Hey! Idiots! Remember what I said about not hitting me?! Well, guess what? You're all fired!" he screamed. The dummies looked shocked, then glad.
"Fine by me!"
"Jerk!"
"Ingrate!"
"Slave-driver!"
"I wanted to be a hairdresser, anyway!" With that, the smaller dummies all stormed off. Frisk was surprised when the Mad Dummy laughed maniacally.
"Ha ha! If you think it's over, think again! Now, I'll show you my true power!" Frisk was surprised when mechanical whirs filled the room. Suddenly, instead of small dummies, Frisk was surrounded with small, toy submarines. Hatches on them opened, and small missiles popped out to aim at him.
"Uh oh," Frisk muttered. Mad Dummy cackled.
"Fire!" Frisk dove out of the way, only for the missiles to follow him. He wove back and forth, making the missiles fly off course, and into Mad Dummy with multiple bangs. "Ouch! Dummy-marines, you're as bad as the others! You nimrods!" Frisk dodged and avoided the missiles, and sure enough, he managed to land a few more hits on the Mad Dummy. "Agh! Okay, morons! Last chance! Final attack!" All of the subs launches their full load of missiles, and Frisk jumped, danced and twitched out of the way, Mad Dummy getting hit by most. "No way! These guys are even worse than the others!" Frisk looked at him and grinned.
"So hard to find good help, these days?"
"Bah! I don't need friends! I've got knives!" Frisk's eyes widened as he saw a huge butcher knife appear and fly at him. He dodged it, the knife splashing into the water. He looked up at the Mad Dummy, who looked . . . embarrassed. "And . . . I'm out of knives . . ." Frisk just stared at him.
" . . . Thumb war?" The Dummy looked at him funny.
"Argh! Whatever, whatever, whatever! I can't hurt you, and you can't hurt me! We'll stay this way forever! Ha ha ha!" the Mad Dummy cackled. Suddenly, drops began to rain down on him, seeming to cause damage. "Ah! What the-?!" More fell. "Agh! Aye! Acid rain?! Enough of this! I'm outta here!" With that, the Dummy flew away, leaving Frisk very dumbfounded. He looked up, and a familiar ghost floated down.
"Oh . . . I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt you. You and your friend looked like you were having fun." Frisk smiled and wiped some dirt off.
"That's one way to put it. You don't need to apologize. I'm glad to see you again. You actually helped me out."
"Really?" Frisk smiled and nodded.
"Yes. And thank you for the wallet you gave me. It helped a bunch!" The ghost smiled.
"I'm glad." Frisk came forward and smiled.
"My name's Frisk, by the way. I never got yours.
"Oh . . . I'm Napstablook. I'm heading home. You can come with me, if you want . . ." with that, the ghost disappeared, then reappeared near the door. Frisk followed, glad to get out of the cold water. He followed Napstablook to his house, an odd house to be sure, but it looked cozy. Frisk followed the ghost inside. "You . . . Really came. I wasn't expecting that." Frisk smiled at the ghost.
"Well, of course I came. That what friends do." Napstablook looked very surprised by this.
"You . . . think I'm a friend?" Frisk smiled and nodded.
"Of course. You helped me out more than once, you're kind, considerate and courteous. Wish more people were like you." The ghost looked a bit embarrassed.
"Well . . . it's not much, but make yourself at home." Frisk smiled. The house wasn't as cozy as Toriel's was, but it was nice. Frisk noticed the ghost put on some headphones while seated at an older computer.
"You're a composer?" Frisk asked.
"Oh . . . no. I'm a DJ, sort of." Frisk smiled at Napstablook.
"That's neat. Have any tunes to play?"
They spent some time listening to some spooky music, and Frisk had to admit, it had a certain charm to it. After a brief visit, Frisk told his ghostly friend he had to go, but, if he could, would be happy to come back. This seemed to cheer Napstablook up considerably. Before Frisk left, he realized something. He turned and asked. "Hey, you ever heard of the Mirror of Elde?"
"I'm sorry, but no. Is it important?" Frisk sighed and nodded.
"Yes, but don't worry too much about it. I'm sure I'll find it." Frisk left, but felt much better.
He was surprised to find Aaron and Woshua outside. They looked like they were going to greet him, but froze when the sounds of one of Napstablook's Spooktunes drifted from his house.
"What the heck is that?" asked Woshua. Aaron shivered.
"I dunno, dude, but it's spookin' me out!" They both ran away before Frisk could utter a single word. Frisk stared for a few moments, before he chuckled and shook his head. He headed on. The sign for directions said to head east to get to "Hotland", so he followed the directions. Interestingly, it also listed a "Temmie Village", but didn't say where it was.
Frisk saw a sign for a shop, and decided it wouldn't hurt to see what was for sale.
"Whoa, there! Haven't seen a human in a long time!" said the elderly, turtle-like monster. Frisk was genuinely surprised, as most monsters he met had no idea he was a human, or even what one looked like.
"You know what I am?" Frisk asked. The turtle laughed.
"Hard not to! I fought in the war!" This got Frisk's attention.
"You? Fought in the Imprisoning War?" The turtle laughed again.
"Wa ha ha! Surprised? Used to be a hero, back in the day! Gerson, the Hammer of Justice!" Frisk smiled and offered his hand.
"Nice to meet you. While I may be a human, I assure you I'm not here to cause trouble." Gerson laughed again.
"Wa ha ha! I know that, sonny! I've been hearin' all 'bout you! Little fella, goin' 'round helpin' folks, stuff like that." Gerson grinned at him. "Never thought I'd see the day when a human helped a monster! Wa ha ha!" Frisk smiled at this. He was getting excited. If anyone would know where the Mirror of Elde was, he would!
"Excuse me, but have you ever heard of the Mirror of Elde?" Frisk asked. Gerson grinned at him.
"I hear lots of stuff! If you're asking if I have it, sorry! Just what you see!" He motioned to the piles of items for sale. Frisk smiled and shook his head.
"No, but have you heard if it's here in the Underworld?" Gerson looked thoughtful.
"Hmm, can't say I have." Frisk sighed and looked around. He noticed that same symbol on the wall.
"What does that symbol mean?" Frisk asked. He had seen it everywhere, and he was pretty certain he saw Toriel wearing it.
"Eh? The Delta Rune? It's the emblem of our kingdom. The Kingdom of Monsters. Wa ha ha! Great name, huh?" Gerson laughed uproariously. "Our old King Fluffybuns can't name for beans! Wa ha ha!" Frisk suppressed a laugh. He knew it was not good to laugh at a King. Gerson calmed himself and wiped a tear away. "It predates recorded history. The original meaning has been lost to time, but we know the triangles symbolize us monsters, trapped down here. What the wings and circle symbolize, nobody's sure. Most think it symbolized the angel from the prophecy." Frisk looked at him.
"What prophecy?"
"There's an old prophecy, that says an "angel", who has seen the surface, will descend from above and give us freedom. Lately, though, folks have been takin' a bleaker outlook." Frisk looked at him. "Some folks have begun calling that circle the "Angel of Death". Harbinger of destruction, waiting to "free" us from the mortal realm." Frisk was quiet. It made him sad, but also thoughtful on what the prophecy could really mean. "But, when I see that little circle . . . I just think it's neat! Wa ha ha!" Frisk smiled as best he could.
"What about the King?" Gerson chuckled.
"Oh, King Fluffybuns? He's a friendly, happy-go-lucky kind of guy. If you keep walking around, you're sure to bump into him, eventually. Course, seeing that you're a human, that might cause a few problems . . . Wa ha ha!"
"Why do you call him "Fluffybuns"?" Frisk asked.
"Eh? Oh, that's a great story! . . . But I don't remember it! Wa ha ha!" Frisk almost fell over at that. Gerson laughed again. "Come back later, and I might remember it! This old noggin ain't what it used to be!" Frisk shook his head. "Oh, by the way, Undyne was looking for someone who sounds like you. Was just here, not too long ago." Frisk tensed anew at this. "I'd watch your back if I were you, kid . . . And buy something! It might just save your hide! Wa ha ha!" Frisk groaned softly and looked at Gerson's wares.
"Wouldn't happen to have any armor, would you?"
"Wa ha ha! Sorry, fresh out!" Frisk bought some tea for a little refreshment. Frisk then left. "Good luck! Be careful out there, kid!" Frisk continued onwards, and found a few more plaques. These explained the nature of the Barrier, and how a force equally seven human souls was required to shatter it. One human soul for each of the human spellcasters who created it. Frisk balled his fists as he read how the monsters knew this could never happen, as, at least when the plaques were written, there were no entrances or exits from the Underground. Thus, they would be trapped forever.
"Not if I can help it!" he growled as he continued onwards.
The next room was very dark, much more so than any others before. Frisk stumbled around a bit, falling over what turned out to be mushrooms that glowed when touched, serving as a kind of lantern. He was able to see enough to find the next set of mushrooms and light them. He continued on like this for a while, not quite sure where he was. He was so focused on trying to see where he was going, he didn't notice the sounds of soft footsteps.
"hOi!" Frisk almost jumped out of his skin at the high, female voice. He turned, and saw an odd monster that looked like a combination of a small dog, a cat and a stuffed animal. "im Temmie!" Frisk smiled at the little monster.
"Hi, nice to meet you." Temmie squealed with glee.
"OMG! Humans . . . TOO CUTE! (dies)" Frisk blinked, as she really said that. Now, Frisk had seen and met some very odd beings in his time, but this was one for the record books. Temmie was so excited, she was quite literally shaking.
"Hey, Temmie. Looks like you met my little buddy!" said a familiar voice as Aaron appeared and flexed. Temmie's jaw dropped and her eyes seemed to bug out.
"NO! muscle r . . . NOT CUTE! NO!" With that, Temmie ran off. Even Aaron looked surprised.
"Was it something I said?" Frisk took off after her, following her down the dark paths.
Frisk ended up in a lit cavern, and he had little doubt where he was, as he was surrounded by Temmies!
"OMG! Human!" one squealed. Others squealed as well, and before he knew it, Frisk was on the ground, covered by the cute monsters.
"hOi! im Temmie! And dis is my friend, Temmie!
"hOi! im Temmie, and dis is Temmie!"
"awawawawah! Humans, such a CUTE!" Frisk laughed as they nuzzled, cuddled and tickled.
"Hi, I'm Frisk."
"hOi, fwisk!" they cheered. The Temmies cooed and talked at a mile-a-minute in their unique dialect. Even Frisk couldn't keep up. That said, they were just too cute, and he couldn't help smiling.
"Awawah! Human's so cute! Smels guds!" said one Temmie.
"Human has such pwety eezs!"
"Human such a niz! Mawry Temmie?" Frisk could hardly keep up with what they were saying, much less understand it.
"Hi, I'm Bob," said one in a very deep, clearly male voice. This made Frisk laugh even more.
"Nice to meet you, Bob." Bob nodded his head. Though he looked exactly the same as the other Temmies, he was quite different.
"Haven't seen a human in a really long time around here, so the girls are all excited." The Temmies cooed as they nuzzled Frisk.
"aWah! Human so sawft!" one cooed happily from where she was nuzzling into his shirt. Frisk looked at Bob.
"Hey, have any of you heard of the Mirror of Elde?" The ears of the Temmies all perked up.
"yOi! Go tu da Tem Shop! Temmie kno!" They squeaked and squealed as they helped Frisk stand and ushered him towards a door, where a Temmie in a striped shirt was sitting behind a painted cardboard box, surrounded by items to sell.
"Temmie! Dis human her, wanna talk! He lukin fur da mirror!"
"HOI! im Temmie, and welcom da Tem Shop! Wat human want?" she asked. Frisk was just barely able to understand her.
"Um, I'm looking for a magic mirror, called the "Mirror of Elde". It's very old, and I think it's down here. Have you seen it?" Temmie vibrated behind her counter.
"yayA! Temmie kno da mirror!" Frisk's heart leaped into his throat.
"You do?! Where?!"
"in da casl!" Frisk was excited.
"You mean in Asgore's castle?" Temmie nodded her head.
"yeA! Da mirror dere when flufy-wufy find it! Mirror pwety, but scari! Keng sad, and mirror hid!" Frisk noticed all the Temmies looked sad, their ears drooping.
"Why? What's wrong?" Temmie perked up and shook her head.
"Temmies pwomise nevr tell!"
"pwomise!" they all chorused.
"Sorry, we made a promise. It's not ours to tell," said Bob. Frisk looked at them and nodded. It was the best lead he had, and he was very grateful.
"Thank you all, so much. You have no idea how much you've helped me. If there's anything I can do to help you, just name it." The Temmies squealed and tackled him.
"Ya! Human can bui from Temmie! Temmie wanna go to colleg, but need muns!" Frisk sat up and looked at the can, that had some gold in it.
"So, you want to go to college, to learn, but need money, right?"
"YAH!" Frisk smiled and brought out his wallet.
"How much do you need?"
"Tem neds dis much muns!" she said and held up a card with the number two-hundred and thirty on it. He looked, and had just enough. He emptied it into her jar. Temmie's jaw dropped.
"WOA! Thas ALOT o muns! Can tem realy acepts . . .?" Frisk smiled and nodded.
"It's a thanks for helping me." The Temmies squealed and danced around.
"OKs! Tem go to colleg and make u prouds!" Frisk smiled at Temmie before leaving.
"Just do your best," he said as he left. Out in the village, the Temmies were dancing and singing.
"Da human cam, and was our fwind! He cam with muns, we sawz agins! Tu find da mir, he did sei, Temmie help find da wei!" It was all very cute, and it made him feel happy and warm inside, and that, no matter the hardships, it was all really worth it. He bid the Temmies farewell, leaving Temmie Village, refilled with Detemmination.