OFF: Thank you for the reviews! I'm glad my story is entertaining! I was a bit afraid of driving off readers since the first few chapters are pretty dark.

A large part of why I wrote this is because of the butteflies it will cause ; things diverge from canon and while some events are similar, the execution will likely cause them to shift significantly in tone and content. Likewise, another change is that I am expanding on Frisk as a character ; instead of a rather "empty" protagonist, I aim to fully characterize him, with him starting out as a frightened child at the start of the story.

I hope you will all find that this was worth the wait! If anyone has comments or thoughts about any of the chapters, feel free to share them.

6FeetUnderTale

First Steps

The goat lady certainly was weird. No one had ever really been this nice to him before and well, he just hadn't been sure what to think of it. After a while, he had decided just to smile and to bask in the attention. It felt good, better than anything he had ever felt. It reminded him of how the other kids at the orphanage spoke of their parents. It reminded him of the stories some of them told of their mom and dad.

And she was so careful too! Still, what a strange place to live in! Everything was so big, so dusty. Why was everything so ruined, too? And what had been that star earlier? He guessed it wasn't important due to the goat lady not mentioning it. Which reminds him. He should refer to her as Toriel. She said she was the caretaker of this place.

Caretaker how, exactly? If she was supposed to take care of this place, why is everything so dusty and filled with cracks? Well, the plants are all very healthy and the purple paint on the walls is all very vivid. Maybe she didn't bother trying to remove the dust? He had tried to clean up all of the dust at the orphanage for a whole week once. He never tried again after that point. No wonder the janitor had been so lazy!

Monsters sure are weird. Instead of locks for doors, they used puzzles. It sure was a lot more fun! But it sounded and felt kind of time-consuming. But well, at least he could understand that. Better than grown-ups who put locks on stuff no one would steal anyway. Still, what if a bad guy figured out the solution to the puzzles?

Not that he really thought about that. Frankly, he was very glad for Toriel having labeled all the solutions. It all looked kind of complicated to say the truth.

As they walked, Toriel moved ahead, having said something about some more puzzles. While she did that, he remained alone in some dusty hall, looking over the walls and once again wondering why Toriel made sure they retained their vivid purple color but didn't repair the cracks. He also wondered if this place was completely abandonned apart from Toriel being here. But then, who would live here? Well, apart from people with no house and kids with no parents.

On second thought, it might be best if only Toriel lived here.

Suddenly, a gasp and everything became kind of weird. Magic flowed around him and he looked down to see his SOUL visible in his semi-transparent body. What was this all about? There was a dull thud and he looked forward to see what appeared to be the largest frog he had ever seen in his life. The thing was massive! It had to be several times the size of a big dog to the point that it was easily half his height! How did that frog grow so big?

But then, looking more carefully, he saw that its belly was kinda weird. As if there... were... eyes... down... there.

Oh. A monster! It's a monster!

"Ribbit." Said the weird frog monster. "You seem about the same strength as me! Fight?"

"Fight? Why would we do that? What did I do to you? I was just minding my own business! Please don't hurt me!" cried out Frisk, struggling not to trip over his own feet.

Is every monster apart from Toriel a bully? What did he do for that monster to want to hurt him?

"Hmmm... please relax. I just wanted to fight. I didn't mean to scare you, kid weird monster thing. If you're lost, I can just..."

The confused frog's words died in its throat as Toriel's staff slammed into the floor violently, shaking the entire room. The massive goat lady gave him a flat stare, a mildly annoyed expression on her face as she towered high above it. The Froggit became suddenly very much aware of its place in the greater order of things and wisely decided to back off. It knew from experience that Lady Toriel was sufficiently powerful that she didn't even need to use magic to subdue it. A simple swing from its staff would send the frog monster flying all the way from the Ruins to Snowdin. It knew that from experience. It didn't even bother to ask why trying to pick a fight with that monster kid was somehow wrong. It just left quietly.

As the Froggit left, the magic it had released all over the place faded and everything went back to normal. Toriel approached the human child as it struggled to get a hold of itself after this frightening experience.

"Toriel. I didn't do anything! I... I'm sorry. I..."

"Tch tch, calm down child. Everything is okay." Said the towering monster, slowly calming down. She brought a hand to his cheer and slid it to his chin, raising it, making him look at her. "You did nothing wrong."

"It said it wanted to fight. Why was it mean to me? I don't understand..."

Toriel smiled gently, slightly amused, as if he had said something funny. "It probably just wanted to get stronger and thought it could fight with you, not realizing how scared you were. Don't worry. I will teach you all about fighting when we get to the dummy room."

Getting stronger? The first time a monster told him about getting stronger, his hand was blasted to chunks and it screamed in a scary voice, trying to turn him to swiss cheese. He wasn't so sure about that anymore. And fighting doesn't exactly sound like something he'd want to do. Still, Toriel had saved his life, been nothing but nice, and had driven off that bully. So he calmed down and followed her.

It had been a small voice at first. He knew he had been doing it subconsciously until now but as he reached the puzzle involving scary, sharp-looking giant spikes, he began to question the logic of this place and the sanity of monsters. Switches was something he could understand and were a bit fun even. But big spikes?

He questioned his decision to throw himself into that pit more and more. He had done that earlier, okay but now he was doing it even more. Well, maybe not. But he was still doing it. This place is crazy.

Thankfully, the next room did not have any bullies or spikes or anything that wanted to fold, crush, cut, squash, electrocute, impale, poison, fry, and otherwise hurt him. That was good. What it did have was a weird doll thing that had a head like a stuffed duck. It looked funny, with its large button eyes.

Toriel looked at him for a moment, her free hand on her chin, observing him. "You don't happen to have a weapon on you, wouldn't you?"

He shook his head.

"Then can you fire projectiles or conjure any sort of energy with your mind?"

Again, he shook his head.

"Truly as much of an innocent child as you look, don't you?" That caused her to smile. "It's alright."

She walked up to a dead tree in the corner, looked at it, and then with lightning speed grabbed one of the tinier, dry branches and tore it off as if it was nothing. She looked at the stick over and then squeezed it a few times. She stared at it carefully and then tilted it slowly to one side then to the other. Then she swung it a bunch of times. Soon, she was swinging it in complicated motions, so fast it was like a blur, causing swooshing sounds as she did. Then she nodded to herself, satisfied.

She handed the stick to him, smiling. "Here. I know it isn't exactly Royal Guard equipment material but it will do."

Frisk held out his hands and grasped the stick. Toriel had chosen the stick very carefully and while it wasn't as carefully weighted and balanced as an actual weapon, it felt light in his hands and yet, sufficiently heavy that if he hit someone with it, it would probably knock out that person without breaking.

Toriel walked up to the dummy and then turned to face him. "Love, LOVE, Determination. They are the componements of the SOUL and through them, one get stronger. In battle, the SOUL is revealed. And through it, conflicts are resolved. Sometimes, conflicts are resolved by dialogue and compassion, increasing love. Other times, they are resolved through contests of strength and agility, increasing LOVE. Together, they allow for Determination to blossom."

Her face became stern. "Fighting is dangerous however. Sometimes, accidents happen. A spell can strike a bit too hard. Someone can hit a vital organ by mistake while swinging. And not every monster is nice. Some are disbalanced, having too much LOVE in their soul and far too little love. A child like you shouldn't fight." She shown him a gentle expression. "If a monster drags you into a fight, just stall for time and I will resolve the conflict for you."

Toriel turned to the dummy and then motionned to Frisk to come over. "So until you're older, this dummy should suffice as an opponent. Do you wish to train for a bit? If not, I would understand. I know that children tend to see this as more of a chore than anything else. Still, I can help if you wish to take some time before we get home."

Monsters fought to gain love and LOVE? He could certainly understand wanting to become stronger. He knew that people could train to become stronger. After all, that was why he could walk for so long without getting winded. He walked so much back at the orphanage that even with his shoes wrecked like this, it will take a long time for his feet to start aching again. However, there were some things he did not quite understand.

"So I can train to become stronger?"

"Of course, my child."

"But if that's that case, if people can train to become stronger, why fight at all? Why fight if people get hurt?"

Toriel seemed pleased by his question somehow. "You're quite perceptive. It's good to be curious like this. To anwser your question, there is a limit to how much stronger you can get just by training."

She pointed to the dummy. "Training alone or with a dummy can make your body stronger. But a dummy can't talk back. It doesn't feel. When you fight, your SOUL and that of your opponent is revealed. All of your emotions, all that you are, is laid bare. In the way people fight and resolve conflicts, you can learn more about them. Rivalries and friendships are forged, emotions clash, words and magic fly. Some fight with their fists, others with their fangs, some with magic, and there's those who do so with words without needing to touch their opponents. The ways conflicts can be resolved are endless."

Fighting reveals the SOUL? Frisk wasn't so sure he understood that to say the truth. It didn't make a whole lot of sense to him. He had never learnt anything much from bullies apart from the fact that they were smug, arrogant, mean, and liked to see him hurt. He also didn't know much about Asriel either. Well, apart from the fact that he's really, really scary.

Still, Toriel said it helped one become stronger. He guessed that was nice. Frankly, he'd rather not get hurt.

"As I said, you'll understand once you get older. For now, I want to see your initial levels. Imagine that this dummy is your enemy and act."

He looked at the dummy. Imagine it as the enemy? He focused, his grip on his stick becoming harder.

"HIYA!" He let out a war cry, frankly a really lame one, and jumped forward, bringing the stick down and smacking the dummy's head. His swing went nearly wide, not being especially well aimed by any mean. He just couldn't put his heart into it.

For some reason, Toriel sweatdropped and then shook her head, rolling her eyes before shrugging. "You really, REALLY are innocent, aren't you? It's alright my child."

Had he done something wrong? It seemed he did. He frowned deeply, ashamed.

"Don't make that face. That was a good, honest effort. However, you should not be so quick to resort to violence. What if the dummy had just wanted to trade words with you or to show off the latest magic spell it learnt? You should take the time to examine your enemy and communicate before resorting to blows. Sometime, it can be possible to resolve a conflict without anyone attacking even once."

That oddly made a lot of sense. Greeting people by hitting them in the face was indeed rather mean. Still, if that was the case, why call it a fight? Monsters are really, really weird. Still, if it makes Toriel happy...

He turned to the dummy and spoke up. "Hmmm... sorry about hitting you over the head with that stick?" He was talking to an inanimate dummy. It made him feel like a gigantic dummy. "Well..." He glanced around the room, feeling stupid. "What do you think of the weather?" He felt even more stupid. They're in strange ruins that are probably kilometers underground. There's no weather to speak of.

Still, Toriel looked very pleased. "Good. Now imagine that dummy wish to proceed with the fight. Normally, I'd have resolved the situation by now but let's assume I'm just a tiny bit late. Now is the time to whack it with your stick. In a real fight, you'll want to knock out your foe but not hurt it too badly but since this is training, show me what you can do."

Okay. Again, he focused. He let out a war cry, feeling absolutely stupid while doing so, and once again swinging his stick. This time, his swing just plain went wide and he almost lost his balance as he missed. Embarassment gripped him as he pictured Toriel sweatdropping again.

He needed to hit it! He gripped his stick harder and brought it into a diagonal swing. The dummy barely moved. His eyes were widened as he once again imagined Toriel's disappointment. Who was he kidding? He had never been much of a fighter at all. He couldn't hurt a fly if he tried. Still, he focused on that expression and he spun the stick for a second strike.

The head jostled a bit but beyond that, nothing much. A voice called, he didn't listen. He didn't want to disappoint her. He had already sounded and acted so stupidly, first lashing out without taking the time to even pretend to talk and then saying stupid, inane things that would make anyone with a brain laugh. None of this made sense, anyway!

SMASH!

His hands gripped the stick as he swung it horizontally and in a straight, flawless motion, slammed into the side of the dummy so hard that it was knocked to the side and smashed into the ground with a deafening thud. Frisk completed the motion gracefully, holding the stick without even the hint of shaking. He breathed slowly and after a short while, it occured to him that he was gripping the stick so hard his fingers were aching and that a feeling of incredible anger was burning inside him.

He surveyed the way he had just thrown the dummy to the side, smashing it so hard that it was now unstitched, fluff all over the floor. Had... he done this? Had he truly managed this? How? He doesn't know how to fight! He can barely hit anything even when he tries! In fact, it occured to him that he was standing in a strange pose, his grip on the stick different and far more solid than before.

He blinked a few times. That hadn't been like him at all. What had all of this been about? Looking at Toriel, she certainly seemed as confused as he was about it all.

"Well, you sure have a lot of hidden strength! Don't worry about that dummy. I will repair it later. I guess this will be enough training for now." She offered to hold his hand. "Now, how about we think about more pleasant subjects? We still have a little way until my house. Come."

Glad to take his mind off of that weird event, he walked up to her and grabbed her hand. Maybe what she said was true. He didn't really believe it but well, the result had spoken for itself.

For now, he guessed it was back to the puzzles and to walking while she spoke pleasantly with him. Frankly, the less he thought about fighting, the better. He'd rather not hurt anyone if he could help it.

Unknown to the human child, a figure watched, following the both of them. His petals were a bit singed and the goat-like head within had half of its fur missing, with burn marks showing where he had failed to put out the fire but still, Asriel had survived the attack.

Of course, that did not change the fact that he could not reload or reset anymore. Unless the child reset, he would not be able to try again. Even then, his trick would never have a chance of working again. There had to be a way for him to snatch that human's soul!

Thus, he decided to start watching the human's behavior. Surely the kid will be left alone, away from mom, for at least one moment? He frowned angrily. He knew far too well that his mother was extremely protective and would never let the kid out of her sights. But then, maybe the kid's curiosity would get the better out of it?

When the two journeyed together, he hoped that he would get his chance. He nearly got it, too. Toriel left the child alone while hiding behind a pillar, probably to test its independance. Yes! It was his chance! He tried to pop up near the child... only to notice Toriel's careful gaze and the child's brisk pace.

No, he did not get a chance. Then as mom went on ahead, he thought he'd get a second chance... only for Froggits and other dumb monsters to start showing up. Too many witnesses! If he claim Frisk's soul when others can see it, everyone will know that his soul will be that of a human's, not his original one. And they will demand he bring it to his father.

That won't do. There must be no witnesses. And if he... eliminate... any witnesses, it will alert his mom or worse yet, the Royal Guard. He's not scared of Undyne. He has managed to defeat her on occasion. But Sans and Papyrus are serious bad news. While he can catch Papyrus off-guard by appealing to his better nature, Sans is far more difficult to catch. And even then, it's all a moot point because the surviving brother beats him, with either Sans dusting him or Papyrus capturing him with no hope of escape.

No. He can't kill the kid now.

So he simply watched. He watched as they made it home. He snorted to himself, eyes narrowing as he glared at the house. A miniature of his father's castle, a mockery. If only all the children mom rescued knew the real reason why she had left father.

Not that it mattered. Without emotion, boredom was nowhere near as intense as when he had a soul, leaving him with nearly infinite patience. And as such, he decided to wait for his opportunity.

As days passed, he realized his patience wasn't as infinite as he thought. That kid was obviously some kind of coward starved for love. He just soaked it up like a sponge. He was never apart from mom, always hanging with her.

Hunting snails, fishing in the small rivers, reading books, training, showing him the remains of Home and introducing him to the other monsters...

He remembered such activities. He remembered when mom would take him to do such things. Well, minus showing him the ruins of Home for obvious reasons. Still, as he saw that worthless human being showered with love that once was shown to him, when he saw how mom had effectively replaced him...

His hatred for Frisk grew.

He is going to tear out that bastard's soul out very slowly. He will make sure the human screams in complete agony as life is stripped out of him.

He was also worried, internally. He knew that with his capped LOVE that he was technically one of the strongest monsters in the underground and this, even with a fragile flower body. He also knew that without real fights, Frisk could only get so strong from training with dummies. But there was just something about the way he wielded that stick that disturbed him.

For someone who looked like a wuss, Frisk had an awful lot of talent when it came to combat. Or was it really the case? Whenever Frisk really got into combat, his eyes got kind of... weird. They glowed. Okay, the eyes of monsters glowing is normal but he knew from having lived with his adoptive brother that human eyes did not glow.

So what was the deal with it?

Asriel soon found himself bored out of his mind, just watching the kid live with his mom everyday. It was kind of depressing. A coward and his mom, just doing crushingly boring stuff. He couldn't stand it. The boredom was such, he almost missed it.

Tension. At first, he thought Frisk was getting sick of his mom. That would have been great. But instead, he saw what was going to happen.

His mom begun to stand guard by the exit of the ruins. Frisk wanted to leave. That would have been great news... if he hadn't somehow screwed up something and had alerted Toriel to his intentions, causing her to stand guard.

The other kids had just snuck past her. But now that Frisk had revealed his intentions, mom was never going to let him leave. That's... frustrating.

How long will his flower body live? He heard humans live close to fifty years, up to a century or so when really lucky. Do he have the time to wait for the human to die of old age so he can snatch that soul?

Oh god. NO! He don't want to wait that long! He can't! If he doesn't wilt by then, boredom will kill him!

Then something happened. He couldn't believe what he saw.

They fought. Little innocent, naive, stupid Frisk fought mom. Well, that's rich! What was he trying to achieve, really? Mom is, or rather used to be freakishly strong!

At first, he thought this would be his opportunity. But then, the impossible happened.

Yeah, mom was holding back... but she stopped fighting. Frisk somehow managed to get to her and to stop her. Despite the fact that his mom was determined, that she was clearly wanting to protect him by keeping him here, he managed to errode her will to fight and defeat her.

Frisk beat his mom. Somehow.

Asriel could barely believe it. No human that had fallen down had managed to beat a boss monster. They could sneak past them, befriend or dust a few low rank monsters... but none had ever defeated a boss monster fair and square. And this, despite a few of them gathering a fair amount of love and LOVE.

And now this kid, with barely any LOVE and only the love his mom had showered him with, had managed to defeat her. She kneeled before him, dropped her staff, and gave him a hug in an expression of both love and submission.

How?

Asriel was confused. But after thinking on it, the realization fully filtered into his mind and he found himself smiling. It was not a nice smile at all.

Thus, as Frisk emerged out of the ruins and into the grassy room that separated the old ruins from the greater underground, he encountered the mean flower monster from before.

Asriel grinned cruelly, basking in the child's fear as he recognized him.

"Howdy! So you've managed to get past the old cow and to make it this far despite her standing in your way. Good job! Gosh, you really must feel great about sparing a person's life like this!"

Seeing no response other than Frisk looking terrified, he decided to just continue his little speech. "Aw, are you scared? Don't worry! I'm not gonna kill ya! Nope! I changed my mind on that." He glanced to the side and gave the human an incredibly smug grin. "Instead, I'll be watching you. You see, you may act all high and mighty with your little innocense and 'I don't wanna hurt anyone' little act but you must have heard what the cow had to say, isn't it?"

The kid mumbled something. He blinked once, wondering why Frisk wasted his time with such a pointless action.

"So as the cow said."

"Her name is Toriel." The child whispered.

"Hummm..." Asriel was not liking the way this was going. He wanted to just berrate the kid for his insolence but here he was, standing up to him.

"Her name is Toriel!"

He pondered giving in to that empty anger that never left him. It was always so comforting. But then, he realized that Frisk was finally, at long last, showing a backbone! That was much better, actually! This removed his bad mood for sure.

"Oh my! It seems you're finally feeling determined! That's good. Saving and resetting, she never explained them to you, didn't she?"

Seeing the kid's expression as it failed to shift, he knew he had guessed right. Figures. "Determination allows the creation of stars, save points. Through Determination, you can go back. You can redo things. You can... learn. It is a power like that of a god! A power I wielded, too. But I wouldn't get cocky, my friend! Determination is not your lone gift. Gosh! It would be embarassing to reload or reset, thinking you can manipulate someone only to find they remember everything thanks to their own Determination, isn't it? But don't worry!"

He gave the foolish child an insincere smile. "Your best friend Asriel has Determination! Loads of it! If you reload or reset, I will remember everything, no matter what you do!" He turned his grin into a sinister one, allowing his eyes to start glowing. "I will remember your mistakes, your sins."

"I... I won't do anything like that!"

"Will you?" he said. "Sure, you spared that old lady. An old lady that is all cotton candy and love children. But what will you do when you'll meet a relentless killer? You'll die. And you'll die. Then you'll die some more. Will you then kill out of frustration? Or fear? Or will you simply give up or run out of Determination?"

His grin became unnaturally wide. "Hehe! There is nothing to worry about though, Frisk! Once you die, your best friend will be right there, by your side. And then, your soul will be MINE! Gosh! Isn't it just wonderful to have such a dependable friend? To not be as alone as you are?"

"You're... you're completely insane."

"Thank you! I think you already said something to that effect last time we met. Anyway! You have places to go and I have stood in your way long enough. Toodles!"

And with that said, Asriel sunk into the ground, leaving the child alone.

Frisk stood before the great gate. A gust of cold wind blew from the entrance to the underground's depths. There was only one way to go... forward. And so, despite the fear and the disturbing speech by the flower, the child stepped forward.

Leaving behind what had been his second home, Frisk gathered all of his courage and stepped into the unknown.

TO BE CONTINUED...