Frisk, darling! What's wrong?! Frisk suddenly felt a rush of worry and fear as Mettaton spoke. It seemed he hadn't left for good after all. Still they trembled, one hand on the pillar that held the candy, as their tried to steady their breathing. They wanted to respond, but they felt too out of breath.
"Water," they managed between breaths, straightening up.
What? What about the water, darling? Did something try and drown you? That thought made them both uneasy. Nevertheless, Frisk shook their head. Then what happened? Why did you scream?
Frisk gulped and walked over towards the water. They leaned over the edge, staring into their reflection. Those lines on their face, they looked so unearthly. So surreal. A hand traced one. It felt like a line that had just barely been carved into a plank of wood. Those were grooves in their skin. And those eyes, that pink hue.
They felt a sense of realization from Mettaton. So that's why Flowey said we looked familiar. Absorbing my soul didn't just result in the change of your hands and soul, but your face, sweetheart! I would say it's an improvement, but I don't think even my face could make yours look any cuter. There was a pause. Exactly how long have you been wandering? I feel like I barely got any sleep.
Frisk looked up from the water. "You were sleeping?"
Yes, but that's beside the point.
Frisk thought. They certainly hadn't been exploring long. It couldn't have been more than an hour.
They could hear him sigh. Let's keep going, darling. I'll sleep more later.
Frisk hummed, swallowing their candy. They shifted their weight. Then, the human looked down in confusion. Their ankle felt better. Why was that?
Is something wrong, darling?
"My ankle hurt before, but now it feels better. And all I did was-"
-Eat that candy? Well, hon, monster food is made of energy. It'll fix injuries if you eat it. How much it'll fix depends on how well made the food is. Unless, of course, you're a robot, in which case you'll need to be repaired. But you don't have to worry about that!
Frisk absently touched a finger to their chin. That made about as much sense as everything else they'd seen.
The two walked back out of the room to see the frog thing still standing beside the door. They could hear Mettaton squeal in delight. A froggit! Oh my, how cute!
Frisk, however, frowned. How did Mettaton know what this thing was, and why did he find it cute? One had tried to attack Frisk earlier. They were still surprised this froggit thing hadn't tried to attack them yet. They sighed, walking past it.
Wait, Mettaton chimed in. You should talk to it. Monsters tend to gossip, and it's often valuable information about things that are going on. He added more sarcastically, Because when you live in a giant sealed cave, there's nothing else to gossip about.
"But one attacked me earlier."
They could feel just how off guard that caught Mettaton. Attacked you? But monsters aren't hostile by nature. Maybe something was bothering the poor dear. Try anyways; if anything happens, you can run.
The human shook their head in defeat before they turned to face the froggit. "Here goes nothing," they murmured before approaching. The froggit stared at them. They offered a wave, trying to smile in greeting. "Hi."
The response was a lot of croaking.
I think...I think I can understand what it's saying, darling. He paused. It's saying that if a monster no longer wants to fight you, show it mercy. That monsters are just irritable, and it would mean a lot if you spared them...And that they've heard weird sounds outside the ruined doors? Mettaton thought for a moment. Oh, the RUINS doors!
"What are the ruins doors?" The froggit croaked, but Mettaton didn't wait for it to speak before he began to explain.
The doors to The Ruins. This dusty, overgrown place used to be where monsters all lived. Until...Oh, what was it Alphys told me? Anyways, the doors are at the end of The Ruins. You'll need to get through this place to reach them.
"Mettaton, are you sure that's a good idea?" If there were weird sounds outside the door, maybe it was best to stay in The Ruins and avoid getting too hurt.
There's no other way out, Frisk. We can't climb up the hole you fell down; it's too steep and loose.
They nodded. Right. They had to get out. And find the truth about what happened down here as well.
The froggit croaked again. It's saying that it wants to give you a heads up on how monsters might approach you, darling.
It wanted to help? How did it intend to do that? "Uh, okay."
Suddenly, there was something against their chest. Frisk reached up. Their soul. Oh no, was it going to attack again?
More croaking. Mettaton was quiet for a moment as the froggit droned on. It says that monsters might approach you like this because they're upset. Not at always you, just upset in general. They may try to communicate with magic, or take their frustration out on you with straight up magical attacks, darling.
Another pause as he collected his thoughts. Now, sweetheart, you can do a few things. You can fight back, try to reason with a monster through words or actions, run away, or eat to try and heal yourself. But you'd better be quick at eating if you try that! Now, if you notice a monster doesn't want to fight, you can lower your guard and say you don't want to fight before parting ways.
Frisk nodded. "Okay, I think I got it."
The froggit croaked before spitting out a few little flies. The human froze up at the sight. The flies buzzed around erratically, some flying towards Frisk, others flying towards the walls. The human shuffled between the flies, cowering from them. Those things had hurt last time. A lot.
All the flies vanished after a few seconds, and Frisk was left with the froggit just looking up at them. All it did was blink, as if waiting.
I'd suggest complimenting it. Magic can be very hard to pull off. And very exhausting, mind you. Frisk was reminded just how much defending them earlier had exhausted Mettaton.
They nodded, shakily. "N-nice magic you p-pulled off." The froggit smiled with a slight blush. When it did nothing else, Frisk continued. "A-and I don't want to fight anymore." The froggit croaked happily and tossed Frisk a small bag of coins it had been sitting on, which the human promptly put in their pocket. They guessed it was a reward for deciding to spare them. Or maybe just for a job well done.
Frisk thanked the froggit, kissed their forehead, and began to continue walking.
The next room they entered had a pathway with a rock in the middle, some spikes in front of the exit, and a sign off to the left. The first thing Frisk did was go check the sign, which read, "THREE OUT OF FOUR ROCKS SUGGEST YOU PUSH THEM." That made them tilt their head.
Oh, hon. Some monsters are rocks. Actual rocks.
"And how does that work?"
How nearly everything else down here works. Magic!
Frisk just stared. Not even at the sign. Just at the space in front of them. If only Mettaton were physical so they could slap him for that answer.
Hey! Don't give me that look! That's the truth of it! Monsters are mostly magic, after all.
Shaking their head, the human turned towards the rock. Now they saw there was a little divet in the ground around it with a button behind the rock. Without even a second thought, Frisk walked over to the rock and pushed it on to the button. The spikes receded into the ground. They smiled proudly. That puzzle was solved.
Walking into the next room revealed a short segment of a hall before being confronted with a lot of cracks in the floor. Oh dear. Frisk tried to step on part of it, only for the ground to give way and drop them onto a bed of orangish red leaves below in what Frisk could only assume was a basement.
They looked up. There was a pathway through the leaf piles despite there being nothing at the end of the room. Behind them was the door to some sort of crawl space. What was the point of this room?
I'll give you one go at this puzzle, darling, before I solve it for you.
Frisk nodded, thinking. A path through the leaves to nothing. Cracks that lead to this basement. They were pretty sure they had the idea.
They got up, dusted themselves off, and headed through the crawlspace back upstairs. Then, they approached the cracks again. Gingerly, they set a foot on where they recalled the path below being. The floor creaked, but didn't break. They placed their other foot on the floor in front. No breaking. Frisk smiled. They got this puzzle.
They shimmied their way across the floor, hesitating around only one corner. Frisk got to the end without even breaking one section of floor this time.
The next room was one with three rocks in it, a small bridge over some water, and spikes on the bridge. The human easily pushed two of these rocks on to their buttons.
The third, not so much. The moment Frisk touched it, the rock spoke. "Hey, what're you doing, thinkin' you can push me around?" Frisk's eyes widened.
They felt their brow furrow, and heard themselves speak. "Excuse you, dear. We wouldn't push you if we didn't need to, but if you're not on that button, we can't get past those spikes. We'd appreciate it if you could sit on that button for us." Right, Mettaton had some control over their body.
The rock grumbled. "Alright, alright, pumpkin. But this is a lot of work you're givin' me." It grated against the ground as it shuffled over to the button. The moment the button clicked, the spikes receded into the bridge.
Frisk strode over the bridge into a wide hallway with a plate of cheese. They walked over to it. It looked like it was still edible, and boy were they starting to feel hungry. Don't even try, darling, Mettaton commented. That cheese just LOOKS like it's stuck to the table from how long it's been there. The human frowned, but passed by the cheese. Mettaton was probably right.
Next was a rather standard room...except that there was a white ghostly thing sitting on a bed of leaves. Frisk approached with caution. It looked like a translucent white sheet. Whatever it was, it was making a funny sound.
It's a ghost that's saying 'Z' repeatedly, darling.
So, they weren't sleeping then? Then why say Z? They should probably try and go around the ghost. Frisk knelt down on the leaves and reached out to try and move them aside. Suddenly, the ghost stood up and blinked. Frisked felt their soul materialize. Was this a fight? How could they possibly fight a ghost?
There was a sudden wave of emotions from Mettaton. Frisk, don't you DARE hurt that ghost!
The ghost blinked, tear falling from their eyes. Those tears sizzled on the leaves below. The human cringed at the sound.
"Oh...hi," the ghost began. "i'm sorry but...i'd like to be alone…" Tears fell from their face, but this time they headed towards Frisk's feet. The human hopped back to avoid them. Then they looked back at the ghost. Why did Mettaton care so much for this ghost? Did he even know their name?
The ghost stopped crying. "i really don't feel like fighting...please go…i'll be fine..."
Frisk frowned. What was this ghost so upset about?
Oh, Blooky, don't be sad!
"Blooky?" Frisk echoed.
That caught the ghost's attention. They perked up for a moment before looking down. "oh...someone i knew used to say that...oh…." More tears began to fall from their eyes. Frisk had to hop around like a panicking chicken to avoid all those magical tears. The bricks below hissed as tears splashed against them.
Napstablook! Their name is Napstablook! And please, try to cheer them up!
Frisk offered a bittersweet smile. "Hey, it's okay, Napstablook."
Their tears stopped. They looked back up at Frisk, eyes a little wider with curiosity. "oh…?"
"Yeah, everything'll be fine." Then they stopped. Explaining everything would just confuse them. They should cheer up Napstablook another way. Maybe a joke would help. "Hey, do you know what a penguin is?"
The ghost shook their head. Frisk continued. "They're little birds that are white on one side, black on the other. Anyone, one day, two are sitting on a block of ice. One says to the other, 'Hey, we look like we're wearing tuxedos.' The other responds, 'Who says we're not?'"
For a moment, Napstablook didn't respond. Then, they gave a very quiet laugh. "oh, i want to show you something…" They began to cry again, but the tears floated up. Slowly, their tears formed a top hat. "i call it 'dapper blook'."
Mettaton squealed. They look simply ADORABLE!
Frisk clapped. "It's lovely," they responded with a friendly smile.
"oh gee...i came here to get away from everyone because they're all being so mean...but i met someone really nice." They paused. "oh, i'm in your way aren't i? i'm sorry...i'll go." Without waiting for a response, the ghost turned and phased through the wall.
Frisk took a breath, and went to take a step. Suddenly, it felt as if the weight of their exploration had caught up with them all at once. Their stomach ached with hunger. Their legs and back groaned with pain. Their tongue felt dry with thirst. But they had to keep going.
Their foot touched the leaves. Their legs felt positively exhausted, shaking with the need for a rest. Their vision swam.
They managed a second step. Or was it their mind that needed a break? They could hear someone calling out to them, but they couldn't distinguish who it was, or what they were saying. It felt like they were on another planet.
A third step. Everything looked blurry. Maybe they should close their eyes. That would clear up their vision.
When they opened them again, they were standing in front of a large purple house and a bare felt something in their hands, and something else draped across their right arm. Another thing was in their pocket opposite the money bag.
Ah, Frisk, darling! You're awake! I hope you don't mind, I took the liberty of advancing for you and picking up a few things along the way.
"I fell asleep?" The human glanced around. Mettaton wasn't wrong about advancing; this looked almost nothing like the room they'd just been in. It was much wider and taller, and the path was much wider.
Yes, you did. Oh dear, you were just exhausted! You nearly collapsed! You're lucky I'm here with you, you know. You could've gotten hurt. Or worse, dirtied your hair. How had they fallen asleep, but still been able to progress with Mettaton controlling them? Was it like earlier when Mettaton had slept, but Frisk was still able to move?
Frisk looked down at their hands. In them was a large purple pitcher with a single lavender stripe around the middle. A spider dangled off the lip of it, and inside was a dark mixture. Draped over their right arm was a dull red ribbon. Oh, I bought some Spider Cider from the spider bake sale. The spiders were a little mean, but they gave me what I paid for without a hassle.
"Spider Cider?" Frisk echoed.
Yes! Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders!
"Of spiders? You expect me to drink this?"
Of course! Those spiders worked very hard on that, Frisk. But I only expect you to drink it when you need to. They grimaced. Their stomach growled, but they didn't think this was the best thing to eat right now.
Without another comment, they looked up and walked past the tree into the house.
The house looked nice, what with its inviting tans and golds, shelves full of books, and plant pots here and there. Yet the thin layer of dust collecting on the wood floor said that this house had been abandoned for a while. The two stepped inside. The floor creaked. Compared to the rest of The Ruins, this house looked surprisingly well taken care of.
"Mettaton? Do you know if someone used to live here or not?" Frisk asked as they began to head for a hallway.
He was quiet for a moment. Frisk could feel curiosity from him, then frustration. I can't seem to remember, Frisk. I wasn't one to listen to stories about The Ruins. All I can recall is that someone left the castle, someone important.
That caught Frisk's attention. They stopped. "Who was it?"
I think it was either the king, or the queen. But that's all I can remember.
How interesting, Frisk thought as they continued walking. So Mettaton couldn't remember what happened to their king, and one of the royals had left. Had it been the king who'd left?
Gripping the pitcher's handle firmly in one hand, Frisk opened a door in the hall they'd walked in to. They blinked a few times to clear up their vision. Before them lay a small bedroom with a cabinet, two boxes of stuff, some stuffed animals, and a lamp. "A kid's bedroom?" They stepped inside, then seemed to think better of it. "Maybe we should keep going."
Frisk, we might as well rest here. We're both exhausted.
"But what if the king's been here? What if he comes back and catches us? Or someone else does?"
Frisk could hear him sigh. That's a risk we have to take, my little shooting star. Trust me when I say the king won't hurt us. As for others, well, we can't just keep going forever. We have to sleep, and we might as well do so while there's a bed in front of us.
They yawned. Mettaton was right. They would both fall asleep eventually. And even if they didn't, their body would give out. Might as well rest now before something too dangerous happened. Frisk walked over to the bed and sat down on it, promptly kicking off their shoes. They then lifted up the cider. It wasn't an ideal treat, that was for sure, but maybe they should drink some of it so they didn't go to bed on an empty stomach. Frisk didn't want to wake up weak, after all.
Tilting the pitcher back, they sipped it. The cider tasted like ripe blueberries with quite a sour note, and a more subtle bitter note as well. For being made of spiders, it wasn't that bad. Two more sips before they set the pitcher on the floor. Frisk then tossed the ribbon beside their shoes, and laid down.