At first, the only dilemma was that there was no logical way for Flowey to follow Frisk through the Ruins. Flowey could travel underground but there was a good possibility he'd pop up too far away and lose her. The solution?
Frisk took hold of Flowey's stem with both hands.
"What are you-Aaah!" Flowey squealed as he was pulled clean out of the ground. He writhed around like a snake in Frisk's grasp. Clearly, he was upset about this. "Human, what the actual heck?!"
"Sorry, I thought I could carry you…" Frisk shrugged stiffly, not sure what to do next. Flowey groaned, then wrapped his long roots around Frisk's left arm so that she could let go of his stem.
"Is that good enough for you?" He muttered, his head dropping onto Frisk's shoulder.
"Mmhmm!" Frisk seemed happy. "But my name's not 'Human'. It's Frisk!"
"Lovely to meet you, Frisk." Flowey mumbled, sounding as though it wasn't lovely at all. This only made Frisk giggle. She peeked out of Flowey's cave and into the tunnel. Flowey said that this tunnel lead far into the Underground, branching into a labyrinth of corridors one could easily lose themselves in, forever. With an uneasy glance at the ribbon in Frisk's hair, he said that he knew.
Frisk took a deep breath. She straightened her posture, bit her lip, looked again to Flowey on her shoulder, and stepped into the tunnel.
"The first thing you need to know is that you're not alone here in the Ruins."
As soon as they'd ventured far enough into the mountain that the sunlight from behind them disappeared completely, Frisk began to notice a few things. It was very dark, so nothing much could be said but this; The walls became smoother, more rectangular, like a real hallway, and the empty void of darkness around them began to... whisper. To breathe. Frisk could feel eyes upon her as she walked. It was about five minutes of complete silence from Flowey until Frisk saw the ominous purple glow of the first torch. That's when he began to narrate.
"You're not alone…" He continued, looking around warily, as if someone could be listening in. "...In more ways than one. Not only are there little monsters like me scattered about the Ruins, but there's also something we little monsters like to call a Boss Monster. She lives here, as a sort of caretaker. She's much stronger than any one of us and could kill you in one hit. You have to be careful never to run into her, okay? If you hear a woman's voice… giggling… you have to hide straight away."
"What is she?" Frisk asked faintly. She realized getting through the Ruins was the only way to leave the Underground, but did Flowey really have to tell her about this 'Boss Monster' just now?!
"Her name is Toriel. She's insane. That's all you need to know." Flowey told her firmly, and Frisk nodded uneasily.
They walked past the third torch without saying anything else.
Frisk managed to escape a few monsters by herself, only getting mildly hurt. However, it wasn't the escape Flowey had anticipated.
Frisk would win the fight by showing mercy.
As soon as the battle would start, the monster-usually the green-furred Froggit, or the slimy purple blob that was Moldsmal-would immediately attack, going straight for Frisk's now vulnerable soul. Frisk, however, ignoring Flowey's screams to fight back, would only dodge. Then, to the monster's surprise, she'd give them a smile and spare. This would only lead to a frustrated grunt on the monster's end, delivering another blow that Frisk would sidestep. This would continue several times until the monster, tired, annoyed, and even somewhat ashamed would slink away, deciding Frisk wasn't worth their time if they couldn't get to her soul.
The battles were very time-consuming and Flowey got skittish, nervously urging Frisk to get a move on before nightfall. That's when the torches were snuffed-by none other than Toriel-and the "Night Crawlers" came out. Those were the bigger, more dangerous monsters that lurked in the cover of the dark. Upon hearing this, Frisk made it a point to walk quickly.
It was only when Frisk made it to the fourteenth torch that something happened.
Flowey had told her that every monster was keen on ripping Frisk's soul from her body and/or tearing her to pieces, but with the next monster she came to meet, this wasn't the case.
Past the fourteenth torch, just to her right, Frisk saw an open corridor, lined with some glowing mushrooms. With a look around the other hallways Frisk concluded that this corridor was the only one that did not lead to a dead end. But when she attempted to enter it, she was stopped in her tracks by a jet black ghost, morphing into her path straight out of the wall.
He didn't seem to have expected her, quite literally flying backwards a few feet. He bore an uncanny resemblance to the ghosts from 'Pac Man', with the only different characteristics being he was completely black, his eyes and mouth were lined in a blood red, and he wore an old-fashioned headset.
"Aaahh…" He huffed, his voice all echoey and weird. Like Flowey, he sounded agitated. "What do you want?"
Frisk opened her mouth, then closed it. Then opened it again, and stuttered an apology. Apparently, this ghost didn't know she was human, or he'd have attacked straight away. "I-I'm sorry, I was just hoping to... go that way?" She pointed past the ghost.
The ghost sighed long and deep, as if he wasn't keen on moving. "Whyyy?"
"Um... so I can get to the end of the Ruins...?"
"...Why?"
Flowey made a strangled noise next to Frisk's ear. "That's none of your business, Nabstablook! Just move already so we can get through!"
"Ohhh… It's you…" The ghost-Nabstablook-groaned, as if he were less than happy to see Flowey. "It's been a while… I was hoping I wouldn't see you again… Is this another one of your 'friends'? How many do you plan on taking through the Ruins anyway…? You know Toriel's just gonna kill 'em, right...?"
"...I'm not planning to let that happen again."
Frisk flinched on 'again'. She'd gotten the hint that Flowey had helped multiple people through the Ruins, but she didn't expect Toriel to have foiled his plans multiple times. She hoped Flowey knew what he was doing this time.
"Heh… Wow… You aren't even able to protect your own friends… Maybe all you really care about is yourself." Nabstablook taunted, still not moving from the middle of the path.
"Well, at least I didn't let a crazy scientist take away my own cousin." Flowey shot back with a menacing sneer. "Who's the more selfish one now?"
Flowey's words hit the ghost hard. Nabstablook's expression darkened, if that was possible.
"You're one cocky flower, arent'cha?" He growled, quiet no longer. Frisk backed up a step, putting up her hands.
"Please, don't fight." She begged. "Don't listen to him, just… just let us pass, and we'll leave you alone."
Nabstablook blinked, still glaring at Flowey. Finally, he sighed, backing down and drifting sideways. "Fine. Only because you're so polite. Now get out of my sight."
Frisk took the invitation immediately and hurried past him, not looking back. Flowey stayed quiet on her shoulder, seemingly ashamed of himself. Good, Frisk thought, upset. He had no right to hit that ghost so hard.
They hurried along in silence after that. Frisk didn't think the evening could get any crazier.
She was wrong.
The meeting was sudden. Frisk rounded a corner after a short battle with a furry Froggit, and, seeing that she had a sort of pattern down, was completely unconcerned about what she would face next.
Then she came face to face with Toriel.
At least, that's what Frisk assumed according to Flowey's description. The woman was extremely tall, with the tips of her long sharp horns almost brushing the ceiling of the cave, and she was just about drowned in long, matted fur that seemed more yellow than white. Her long snout ended in a dry, cracked nose and two unnervingly pointy fangs poked out from under her black upper lip. She donned a dirty black dress torn at the knees, with a strange symbol along the chest, sewn in red. Her big hands and feet ended in curved, black claws.
In other words, she was the supreme overlord of the goats, and boy, did she look mad.
The run-in was so surprising that Toriel stumbled back in shock, eyes flaming, and emitted a blood curdling shriek that seemed to echo along the cave for miles.
"RUN!" Flowey screamed immediately, and Frisk had no objection. She turned tail and flew.
It didn't take long for Toriel to react. As soon as Frisk turned around, Toriel surged forward, swiping with a massive paw. By some miracle it soared over Frisk's head, missing by mere inches, and ruffled her hair with the force of a hurricane. Frisk's heart blinked in front of her, stupidly making itself vulnerable, so Frisk wrapped her arms around it to protect it, and continued to run. Her legs worked like they'd never worked before, her strides coming in lengths she'd never dreamed she could take. Behind her, Toriel's footsteps shook the ground, and her bellows rattled her bones. Frisk was terrified and Flowey didn't seem much better, burying his face in Frisk's neck with his petals curled in. As Frisk sprinted past little monsters, they jumped out of the way instantaneously, as if they knew who she was running from, and in no way wanted to tap its wrath.
Torch by torch flew past, their light doing little to illuminate the path ahead. Frisk nearly collided head first into a wall several times, always managing to catch herself at the last minute, and turn. The last time, however, she wasn't so lucky.
Running blindly after passing yet another dim torch, Frisk had no idea of the dead end she'd reached until she smashed into it. Fortunately, she wasn't going fast enough for the wall of dirt and rock to give her brain damage, but it did do its number and she collapsed, stunned. Her ears were ringing as blood and adrenaline rushed through her body at a thousand miles an hour, and her vision began to go staticy. Her heart-soul beat weakly in front of her, just as worn out. Faintly, she could hear Flowey screaming at her to get up, but her arms and legs were like jelly and her breaths were too short. Paralyzed and cornered, she was easy bait for Toriel.
Toriel's footsteps slowed, as if she sensed this, and decided to take her time. As Frisk pulled herself into a sitting position, rubbing at the bleeding cuts above her eyebrows, Toriel stepped into what was left of Frisk's field of vision. A red light spilled over them both; the source of which, a bright red flame hovering in Toriel's right paw. Fire magic, Frisk assumed, to burn me to ashes.
"Sorry, Flowey..." Frisk whispered to the trembling plant around her neck, and she braced herself for an unscheduled cooking.
However, it didn't come.
After a few minutes of holding her breath, Frisk peeked up at the Boss Monster. To the human's surprise, instead of fury, the monster wore an expression of deep concern. Toriel was frozen, her big red eyes slanted in worry.
"C-Chara…?" She had time to squeak out, before Frisk's vision went dark.