A/N: Frisk receives a few answers and is still not convinced they're not in a video game.

I'm getting these out fairly quickly. I wanna write more. Maybe I will.

Thank you again to my beta joviamod!

Frisk decided that the Ruins was interesting and that monsters weren't actually that bad. They weren't quite sure what had decided it, but they suspected it mostly started with Whimsum. Monsters seemed to initiate battles almost automatically, but some of them didn't even want to fight. Which was nice because Frisk certainly didn't want to fight either. It was kind of nice trying to become friends with them, even though the monsters went on their merry way soon after the battle ended.

Becca was a patient teacher and seemed to be very smart. She knew all of the puzzle solutions to the Ruins' puzzles, but she often let Frisk try to solve them through trial and error while she waited on the other side. It had ended up with Frisk being a little bumped and scraped up and them having to fight a few battles on their own. Becca had only gently tsked Frisk when they had returned to her at one point with low health after failing to understand what some of the vegetable monsters had wanted. She had given them a Spider Donut to heal themselves that she had purchased earlier from the Spider Bake Sale. Frisk was starting to suspect what they had drank earlier had been made of spiders, by spiders, for spiders.

Becca relaxed much more when they entered an area devoid of monsters. There was a hallway leading off in front of them to where Frisk could hear some bustle, but there was also a large tree in a different direction that had caught their attention. Becca motioned for Frisk to follow her silently as they passed into the hallway and out onto a balcony of some sort. Frisk felt their heart leap with shock as buildings seemed to extend farther than they could see. There was a whole community! Admittedly Frisk had wondered where all of the monsters lived, but this was much more than they had anticipated.

"This is Old Home." Becca told Frisk quietly as she leaned on the railings of the balcony. She had a somber face on as Frisk moved to stand next to her. "There aren't many monsters that live here now, but this used to be the capital of the Underground." Frisk gave her a questioning look. She shook her head. "I don't think anything bad happened, I just think they moved the capital city somewhere else. It's called 'New Home'" She snorted. "The king isn't very good at naming places."

"Do you . . . live here?" Frisk asked. She shook her head again.

"We passed where I live a while ago. But I do come here for food and such." She looked down briefly before she looked at Frisk. "The monsters here know I'm human because I didn't hide it when I first arrived here. They can't recognize most humans on sight unless they're the older generation."

"Why?" Frisk frowned.

She shrugged, picking at the railing with her fingernail idly. "Dunno. You'd have to ask someone who doesn't live in the Ruins." She paused. "I think I know someone who would know . . . but we don't meet up often. Maybe when we leave the Ruins . . ."

"Leave?"

"Oh. Right, I have to tell you about that. Sorry." She stood up and adjusted her skirt again. "Let's go somewhere private." She walked back the way they had come with a stiff purposeful stride. She went under the leafless tree, crunching over its red discarded leaves until she stopped in front of an old house. Frisk stared up at the large entrance wondering again who would need a doorway that high. Becca entered the door and left it a little ajar. Frisk didn't go in just yet.

The house itself looked like it had not been lived in for quite some time. The tree seemed to be well taken care of, but Frisk didn't know by who. For some reason they felt a little nostalgic. This was probably a home filled with much joy. The occupants probably moved out when the capital changed, if Frisk had to guess. The quaint house filled Frisk with determination, and they made another Save before they entered the building.

The inside of it was dusty and void of all furniture. It really did look like nobody had been there in so long. Becca seemed unconcerned as she walked a short way over to a door and pushed it open. It held fast before one more push in the right place shoved it open with a loud groan just loud enough for the two children to slip through. Inside the room was a single mattress and some clothing bundled into the corner. There was a small pile of carefully wrapped food as well. Becca motioned to the mattress.

"Are you tired? It's been a long journey and I'm sure you'd like a break." She asked.

A nap sounded perfect, now that Frisk thought about it. They pointed at her questioningly.

"I'll just relax for a little bit. I can explain everything later, if you want. We'll be safe here." Frisk wasn't so sure that they hadn't been safe before. Admittedly the monsters had attacked them, but most were friendly. But Becca also looked tired and worried about something. Frisk had noticed that she seemed far too old for her age. There must be something wrong.

They dropped their stick on the ground and grabbed Becca's hand to lead her over to the mattress before they fell back onto it, dragging her with them. She yelped as they hit the bed, and Frisk giggled a bit. Becca glared at them, huffing, before she sat up. "No, Frisk, you should sleep here!"

"Both." Frisk recommended. They knew they were a small kid for their age. They could easily squeeze onto one side of the bed and she could sleep on the other. They laid down and pressed themselves to the far side before they patted the mattress invitingly, staring at her. Becca made a face and stared at the open door before she sighed and gave in, falling down to lay next to Frisk.

"Fine, I'll sleep too. But don't expect this to be a thing. I don't sleep with others." Frisk nodded in understanding and closed their eyes. They hadn't realized how tired they must have actually been because they ended up quickly falling asleep.

They awoke some time later unsure of how long they had slept and almost certain everything had been a dream. However visual proof of this room not, in fact, being their bedroom proved that it wasn't. Becca wasn't next to Frisk any longer. The human sat up and climbed off of the bed. Where had the girl gone? It didn't look like anything was particularly out of place. Frisk was hungry and wanted some real food that wasn't made of spiders. They doubted they would find any here.

Becca was sure to be around here somewhere, so they picked up their stick and slipped past the door to reenter the hallway. They followed it, noting the stairs leading downward, before they continued forward. They must be in the old living room, because there was a fire place there. Becca sat in front of the crackling hearth, poking at the clump of burning sticks there with another stick. Her hair was a little messier than earlier and she appeared calmer. Frisk hoped she had managed to sleep.

She looked up immediately upon their entrance. Frisk joined her by the fire, basking in the warmth that fought off the chill in the air. It was darker in the house now. The sunlight that had been bathing the tree outside was fainter. Either the sun had moved away from the place to feed the tree, or it was late. Frisk couldn't tell.

"Sleep well?" She asked. Frisk shrugged and nodded, ignoring the ache in their neck. They were starting to get used to being in pain a lot. They hoped they may be able to find real food and a real bed soon. "Yeah, I get it." She grinned sympathetically. "You get used to it after a while."

Frisk stared at her, waiting. They could tell she was going to begin soon.

She sighed as she began, "I've been down here the longest of the children I've met. There were six of us, now seven if you include yourself. I led them all through the Ruins and told them what to expect. Hopefully you're the last one I have to tell this to." She paused and swallowed, picking up a glass of water from beside her that Frisk hadn't seen. She took a sip. "Humans fall into the Underground for many reasons, but a lot of them don't survive the Underground. It can be because they were killed, or died in the fall, or something else, but the mortality rate is fairly high. Monsters aren't even immune to it, although from what I've heard they've gotten better about being prepared. But . . . that's only for the Ruins. I don't know much for outside of it. I've lived here this entire time."

"Why?" Frisk asked. They couldn't imagine staying in such a place. Didn't she want to leave the Underground at all? How big was the Underground?

"Because I knew that other children would fall into the Underground after me. My power warned me. And I needed to warn them about what they would face." Frisk stared at her harder, completely baffled. She gave a soft laugh. "Right. A lot to explain. I'll start with the powers." She poked Frisk's chest. "Your Soul has a color, right? From what I can gleam from my own power, each Soul color has a special magic to it. Think of it like a defense for humans who can't do magic. I think it only started to work once you enter the Underground because there's so much magic." She held her hands to her chest. "My Soul is light blue. I have this thing that I call precognition. I know things before they happen. I knew others would fall after me that needed my help. I knew I needed to wait in the Ruins for them. I knew every Soul has a power, although I had to figure out what it was. And I knew you were coming, Frisk."

"Wow." Frisk breathed. They wondered what their power was. Wait, she had mentioned meeting them before. Was that part of her power? They asked her.

"No, we really have met before . . . although my power did remind me of that." She paused and stared hard at the ground. "I wasn't as careful with you before. You don't have and EXP, so your health is kind of low. And you died because of it." Frisk blinked. She looked at them. "When you died, your power activated to bring you back to the beginning because you didn't have any things called . . . "SAVES"?" She didn't sound sure of the SAVES.

Frisk nodded. "I made . . . a couple. Although I didn't know what they were." They admitted slowly.

"I thought so. It's okay because I don't really get it either. But if you die, I think you get sent back to your last SAVE." She paused and then added with a grumble, "Like a video game."

Frisk laughed. It didn't seem all that believable, but then again there were stranger things happening that day. So Frisk decided to believe her. Besides, they could sense their SAVE file hovering on the edge of their perception.

"What about . . . the others?" They asked.

Becca stared into the fire for a moment, mouthing the rim of her cup, before she explained, "I don't know all of theirs. We figured out a couple together, but most I didn't. If they're still alive out there somewhere in the Underground −which I think they are− then they probably figured it out by now." So there were other children possibly out there living in the Underground despite whatever warning Becca had given them.

"Warning?" Frisk prompted.

" . . . There's a royal family in the Underground. The Dreemurrs. The king and queen are kind enough and all of the monsters love them. I don't know them personally, so I don't have an opinion. They can't be all bad if they keep the monsters content and not angry about being stuck down here." That was a good point. Why were the monsters stuck down there? "They have a son named Asriel and . . . an adopted human named Chara."

"Human?" They asked, shocked.

Becca nodded, glaring at the flames. "They're old by now. Probably in their fifties, if I've got my timeline straight. They rule beside Asriel now that the king and queen retired a little while back." Her fist clenched and unclenched, and she quickly put aside the water with a thump. The glass tipped a little too far and almost spilled over. Frisk quickly righted it. "The new rulers made a decree that any humans found were to be brought to the capital. The monsters, simple and kind and dumb as they are, gladly did so. But the rulers will kill any humans that get captured."

Frisk shivered at the hatred in her voice. "Why?" They meekly asked.

"I don't know. Not for sure, anyway. But my Soul has at least grasped that it's related to keeping the monsters in the Underground. I don't know if they're trying to keep the monsters down here, or free them though." Becca turned her gaze on Frisk, her eyes a forest fire. "The monsters don't all recognize a human on sight because most of the monsters living in the Underground have never met a human. Or, at least, haven't realized it if they have. But the older generation remembers what Chara looked like when they were younger. And according to that Froggit, you look a lot like them. Which means you're likely to be recognized as a human."

That didn't sound good at all. Frisk considered trying to find a disguise.

"Knowing all of this, though," Becca continued, "the other kids still went further into the Underground in an effort to return to the surface. I don't know how many survived, but I've got a feeling at least a couple are still alive. At least according to my sources. I guess I'll find out soon enough." She grabbed her water and stood up, finishing it off before tossing it into the hearth. The glass shattered loudly, making Frisk jump. Becca turned then and motioned for them to follow after her. "Any more questions before we move on?" She asked as they turned to the staircase in the house and descended down it. They entered some type of basement.

"Why are the monsters . . . down here?" Frisk asked, following her brisk pace as quickly as possible.

"Don't know. There's some kind of story, but I didn't really care enough to listen to it. We can probably find out later."

"Where are we going?" It was an extremely long route of absolute nothingness. The hall only went in one direction, but it became darker the further in they went. There was another large door at the end, cracked open. Becca and Frisk worked together to push it open further before entering it. The room beyond it was completely black except for a single light shining through the ceiling onto another small hill of grass. Becca disregarded the grass completely and stopped before a final doorway. It was black there. She looked at Frisk.

"Beyond this door is the rest of the Underground. I don't know what we'll come across." There wasn't a single note of fear in her voice as she stood with her back straight and her eyes cold. The temperature was lower in this room and even chillier next to the door. It would be freezing out there, Frisk realized. "Do you want to go? We can wait if you want to until you're ready." She smiled slightly. "But you want to leave, don't you?"

Frisk wasn't sure what they wanted. They wanted to keep going, but they didn't have a goal in mind. They weren't sure they wanted to return to the surface, but they didn't want to stay in the Ruins. They would rather go out into the Underground. Maybe they could try to find the other children, or find out what had happened to them. Maybe Frisk could find out the history of the monsters and why they were down there. Frisk wasn't sure how the monsters would be out in the Underground, but they were willing to take the risk.

They gripped their stick tighter and nodded, filled with determination. Becca nodded back and together they pushed open the final door in the Ruins to enter the cold world that was the rest of the Underground.