Frisk woke up grunting. The phantom pain of determination seared her skin and snapped her bones and boiled her blood. For a moment, he body felt like liquid again, shaking and weak and it made her arms flail trying to rid herself of the sensation. She settled after the liquid feeling left and lay limp, letting the after burn simmer away and leaving her feeling stretched and out of shape.
Her mind reeled back to the Reset. What had happened? They had everything right, everything done, this was the last step! Why had her determination started raging like that? Proper memory of the time during Resets always faded fast, and most of the time Frisk had a deep sense of relief that they couldn't remember that place, a place that even trying to think of left her heart chilled. But this time she dug down, tried to recall what was just out of reach! Scrunching her eyes up, Frisk rolled onto her stomach, back arching as she tried to focus, fingers clawing into the dirt and grit. Her determination, she had had so much of it, but that had been fine. It had been enough to burn even a human, but she wasn't making more, she was using it! Getting rid of it! Why had it suddenly turned on her? She remembered initiating the Reset, settling into the void as she chose her destination in time and space, then…. Then something! Something had gone wrong. But what!?
"Argh!" She knocked herself in the head in frustration, then stopped. She wasn't getting anywhere with this. She'll figure it out, but later. For now she needed to find Flowey, see what had happened with this mess, because something had happened. Frisk could tell.
With a deep breath Frisk opened her eyes, pushing herself up so she wasn't face first in the…flowers? There was dirt beneath her. And rocks. With her eyes now open it was like snapping back into her body. Stone dug into her everywhere, and she could feel stones clinging to her back and side, grating and just a little painful. Not only that, but her body felt weird, dulled and sensitive both at the same time. Confused, she dragged her eyes up. She was in the barrier room, only there was no barrier. Shocked Frisk stared out into the whiteness. Gentle flakes of snow fluttered into the opening, the glare of light making it impossible for her to see farther. A little shell shocked Frisk barely even noticed her fumbled crawling (for some reason she couldn't seem to balance on her feet) as she skittered to the cave mouth.
Her first breath of chilled air crackled in her mouth. Snow sunk like knives into her hands and knees and the light near blinded her as she stared out. Before her was a wide valley, Silver Valley Frisk remembered it being called, after the river that ran through it that shone silver at mid-day. Right now it was covered in snow and deep in winter. Mountains rose on each side, funnelling the ocean wind from the west. And the ocean! Frisk could see it far in the distance, the sun starting its decent into it. She exhaled, taking in the sight. One difference noted. It had been late spring when she had fallen.
And the barrier!
Looking behind her Frisk studied the place where the barrier should be. This mess, Frisk thought, it turning out a little better than expected. It was then that a snowflake decided now it should fly right into her eye. Shocked by the sudden intrusion, she pushed back onto her butt, hands flashing up to rub at her eye. Everything would have been great, it her hand hadn't made a scratching noise as she rubbed. Or maybe not. Pulling her hand back Frisk started as she stared at bones. Blinking, she lifted her other hand. It was bone too! Her breathing picked up, and she felt air flowing over her ribs. Looking down Frisk felt like fainting. It wasn't the first time she had seen her own bones, albeit there had been a bit more blood last time, but never had she seen all of them at once. Looking down it suddenly made sense why she had crawled here. Her legs were broken. Well, no, not broken but they bent wrong. Her thighs and calves were a little shorter and her feet were far too long, with claws tipping the ends. They reminded her of the dog monsters. Hyperventilating just a little Frisk half expected there to be a tail, but no. there wasn't. She did have a second set of arms though.
Oh stars.
"Flowey?" She called. She needed someone. "Flowey?!" Anyone. "FLOWEY?! FLOWEY, WHERE ARE YOU, THIS ISN'T FUNNY! MOOOOMM!"
But nobody came.
Sucking in deep breathes, trying to ignore the feeling of it in her chest (ribs!), she flapped her hands and cried. She may have lived through years of Resets but she had been a child through them all. It was a little confusing really. Hiccupping, Frisk moved her arms (upper arms? Main arms?) to touch her new extra pair. They connected to her just below her actual arms, another set of clavicles and with a brief twist, another set of scapula, joined them to her body. Currently the set was sitting limply beside her, but as she reach down to touch them one moved up to meet her fingers. Frisk jolted, not expecting the arms to move. In her shock all four of her arms curled to her chest.
Sniffling, she wiped at her eyes, more carefully this time. Her hands came away with a glowing red liquid. She sniffled again as she examined it, calming her breathing as she stared at her tears. Rubbing it between her fingers it tingled a little, but not badly. It reminded her of magic. Thinking back to the last timeline Frisk remembered when Papyrus had cried (heaving great awful sobs that tore her heart), this was like that.
Another breath, stronger this time. Ok. Skeleton. She could deal with this. She looked down at her new arms and weird legs. Hopefully. Breathe. She needed to get up. Head into the underground and find someone. Hopefully Flowey. Steeling herself with one last glance at the snow outside Frisk pushed against the ground and attempted to stand.
For the first time she felt her determination stir. She didn't have burning levels anymore, no, it felt like her first few Resets. None of the determination she had gathered, none of the energy she had hoarded over runs. Just her.
After all this time…it's still her.
It took some time for Frisk to figure out how to walk with her new legs. They bent funny and she had to walk on her toes and she could barely balance without leaning against the cave wall. When she finally managed to stand up to her full height she nearly fell right back over. Frisk stared down at the ground. It was so far away! She was huge! Frisk had been an 11 year old for so long through the Resets. One time she had managed to grow to 14, but she had never been this tall! She must have been taller that Papyrus! Or maybe even Undyne! It blew her mind a little that she was now so tall, but felt that it didn't really matter right now. So she decided to think about it later.
Making her way further underground was a task and a half. She had to stay near the wall to balance, but here the ground was very uneven, pulling away from the wall and up randomly. Tiny stones dug their way between the tiny bones of her toes and more than once the claws dug a little too hard into the stone and tripped her. The tunnel leading underground got dark fast, but she could still see a little, everything tinted red slightly. Getting to the bend Frisk expected to see the great archway leading towards the throne room. What she found instead was stalactites and darkness. The tunnel opened up into a cavern. The ceiling was only a little ways above her head and with each breath Frisk smelled a dampness she only knew from Waterfall.
A little panic rose back up into her chest as she stumbled further into the cave. A dead end. There was no further path. This wide, low cave was all that was here. No castle. No flowers.
"Flowey?" She called once more, useless.
Clenching her teeth she wanted cry again, but sucked it back. She had already cried and that was enough. Instead she reached inside herself. Calling out to her soul with all the determination she had left. This was all so wrong, she had to do something. Her soul swirled to existence between her ribs and flipped in front of her, bright red and upside down. She frowned at it but cupped it as she reached into the void to pull herself out of time. Except nothing happened. Her determination wavered. Then steeled. She reached again. Nothing happened. Frisk felt nothing. Not the cold of the void, nor the pin of a save. Her determination was still there warm like a camp fire. But it did nothing. Her hands tightened in her sudden anger around her soul and she yelped as pain shot through her, throwing her soul away from herself. It dissolved back away inside her.
Clenching her teeth, this time in frustrated anger, Frisk tried again. And again. With an angry snarl she swiped at a low hanging stalactite. It clattered down with an echo. Heaving, hands clenched, her breath hitched. She held it in and scrubbed at her head, holding it. She jumped and made a distressed noise when her lower hands clung to her ribs. This was quickly getting out of hand. She chuckled a little madly at her own joke.
This was supposed to be the last reset. The Demon was gone, she would do one last run and break the barrier for good, then all the determination she had left she would give to Flowey. That was how it was supposed to go! That was the plan! This? This was all wrong and it wasn't FAIR! There was nothing here! Her family! All she had done, all the suffering, the pain, the death and for what?! So she could end it all in some empty cave as some…some…monster?!
She fell to her knees, but even that was taken from her when her legs wouldn't fold like they used to, and they ended up beside her.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't mean it." Frisk muttered, the fight still there, but. "Not a monster." But what was the point? She couldn't manipulate time. That was out of her reach now. It truly was the last Reset. But what was the point, there was nothing here and Frisk could hardly even recognise herself. Another inspection of her hollow body. And naked. She would have blushed but…
But…
Frisk frowned again. Brows scrunching. She lifted her hands away from her, lower arms simply following along, and stared at them. The tips of her fingers were clawed like her toes, the bones thin and fragile looking. But she felt a strength in them, like her own flesh and blood hands. They were solid and strong. Frisk curled them into fists. They were strong, she was strong. Even fumbling around like a baby deer she was strong!
So but nothing!
The underground was gone, but the surface was open and there was something out there. Climbing to her feet once more she left the cavern and back to the cave mouth, staring out at the snow. Something was out there, and she would find it.
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Frisk stood on the edge of the plateau outside the underground and studied the valley. Snow blanketed everything. In her own timeline Frisk would have been able to see the big skyscrapers from the city by the ocean at the other end of the valley. Now, in the distance by the water was another settlement. No great towers and sprawling suburbs, instead it was a blot of buildings surround what she could only assume was a castle, but at this distance it all kind of blurred together. She thought for a moment of trying to get there but it would take her far too long, the valley was massive with Ebbot and the city at opposite ends. Instead she turned her eyes to a closer break in the white.
Down nearer to the foot of the mountian was what Frisk could make out as a little village. A small cluster of low buildings around a small handfuls of larger ones. Sprawling further out from the mass where little specks of buildings that she thought must have been farms. There was no highway, no roads she could make out. When was she? What sort of world had she come to?
Shaking those thoughts away she stepped carefully to the side, picking her way down off the plateau. Frisk glanced at the smaller village and confirmed her idea. She would head there, and try to figure out what was going on. She slipped on some icy rocks, falling a little ways in the snow. The icy flakes seemed to find every crack and seam in her bones and slip in. It was very uncomfortable. Frisk suddenly was much more understanding of Sans and Papyrus's clothes.
First order of business: find some clothes.
She was a little shocked to find the cold didn't really bother her. Things also didn't feel like they used to. While Frisk wasn't wearing any shoes, the sharp stones this high on the mountain didn't really bother her. It was more that they wedged between her bones that bothered her.
The worst part of the climb was the start, Frisk found. Up that high there was nothing to slow the ocean wind and it battered her. When she got low enough that trees were growing the wind died to a gentle breeze and Frisk only had to worry about scratching out the ice building up in her joints. She had given up scratching it out of her neck and instead picked mostly at her hips and knees. Not only did it ease the ached it brought, it helped her get used to the whole bone thing.
The arms on the other hand.
Her upper arms she had no trouble controlling, it was natural. Her lower arms however either followed along with her upper arms or just hung limp beside her. With her path slowly easing as she got lower on the mountain Frisk used the time to practice. The clasped her upper hands behind her back and focused solely on controlling the lower. First opening and closing her lower lands, then flexing her wrists. So far, so good. Picking her way down through thin spread trees she tried to raise her arms. This was a little harder. Her upper arms twitched, trying to rise too, but she clenched her hands (all four) and refused to let them budge. Trying again she tried raising them in front of her. Her movement was a little blocked by her clasped upper arms but she made do.
By the time the tree's thickened Frisk had managed to raise and lower her lower arms easily, though her upper arms still twitched a little. Stopping with her practice she looked towards her destination. Being much lower on the mountain now the village was starting to disappear past the trees. The sun had started to sink into the horizon and clouds had started to roll down the mountain from behind her. It wouldn't be long before the whole valley filled with cloud. A little worried she adjusted her course slightly and moved a little faster toward the village. With any luck she would reach the outer buildings before the clouds opened up.
The trek between the mountain and the village was a lot longer that Frisk expected. By the time she made it past the trees at the base of the mountain she was sighing with relief that the forest curved around the left of the valley from where she stood. The sun had set a while ago and the clouds blotted out the moon. Frisk would have been worried but her vision had been slowly turning a little more red as the dark crept in so she could still somewhat see. Now she had to get across the plain. The ground was now quite flat and with her back to Ebbot she angled to the right where a soft orange glow marked the town. Little pricks of light shone from the outer buildings, but she had a feeling some had no light and were blending into the background.
She spent a moment once more cracking the ice from her bones. The snow kept slipping into the joints, then melting from the friction only to freeze again and it left her sore and aching. Not to bring up the burning ache the excess determination had left her. The wind had picked up slightly and little flurries swirled around her. In an attempt to stop it from irritating her ribs she wrapped her arms around herself. Frisk moved onward.
With the clouds overhead Frisk had no idea how long it took for her to come close to the first building. It was a barn, big and with a few gaps in the wood. It sat at the very edge of a wooden fence and from inside she heard what sounded like cows. As another gust of wind twirled snow straight through her Frisk decided to investigate the barn a little further for something to cover herself. She was very tired of being naked.
Getting into the barn was easier than she thought it would be! With her new size lifting the plank of wood holding the door shut was laughably easy. As she set it aside Frisk grumbled, having this sort of strength would have made things much easier in earlier Resets. Huffing a little at the thought she carefully cracked the great door open and slipped in.
It was instant relief from the constant itch of wind against her bones. It was also notably warmer. As she stared at the cows held in some sort of pen at one end of the barn she digressed that it wasn't really that much warmer, just out of the wind and snow. The cows were huddled together. And staring at her. She shuffled a little further in, her eyes panning for something for her to use. Another glance up as a cow mooed loudly at her then quieted. She was taller than them. Which she found odd, but she was taller than a lot of things she didn't used to be taller than.
Frisk passed down the right side of the barn, studying hay and oats and tools. If worst came to worst, she supposed she could stay in this barn until morning, then try and talk to someone and figure out when/where she was. Turning to study the other side when she reached the cows Frisk kept looking. Or should she look around now, while people sleep? Would that be creepy?
With a sound of triumph, Frisk reached with her right hands and yanked out a piece of cloth that had been folded behind a crate. Holding it up for inspection, she decided that it will do. It was stuck through in multiple places with straw and the weave was thick and full of holes, but it would do. With her new cloak now wrapped around her she sat on the box that had tried to hide it. Slumping back against the wall Frisk finally stopped for a moment.
The cows in their pens huffed and shuffled about and the barn groaned slightly in the wind. Off her weird new feet Frisk felt how tired she was. It wasn't really the tired where you drifted off to sleep, it was more the tired where your eyes itched and your body wanted to move but you didn't really have the energy. Lifting her feet she watched as she stretched her toes. Mud and snow stained all up to her lifted heel and little stones were stuck in her toes. Lazily she picked them out, happy to let her mind go blank for a little bit. When that was done Frisk just stopped for a while, staring silent at the opposite wall. It was nice to not think, especially after the mess that was today. Her eyes closed for a moment and she felt that things will be easier to deal with tomorrow.
Then another cow mooed and Frisk opened her eyes again. With a sigh, much more tired than when she entered the barn, she stood up. Right, looking around now while there was less trouble would be better.
With a little regret Frisk left the barn, placing the wood plank back in its holders, and kept walking.
The time between buildings was rather long, Frisk noted, but was getting shorter the close she got the glow of the town. It didn't have as many lights as before, a few left here and there. The closest wasn't actually in the town proper. As she walked past another home, wood and stone like the others, she noticed the light was a little ways from everything. Curiosity peaked, Frisk angled towards the little orange light.
She soon ran into a road of some kind. Stones lined the side and two long divots in the snow spoke of wheel tracks. She followed it towards the light. Finally Frisk arrived at a gate. Wooden like most other things, but the wall it was attached to was low stone. The gate was small next to her, and instead of disturbing the tiny thing she decided to step over the wall, which barely reached above her knees.
The light was a lamp.
It wasn't like any lamp Frisk had seen before. It was made of glass wrapped with metal and inside was a candle. The flame burned bigger than any other candle she had seen before. It hung from a post the reached the bottom of her ribs and one the side of a small path leading to a decently sized building. She stepped a little closer to examine it more, only to kick her foot against the stone at the bottom of the lamp post. With a loud yelp Frisk jumped back. She tried to lift up her foot to grab it but over balanced and stumbled to sit against the wall. Holding now onto her toes to rub away the soreness she was glad for her cloak/blanket, as it protected her from ice cold stones.
Seated once more Frisk felt the tiredness creep in. her limbs felt heavy and she ached all over and even with the blanket she still felt uncomfortably naked. Huffing a breath Frisk released her sore toes and leant forward. Bracing her elbows on her knees she drooped her head, letting the exhaustion hit.
As tired as she was Frisk didn't hear the creak of a door, or see the tiny light bloom. A pair of people were coming out of the building the lamp belonged too and were making their way towards her. One was fairly short and hunched over, a heavy coat rapped around them and a candle in hand. Beside them was a taller figure, bulkier and also equally bundled.
When Frisk finally noticed a light settle over her the two were already whispering to each other warily. The shorter figure said something and her eyes slowly moved to them. It was a man, human, he was edging on old, with lines around his eyes and hair that hadn't been around for years. He said something again and she frowned. She couldn't understand what he was saying. Some of the sounds were familiar but they seemed to breeze right past her. Then the other figure spoke up, drawing attention as the stepped forward to place a hand on her blanket covered shoulder.
This one was a monster. Frisk blinked a little, trying to feel a little shock but the heavy exhaustion just wouldn't allow it. The monster was covered in feathers, with a beak and little plume atop their head. They wore what Frisk could only call a poncho, it was thick with a large hood and looked very warm. Just looking at them in the red tinted dark Frisk couldn't tell much more about them. The monster spoke again, voice high and decidedly female. She looked concerned.
"Um." She shuffled her feet through the snow and held her blanket a little tighter. "I….I'm sorry, I don't understand." Sat on the wall and hunched, she had to tilt her head up to see the monster.
The feathered monster clicked her beak, her solid yellow eyes shining with worry, and spoke again slower. Frisk frowned at her and shook her head. "I don't understand."
The man turned to the monster and Frisk watched curiously as the two spoke quickly with each other. She had never seen a monster and a human interact before, not as an onlooker at least. The two seemed familiar with each other, the man putting his hand on the monsters arm gently as he spoke, and glancing back at Frisk occasionally. After a moment the monster nodded and her hand tightened on her shoulder. With a gentle pull Frisk allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. A slight stumble later and she towered over her two observers. The older man barely even reached her ribs and the monster got half way up them. Frisk was struck with a deep sense of misplacement. This was so strange.
The two strangers stared at her a moment, a little shocked by her height. They quickly got over it though. A little self-conscious with the stares Frisk hunched over. The new skeleton soon found herself being gently led towards the building she had briefly noted. The door was just slightly too short and she bumped her head, but brushed off the fussing of the man. They led her to some sort of living room. It was large, with two tables set at one end. The other end had a large woven rug that looked handmade covering the floor, scattered over it were children's toys.
Frisk was lead through the living space and down a hall and passed a set of stairs. The room she entered was…old. A simple bed that looked to be a sheet wrapped around straw stuffing. A thick blanket made out of mismatching knitted patches was draped over the top, looking recently rumpled. The feathered monster hurried forward and gathered up a bundle of what looked like clothes from the bed and shoving them into a chest at the end. The man touched her back gently and encouraged her onto the bed. Frisk was going to protest, she had a sneaking suspicion the room belonged to the woman and didn't want to take it from her, but as soon as she sat the tiredness returned.
With just a touch the man convinced her to lay down. With minimal squirming she managed to pull the knit blanket over herself and her own blanket. In the warmth of the large building the chill of winter slowly left her. She could feel the ice on her bones starting to melt, soothing the scraping it had caused. With a deep sigh her eyes closed, and Frisk slept.