Author note-

Welp, another long update- and this chapter was finished ages ago! I just needed to tweak it to a standard I felt okay with, I actually had to chop this chapter in half as well, it was hitting the 9000 word count!

In this chapter, have some Frisk background and even Reader background revealed ;) plot, plot, plot...

...and if you're smart, you might piece together who a certain person in this chapter is in the actual game!

(Possible triggers- nightmares, blood, implied death, sad times in general...)

-x-

Chapter Seven

Past

Your sleep was not a dreamless affair.

It was dark, and in the middle of the night, you presumed. From where you stood in the middle of the shadowy clearing, tall ominous trees surrounded you… blocking out any of the starlit sky. You could make out your own pale, trembling hands- which were clenched tightly.

You were terrified.

"Sss…"

You heard the trees whisper, the breeze almost sounding human. Looking around the dark clearing, you knew that you were alone.

But you felt a presence.

"H-hello…?"

You called out, your voice sounding so faint compared to the crashing orchestra of the woods. It felt as if your voice was being carried out by the wind, only to be stifled by the vastness of the forest.

"Si…"

Another hushed whisper, one that sounded somewhat closer.

But no matter how much you looked and focused your sight around the dark clearing… you saw that you were alone.

You tried to call out again, but as you opened your mouth, you found you physically couldn't- your throat felt closed up with pure fear, it was almost painful trying to speak aloud. The fear was too much, you wanted to run, leave the dark woods and never return.

You took a tentative step, your feet feeling unusually heavy.

Approaching the tall, dark trees almost felt impossible. But eventually, you found that when you reached the leering figures - that they formed a makeshift wall, preventing any possible escape from the clearing.

You gasped out, feeling wetness forming in your eyes.

"Sis…"

Another whisper from the trees, and you gulped heavily when you realized the words.

Turning around, you noticed that there was now a never seen before pathway through the trees- the only accessible way out.

You didn't want to follow the path, afraid of what you might find… or who.

"H... he…"

The whisper stuttered, sounding desperate. The tears that formed were now falling freely from your blurry eyes, your chest felt painful with grief and pure terror.

"HELP!"

The once whisper now screamed, causing the trees around you to shake violently- it seemed the entire forest was reacting to the voice. Even the ground beneath you shook as if it would break apart, the motion causing you to scream aloud.

The scream was easily swallowed by the vastness.

Despite your fear, you felt you needed to find the source of the voice- so you did the only thing you could think of and ran towards the open pathway, ignoring the heaviness of your feet and chest.

As you turned back to the clearing, the tall trees that were once open were now twisted together. Leaving you with only one direction to go, which was a dirt path that seemed to lead upwards, tall dark trees still blocked most of your vision of the sky.

You began to walk, ignoring the involuntary shiver that ran through your spine. You felt as if you were being watched, but no matter how hard you tried- you couldn't see a thing. It made traversing the path dangerous, as you felt for any rocks and logs before you could trip on them.

But the desperate voice continued to yell out as you walked slowly, most of it was unintelligible. But from what you could pick up on in your confusion, the person needed your help.

"Please…"

"Sis…"

"H-h…"

As you finally reached the peak of the hill, out of breath and practically crawling in your exhaustion, the voice had suddenly stopped.

You looked around for the source, but the woods were now deathly silent. You noticed with an exhale of fear that there was only a gaping chasm in the ground in front of you, and there was no other direction to go.

You felt the presence behind you.

Swallowing heavily, you turned to face them.

You were met with a young child, one you didn't quite recognise or expect.

The child had short brown hair, pale skin and startling rosy cheeks, but the most horrifying thing was their eyes.

They were blood red.

You couldn't breathe or even move as they approached you, a glint caught your attention and you realized the child held a knife. You gasped out as they smiled; the tilt of their lips brought a sick sense of dread to your stomach.

"You failed him…" The child whispered out tauntingly, still smiling. They were now only a few inches away from you, their knife held out threateningly. "The only family you had left… and you let him rot."

With that, the child slashed the knife across your stomach- pain lancing throughout your body. You watched in shock as blood stained your thin ripped shirt, leaking out onto the ground.

The child looked on in glee as you fell to your knees, gripping your stomach with a pained expression. As you bled out on the ground, the child kneeled beside you, leaning down to whisper in your ears.

"You deserve to die." The child said.

You finally screamed.

You awoke with a start, sat up on your bed in a cold sweat. You were unsure of whether you screamed aloud or not, alerting the others to your nightmare. You tried to calm your breathing, still feeling shaken from the horrible dream.

It had brought up some old, old memories.

Ones you didn't want to think about, ones you'd rather repress again.

Moving slowly to sit on the edge of the bed, you let out a deep sigh. It seemed that you didn't make much noise throughout the nightmare- as there was no sign of Toriel or even Papyrus knocking on your door.

Usually, you would prefer to be left alone, but for whatever reason, you would have liked them to come in and comfort you.

You shuddered, remembering the blood red eyes of that child… if it could even be called that.

Once you felt your legs weren't going to give out on you, you stood. Making your way to door, you decided you would get some water to cool your nerves. You didn't feel quite ready for sleep again, lest that dream surface again.

You quietly made your way across the dark living room, careful to not make any noise as it was late. It took you a moment to realize that you weren't the only person in the room, a moving shadow on the couch catching the corner of your eye.

Turning to face them, you realized it was Frisk.

You had to double-take, your throat drying up even more as you stared at them. For the split second you looked at the younger human, they almost looked identical to the red-eyed monster in your nightmare.

However, a closer inspection calmed your already frayed nerves. Whilst the nightmare child had blood red eyes and rosy cheeks, Frisk had deep brown eyes and a tanned complexion. There were other differences, such as different tones of brown in the hair, and Frisk had bags under their eyes and a sad look in their eyes- whilst the monster looked almost inhuman in their apathy.

"H-hey…" You finally croaked out, realizing how freaked out you must have looked. Frisk gave you a shaky smile, seeming equally upset. You went to sit beside them. "…you had a nightmare again?"

You received a nod, a moment later a crinkled note was being passed to you.

'Did you have a nightmare too?'

The note said, and you let out a shaky breath after taking in the words- not realizing you had held it in. With some hesitation, you nodded.

Frisk gave you an understanding look, one that made you smile a little.

Despite the heaviness in your heart, and the urge to run and lock away the horrible memories… you felt that you could trust Frisk completely, and you had something big on your mind you needed to let out.

You began to physically shake at the thought of being completely honest, the words you were about to say you have never admitted aloud, to anyone.

"Frisk…" You said, your voice sounding completely broken. The child grabbed your shaking hands, giving you an encouraging smile. It worked. "I-I don't know why… but I want to tell you something… something I've been hiding for years."

You paused, gathering the courage to speak. Frisk only stared patiently at you, never judging, or forcing you to speak more.

You thought that was the reason why you ever considered telling them.

"I… had a brother," You forced out, your voice breaking slightly. You looked away from Frisk's wide eyes, not bearing to see their reaction. "Once… a long time ago…"

Taking another deep breath, you gathered your strength.

"There's a reason I don't trust so easily, or why I try not to get too attached to a person…" You began. "My parents had died when I was too young to remember them, and I had no other family that wanted the burden of caring for me."

"But, I had my brother… he was older, only by three years. We were inseparable, practically twins with the way we acted and how close our bond was. Even when we were being shipped off to the orphanage, we had hope. It didn't matter if we found "new parents" or not, because we had each other… god… I loved him so much…"

You were crying, you realized. Frisk was wiping away a few of your tears, looking equally upset. The comforting motion gave you the strength to continue, despite your tears.

"He was always so… brave, no matter what happened he was always so confident and strong… he would stand up against the bullies, he was never afraid to speak his mind." You said, your lips tilting into a small smile at the bittersweet memories. "…I always looked up to him; I wished I could have been as brave as him…"

You paused, feeling your lip trembling in your grief. Frisk only held onto you, waiting patiently.

"I lost him, when I was eight." You stated, staring down at your clenched hands. "It was my fault; I had the stupid idea of running away from the orphanage because it wasn't so… nice… so we left together. We were too young and naïve to realize how dangerous it was, not that my brother would be so easily scared. We did okay for a few hours, but we were lost- eventually we found our way to this forest by the mountain. It was nice, quiet. No one was around to bother us, so we decided to sleep there for the night…"

If you closed your eyes, you could almost envision the memory perfectly.

"Hey, sis, look at this!" Your brother said, pointing to a cave in the distance. He looked so proud, grinning behind his bandana. "We can sleep there for the night!"

"Is it safe?" You had asked, nervously, as you held your older brother's hand. You hadn't let go the entire time you left the orphanage. "Isn't there… bears?"

"Course' not! But I'll protect you, sis." Your brother had declared, pulling you along to the small cave in the mountainside. Thankfully, inside was empty of any possible threat- bear or other.

The two of you had settled down on the hard cave floor, cuddling next to each other for warmth. However, after shivering for too long, your brother had stood- to gather wood for a fire.

"I'll be back, promise!" Your brother said, with an assured smile. You watched him leave, unable to stop him in your fear.

"He never came back, and after a few hours I went to look for him… but I was too scared to look far, I just wanted to go back to the orphanage. I screamed for him for hours, and eventually… I was found by the police. I could've died from hyperthermia that night, but I didn't care- because I had lost the only important thing in my life that day."

By this point, your tears and shaking had stopped completely. It seemed that finally admitting some of your past aloud had helped, although your heart still felt incredibly heavy. You sniffed, wiping your reddened nose.

"…his name was Alex." You sighed, finally looking up to meet Frisk's gaze. The child looked completely shocked, but held an understanding in their eyes. "He was declared dead a few months later, but they never found a trace of him by that mountain. So I don't know what to believe."

Frisk looked down, giving your clenched hands a comforting squeeze.

"Uh… sorry…" You then mumbled out, feeling awkward. You didn't quite like being vulnerable in front of a person and you had practically opened your entire rib cage open for Frisk to see. "That was probably inappropriate of me to say, you're a kid after all… you shouldn't hear these things."

Frisk shook their head, not seeming disturbed in the slightest. They began writing on their notepad, and you waited patiently- glad to have some time to stay quiet after your emotional outburst.

It took Frisk a while to write what they wanted to say, and you noticed that the child paused every so often, looking thoughtful of their next words. When the paper was passed to you, Frisk had glassy eyes, looking both upset and happy.

You took the note with some reservation, looking down to read it.

'I ran away too.'

The note said, you looked at it with some surprise.

'I didn't have a very nice or safe life before I met my Mom, I went to the mountain because I didn't want to live anymore. I remembered the tales of that mountain, how children who climbed it disappeared. I wanted to disappear."

You gasped, not hesitating in pulling Frisk in for a hug. You continued to read the note, feeling emotion swell inside you.

'But I met my true family, and realized that being kind and forgiving to others was the only way to survive. I didn't want to be like my human family, or the rest of humanity- too scared to open their heart to others who are different. I believe you can be just as brave as your brother, and that you can finally find happiness with us."

"Frisk…" You trailed off, unsure of what to feel. If anything, you felt so empty from crying so hard. You rubbed Frisk's back in comfort, smiling slightly at your next words. "I can't believe I'm saying this… but I'll stay."

Frisk grinned happily, looking pleased with your decision.

"I think it's time you went back to bed," You stated, smiling at Frisk's pout. "Come on, it's really late now… don't want you tired for all of tomorrow now?"

Frisk shrugged, but stood to leave- they grabbed your hand to pull you along. You smiled as they led you to their room, letting you tuck them in their large bed.

As you went to leave, Frisk grabbed your wrist.

"Don't go" Frisk mouthed, and with a defeated sigh you nodded. You settled beside the child on their bed, and took the note that was passed to you.

'Can you stay until I fall asleep?' It said, and you nodded.

"Of course," You said softly, watching with a small smile as Frisk closed their eyes with a peaceful sigh.

After everything you've been through, you were starting to think you could open your heart again, properly this time. Frisk felt like your younger sibling, and the protectiveness you felt over them was almost startling.

No one would replace Alex, but you felt that Frisk and the others could help with your recovery.

You just had to open up.

You found you couldn't fall asleep again, the nightmare still heavy on your mind. Instead of resting, and possibly having a repeat of the dream, you decided to sit downstairs and watch some TV- the volume low of course.

It wasn't long before you heard someone quietly descend the stairs, and in a glance you saw it was Toriel. You noticed with dismay that she looked quite tired, her usually neat fur was messier than usual, and her eyes that were usually bright were now dull and full of exhaustion.

However, she still smiled when she noticed your presence.

"Oh, hello (y/n)…" Toriel said quietly, settling into her armchair with a yawn. "I did not expect you to be up so early, did you have trouble sleeping?"

"Yeah… kinda," You said, honestly. But you were more concerned with Toriel's state than your own. "Um, are you alright?"

Toriel almost looked surprised at your question, as if not expecting it. You supposed that she was more used to comforting others, than receiving it.

"Well… not entirely," Toriel sighed out, her smile seeming more like a grimace now. "I do not want to worry you, but I am concerned. These past few months have been quite hard on us Monsters, many of us have gone missing, and have experienced bad treatment from some ignorant humans."

"Oh… I'm really sorry to hear that…" You said, feeling quite ashamed of your own race. You weren't aware that Monsters were going missing though, a fact that both angered and worried you.

"It isn't your fault, my child." Toriel said reassuringly, although her frown remained. "Both I and Asgore expected some negative reactions to the Monster presence, but we never expected the Government to enact laws as serious as segregation. It is even worse, as it puts both you and Frisk at danger of being taken from us."

Toriel swallowed, and you noticed with some surprise that she was at the verge of tears. It was almost off-putting seeing a usually warm, motherly and strong woman such as Toriel so emotional.

"…I… I can't lose another child…" Toriel said quietly, and you weren't entirely sure whether she meant to say that aloud. You stared as she tried to compose herself, unsure of what to do to help.

After a few minutes, Toriel finally spoke again. Whilst less emotional, her eyes were still glassy with unshed tears.

"I am sorry for that, my child." Toriel said evenly, and you shook your head.

"It's okay," You said, in your most reassuring tone. "It is a really bad situation… you're allowed to be upset."

"Yes… I suppose you're right," Toriel sighed, and went to wipe her eyes. You looked away, you always felt so uncomfortable with people who were crying. You never knew how to properly comfort someone; you could barely do it for yourself.

"Does Sans hate me?" You suddenly asked, and you were just as shocked as Toriel at your sudden question. You didn't regret asking, but you never expected you would.

"Hate you…?" Toriel repeated, almost staring in her shock. You looked away, not really expecting a proper answer. "…what makes you think such a thing?"

"Well," You began stiffly, feeling frustration bubble up within you. "He basically threatened me a few days ago about Papyrus, he's always glaring at me, and not to mention the conversation about me I obviously interrupted yesterday."

"He threatened you?" Toriel gasped, you continued on with your rant- the anger you felt at the small skeleton fuelling the words.

"I tried my best to be nice to him, and when I make one fuck up he suddenly has this vendetta for me? I mean, I apologised and everything and yet that wasn't enough. I feel so bad for taking out my anger on Papyrus, not that it was entirely my fault since I was having a panic attack-"

"My child," Toriel interrupted you, causing you to breathe in heavily and exhale- the anger dissipating quickly, leaving you feeling empty. You were silently glad to see that Toriel didn't seem angry at you, if anything she looked worried.

"You should have mentioned Sans' behaviour earlier, although I understand why you may have been cautious in doing so…" Toriel sighed, and went to sit beside you, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder. "Sans may be a close friend to me, family even, but that sort of behaviour is unacceptable. I won't lie to you, it is likely Sans is very wary of you, he always has been with humans, even if he tries to hide that with his laid back personality, with perhaps Frisk as the only exception to his distrust."

"You… you won't mention this to him, right?" You asked quietly, causing Toriel to tut and squeeze you into a hug. You leaned into the embrace, feeling quite secure in her warm hold.

"My child, I can promise you that Sans will not hurt you," Toriel said, she sounded so sure that you almost believed her. "I would like to talk to him about his behaviour; I think you've shown you can be trusted. After all, if you were like the few human extremists- you wouldn't have stayed with us, or shown us the kindness and openness like you have… perhaps you and Sans should talk through this animosity?"

"I'd rather not…" You mumbled into Toriel's shoulder, causing her to chuckle.

"Now now, Sans is harmless… I promise." Toriel said, and you sighed in defeat. You pulled away from Toriel's hold, and sent her a small smile- it came out more as a grimace.

"Hm… is that the time already?" Toriel mused to herself, glancing towards the clock on the wall. You saw that it was 7:57am, and you already wanted to go to bed. "I must leave now, if I am to make it for the meeting…"

"…meeting?"

"Both Asgore and I are going to try to overturn this clearly discriminatory law," Toriel explained, and stood. "We are to meet with the mayor and his council, and hopefully convince them to revaluate their decision. I shouldn't be gone for very long; if the negotiations go well I should be back by this evening."

"Well… I hope you convince them," You said, standing as well. You followed as Toriel walked towards the front door, you felt inexplicably worried.

"Yes, I hope so too…" Toriel sighed, slipping into a pair of large boots and a coat. She turned to you with a warm smile. "(y/n)… I hope you considered my offer of staying?"

You smiled.

"Yeah, I have…" You said, looking down to your bare feet. "I want… I want to stay, if that's alright with you?"

"Oh, of course it is my child!" Toriel said happily, wrapping you into another hug. The motherly goat monster almost squeezing the life out of you, you could only grin at the positive response. "I am so glad you want to stay, this might sound so cheesy… but I already view you as one of my own children! I'm an old sap, I must admit…"

You swallowed heavily at her words, feeling a sudden rush of emotion. It was an ugly mixture of confusion and happiness; you could feel the threatening rush of tears.

You couldn't remember much of your actual mother, being too young when she passed. You never had experienced true motherly affection before, so meeting someone as caring as Toriel, who wanted to give you that needed affection.

It was hard to even express the gratitude you felt for that.

"Be good… and make sure the others behave too." Toriel had said, full of mirth, a polar opposite to how she was a few moments before. You nodded, smiling in encouragement as Toriel opened the door and left with a wave.

Once she was gone, your smile fell.

You couldn't help but feel worry, after all the talk of Monsters going missing, and the growing tension between both Monsters and Humans in general, you would have preferred Toriel to stay home.

Home…

Looking around the homely living room, you thought you ought to start seeing the place as your home. It was a weird sensation, knowing that you were planning on staying here despite your earlier reservations.

You were hopeful… even with the impending doom of possible segregation forcing you out of your new found home.

It would take a body bag to force you away from your family.