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Chapter 1: The Ruins - Part 1

Four days earlier…

Frisk could feel the hot evening sunlight resting on her sleeping face. The girl was in a weird state of not quite sleeping but not really awake. Her consciousness remained in some sort of limbo.

She had been dreaming a good dream. Frisk couldn't remember what it was about, just that it had been good, and hoped that, when she fell asleep again, it would pick up right where she ended, wherever that was. Adding to that sensation was the exceptionally soft ground, reminiscent of her old parent's bed.

When Frisk finally opened her eyes, she was blinded by the light of the orange evening sun until she quickly adjusted to it. Still too tired to stand up, Frisk looked around and saw she lay in a bright, brown underground cavern. Above her was the rocky platform where she had fallen, where there was the cavern entrance with the setting sun shining through it, giving bright colours to this otherwise dull place.

She also felt an immense pounding in her head, perhaps the most significant in a long time. Not only that, but her bones ached slightly, and her mind was dizzy and hungover, like how she imagined it would feel for one who had been binge-drinking the night before.

"Ugh, mierda," Frisk cursed and touched her forehead.

Maybe I knocked my head on something when I fell, she thought. It would explain why I suddenly fell asleep. But wouldn't my head be bleeding? Then again, man, this is freaking soft. Wait, what even is "this"?

Frisk finally sat up and looked further at her surroundings. She had been lying on a small flower bed of sunflowers that formed almost a perfect circle right underneath the cavern entrance. The flowers were very soft indeed, perhaps unnaturally so. Frisk figured they must have lightened her fall.

I didn't know sunflowers grew in this country, Frisk thought. Maybe these were imported seeds that flew down here or something?

Frisk looked down to see she wore the same clothes as the last time she checked: a blue hoodie with pink stripes, blue torn jeans, and black, matching boots. In other words, nothing seemed out of the ordinary there. Frisk found it weird that she considered checking.

Frisk groaned a bit when she stood up. After that, she began to listen to her surroundings. Birds were singing, insects were buzzing in this underground cavern, and from somewhere far above, the distant sounds of an early autumn gust gave her images of being inside a nice, cosy cabin during an extreme wind. It was like she had fallen into a fairy tale.

But, as much as this peaceful atmosphere fancied her, another, growing part of her filled up with dread. She had fallen god knows how deep and was now possibly trapped. Feeling the twist in her stomach worsen, Frisk turned up at the platform from where she fell.

"Help!" she yelled up. "Anyone?!"

There was no reply.

"Hey, there's a teenage girl stuck down here! I fell down this hole, and I can't get up! If there's anyone up there that can help me, that would be great."

There was no reply but the distant chirping of birds. Frisk waited for a few more moments, but still, nothing.

She sighed.

"What are you doing, Frisk?" she asked herself.

She reached for her pants pocket and pulled out a small mobile phone.

"What the hell?" she said when she opened it and saw the red glowing notification on her screen.

There was no signal. None at all. Frisk found this more surprising as much as it worried her. She had fallen far, but Frisk was sure she hadn't fallen THAT far, and it wasn't like the mountain was a long way away from a decent signal tower. In fact, there was one right on top of it.

Thinking it was a bug or something in the settings, Frisk's next move was to see if she could fix it herself. She went through the Wi-Fi, the mobile data, and even the phone's memory.

"C'mon, c'mon," Frisk muttered as she scrolled through the settings. "Shit."

It was useless. Frisk couldn't reactivate it, try as she may.

"Dammit!"

Frustrated and worried, Frisk put the phone back into her pocket. She noticed her breath began to grow frantic. She knew a panic attack wouldn't do anything but make things feel worse, so she closed her eyes to calm herself down.

"Don't freak out," she began. "Don't freak out. Just breathe slowly. It's not that bad. You're just stuck. In an underground cavern. Far away from civilisation. And no one has any idea you're down here. Y'know, just typical 16-year-old teenage worries."

She breathed calmly for a few more moments, and when she considered herself ready, she opened her eyes again and began to look around with more focus. Despite her ever-growing worry, Frisk stayed determined and tried her hardest not to let it overwhelm her.

"All right," she said to herself. "Think, think."

For a brief moment, she considered climbing up but quickly changed her mind as she remembered she was a terrible climber.

Also, the cavern walls turned concave at the top, which made climbing impossible without proper tools.

"Maybe I could… no, no, no, no. That's stupid."

And then Frisk finally noticed it. Hidden in the shadows, Frisk could faintly see a tunnel deeper in.

"Ok," she said. "This could be it."

With that, she turned back to face the platform where she had fallen and yelled at it one last time:

"Y'know what? It's fine! I think I found a way out of here myself. It turns out I might not need your help or anything!"

Once again, there was no reply.

"Great job, Frisk," she whispered to herself. "Yelling at nothing. That's gotta be like the first sign of crazy."

With that, she turned to face the tunnel.

"Could be a dead end," Frisk considered. "Eh, might as well check."

The way forward stood well concealed from any obvious light source, but thanks to modern technology, Frisk simply picked up her phone and turned on the flashlight. When she did, however, Frisk was greeted by a curious sight.

"What the hell?" she muttered.

Frisk blinked twice. Then, a few more times. But it was there, as hard as it was for her to believe. There were pillars, stone pillars carved into the rocky walls. It couldn't have been any geological coincidence as the craftsmanship was obviously handmade. They also looked incredibly similar to the ones found in ancient Greek temples, which didn't fit with the Nordic architecture Frisk would have normally expected to find in ruins in this country.

To be even more certain she wasn't hallucinating, Frisk went and caressed one of the pillars and felt the smoothly carved details. At that point, she no longer had any doubts. It was a genuine pillar.

Frisk found this discovery confusing as she had found it fascinating. If this place was as ancient as it seemed, why hadn't she heard anything in all her years living near this mountain? And why wasn't anything put in place to preserve this ancient history? It wasn't like Mt. Ebbot was so far away from civilisation that it would make it impossible to find. In fact, the town where she lived, Bótaness, was only a short drive away. The mountain even shared the town's name slightly. That is how connected they were.

The only explanation Frisk could think of was, although feeling that one enormously improbable, that she was the only person who had found it thus far.

Unless the people who went missing at the mountain during all those years also found it. Which would've meant they also fell here.

Meaning Frisk might soon find out what happened to them.

Frisk shook away those horrible thoughts and tried to stay optimistic. Whatever the reason, it didn't matter to her as much as finding a way out, so she stepped away from the pillar and continued her journey.

"Hello?" she yelled into the tunnel. "Anyone here? Any crazy hermits? Any wise old monks to give me valuable life lessons? Any… mythical trolls or monsters that wanna eat me up? No? Alright then."

The signs of ancient civilisations didn't fade further as she went. Instead, they vastly increased as solid and smoothly carved stone subtly replaced the rocky cavern walls. After a short while, the place became indistinguishable from a large, ancient hallway from a castle's dungeon.

"Ok, this is getting weird," Frisk rambled.

After about a minute of walking, the hallway ended with a large, open entrance to Frisk's left with a dim light shining through. Like the pillars, it was obviously artificial and masterfully crafted, and it looked like it used to hold a large gate. Around this open gate were carvings that seemed to depict some mythology. Whatever runes or letters once written there were now illegible after centuries, if not millennials, of ageing. But there were images of odd creatures, some animal-like and others much weirder. One carving on the very top sent a bit of chill in Frisk. It looked less like a creature and more like a mass of tentacles surrounded by a cloak.

The source of the room's light came from a sunshaft somewhere far above, and it was built so high that the sunlight shone straight down the room like a pillar of light. But Frisk's curious wonder at this hidden relic of a bygone age was nothing compared to what she would find next when she finally decided to wander through the entrance and became witness to a sight that left her almost speechless.

"What the hell is this place?!"

Cavern would no longer be the correct term for this place. A temple would be a closer descriptor at this point. A massive, beautiful temple in which this one open room could fit in a three-story building and still have enough room for dozens of people. The temple was a large dome very reminiscent of Hagia Sophia, and where the curved walls connected at the top, there was a small light shaft where sunlight shone through and illuminated the entire garden. The architecture in this room, including the curved walls and tall pillars, seemed directly stolen from ancient Greek buildings, with even some hints of old Tibetan monasteries.

This marvellous vista made Frisk gasp in astonishment. How in the world no one had found this place before, especially in this current age of constant communication or surveillance, she couldn't comprehend.

Incredible, she thought. I must've stumbled upon some sort of archaeological gold mine. If I ever get out of here, this shit will make me famous.

Then she looked at the ground ahead of her and finally saw it. A strange object stood right underneath the shaft on the roof and thus in the centre of the rays. The thing in question wasn't anything Frisk hadn't seen before, but rather it was the placement of it and the utter mundanity that made it stand out so much.

It was a single sunflower in a pot, just sitting there.

Frisk went closer to it and crouched down right in front of it. For the most part, it looked like an ordinary sunflower, not unlike the ones from the flowerbed earlier, but this one seemed much fresher and healthier compared to the other ones.

Whoever had been down here, Frisk figured, as it was no longer any question to her whether someone did, must have favoured this single sunflower above the others for one reason or another.

Who the hell would place this here? Frisk thought. And why?

For a second, Frisk felt she saw a face in the pistil. But when she looked again and closer, there was nothing. Frisk simply ignored it as a simple mirage.

"Huh," Frisk said to herself. "Weird."

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!"

"Wha-"

Before Frisk could finish that sentence, a swathe of flame suddenly burst out from the shadows like a dragon breathing fire.

"Oh shi-"

A small fire landed at her side, but it was enough to toss her to the ground.

"Gah!"

She quickly stood back on her feet and began to run.

"STOP!" the voice yelled.

It sounded deep and masculine. It was a voice like one belonging to an aged man with great power of authority. Or an angry father.

"COME BACK HERE!"

Frisk felt her fight-or-flight instinct kick in as she began to run frantically. She didn't have a plan in which direction. Frisk just wanted to escape.

"Shit!" she muttered. "Shit, shit, shit!"

Unfortunately, she put all her thoughts on getting away and thus didn't focus one bit on the ground and so quickly tumbled down after her foot hit a rock.

"Gah, shit!"

Although the ground was soft, her head still hurt when she fell headfirst into it. Her mind became dizzy from the pain. Her head didn't suffer the worst, unlike her knee, which landed on a set of stones, causing her perhaps one of the biggest pains she had ever felt. Fortunately, the adrenaline in her system dulled the affliction somewhat, and Frisk promptly resumed her escape. Or at least she attempted to.

She tried to stand up, only to immediately fall back down again. She realised the wound on her leg seemed worse than she first thought. Frisk found it impossible to keep balance on it. Realising she couldn't run, Frisk began to crawl frantically instead. The fires seemed to come from every direction.

"Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod-!"

The girl's mind didn't care where she went or even that standing up was painful. It made her pull herself to her feet in pain, as it merely wanted to get out, away from the screaming voice and numerous fires. But as she limped towards the gate, her path became obstructed when a sudden wall of flame formed in front of it.

Too frightened to question the logic of it, she turned on her back and saw someone standing in the shadows. Someone whom Frisk could only assume was the person who attacked her.

Thanks to two fireballs in his hands, which Frisk assumed were two little flamethrowers, she could still see a vague outline of him. The figure was of an immensely tall build and was wearing what looked like a long, tall robe, complete with a long, fluffy beard and… horns?

Frisk didn't think much of the last part as she was too busy panicking.

"Jesus Christ, mister, I'm sorry for whatever I did!" she frantically said.

"SORRY?" the figure harshly asked. "WHY SHOULD I BELIEVE YOU WERE SORRY? NOW TELL ME, WHAT WERE YOU GOING TO DO TO HIM?

"Nothing, I swear!" Frisk said, not noticing the figure referring to the flower as "him".

"LIAR!"

"I swear to freaking Christ that I wasn't doing anything. I simply just went closer to take a look at it! That's all I did, I swear!"

The flames in the shadows began to wane a little. The silhouette then seemed to turn to look at the flower in the pot for a moment before turning back to Frisk.

"You… truly weren't… going to… harm him?"

The voice sounded much calmer this time, and Frisk felt she could hear a tinge of regret in it.

"No!" replied Frisk. "Why the hell should I?! I don't even care about your stupid flower!"

The figure became uncomfortably silent.

"Stupid?" he asked.

Oh shit, Frisk thought.

"Erm," she began, chuckling awkwardly. "I-I didn't mean it that way-"

But instead of a fit of rage, as Frisk expected, the figure just gave out an amusing chuckle.

"My child," he said. "Not to worry. I understand your immediate dismissal of him. He may not look that much, but I assure you that this is not merely a "stupid flower". Truthfully, he's arguably the complete opposite. This flower… is my son."

"Wha- what?" Frisk asked, more surprised than scared now. "Your… son?"

Holy shit, this guy really is crazy, she thought.

All the flames in the room immediately dissipated as quickly as turning off a light bulb. It took Frisk so far aback she didn't even notice the figure had begun to slowly, but certainly, step towards her.

At least, not until she heard big thumps coming from his seemingly heavy feet.

Realising what he was doing, Frisk began to cover in fear. Judging by his unhinged nature, Frisk couldn't imagine what awful things this seemingly crazy person was possibly planning to do.

But that fear was merely a fleeting moment compared to the utter terror that came next when she finally got a better look at the person.

Or, as she would learn in a moment, the creature.

The first thing that entered the light was a big paw. The paw was underneath a long robe, but it was so big it practically stood out that Frisk could almost see it in all its fluffy detail. It looked much like a lion's paw but with the white fur of a rabbit's or a goat's. The next thing Frisk saw of this immensely tall yet skinny figure was the purple, flowing robe she could now see was extremely torn and dirty and must've smelled as foul as it looked. Then came the uncannily human-like hands, and like the paws, they were white and fluffy, and the fingernails were extremely long. Frisk then saw the dirty, unkempt yellow beard that dangled on the robe reminiscent of an old fantasy wizard.

Then, at last, came the head. A crowning centrepiece that sent shivers down Frisk's spine as it made her realise she was looking at not a man but an entity, unlike anything she had ever seen in her entire life. The head was far from humanoid, more animalistic like its paws. The closest animal resemblance Frisk could think of was a goat due to the long white horns and dangling white ears, yet the head also had the semblance of a lion, with the giant golden beard that looked like a mane around the head and muzzle, which looked both caprine- and feline-like. The most noticeable thing about it was the eyes, which were also the only part of The Creature that didn't resemble any animals Frisk could think of but were instead uncannily human. One blue, one orange, and both wide open. Underneath them were dark marks, like those of someone who hadn't slept in a long time.

The Creature looked at the Frisk, not seeming to notice her frightened state, and gave an uncomfortable smile on its muzzle. It was like this thing had long forgotten how to be empathetic but tried its hardest to be.

"Howdy," The Creature casually said. "I am so sorry. I didn't know."

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Frisk screamed.

The smile on The Creature shrank to be replaced by a look of utter confusion.

"I'm sorry?"

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Frisk screamed again. "What the- WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU!?"

The Creature looked behind in a state of confusion and then back on Frisk.

"Are you talking about me?"

"Of course, I'm talking about you! WHAT ARE YOU?!"

At this moment, the strange creature lightened up with realisation.

"Oh, how could I forget," he said. "I am so sorry. It somehow slipped my mind that most humans haven't seen or heard about our kind for thousands of years."

"Wh-what?!" Frisk asked. "Thousands of years?! Your kind?! Wait, THERE'S MORE OF YOU?!"

"Of course," The Creature said. "My kind are millions in number, each of different shapes and sizes. We are practically an entirely foreign lifeform, one mainly made of magic. You, humans, had a name for us that might sound familiar to you. You, as in you humans, used to call us monsters.

"Mo-monsters?" she muttered. "Magic? I, uh, what?"

These sudden barges of information made Frisk almost faint in confusion and shock. The Creature noticed her state and seemed to be extremely worried.

"Are you alright?"

"Erm, n-no, definitely not," said Frisk, panting. "It's just… this is too much. I- monsters and magic- holy shit, I- I need a fucking breather."

"All right then," The Creature said, and a smile returned on his muzzle. "Let's talk about something else. What is your name, little one?"

Frisk said nothing.

"Your name, please?" The Creature asked gently.

"Wh-why?" Frisk finally asked.

"Just curious?"

Frisk looked at him for a few moments. She found it hard to bring herself to an ordinary conversation with this creature while it stood there, patiently and smiling like a kind grandfather. Eventually, though, Frisk managed to resume some train of thought.

"Francisca," she said nervously. "My name's, erm, Francisca Esperanza Montgommero. My friends just call me Frisk, though."

"Frisk?" asked The Creature.

Frisk nodded in confirmation.

"Well, that is a nice name," The Creature said. "As for my name. I am-I… am… huh. Strange. I seem to have forgotten. Eh, it doesn't matter."

Frisk looked at him worryingly.

"That's… understandable," she replied.

Thankfully for her, The Creature didn't appear to catch her semi-sarcastic tone.

"I see you've already met my boy," the nameless creature said, heading towards the potted flower underneath the sun shaft. The immense barrage of information from the entity had made Frisk almost completely forget about it.

"But something tells me you've not been properly introduced to each other yet," The Creature said, picking the flower up gently like picking up a newborn. "He doesn't really have a name per se, but these days, he goes by Flowey, as in Flowey the flower. Flowey, why won't you introduce yourself to your new friend there?"

The goat creature stared at the plain-looking flower with a grin. Nothing happened outside of the flower moving slightly due to the wind from the opening above. Frisk stared at this bizarre event, now feeling fright and confusion on equal measures. Frisk wasn't sure if this kind of weird behaviour, which anyone would know would be considered a foolproof sign of at least eccentricity, if not insanity, for humans, was ordinary for these "monster" creatures.

After a few more moments of silence from the flower, the strange creature chuckled and looked back at Frisk reassuringly.

"I think he's a bit shy," he said. "My son can be that sometimes, especially in the presence of strangers. I hope you understand me, but I'm not going to force him to talk to you if he doesn't feel like it, ok?"

"All right then," said Frisk.

Suddenly, Frisk felt an immense pain in her leg. She didn't notice it at first because she was too busy being afraid, but now the pain was almost impossible to ignore. Frisk tried to hide it from the monster, even as it seemed to worsen every moment. She realised that her attempt at hiding had failed when she noticed that the smile on The Creature's muzzle seemed to fade and, once again, be replaced by a look of worry.

"Are you alright, my child?" he asked.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Frisk lied, wincing in pain.

The Creature looked at her with a doubtful expression.

"It doesn't seem fine," he said. "Don't worry, though. I think I know a way to make you feel better."

Still holding the flower, The Creature began to walk towards Frisk. When Frisk noticed that, she began to crawl backwards in instinctual panic.

"Don't be afraid, child," The Creatures said gently. "I am not going to hurt you. By the Gods and The Angel, I never would have attempted if I had known any better."

He stopped when he was close enough to stand over her, and Frisk saw just how tall and skinny he was. He was so emaciated that Frisk could see the outlines of his bone in his anorexic-looking hands, and the robe seemed a few sizes too wide for him.

Then he began to carefully sit down as if his bones were incredibly fragile, which Frisk wouldn't be surprised by. Then he adjusted himself in a cross-legged position, and she could feel his dirty, golden beard brushing her leg. Afterwards, he laid the flower carefully beside him before gently patting it on its "head".

"I haven't done this in a long time, to be honest," he admitted while he stretched his clawed hands together, crackling uncomfortably loud. "But I'm sure I am just as good as I remember."

The Creature outstretched his palms and hovered them shakingly over Frisk's wound like a warm fire.

"What are you doing?" Frisk asked.

"You'll see."

The Creature moved his hovered hand back and forth across Frisk's leg.

Suddenly, Frisk felt a great warmth come from The Creature's palm. That was not the strangest part, as Frisk discovered when she looked closer. Some green, alien-looking energy was coming from his clawed hand. Before Frisk could react, the power had spread from The Creature's fingertips like green strings and slithered worm-like all over Frisk's leg. Frisk began to freak out.

"What are you-"

"Shh, child," The Creature whispered. "Stay calm, and this will be over much sooner."

Frisk didn't know what it was, whether it was the reassuring tone of his voice, a side effect of the green energy or if she had mentally just given up on fighting, but she found herself suddenly no longer resisting. The power passed through the leather of her jeans, and then Frisk could feel its cool and tickling touch on her skin like dozens of wriggling worms.

The green energy vanished instantly, and The Creature pulled back his hands.

"There," he said. "All better now."

"Wha-what did you just do to me?" Frisk asked.

"I fixed you," The Creature said, smiling.

"What?"

Then Frisk felt it. Or rather, she didn't feel it. The pain in her leg was gone, and Frisk realised it could move without pain. She pulled up her pant leg and was shocked to find her suspicions confirmed. There were no wounds, no marks, or anything that would have hinted that she had fallen. It was like she was never wounded at all.

"My god," she said in shock. "You fixed it. How did you… wait. Don't tell me. Please don't, but… was that… magic? Like you mentioned?"

"Indeed," The Creature said.

At this point, Frisk was almost confident she was close to fainting.

"Of course," Frisk muttered quietly. "Of fucking course!"

The Creature immediately looked bewildered.

"Erm, sorry, did I say that out loud?" Frisk inquired. "Sorry, I tend to speak out loud when I'm… you know… freaked."

"You- you have never seen magic before?" he inquired like it was an ordinary question.

"Wha- no!" said Frisk. "Where I am from, I mean up there, magic is, basically, a myth."

The Creature looked at her like he couldn't imagine that worldview. Then he just chuckled, and his weird, somewhat creepy smile returned.

"It's all right," he said. "You'll grow used to it."

"I-I don't think I ever will," admitted Frisk.

"Well, whatever the case, let's agree to disagree. Oh, pardon me, I must be going now. I've just realised it's late, and my boy needs to be home for dinner."

"I-isn't it morning?"

"Mmhm. No. I am certain it is later than that."

Still holding the flower in the pot, the eccentric creature stood up and began to head towards another entrance that was further away, while Frisk just sat there, still trying to process everything. She pinched herself and then harder. She wouldn't wake up.

Halfway on its path, The Creature stopped and turned around to look at Frisk.

"Are you coming?" he politely asked.

Frisk was a bit surprised by that question. In regular events, she would unquestionably refuse to follow a stranger who attacked her a moment ago without a doubt. But as strange as it sounded, Frisk, this time, found this question difficult to answer. It was not a regular moment, and she felt there wouldn't be any in the foreseeable future.

The Creature looked like it had lived in this place for a long time, judging by his tattering outfit and dirty look, so he must know it like the back of his hand and thus could possibly know of a way out. But if Frisk were to say she wasn't scared the so-called "monster" would lead her to a hidden place so that he could eat her in peace, she would be lying. On the other hand, while clearly eccentric, this creature appeared somewhat gentle and seemed immensely regretful for attacking her. But Frisk wondered then if he was attempting to lead her to a false sense of security. Whatever the case, Frisk knew she couldn't just stay in this temple forever. She had to make a choice.

In the end, Frisk decided to take the risk.

"Don't think I've got a choice," she said.

She stood up and lightly dusted her clothes.

"All right then," she began. "Erm. Lead the way."

*CHAPTER UPDATED*
13/08/2023

Author's note(written 2019):

Wow, that was a long time coming.

I know it really took a while, I think about two months, and I honestly don't really have any good reason. I could argue that I was super busy these last few weeks, but I don't feel like that's a good excuse. Even then, I had like an entire Christmas break and I don't think I got much work done then. I guess I just wasn't up to it, but that's a topic for another day.

I think the only thing I can say is that... well... I'm sorry, and I hope that I will update much faster this year than the last. I've also decided, as you most likely noticed, to split the chapters into smaller "sub-chapters" so I can upload more and you don't have to wait two months for an update. You might be disappointed to find this to be a bit too short for a two-month hiatus, but I promise you that I have the entire chapter almost completely outlined and I just need to fix up a few things and start writing. I like to see this part as being an introduction to this version of Frisk and what kind of character you should expect from her. If you are wondering, this Frisk is about 16-years-old.

Anyway, that's enough rambling. I hope you enjoyed it so far, and I will try to update soon.

P.S.

Also, a week ago I commissioned an artist named Atlas-White for an art based on a scene from AHTR. Check it out, it's pretty good:br /
carmilliancrown/art/UT-By-the-Campfire-Commission-782313249