Chapter 22
Frisk finally left The Ruins. It had been a few minutes since he left The Ruins. From what he could see with the limited light of the lamp he was holding in his hand, he was able to figure out that he was walking on a grass field. He could feel a cold breeze from the distance. "That felt… Rather unnatural..." Frisk thought to himself. The cold breezes felt a little too cold for him. He wondered if it was snowing somewhere nearby.
Despite being a little frightened, Frisk did not stop walking forward. He had his rusty knife with him, just in case. Even though the knife was rusty, it was still better than nothing. He was prepared for any monster attacks.
It took him a few more minutes to reach a forest with huge trees. It was his first time seeing trees that big. He could not even see the top because of the dark. Even the roots were thick. The roots were so thick that Frisk had to watch his step as entered the forest. He was unsettled, he had a bad feeling about the forest and was creeped out by it. But he knew that this was something that he had to face himself, without anyone's help. He was the one who chose to leave The Ruins after all. He told himself that everything would be alright and continued moving forward. It did not take long for him to start hearing unrecognized strange noises within the forest. "I wonder if those were lesser monsters."Frisk thought as he cautiously moved forward.
Frisk found it hard to navigate the forest because of the huge roots that got in the way of his path. He had to watch where he stepped as he moved forward. He was scared of walking in a forest during the night all by himself. This reminded him of the time when Jack used to take him to the forest during the night when they were both young. Jack used to tease him for being scared all the time. Even those memories sounded sweet to him. And this time, he was all alone, in the pitch black forest during the night.
The noises that he heard kept getting louder as he moved forward. It was getting darker as time passed. And this made Frisk very afraid of the forest. The air was getting colder as he moved forward. Frisk stopped walking when he saw something glowing in the distance. He wondered if he was just imagining things. He was frozen, staring at the mysterious pair of glowing objects in the distance. He was wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him. It started moving and then, suddenly disappeared.
Frisk suddenly heard a beast roaring at a close distance. He prepared himself to fight anything that came at him. He heard a rustling noise nearby and was startled by it. The beast roared again, this time, coming from a very close distance. Frisk stared at the direction where the beast's roaring sound came from. And then, he saw a pair of yellow, glowing eyes there. From the size of its glowing eyes, Frisk knew that it was a fairly large beast. The beast roared again as it started pursuing Frisk. It was surprisingly fast. Frisk screamed to the top of his lungs and ran as fast as he could. It was hard for him to run because of the roots of the trees. The beast caught up to him before long. Frisk tripped and fell. His lamp fell on the ground and was shattered, but no light shone out of it. It was broken.
Frisk woke up on a bed in a small room. He did not recognize the room and did not know where he was. He looked around the room. There was a window near his bed, and the walls were made of a wood-like material that he did not recognize. There were cobwebs on all the corners of the walls, an empty bookshelf and an old chair and an old table. It took Frisk a moment to recall the things that happened the previous night. His memory cut off at the part where he tripped on the branch, He wondered what happened after he passed out.
A few moments later, a goat-like monster entered the room. He had a cup of liquid in his hand. He noticed that Frisk was awake and smiled at him.
"Good morning! How're you feeling?" The goat-like monster said warmly.
"I'm… Good…" Frisk said, still feeling dizzy.
"That's good to hear. It's Frisk, right?" The goat-like monster placed the cup on the table.
"W-what?!" Frisk was taken aback by the goat-like monster.
"Your name… It's Frisk, right?" The goat-like monster repeated himself.
"Y-yes… I am…" Frisk felt frightened. "A-are you w-with the Royal Guard?"
The goat-like monster laughed and sat on the old chair. He took a sip of the hot, steaming liquid.
"Don't worry, Frisk… I'm not a part of the Royal Guard." The goat-like monster said in a calm manner. "If I was, I would've handed you over to King Asgore by now."
These words were able to calm Frisk down. He did not know why this goat-like monster was being so nice to him.
"Toriel never changes, doesn't she?" The goat-like monster said with a smile on his face.
"What? What do you mean?" Frisk was confused.
"Well, she always end up letting all humans go… I thought she may never send any more humans out again… Seeing how she… lost all of them." There was a tone of sadness in the goat-like monster's voice.
"I-... I'm sorry to hear that." Frisk was not surprised to hear that.
"Well… You must be wondering who I am." The goat-like monster. "The name's Rem. You could say that I'm a close friend of Toriel."
Frisk was silent for a few minutes. He stared at Rem for some time. Rem genuinely seemed sad.
"What really happened between you two?" Frisk asked in a curious tone.
Rem's attention suddenly turned to Frisk. He sighed.
"Well… When the King started his mission to, you know… capture human Souls, we… we started a resistance against the King… To prevent him from killing human children." There was a look of sadness on Rem's face. "But ofcourse, we lost to the King and the Royal Guard. We suffered a crushing defeat. And the King proposed a new law where any monster who has any kind of sympathy towards humans would be exiled. The King pardoned us as a one-time courtesy."
Rem took another sip from the cup. He was silent for a few minutes.
"Me and Toriel, along with all our followers were exiled from the Kingdom." Rem started speaking again. "After we were exiled, we all went our separate ways. And Toriel moved in to The Ruins since that's where humans fall. I've helped a few children she let out. And when I heard that those children were…"
Frisk saw tears running down the monster's cheeks and felt sorry for him. He wondered if monsters were just like humans at that point.
"They were murdered, you know. Those innocent children…" Rem wiped tears. "Just for the sake of using their souls to break the barrier."
Frisk was not surprised to hear this again as he had heard about it before. He did not want humans to be treated as sacrifices to break the barrier.
"And I couldn't do anything to protect those innocent children…" Rem took another sip from the cup. "They were so innocent… Most of them… I don't wanna escape at the expense of human lives… No one is expendable."
There was a moment of brief silence between the two of them. They both had a lot of bottled thoughts in their minds.
Frisk wondered if Rem was really one of the 'bad guys'. Rem has had enough chances to hand Frisk over to the Royal Guard. Frisk still was too scared to trust Rem because Rem could still betray him.
"It doesn't seem like you know the truth behind this forest, Frisk." Rem broke the silence as he moved closer towards Frisk with the chair he was sitting on. "Well, even if you knew, there'd be nothing you can do about it as you are now."
Frisk suddenly turned his gaze towards the goat monster.
"What do you mean?" Frisk asked in a curious tone.
"This forest is overrun with Royal Guard's Beast division." Rem had a serious look on his face. "They're made of small units, with each unit having a group of beast tamers and beasts. They are the best unit for tracking targets because of the beasts' sense of smell. The one that attacked you last night was a beast that probably snuck out of its camp."
"I see…" Frisk was in deep thought. "But what are they even doing here?"
Rem tells Frisk that the Beast tamers of the Royal Guard were sent to the forest to investigate any unusual activity. They know that Frisk had entered the underground and they are on high alert because they suspect that Frisk may have had something to do with the recent disturbances in the area.
Rem advises Frisk to be careful and to stay away from the Royal Guard, as they are not to be underestimated. The Beast tamers are highly skilled fighters and are trained to handle dangerous creatures.
Rem also reminds Frisk that it's important to remember that not everyone in the underground is their enemy. He may be able to find allies if they look in the right places.
Lastly, Rem advises Frisk to be cautious when traveling through the forest and to avoid drawing attention to themselves. The Royal Guard is watching closely, and any suspicious behavior could lead to trouble.
Upon hearing the beastly roar, Rem quickly instructs Frisk to hide until he signals it's safe to come out. Frisk follows Rem's instructions and finds a hiding spot.
Soon after, a Beast Tamer enters Rem's house and asks if he had seen a human. Rem replies that he hasn't seen any humans recently and asks why the Beast Tamer is asking. The Beast Tamer explains that there have been reports of a human in the forest and that they are under orders to investigate.
Rem assures the Beast Tamer that he hasn't seen anyone and offers to help with the search if needed. The Beast Tamer thanks him for his cooperation and leaves the house.
Rem then gives the signal to Frisk that it's safe to come out of hiding. He advises Frisk to be cautious and stay hidden until they can figure out a plan to avoid the Beast Tamers and find a way out of the forest.
"Frisk, we need to leave this forest as soon as possible. It's not safe here," Rem said urgently, looking around nervously. "The Royal Guard has been increasing their patrols, and I don't want you to get caught up in any trouble."
Frisk nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. "Okay, Rem. What should we do?"
"I can guide you through the forest until we reach Snowdin plains. The Royal Guard isn't as active there, so it should be safer for you," Rem replied, her voice calming down a bit.
Frisk smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Rem. I really appreciate your help."
Rem returned the smile. "Of course, Frisk. It's the least I can do. Now, let's get going. Follow me closely, and stay quiet. We don't want to attract any unwanted attention."
And with that, Rem led Frisk through the dense forest, carefully avoiding any Royal Guard patrols they came across. Despite the danger, Frisk felt reassured knowing that Rem was by his side, guiding them to safety.
Frisk's heart began to race as they caught sight of the shadowy figure standing in the distance. "Rem, do you see that?" Frisk whispered, pointing towards the figure.
Rem looked in the direction Frisk was pointing and narrowed his eyes. "I see it, but I'm not sure what it is. I've never seen anything like that before."
Frisk shuddered, feeling a surge of fear wash over them. "Do you think it's dangerous?"
Rem hesitated for a moment, studying the figure carefully. "I'm not sure. It could be a wild animal or maybe even a monster. We should be cautious and keep our distance."
Frisk nodded, feeling a sense of relief knowing that Rem was there to protect them. Together, they continued to move forward slowly, keeping a watchful eye on the shadowy figure.
Frisk and Rem stood in silence for a moment, watching as the shadowy figure disappeared into the darkness. Frisk's curiosity was piqued, and they turned to Rem, wondering if she had any insight into what they had just seen.
"Rem, what do you think that was?" Frisk asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Rem furrowed his brow, deep in thought. "I'm not sure, Frisk. It's possible that it was a monster that we've never encountered before, or maybe it was just a trick of the light."
Frisk nodded thoughtfully, mulling over Rem's words. "But it looked so real. And it just disappeared into thin air. I've never seen anything like that before."
Rem nodded in agreement. "I know. It's strange. But we need to keep moving. We can't afford to get distracted by every strange thing we encounter on our journey."
Frisk nodded, feeling a sense of determination wash over him. "You're right, Rem. We have to keep going. But I can't help feeling curious about what we just saw."
Rem smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, Frisk. We'll keep our eyes open and try to figure out what it was if we can. But for now, let's focus on getting to Snowdin safely."
And with that, Frisk and Rem continued on their journey, their minds buzzing with curiosity and wonder about the mysterious shadowy figure they had encountered.