FriskTale

Toriel had baked Frisk a pie that was butterscotch and cinnamon. Despite her advice to not have too much sugar, Frisk didn't think anything could have more sugar in it.

Asriel had been worried about them when they went outside, but they assured him they were fine now. Sure, they were stuck down here, but they chose to view this as the start of a new life. While they would miss their friends from before, they figured they would just make new friends.

When night came, Frisk decided they would sleep on the floor so Asriel could have his bed back. King Asgore gave them a sleeping bag to sleep in, though it was sized for him rather than Frisk, meaning it was huge. Frisk didn't mind that much.

The next day, Asriel showed Frisk around the area called the Ruins. Apparently, it used to be the Monster capital when they were first trapped down here. But as time passed and they expanded, a new capital was constructed on the other side of the Underground. Most people had already moved out, but there were still a few Monsters that lived here. It also used to be the King and Queen's home before their castle in the new capital was constructed. They kept the old house as a vacation home, which they regularly brought Asriel to to visit, since he hadn't even been born when they moved out.

After showing them as much of the Ruins as they were allowed to see, the two of them played together. Frisk found that Asriel was extremely hyper and easily excited by things. It was amazing how eager the young Monster was. By all rights, he was the prince of his people, yet he didn't act like how Frisk had heard princes were supposed to behave.

The day after, the family began packing up, as they were supposed to go back to the castle tomorrow. Frisk helped Asriel pack up his stuff, and when they were done they spent the rest of the day playing. It was also on this day that Frisk realized how lonely Asriel was. While they did come across other Monsters, barely any of them even tried to play with them. Frisk caught Asriel's disappointed expression several times and it made them realize that he had no other friends. They felt really bad for him.

Meanwhile, Frisk saw several more of the glowing points throughout the Ruins, touching them on occasion. Whenever they did, they felt a flash of strength and vitality, as if they had just been fully healed. They also felt a surge of will whenever it happened, like they could overcome anything. They never thought anything of it, though they did quickly realize that they were the only one who could see the points, as neither Asriel nor his parents seemed aware of them.

The move back to the castle was not hard, though it did involve passing through some strange areas. But the family carried everything they needed in bags they carried on their backs. The first area they went through was perpetually snowing, which made Frisk wonder if it was winter already.

The next area was a marshland, which made it hard for Frisk to walk through. Luckily, Asgore was more than willing to let the kids ride on his shoulders so they didn't have to get their feet all dirty and mucky.

The area right after was a magma chamber, and unlike the other two areas, this one looked almost futuristic, with powered doors and fancy elevators. There was also a laboratory there, which Asgore said was where the Royal Scientist worked.

Eventually, they reached the grey colored city where Asriel and his parents lived. The castle was easy to find, as it was bigger than just about everything. The walk to it was quiet, and when they arrived, Frisk saw that it had a house built into it, which was identical in layout to the one in the Ruins, just greyer.

Once there, Asriel showed Frisk his room, which again was almost identical to the other one, but this one was clearly more lived in, with crayon drawings on the walls. Asgore promised Frisk that he would have a bed built for them as soon as he could.

As Frisk helped Asriel unpack, it slowly sank into them that this could become their home. This might be where they'll live from now on.

The thought made them smile.

The next day, Frisk was shaken awake by Asriel.

"Frisk! Wake up! Mom's getting breakfast ready! And it's the weekend, which means I can show you around New Home!"

Frisk slowly sat up, suppressing a laugh at the unimaginative name of the city. Yesterday, when Asriel explained what each place in the Underground was called, they had almost burst out laughing. Then when Asriel explained that his dad named every single place, Frisk had to restrain their laughter. While Asgore might have been a good king, apparently he was very bad at names.

"I'm up, I'm up," they said, rubbing their eyes.

"C'mon Frisk, let's go! We're going to have so much fun! There's so much more to do in the city!"

Asriel ran out, already dressed for the day, leaving Frisk to get ready. They stretched as they got up, scratching at the borrowed pj's they were wearing. While it had been nice for Asriel to offer a spare set for them to sleep in, they were very furry on the inside, which made them very itchy. They changed into their clothes, which was the same set of pants and shirt they had fallen in. Queen Toriel had done her best to clean them up, but they were still frayed and patched from the fall and… before. King Asgore promised to get them new clothes as soon as he could. Asriel had offered them some of his own, but Frisk refused. The pajamas were bad enough.

After getting changed, Frisk went to the living room, where breakfast was ready. King Asgore and Queen Toriel were already present, Asriel sitting at his own chair, another next to him.

"Here, Frisk!" he said, patting the seat. Frisk took the offer. Their mouth watered at the sight of what was on the table. It was a lot more than pie.

"I thought you might like a proper meal," Queen Toriel explained. "Enough time has passed that I think we do not have to worry about your food coming back up."

"Thank you, ma'am," Frisk said, nodding their head.

"Now there's no need to be polite," King Asgore said. "You can dig in if you like."

Frisk eagerly filled their plate with as much as they could, the other Monsters doing so much slower than them. Frisk eagerly stuffed their face, the quantity and quality of the food vastly superior to what they were used to. As they filled their belly, they thought they might be able to get used to this. That is if the king and queen were willing to keep them.

"C'mon, Frisk!" Asriel said after he finished. "I'll show you around!"

He took their hand, eagerly leading them out of the house. Frisk grabbed one last thing from the table before leaving, snacking as Asriel took them down to the city.

As Asriel showed them around, they were amazed at how much progress the Monsters had made on their own. While the city wasn't as impressive as their hometown, it was still very big. What also amazed Frisk was how much of it seemed to be inspired by humans, as there were traffic lights (despite there being no cars) signs that showed where to go, billboards that showed a box-like robot in the same light as one would show a TV star, restaurants that had multiple locations, shops, apartments, hotels, everything one would expect in a city.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Asriel asked, excited.

"Yeah. Though, if I may ask, where'd you all get the idea for… everything?" Frisk asked.

"From you. From humans," Asriel explained. "The city underwent some revision about a decade ago, shortly after dad hired a new Royal Scientist. She loves humans and figured that reorganizing our capital according to human standards would make it more efficient. Before long, she had drawn up new plans for the city, as well as adding things to it like one would see in a city on the surface. Things have been great ever since. At least, that's what the adults say."

"Ah," Frisk said. "Why did the city need a revision?"

"Apparently it wasn't built very well originally," Asriel answered. "Some problems with the layout and efficiency. Also, there wasn't enough room for everyone, either. So the Royal Scientist came up with a way to make room for everyone."

"Oh." Frisk looked around, only now noticing how crowded everything was. People were bumping into each other every few seconds. At least people apologized for their actions every time. "Well, what else did you want to show me?"

"Oh! There's this park over here! It's got a playground in it. C'mon!" Asriel once more grabbed their hand, almost dragging them in the direction of where Frisk presumed the playground was.

When they got there, Frisk was astonished at how big the playground was. They had a few up on the surface, but none were as big as this. There were already kids playing, with a few adults watching on benches nearby.

"Whoa. This is a big playground," Frisk said.

"You think so?" Asriel asked, letting go of them.

"It is. I don't think there's many on the surface that are this big. At least none that I've been to."

"Well come on! Let's have some fun!"

Frisk eagerly followed Asriel around, doing whatever he wanted. Though they noticed that while some kids played with them and Asriel, most avoided them. It saddened Asriel each time someone left and Frisk couldn't help but feel mad on his behalf. Why did everyone avoid him?

After a while, Frisk looked around the area, seeing as much as they could. All the kids were playing and having fun. That was until Frisk glanced at the swing set.

There were four swings there, but only one was occupied, and she was barely doing anything. Frisk squinted, seeing antlers and hooves. She looked like a deer. And they could tell she was sad and lonely.

"Frisk, what is it?" Asriel asked. He was currently climbing a set of bars that Frisk had already climbed.

"Who's that?" Frisk asked, pointing to the deer girl.

Asriel looked in that direction, finding her. "Oh, that's Noelle. Her dad and mine were friends."

"Were?" Frisk asked.

"Yeah. He… died a couple years back," Asriel explained.

"Ouch," Frisk said in sympathy.

"Yeah. Dad frequently brought her over so we could play together. Though we haven't talked much lately."

"How come?" Frisk asked.

Asriel shrugged. "I dunno. She's just been… distant lately."

Frisk hummed for a moment. "Is she a friend of yours?"

"Well, we used to be," Asriel said sadly. "But I guess we aren't anymore."

Frisk looked at Noelle, thinking for a moment before coming to a decision. "Let's go to the swings. But let's take the long way there."

"What's that mean?" Asriel questioned as they both climbed down.

Frisk led Asriel to the swings, approaching from behind Noelle. She didn't notice them, head down. She was barely even swinging, legs swinging back and forth to keep her moving, but not getting any actual height.

Frisk tapped the girl on her shoulder, startling her. She turned around and almost jumped when she saw them. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you," Frisk apologized.

Noelle didn't really speak, just froze, looking scared.

"Mind if we take these?" Frisk asked, sitting in one of the swings, while Asriel did the same. Though Frisk had him take the one on Noelle's other side.

"Asriel?" she said, so quietly Frisk hadn't been sure they heard her at first.

"Hi, Noelle," Asriel returned. "Been a while."

She didn't immediately respond. She looked ahead for a moment before facing him again. "How have you been?"

"I'm good," he said. "Got a new playmate. Meet Frisk." He nodded to them with a smile. "How about you?"

"Fine," she said. But Frisk could tell she was lying.

"So what are you doing here?" Asriel asked. "You live in Snowdin."

"Just… having fun," she said.

"And how exactly is this 'fun'?" Frisk asked. "You're barely moving."

Noelle didn't respond.

"So how's your sister and mom?" Asriel asked, changing the subject.

"They're okay," she said.

"And how are you really?" Frisk questioned.

"Huh?" Noelle asked.

"She said she was fine," Asriel said.

"She lied," Frisk stated. "I can tell."

Noelle looked straight ahead, not looking at either one of them. "I'm fine, I promise."

"If you were, you'd be swinging a lot more. You're barely even doing that," Frisk stated.

"Noelle, are you alright?" Asriel asked, concern in his voice.

"Yes, I'm fine. Everything is alright," she said in an almost flat voice.

Frisk raised an eyebrow. "Asriel told me your father died a while back."

Noelle gasped for a moment, and Frisk could tell she was suppressing tears.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Frisk asked gently.

"It was years ago. It doesn't bother me anymore," Noelle said, barely concealing the shakes in her voice.

Now Asriel could tell something was wrong. "You sure?" he asked. "You can tell us if you want."

"I'm fine, I'm a big girl and I don't need to be coddled like some helpless doe," she said, voice cracking slightly, and Frisk got the impression she was quoting someone.

Now Frisk was worried. They were certain Noelle was shutting off her emotions when she clearly wanted to mourn. Someone was trying to keep her from moving on.

"Noelle, you can talk to us," Frisk said. "We won't judge."

"I'm fine. Everything's fine," she said, eyes turning red from suppressed tears.

"You don't believe us," Asriel said. He sighed. "Noelle, I'm your friend. At least I was. But I haven't heard from you in months, and now that I see you again, you don't trust me. That hurts."

Noelle didn't react until Asriel got up to leave.

"Don't go," she said quietly.

Frisk glanced around the park, seeing everyone else there. She needed somewhere private to break down at. "Say, Asriel, is there some place we can go where no one will see us?" they asked.

"Yeah, this way," he said, pointing in a specific direction.

Frisk got up and took Noelle's hand, making her jump slightly. But she let herself be pulled along regardless.

Asriel brought them to a shaded part of the park where trees concealed them.

"Noelle, what's really going on?" Frisk asked.

"W-what makes you think anything's going on?" she questioned.

"You're lying to us for one," Frisk answered. "And you're pretending that things are alright when they're not. So, I ask again, what's really going on? Is someone hurting you?"

"No," she said, though Frisk could see that wasn't wholly honest.

"Noelle, is it your mom?" Asriel asked.

Her small gasp told Frisk the answer to that.

"What's she doing to you?" Frisk asked.

"Nothing, she's not doing anything," Noelle said rapidly.

"She's hurting you," Frisk realized.

"No, she's not, she hasn't hurt me," Noelle insisted.

"So not physically, but there are many ways someone can hurt you," Frisk said, speaking from experience. "Is she the one who makes you say those things?"

"She…" Noelle trailed off. "I'm a big girl, I need to be able to handle my emotions – "

"I'm gonna stop you right there," Frisk said, holding a hand up. "You're quoting her."

"Noelle, are you still hurt by your dad's death?" Asriel asked.

"It…"

"Noelle, no one's listening," Frisk interrupted. "It's just us and I promise we won't tell anyone."

Noelle sniffed a little before speaking. "Yes." She looked at Asriel and Frisk. "Yes. I miss him. I miss him so much…"

Asriel stepped forward and hugged her. A moment later, she broke down into his shoulder, crying.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"I… I don't know," she said. "I just… I wanted to be alone. I… I miss him so much. And I missed you."

Frisk watched as Asriel comforted her, rubbing her back. "I missed you, too," Asriel said. "When you stopped talking to me, I thought it meant you didn't want to be friends anymore."

"Don't leave me," she pleaded.

Asriel turned to look at Frisk, tears in his own eyes. "I won't," he said to her.

Frisk smiled at seeing them reconcile.

Noelle played with Asriel and Frisk for the rest of the day. After her breakdown, she lightened up considerably. She smiled a lot more and Frisk got to hear her laugh a few times. They could see that Asriel was happy to have an old friend back. They were glad, as they felt that he shouldn't cling to them completely. He needed others to lean on. Noelle would only be the start. Frisk intended to expand their friend base with as many people as they could. But first, they needed to find others to befriend.

When the day came to a close, Noelle went back home, waving to her friends, promising to see them again tomorrow.

When Frisk and Asriel returned to his house, they were greeted by Asriel's parents. Asriel told them about his day, and when he told them about his meeting with Noelle, both smiled at seeing their son so happy.

Asgore sent Asriel off to his mom to help prepare supper, leaving him with Frisk.

"Frisk," he said to them, "I want to thank you."

"For what?" they asked.

"For helping Noelle. She has grown… distant the last couple years. Ever since Rudy died, she's been getting quieter and quieter," he explained. "When Asriel said that Noelle hadn't spoken to him in a while, I had feared for her. But now that they have reconnected, I feel much better."

Frisk shuffled on their feet as they tried to figure out what to say. "If I may ask, do you know anything about her mom?"

"Carol? Why do you ask?" Asgore asked.

"Some things Noelle said," they explained. "I'm worried that her mom might be abusing her."

"Carol would not harm her daughters," Asgore insisted.

"It's not physical harm that I fear," Frisk explained. "Noelle was repressing her emotions, and I get the impression that it's because her mom told her to, that she had to grow up and stop crying."

Asgore was surprised by that. "Well, Carol has always been… professional, and I know she is somewhat hard on her daughters, but… I don't think she would go that far."

Frisk shook their head. "Well, that's the impression I got from Noelle. It just felt like her mom was abusing her emotionally."

Asgore hummed. "Perhaps I should question Carol about this," he mused.

"Uh, maybe don't," Frisk suggested. "I kinda promised Noelle that her mom wouldn't find out. And to be honest, I'm scared what telling her mom will do to Noelle, and what she'll do to her."

"I doubt Carol would get physical with her own children," Asgore said.

"Still, can we keep this between ourselves?" Frisk requested. It looked like Asgore was about to protest when Frisk slipped in one last word. "Please?"

Asgore sighed through his lips. "Very well."

A moment later, Toriel came out with a pie. "It is time to eat," she said.

Asriel bounded behind her. "Good, because I'm hungry!"

The family sat down at the table, Frisk eating a slice of the pie. They glanced over at Asriel, who was much cheerier than yesterday. No doubt reconnecting with Noelle was a huge boon to him. They contemplated how to have her around more often, as she would probably still need help mourning her dad. They also debated how to find Asriel more friends, as the more people he had, the better.

As they got ready for bed, they couldn't help but feel weird at why they felt so strongly that Asriel needed more friends. It was like something in their gut was telling them that their new roommate needed to play with others his age and not depend entirely on them. They brushed the feeling off. It was right regardless. But still, they wondered why they felt like that so strongly.

End of Chapter 2