Notes: I probably can't keep up these fast updates much longer, but it's been cool to be able to post so quickly. Thank you to everyone who is reading this story.
Chapter 6
Your Best Friend?
Amber didn't travel very far. She walked a short distance through Waterfall, a muddy humid environment with, you guessed it, a lot of waterfalls. She tried to cross a bridge, but she was afraid of the falling rocks. Noticing a cave behind the rushing water, she ran through the waterfall instead. At least there was less chance of getting hit by a rock that way.
There wasn't much inside, just dry ground and a few blue glowing mushroom plants. She was glad to not see any of those infamous echo flowers around here, as it didn't take her long to figure out what Sans had been talking about.
Echo flowers repeated everything they heard whenever they were touched. It was eerie to hear the same phrases and squeaks over and over again. She quickly realized she had to be quiet. If she said anything incriminating about herself, then it would be repeated by those glowing blue flowers.
So, here she sat, in a tiny cave, with no sounds but the rushing waterfall in front of her. She was grateful to be away from echo flowers and curious monsters, but uncertain about where she was supposed to go.
In video games, the goal was obvious. Keep walking in new directions until you find something that helps you finish the game. This didn't feel like a game though. This felt like being transported to an alien world, with a culture and a people that Amber was struggling to understand. They didn't just say random phrases like NPCs. They responded to her questions, they had their own alliances and motives, and she felt like an outsider to all of it.
Would going further actually get her closer to home, or just closer to her own death? Dying mid-game was one thing, but what if she died in the final cutscene? No, that was ridiculous! This wasn't a game. There were no cutscenes, no bosses, no…
Checkpoints. No, that was wrong. There were plenty of checkpoints. Plenty of times she inadvertently saved on a glowing star. She did it just before venturing further into Waterfall. If she died, there was a chance she could come back. Maybe. Again, just because it happened once didn't mean it would happen every time. It only meant that it happened once.
Amber considered testing the save mechanic, but that felt insane. Killing herself just to see if she would really die? What kind of maniac would take that kind of risk? For all she knew, she could just be having a psychotic episode and imagining everything as a video game.
Except, no, that didn't make sense either. Why would she imagine a game she never played? Why wouldn't she imagine the retro games her friends showed her like Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Mario Kart, or Crash Bandicoot? Why imagine a game where the only thing she recognized was that one character that made it into a Nintendo crossover? No, she reaffirmed to herself that this had to be really happening.
She stopped staring at the waterfall to look around the cave again, and noticed a flash of pink buried among a pile of conspicuous dust. When she pulled out the object, she saw it was a little girl's tutu; covered in the whitish powder.
Sighing, she shook out the tutu until it was free of dust, and used it as a pillow while using her disguise sheet as a blanket. The sheet was still a little wet from crossing the waterfall, but it didn't matter. She needed to sleep, and some protection was better than nothing.
As she tried to rest, she couldn't help but feel her own stomach gnawing at her for sustenance. She was so hungry, but she only had a few pieces of monster candy on her person. She probably should've asked Papyrus for something, but she didn't get the chance before the Flowey fight.
The feeling reminded her of when she was a kid, about 10 years old. James was only 4 back then, and Amber was always stuck babysitting him. Back then their parents weren't working, back when they mostly got drunk all day. Before their mom went to AA.
Their parents would often spend their paychecks on booze and little else. Sometimes they had electricity, sometimes they didn't. Sometimes they had food, sometimes they didn't. It was a real crap shoot back then. At the time it didn't feel crushing or anything, just really annoying. Amber got so irritated at having to figure out what she and James were going to eat while their parents wasted away like idiots. It helped Amber become more…creative.
Restaurants gave away a lot of free things. Free crackers, free napkins, free straws, free condiment packets. One day the kids went through about 40 ketchup packets between them. It was a sickening feeling, but also a way for them to have fun together, smearing each other with ketchup and making a mess of the kitchen too. Amber didn't clean it up. She wasn't sure who did, but it took a couple weeks before anything was done about it.
Remembering those 'good old days', Amber sat up and unwrapped a monster candy. She had three. She wouldn't eat more than one. Just enough to feel okay for sleeping through the…night? Did they even have a concept of day and night down here? Eh, no matter. Just enough to survive was fine…
The candy tasted…weird. Not quite licorice, but something close. Maybe anise flavor? Either way it wasn't good. Amber chewed it just long enough to keep from choking on it, and then quickly gulped it down. Yeah, no temptation to eat the others, thankfully. Maybe they would last long enough before she found food elsewhere, or else this was going to be a long existence.
The crummy candy made Amber think of Toriel's house and the delicious pie she ate while there. She really regretted not grabbing some pie for the road. She also kind of regretted leaving Toriel in the lurch. Like sure, the goat lady was insane, but she also likely had a really tragic backstory if she was locked away in the ruins. Sans did mention the ruins was a place of sorrow and regret.
Amber was almost asleep, almost able to banish away her hunger and her sadness, when she heard the sound of her phone ringing. She bolted upright and quickly answered it, hoping it was the call she'd been waiting for.
"Hey," Sans's voice greeted her on the other end, "I got some news about a job opening for you. You wanna meet at Grillby's and discuss it?"
"Um, I don't have any money," Amber winced, "Maybe we could meet at your house instead?"
"Eh, that's okay. My treat," Sans offered.
"Well, okay," Amber accepted, "I'll try to be careful with how much I spend then. When should I meet you?"
"Now," Sans replied, "Come on, you'll love Grillby's. They got great boos. Heh heh heh heh."
"I don't drink, but thank you!" Amber replied quickly, "I'll be right there."
"Eh, suit yourself," Sans said nonchalantly, "I thought all ghouls just wanted to have fun. Heh heh heh."
Sans hung up the phone without saying goodbye, which Amber thought was a little abrupt. Still, he was helping her get a job, and just as importantly was willing to buy her a meal, so she decided to be grateful instead of offended. Now she wished she hadn't eaten that monster candy. It felt like a waste to not have it anymore when food was just around the corner.
IRL
It had been an entire day since it happened. Amber just disappeared. When James returned with the soda and didn't see her at the computer, he just assumed she went home. Hours later though, one of her friends called to ask where she was. James didn't know, and as it turned out nobody else knew either.
It was only after the phone call that Amber's car pulled up in front of their house. James thought it was her, until he saw his mom get out. Their mom had helped herself to the car while Amber was visiting. That realization sent chills up James's spine. Amber didn't have her car. There was no way she could've driven all the way back to Knoxville.
Amber was missing.
It was the first time in forever that James could remember feeling this level of visceral fear for someone. He knew all about those crime shows where women get abducted from their homes and terrible things happen to them. His mom loved those shows for some morbid reason.
He checked his phone for any calls from Amber, and then afterward used it to log onto social media to look for her. She loved Instagram, but there were no new posts or comments. Their dad even had the idea of checking her bank account for any purchases, but none of them knew her banking information, so they couldn't.
It was almost evening, over 24 hours since she went missing, and James and his parents were still no closer to finding her.
James waited until he was alone in his room, shut the door, and began to cry. The last thing he said to Amber was just yelling at her to help him fix his stupid computer. What if that was the last thing he ever said to her? What if she was chopped into pieces by the freeway or something? What if she ran away just to get away from him and every other crummy thing in her life? What if she decided to…?
He couldn't deal with it anymore. He'd been trying to find her all day yesterday and all day today. He just needed a break, an escape from the horror of his new reality. He just couldn't handle it anymore!
He sat at his computer, unmuted his speakers, and was greeted to that silly Grillby's theme from Undertale. Weird, he didn't remember turning this on. Then it hit him that Amber was the last one to use the computer. She might've decided to play his game while he was gone.
When he looked at the screen however, something was wrong. The scene was Grillby's, but the text boxes were progressing by themselves. Sans was sitting at his usual barstool, but where Frisk should be instead sat a new sprite. It looked like Napstablook, but with tiny light blue polka dots mixed with the white.
[so the sentry job is in the lower part of snowdin. not a lot happens there. i think there's some hot springs there if you're into that sort of thing.] Sans said in the text boxes.
[Um, I don't know how to get there. Would you be willing to show me?] The ghost sprite replied.
[sure, its snow problem. heh heh heh heh.] Sans replied.
James was transfixed by what he was looking at. At first he thought it might be a YouTube animation video, but no. The top of the screen read 'Undertale', so this was his copy of Undertale, but what he was seeing wasn't in the game. What was that ghost sprite? Where was lower Snowdin? Was it from one of his fan games? Was he going insane? What was he seeing? What was going on?
[Um, Sans? Thank you for buying me lunch. I'll pay you back when I get my first check] The ghost said, [You've been really nice to me. Your brother has too. I'm sorry I was so rude to him. Do you think he'll forgive me?]
[eh, sure. he's all bone and no bite. actually though, i do want to ask a favor, if that's ok.]
[What kind of favor?]
[well, flowey means a lot to papyrus. it would make my bro really happy if you tried to befriend him.]
[Flowey? Are you insane? Look, you want your weed problem gone, just give me a lighter and a can of bug spray! I'll deal with it!]
Oh wow, that ghost is something else! James thought. Is this like promotional material for a DLC where you play as a monster? I sure hope so. Playing as a Napstablook clone to fight against Flowey sounds awesome!
[hey, had to ask. it's just that…flowey is shy. you could say he's a shrinking violet. if you could find him, make him feel like he has a new friend in you, then maybe he wouldn't feel so bad.]
"Wait a minute," James muttered to himself, "Since when does Sans know about Flowey canonically? This has to be some sort of fan game. But, I don't remember downloading a fan game that looks like this. Nobody uses Napstablook as a template for their OCs."
[You're not listening! Flowey is psychotic! I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, I really don't, but I'm scared. There's something really wrong with that flower.]
James was engrossed in this story, whatever it was. This cutscene was taking forever, but at least it was a cool lore idea. He could even see Flowey hiding under one of the dog soldier's tables on the left side of the screen, watching Sans and the ghost. James loved it when there was so much attention to detail. For just a brief moment, his worries were a million miles away and he was focused on a nostalgic favorite game.
[why be scared? flowey can't hurt you. just phase away if he gets to be too much.]
[Sigh… Okay, you win. You've done so much for me, and…I guess I owe you this. I'll try to kiss and make up with the stupid flower. Then Papyrus will be happy, and my debt to you will be repaid. Sound fair?]
[hey, you don't have to think of it like a debt.]
[If you want me to actually do it, then I do.]
[thanks, amber. this means a ton to me. a skele-ton.]
[Oh, that was your worst one yet…]
"Amber?" James asked himself, "Did someone program my sister into an Undertale fan game? Does she have a creepy stalker?"
On the screen, Sans got up from the bar, hitched up his shorts, and walked off screen with no further dialogue. The ghost, Amber, sat there and ate two orders of fries in a matter of seconds. Then she got up, and James could see that the ghost sprite had little brown feet, just like Frisk. As she walked off screen, before the camera cut away, Flowey's sprite disappeared into the ground.
James continued to watch as the sprite walked around Snowdin. He tried to use his arrow keys to direct the sprite, but it didn't work. In fact, none of the buttons did what they were supposed to do. He tried clicking the X in the corner to escape the game altogether, but nothing happened. Either his computer was frozen, or something far more sinister was happening.
James's thoughts immediately went to the fact that this was a ghost sprite, and it was named after his sister. Did her killer make this…thing? Was someone using the ghost sprite as a way to torment the family about Amber's death?
He rubbed his head with his hands, messing up his already greasy hair. He couldn't handle this. Something was wrong. His sister was gone, and his computer had a glitched-out copy of Undertale with her as a ghost on it. He couldn't even escape the reality of his situation on his computer. Everything was horrible, and there was nothing he could do.
Snowdin
"I can't believe I agreed to this…" Amber muttered as she made her way to Snowdin forest.
It probably wouldn't work. The flower lived in the ruins. No way would it find her out here. This was a terrible idea. She didn't even want to find him. Flowey would kill her, and it might be for good this time. And all for what? To make two skeletons happy? They were just as likely to kill her as Flowey, and the only thing protecting her was a piece of fabric with two eye holes cut out of it.
I can't believe this game is my new life… Amber thought miserably. An eternity of Puzzle Time with SpongeBob and Patrick…
As she sat alone among the trees, she knew she was delaying the inevitable. Well, might as well get this over with…
"Um, Flowey?" Amber called out nervously, "Flowey the flower? Um, my name is Amber, and, um…I've heard very good things about you. You, um, apparently give great advice to skeletons, and, um…"
just then, Flowey popped out of the ground in front of her, wearing a creepy expression with shadowy fangs and predatory eyes.
"Aaahh!" Amber screamed.
"I don't know what your game is, but you can stop now," Flowey said, his voice high pitched but also somewhat resonant. It was very unsettling to say the least.
"W-what do you m-mean?" Amber stammered.
"I know you're a human," Flowey told her, "In fact, you're that chump Toriel took in the other day, aren't cha?"
"Toriel? You mean the goat lady?" Amber asked.
"Exactly," Flowey grinned, "I don't know what you've done, but you've stolen something very valuable from me, and I want it back."
"Is this about the monster candy?" Amber whimpered, "Because I only have two pieces left, but you can have them if you-"
"Shut up!" Flowey shrieked, and Amber cringed, "You know what I mean! My determination! My power over this world! Give it back right now!"
"Determi- you mean the star thingies?" Amber inquired.
"Yes. The star thingies," Flowey repeated mockingly, "Man, you are an idiot…"
"Yeah, well I'm an idiot that's only 2 credits away from a bachelor's degree, so there!" Amber retorted immaturely, "Look, I don't know how any of this works, but if I understand what you're talking about correctly, then I'm the only one that can save and load. I'm the player, so it just makes sense. If you need my help though, just tell me. We don't have to be enemies. In fact, your friend Papyrus really wants us to be friends."
"Papyrus isn't my friend," Flowey rolled his eyes, "None of these losers are my friends! They're all my playthings, and I've had my fun with them over and over and over again. Endless saves, endless reloads, and yet…finite choices. When you can go back as much as you want, it gets kind of boring after a while. I bet you're already bored of this whole stupid place. How many times have you reset, huh?"
"Yeah…I don't think you're quite…stable," Amber said as she backed away from the flower, "Just…look, I told Sans I would talk to you, and I did. Now, can we just leave each other alone?"
"Sans?" Flowey asked incredulously, "Sans knows I'm here? Oh, Papyrus! You stupid, stupid, bag of bones! Now I have to reset again and- Wait, I can't. Hey, human! Reset back a few days, would you? Thanks."
"Um…I'm gonna go now…" Amber wheedled as she turned to walk away from Flowey.
"No! You can't leave things like this!" Flowey demanded, "If that stupid smiley trash bag knows about me, then he knows about the resets. If he knows about the resets, it won't be long before he knows about you. If he knows about you, well…you'll have to reset eventually anyway, won't you?"
"Dude, you're crazy, and you're clearly scared," Amber observed, "Just stay out of people's way and you won't have to be afraid. That's what I'm doing."
"What you're doing is cosplaying as a lampshade," Flowey spat, "Seriously, how does this get you closer to the king? How does messing around acting like a ghost get you closer to getting back to the surface?"
"It doesn't," Amber shrugged, "I'm not going to the king. I got a job as a sentry in- well, I probably shouldn't give you my location."
"I already heard. Lower Snowdin," Flowey scoffed, "You mean you were serious about taking that stupid job? What's the point? Just clock in and look for other members of your own kind? Sitting around, never progressing, never doing anything fun? What does that accomplish? How does doing nothing but sitting on your butt give you more determination than me? I don't understand!"
"Well, I'm determined to not die. I'm determined to not be homeless. I guess, I'm determined to make the most of things," Amber rationalized, "If nothing else, I'm determined to keep you away from the power to control time. It seems to me like nothing good has come of it if you view people as toys to be used and thrown away when you're done. You're very childish, you know that?"
"So what? You'll just hang onto the determination until you die? You'll just live in the underground as an outlaw, making a pittance when you could have more power than you ever dreamed of? Come on, don't you hate these monsters? These creatures that keep you away from your home? Don't you just wanna kill them all? Turn them all to dust, and then claim your rightful place as queen of this realm?"
Amber just sighed and kept walking, but Flowey popped up in front of her again, his vines snaking up the nearest tree so he could look her in the eye.
"We could do it together," Flowey whispered temptingly, "We could free these monsters of their mortal coil. We could kill the king, take the six human souls, and then rule together. Think about how much power we would have! We could rule everything!"
"So…your goal in life is to rule a pile of dust?" Amber asked flatly, "Yeah, no, you can make fun of my lack of ambition all you want, but at least my dreams involve, you know, other people. Man, some people just don't think…"
Amber then walked away again, and Flowey growled in rage. Who did this human think she was? Didn't she know the monsters would kill her if she didn't kill them first? Was she really so stupid?
"I'll tell them!" Flowey called out after her, "I'll tell them all you're a human, and then they'll kill you! I'll tell them all!"
"Then I would just reset, kill you, and then never reset again, dingus!" Amber countered.
Amber then actually managed to walk away, as Flowey stayed behind to think about this new conundrum. The human had a point. He couldn't tell on her. Not only would that compromise his own existence due to her killing him in the next timeline, but it would also alert Sans and Asgore that he was here. Hiding from Sans was already going to be difficult enough as it was!
Despite the frustration of this new situation, Flowey felt something he hadn't felt in a long time. He didn't quite have a name for the feeling, but it wasn't quite fun and it wasn't quite boredom. He couldn't predict the human. He didn't know what would happen next, and the possibilities intrigued him. He just had to get her away from that stupid dead end job…somehow.
