Chapter Text
You wake up, lying in a bed of golden flowers. Your head hurts. Your everything hurts, but you seem to be alive. The flowers must have broken your fall. You get up and look blearily around you. It’s dark down here, the rough stone lit only by a faint shaft of light from above. You see what looks to be a path forward, and-
You feel a searing pain in the back of your skull, followed by blackness. The nothingness seems to stretch on in all directions. In the empty void, you wonder if you are dead. You… you don’t want to die.
You wake up, lying in a bed of golden flowers. Your head hurts. Your- well, you know all this already. You rush to your feet and quickly look behind you, but nothing is there. You look down at your hands. “What was that? Did I… die?” you ask out loud. The universe does not deign to respond.
You look around and up for a way back to where you fell from. Though rough, the walls are near-vertical, and the faint light seems to be coming from far away indeed; climbing back up does not appear to be an option. You do notice a sturdy stick by your feet, so you pick it up; its heft in your hand helps you feel a little safer. The path appears to be the only way out of this chamber, so you follow it, scanning for threats around you as you go. The trail takes you beneath a surprisingly elaborate archway, one flanked by columns and marked with a symbol you don’t recognize: a winged circle with three alternating triangles beneath it.
The next chamber is even smaller and sparser than the one you came from, with nothing but a small patch of grass in the centre. As you approach, a golden flower springs out of the grass and begins… to talk? It has a face, too! One that is surprisingly animated as it says, “Howdy! I’m Flowey. Flowey the flower.” … The originality of the name overwhelms you.
The flower continues, “Hmmm… You’re new to the Underground, aren’tcha? Golly, you must be so confused.” Flowey looks at you with pity. “It seems like you’ve already caught a glimpse of what this world is about. Down here, it’s kill or be killed, and I think someone already tried with you.”
“Wait! Does that mean you saw what happened?” you ask.
Flowey smiles, and replies, “Well, I can’t say I saw who did it, but I did see you fall, then wake up again in the flowers. You should be more careful!” Flowey punctuates his last statement with a wink, then continues, “But don’t worry! I know how you can become stronger, and then you’ll never have to worry about getting killed again. I’ll have to show you something, first…”
Flowey appears to concentrate for a moment, and you begin to be aware of a red glow coming from within your chest. You stare incredulously as a red heart emerges and gently floats in front of you, barely noticing that Flowey seems entranced by it as well. “See that heart?” Flowey asks, “that is your Soul, the very culmination of your being!”
You stare transfixed at your own Soul as Flowey continues to explain. “Now, it starts off pretty weak, but there’s a foolproof way to make it stronger: LV!”
“LV?” you ask, not recognizing the term.
“Why, LOVE, of course!” Flowey responds. “Who doesn’t want LOVE? Well, don’t worry, because I have plenty to share!” Several small white pellets appear above Flowey’s head. “You just need to-”
Flowey’s next words are cut off as a torrent of blue fire engulfs him, obscuring him from view. You take several steps back in fear; is this a new threat? Was he right about everything trying to kill down here?
As your eyes readjust from the blinding brilliance of the flame, you see a figure in front of you. It’s… she looks vaguely humanoid, but covered in fluffy white fur, and her head looks more like that of a goat, with small white horns above a gentle face. Most of her body is covered by a long robe bearing the same symbol you saw above the archway, but it doesn’t reach low enough to mask that her arms and legs end in paws instead of hands and feet.
She appears to be slightly out of breath as she asks, “Are you… huff… are you alright, my child? puff… Please, do not be afraid. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down.”
You look down to where Flowey was, and see only a patch of charred grass. “Why did you do that?” you ask, looking back up at Toriel. “He… He was just talking to me, and you…”
“He is not dead, merely… driven off. That one is tenacious.” She sighs, then continues, “I am sorry, my child, but I am afraid that he was merely trying to take advantage of a poor, innocent youth such as yourself. What a wretched creature, indeed; you are not the first he has attempted to beguile and then harm, though I pray you are the last. In fact, his previous target is with me now, whom you have to thank for my timely arrival.”
At this, Toriel gestures forward with her left arm, and from behind her hesitantly steps a youth, looking about… 12 or 13? – similar in age to yourself, at least. He seems almost human, though small white horns poke out from his short hair- no, wait, now you notice the headband the ’horns’ are attached to. Alright, he is definitely human, even if he looks pretty different from you – his extremely pale skin, heavily-freckled face, and deep red hair a sharp contrast to your tanned, smooth skin and dark brown hair. He also appears to share your fashion sense, wearing a dark orange shirt with a single blue-green stripe that oddly echoes your blue ensemble with its two purple stripes, outside of the white hood on his back.
The boy offers a shy smile as Toriel introduces him. “This is Conor; he was the first human to come down here in a long time, and I have been caring for him these past two years. I hope you two can be friends,” she adds with a warm smile.
Conor appears to be studying you intently, his piercing green eyes fixed on you. However, on realizing you’ve noticed this, he quickly breaks eye contact, then looks back and says, “Hi. Welcome to the Underground. Sorry about our sudden entrance against Flowey there, but he truly is bad news. Honest. Um, like Mom said, I’m Conor. What’s your name?”
… Mom? Your confusion locks your tongue for a moment, but you quickly manage to respond, “I’m Frisk.” Your eyes dart between Toriel and Conor, still unsure of their intentions.
Conor appears to be studying you again, but smiles as he says, “Frisk? That’s a nice name.”
“Indeed it is,” Toriel adds. “Come! We will guide you through the catacombs. This way.” She turns, and begins to walk toward this room’s exit. Conor offers you a reassuring smile and nod before following Toriel down the path. This appears to be the only way you can go, so you decide to follow as well.
Through another archway bearing that mysterious symbol, the room ahead opens up into a sort of courtyard. Orange leaves litter the ground as the path splits into a double staircase, leading to an imposing edifice of solid, purple-ish stone: the entrance of the Ruins looms before you, looking oddly both abandoned and well cared-for. Toriel was waiting for you in the courtyard, but upon seeing that you are indeed following, she and Conor make their way up the stairs and through the doorway.
You begin to head towards the stairs yourself, but a gleam along the path catches your eye. It looks like a small golden star, fallen from the heavens to these underground depths. You reach down to touch it, and are filled with determination; this moment feels important to you, fixed in place like a memory that keeps replaying at the back of your mind. You raise your eyes up the stairs and notice Conor peeking at you from around the next doorway. He tilts his head and asks, “Are you coming, Frisk?” then pops back around the doorframe. You glance back down at the golden star, unsure what exactly you experienced, but filled with resolve to press forward and make it through this strange place.
As you pass through the doorway, you enter a small stone chamber, blocked by a closed door and with six stone tiles raised in an odd pattern on the floor. Toriel and Conor are waiting for you in the centre of this room, with Toriel assuming a pose as though about to give a lecture to a class of students. She smiles welcomingly, and says, “Welcome to your new home, innocent one.” You wonder what she means by 'new home.' You already have a home, one that you need to get back to.
Before you get a chance to voice these concerns, she continues into what feels like an oft-practised speech. “Please allow me to educate you in the operation of the Ruins. You could say that I am providing you with a ‘tu-Toriel.’” She giggles softly at this, and you hear a ‘snrk’ from Conor behind her. “You see? Because that is my name.” You roll your eyes, but a smile does creep onto your face as well.
After this… well, it could charitably be called a comedic interlude, Toriel continues, “these Ruins are filled with puzzles, which have served for hundreds of years as a combination of diversion and doorkey.”
“After the war that banished monsters down here, they were worried about humans coming down and finishing them off!” Conor interjects excitedly. Toriel raises an eyebrow at him, and he appears to deflate slightly, but she softens the rebuke with a gentle laugh.
“Conor likes to show off how well he has studied monster history,” she says fondly, “to the point of interruption. He is correct, however. In earlier times, monsters feared the wrath of humans, and sought to defend themselves. These puzzles are mostly a tradition now, but an important one! You will have to solve them to move from room to room, so it is essential to understand how they work.”
She then proceeds to step on four raised stone tiles that form a square pattern, ignoring the two raised tiles in between. As the fourth tile is depressed, an audible ‘click!’ can be heard, and the door at the end of the room swings open silently. She looks to you and smiles once again, before heading through the now-open door, Conor following behind.
The next chamber is much more spacious, taking the form of a long and wide corridor. The path stretches before you, far enough that you cannot see the exit in the dim light, though you do notice the path crosses several underground streams. “Now, I would like you to complete this puzzle on your own, to better familiarize yourself. However, do not worry! I have marked the correct levers to pull.”
You stare quizzically at Toriel for a couple seconds. If the levers are already marked, what exactly are you demonstrating by pulling them yourself? Your impressive upper body strength? However, she appears to misinterpret your expression, and begins to elaborate further, “You see, this puzzle is solved by pulling down the correct levers. Fortunately, I have marked them already, so you must simply walk over to them and pull them into a downward position.” She finishes this statement with an encouraging smile. You sigh, and walk over to the first lever. It appears to be well-maintained, requiring little effort to shift, and moving without the faintest squeak.
As you walk towards the next marked lever, passing over swiftly-running clear water on sturdy wooden bridges, Toriel moves to walk slightly ahead of you, beginning to speak. “As I was saying earlier, you are fortunate that I came when I did. Conor and I were still checking the puzzles in one of the chambers ahead when he suddenly raised his head and told me he thought he heard cries for help.”
“What-” you begin to interject, but you notice Conor looking back at you frantically with a pleading expression on his face, holding a finger up to his lips. Hm. Very well. You will choose to refrain from initiating this line of questioning. For the moment.
Not noticing this exchange behind her, Toriel continues, “I did not hear anything myself, which is particularly curious considering, well, our relative ear size. Still, his ‘hunches’ have always proved correct in the past, so we rushed to you as quickly as we could. I am truly glad that we did!”
At this point, you reach the second marked lever, which was near the end of this room. You pull it down easily, and you hear a satisfying ‘chink’ as the spikes blocking the exit retract. Toriel beams at you. “Splendid! I am proud of you, little one.” You are still unsure what exactly you accomplished to be proud of.
“However, I must attend to some important business, and so must leave you alone for a time. Now, do not fret!” She walks towards you, reaching into a pocket in the side of her robe and pulling out what looks to you like an old cell phone. “I will give you this phone in case you ever need to contact me, and Conor will help you navigate through the rest of the Ruins.”
Conor raises his head at this, and looks at you and Toriel in turn. “Oh, uh, sure! I can help them make it through the puzzles on the way back, if they need it.” He grins at you encouragingly. “Don’t worry. I know this place like the back of my hand! Maybe we’ll even beat Mom Home.”
Toriel laughs warmly. “It is not a race, my child, and I would appreciate it if you did not attempt to ‘beat me Home.’ Now, before I go…” She pulls Conor aside, kneeling down to his height and putting a paw on his shoulder.
The two of them begin a whispered conversation, though you are only able to catch fragments of, “And don’t…” and, “Remember to…” from Toriel.
At one point, you hear him object, “But Mo-om!” Her reply is too quiet to hear, but his response is more audible. “*sigh* Fine. But can I at least show them that great view near Home?” You see her nod and his face brighten up.
As they finish their conversation, they hug, and you manage to hear him say, “I love you, Mom. And don’t worry, I’ll keep them safe. See you soon!”
“I know you will,” she replies, gently touching her nose to his. “I love you too, dear one.” She then stands up and begins to walk away, turning around one more time to implore, “Both of you, please be safe. And please be good,” before continuing along the path away from you.