Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

ʸᵒᵘ ˢʰᵒᵘˡᵈ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ˡⁱˢᵗᵉⁿᵉᵈ ᵗᵒ ʸᵒᵘʳ ⁱⁿˢᵗⁱⁿᶜᵗˢ.

. . .

The next room didn't have anything special: the same purple floor and walls, some lilac markings on the ground showing a path, and masses of vines, with their curly tendrils sticking out.

"There is another puzzle in this room..." Toriel rested her chin on her hand as if she was in deep thought. "I wonder if you two can solve it?"

Frisk said that nothing was difficult for him while puffing his chest out in pride, closing his left hand into a fist, and bringing it to his sternum.

Toriel merely laughed at that, trying to muffle her giggles with a paw, murmuring something under her breath about how Frisk was such a 'brave human'.

She went ahead, and Frisk turned his head in your direction like he was expecting something from you.

"What is it?"

He began ranting about how he was awesome, and how without him you could have never won that FIGHT against the Dummy, or something similar to that.

What? Couldn't he also have his moments of boastfulness?

Frisk hated the idea of fate, of destiny. The thought of someone, something somewhere controlling his every move made him feel like a puppet, and puppets scared him a little. Along with ghosts, and oversized pies.

But...

In the end, it never seemed all that bad.

He didn't know what would happen in the future. Although, for now, They didn't try to do anything too funny.

Maybe they will help him and then leave him alone.

Or maybe not.

You just smirked while rolling your eyes. "Weren't you the one complimenting me not even five minutes ago?"

A sheepish smile formed on his face, and he turned his head away. You both giggled and let the argument drop, following Toriel. As you two went into the hallway, you froze. Everything happened exactly like when you were in a FIGHT.

. . .

. . .

The same music playing during the encounter with the Dummy came back, and in front of you, there was a frog.

An ADORABLE frog, with its big eyes looking at you.

You couldn't tell for sure what were its real colors due to the black and white setting, but it had three black dots on its chest, with a small creature having eyes and a mouth formed into a frown situated between its two front feet, which seemed more like paws.

✱ Froggit attacks you!

You turned your head everywhere to look for Toriel, but you couldn't find her, so you silently pleaded for Frisk to do something that wouldn't be panicking.

Fortunately, he was rather collected and went to touch the ACT button.

✱ Froggit

He chose its name.

He chose to Check again.

How sad... This Monster was too cute! It didn't deserve a difficult life!

It had a low attack and defense. You were ready to 'compliment' it – as it deserved to – and the sentence on the Text Box just made you feel sympathetic for it, but Toriel immediately went into your line of vision, staring at Froggit with a glare.

The little Monster glanced at Toriel and then slowly went away, eyes shamefully glued to the ground. The small creature below also looked in the same direction.

Toriel squinted her eyes at Froggit like she was expecting it to come again.

. . .

. . .

Everything went back to normal again, and the melody that was before the FIGHT came again, resuming from where it left.

Toriel went ahead without another word. You were grateful for her, but why make you and Frisk learn how to 'talk' to Monsters if when you encountered a real one, she didn't want you to interact with them? Maybe this one was dangerous. You still haven't learned your lesson from what happened with Flowey, have you?

Frisk didn't say anything and just followed Toriel. He wasn't even fazed at all.

On the wall, there was another plaque.

'The western room is the eastern room's blueprint.'

Uh... At the moment nothing came into your mind. You were pretty confused by the hint.

Nonetheless, you followed Frisk and Toriel, to find the same spikes planted on the ground as before, only now there were way more. She couldn't possibly want you to know the correct path, right?

"This is the puzzle, but..." Toriel trailed off. She turned to you. "Here, take my hand for a moment."

She grabbed your left hand, and with delight, you found that her paw was very soft — well, maybe it wasn't that much of a surprise — and that she had little claws at the end of each finger too.

"My child, if it is not an issue, could you please take her hand?" She addressed Frisk this time.

He gave her a nod, and without further ado, he did as Toriel asked.

Your left hand was now occupied with Toriel's, while your right one was within Frisk's grasp.

He had... normal Human hands.

"Thank you," Toriel was about to go, only to stop and turn back to you. "Is it fine for us to hold your hand like this?"

"Oh, yes, it's all right, Toriel," she really had a motherly vibe around her. "I appreciate that."

She looked pretty content with your answer, and you three moved on; hand in hand.

Ahead, left, ahead, right, ahead, left, and ahead.

Where you walked, the spikes went down, and when you stepped on them, they didn't hurt at all.

When you finally arrived on the wooden jetty, Toriel removed her paw from your hand, and so did Frisk. You were gonna miss her soft fur. Frisk... Maybe not so much.

"Puzzles seem a little too dangerous for now." That was all Toriel said before going to the other room, with you and Frisk following closely.

You were grateful that she didn't let you manage the puzzle alone. The hints were pretty confusing and you could have gotten hurt badly.

In the next room was an incredibly long hallway, with some vines here and there, and at the end something white... You couldn't make out what it was.

But how come there were so many plants living without sunlight?

"You two have done excellently thus far, my children." Toriel said happily.

You smiled at her. Even if you did nothing extraordinary except the FIGHT with the Dummy, which was something entirely new, it was nice to hear it.

"However... I have a difficult request to ask of you." Her face suddenly became serious.

"What's that?" You couldn't help but be curious about this.

"... I would like you two to walk to the end of the room by yourselves. Forgive me for this."

. . .

. . .

The calm melody stopped playing entirely, replaced by fast, high-pitched notes, and some low ones. You couldn't understand what instruments they were since they were all electronic.

You could only watch helplessly as Toriel started running to the end of the hallway.

Why did she do that all of a sudden? Were you in trouble? Was something bad going to happen to you?

The music also gave you tension — unnecessary tension — for no reason at all. The short song thrown into a loop became something insanely annoying.

Frisk chased after Toriel without warning, and you were left in the sole company of the purple walls and floors.

Well, better catch up, no?

You tried to follow Frisk, always staying on the path, which sometimes swayed to the left and to the right. You were having just a little fun in this.

The memory you had of something similar was in elementary school when you played with your classmates at 'Humans and Monsters'.

The game consisted of a group of two people: Humans and Monsters. It tried to recreate what happened during the war, with little extra scenes, in particular a chase scene, where the Monsters hunted the Humans down.

It was similar to what was happening, only that now the roles were reversed.

It was ironic, even if nothing too serious happened in both cases. Or, at least, in this one you hoped it would end so.

Fortunately, the corridor finally stopped, with the path ending before a pillar. That was what the white thing was! Frisk stood before said column.

You looked at it too, only to find nothing. No, wait — there was something, or even better, someone.

It was actually Toriel, standing behind the pillar.

You honestly didn't know what to do, so you did the only thing you could think of: talk like you were in a game of Hide and Seek with some children, and pretend not to know where they were, even if they were hidden in very obvious places.

"Toriel, where are you? We went until the end of the room!"

. . .

. . .

The beautiful melody that played near Toriel, like it was her 'theme', appeared again. It was similar to a blessing after that ear-hurting cacophony.

"Greetings, my children," was the first thing she said after coming out of the column. "Do not worry, I did not leave you. I was merely behind this pillar the whole time. Thank you both for trusting me."

"You're welcome...?" Your response actually sounded more like a question. You didn't completely understand why she wanted you to trust her. Maybe she was worried that you and Frisk would run off?

Toriel just gave you a sweet smile. "However, there was an important reason for this exercise... to test your independence."

"Our independence?"

"Yes. I must attend to some business and you two must stay alone for a while. Please remain here. It is dangerous to explore by yourself."

Some seconds passed. An uneasy feeling came over you. What if Flowey came again?

"I have an idea. I will give you a CELL PHONE," Toriel was smiling brightly. "Unfortunately, I only have one. I hope it is not an issue that you two will have to share."

Frisk was the only one talking this time. He said it was fine for you two to share, then he asked if you agreed with him.

"Yes, it won't be a problem, Toriel."

"Thank you. If you have a need for anything, just call. Be good, alright?"

She came closer and to your surprise, she placed a white cell phone with an antenna, a yellow box, and various black buttons, in your hand. You could hear Frisk slightly huff in irritation at Toriel choosing you.

You and Frisk both nodded, with you adding a little wave to it, and Toriel left.

Even after she was gone, the music was still there.

How could Toriel have a cell phone? Monsters were sealed underground too long ago, even before technology was invented.

And where did she get it? It seemed she made it appear with magic, and... Oh.

She is made of magic, so it would only make sense.

Either way, you remained in your position, with a pretty big cell phone in hand. Frisk went to the pillar and sat down, leaning against it.

"Can I sit down with you?" You didn't want to stand up for as long as Toriel needed to be away.

Frisk said that it was fine, and he moved a little to make more space for you.

"Thank you." You sat down near him, not too close, nor too far, just at a comfortable distance. "I wonder how long Toriel will be away."

Frisk said that he was curious about that too. Then, out of nowhere, he snatched the cell phone from your hand, causing you to yelp. He murmured a quick sorry and started pushing some buttons on the cell phone.

Specifically, Toriel's contact was already in it.

Frisk pressed a button to choose her name, and the cell phone started dialing her number.

After a while, Toriel's voice could be heard. "This is TORIEL."

Frisk responded by saying a simple 'hello'.

"You only wanted to say hello...? Well then. 'Hello!' I hope that suffices. Hee hee." And she closed the call with a click.

Her reaction was nice, but Frisk seemed unsatisfied, as he touched her contact again.

"This is TORIEL."

Frisk still greeted her, but this time...

"Huh? Did you just call me... 'Mom?'" By Toriel's tone of voice, she seemed flustered and in shock. "Well... I suppose... Would that make you happy? To call me... 'Mother?'"

Frisk responded with a firm yes.

"Well then, call me whatever you like!" She closed the call again.

You turned to him. "What are you trying to do?"

He put his left hand out, making a sign to wait.

As you wondered where Frisk was trying to lead this to, he called Toriel again.

She was about to say something, but Frisk was faster and started flirting with her. He said that 'there isn't a word in the dictionary that can explain your type of beauty'.

You snorted the moment those words left his mouth, and tried to silence your laugh. When he told you he flirted with everyone you thought he was just joking, although Frisk amazed you once again with his actions by demonstrating he could flirt with everyone and their mothers too.

"... huh??? Oh, heh... heh... Ha ha ha!" After a series of unintelligible words, Toriel nervously laughed. "How adorable... I could pinch your cheek! You can certainly find better than an old woman like me. For example... your friend there! She seems like a very nice girl. Why don't you try this on her?"

The click of the call was still resonating in the room. Your laugh died on your lips the moment Toriel said that last phrase: you could feel your cheeks getting hotter. Even though Frisk didn't waste a chance to flirt with you, earlier, it was still flattering to hear it.

You didn't dare to look at Frisk, and found great interest in the ground, while he seemed stoic. It wasn't that big of a deal to him. He loved messing with people. It was as simple as that.

He called Toriel, telling you that it would be the last time for now. He still flirted with her, but this time, he chose a slightly sexual route. He said that 'of all your beautiful curves, your smile is my favorite one'.

"Oh dear, are you serious...? And after you said you want to call me 'mother...' You are an..." There was a moment of silence as Toriel carefully chose her next words. "... 'interesting' child."

The call ended.

You couldn't contain your laugh anymore. The awkward moment was still there, but way weaker, it almost disappeared.

Frisk left the cell phone on the ground and joined you in your laugh. You sat there doing so for a good minute, still reminiscing about what happened. He was grateful his attempt to lighten the situation worked.

Everything went silent between you two, the comforting music being the only source of sound.

You focused on the melody, feeling peacefulness at the moment. It was only broken when Frisk asked you why you came to Mt. Ebott. His voice was quiet, just a whisper, similar to the way you would talk with your friends at a sleepover during the small hours, trying to not wake up your parents.

"I think it's because, during my childhood, everyone talked about wanting to see the Monsters after so many years. From bedtime stories to children's games, everything just sparked a sense of interest inside of me. I mean, I still can't believe we met three Monsters now! …What about you?"

He hummed at your response and gave a vague answer, saying that he went because he was adventurous, but didn't explain much. You didn't mind, though, there was a more important doubt.

Collecting the courage, you asked the question you pondered for so long.

"Frisk, I wanted to ask this to you for... Well, since we met. I just hope it's not rude — which in that case, I'm sorry — exactly, how are you able to see?"

He was taken aback, but smiled and put a finger on his lips, saying that he couldn't tell you.

"All right, then. Keep your secrets."

You two talked from little things, like 'what's your favorite color?' or 'what's your favorite food?' to serious things, for example: 'if you could replace all of the grass in the world with something else, what would it be and why?'.

Actually, you liked to engage in small talk. It served to define your relationship with other people and strengthen your bond with them.

Things went smoothly for some time until the cell phone started ringing. It was probably Toriel.

You were the one picking it up this time, but froze when you didn't know what button to press.

"What exactly is the button to accept calls?"

Frisk showed you, and it ended up being the first button on the right.

You pressed the correct button and Toriel's voice could be heard. "Hello! This is TORIEL. My errands are taking longer than I thought they would. You two must wait 5 more minutes."

Oh. That was not a big deal, you wouldn't die if you waited for five more minutes.

"It's fine Toriel, we'll wait."

"Thank you for being patient." And the call ended.

Who knew what hour it was? The cell phone didn't seem to have a clock integrated.

"Well, Toriel said that we'll have to wait a little more."

Frisk asked if it wouldn't be better to just leave and explore for yourselves.

"Are you sure? Maybe it's better if we wait for a little more. What if she comes and doesn't find us?"

He accepted your words, shrugging slightly his shoulders.

One minute or so passed. You and Frisk haven't done anything since Toriel called.

Yet, out of nowhere, Frisk asked you if you wanted to play 'I spy'.

"That game? Fine, I guess. Who starts?"

It was pretty childish, but it was one of the best options, as you two couldn't do much.

Frisk started tapping his finger up and down on the ground, asking to go first.

He really liked this game, uh? You never saw someone so excited to play 'I spy', least of all, an adult.

"Sure, why not."

He gave you a bright smile, thanking you, and looked around. He said that 'he spied with his little eye something... white.'

There was only one thing white in the whole room. Too easy.

"The pillar behind us?"

To your surprise, Frisk shook his head, saying that it was the cell phone. You forgot that the cell phone was white.

Frisk gave you a smug smile, asking you how it felt to lose.

"Whatever. I don't want to play this game anymore."

Crossing your arms and looking somewhere else, you wondered about a new game to play, a fair one, where you could win, while Frisk only giggled like a schoolgirl.

Your thoughts were interrupted by another phone call.

You picked up the cell phone and pressed the button to accept calls.

"Hello... This is TORIEL. I found what I was looking for."

"Well, that's great, no? Are you coming anytime soon?"

"I am afraid I will not, because before I could take it... A small, white puppy snatched it away."

"A puppy?" A dog Monster, which is a little white puppy? That would be super cute!

"Yes. How odd. Do dogs even LIKE flour? Err, that is an unrelated question, of course," you smiled a little at what she said. "It will take a little longer. Please understand."

"It's fine, don't worry."

"Thank you, small one." And the call ended.

"We have to wait more because a dog took Toriel's flour, but that's good, so I can beat you at another game!" You returned your attention to Frisk. He was surprised to see your change in demeanor but smiled nonetheless.

He asked you what game you wanted to play.

"What about 'rock, paper scissors'?"

He arched a brow at your question. Your game seemed even sillier than the one he proposed. However, he agreed.

You two settled yourselves, now facing each other. You thought about your move. You could use paper, but what if he used scissors? Then you would use scissors too, but what if he used rock? Then you would use rock! But what if he used paper!?

After having an internal war inside yourself, you decided to settle on your first choice: paper.

"Ready?"

You received a nod from Frisk, and that's all you needed.

"Rock! Paper! Scissors!" Both of you said aloud, raising your dominant hand in a fist and swinging it down with each word. You two 'threw' on the third count — scissors — by extending it towards each other.

You: your faithful paper.

Frisk: scissors.

"Aw, c'mon. It's unfair! Let's do it again!"

It's not like you hated losing or anything — yeah, okay, maybe just a little, but it was unfair!

Frisk had no idea how it was unfair, but decided it would be better if he didn't ask you.

You now chose that you will throw rock.

This time it was Frisk asking you if you were ready.

"Born ready."

He smiled at that.

"Rock! Paper! Scissors!"

As before, Frisk won. He threw paper.

"I hate this game." All the confidence you had was shattered instantly, replaced by a feeling of hatred.

Frisk looked at you confused and said that you were the one deciding to play this.

"I know. But it's not funny if you don't win." You crossed your arms. You were probably acting like a kid right now, but you didn't care. The whole thing about 'participation being more important than winning' was all a lie.

Well, it was important for young children to teach them the beauty of hard work and having joy together, where the game is the tool to learn and discover yourself and the surrounding world, but as an adult? Yeah, no.

Frisk started laughing at your behavior, but not to deride you, more than anything else, to the fact that he found your method of coping with your losses hilarious.

He asked if you wanted to play for the last time.

"Fine."

You already chose paper and rock, only scissors were left, and that was what you chose.

Frisk knew well what you were going to throw, and he used it to your advantage. You… weren't the most skillful and unpredictable person at playing games, were you?

Frisk once again asked if you were ready.

"Yes. Rock! Paper! Scissors!"

Frisk threw paper.

It took a moment to register, but the second it did, you were smiling brightly. "I won! Finally! I'm so good at this game." Puffing out your chest in pride, and putting a hand on it. You took less than five seconds to go from nearly being a misanthrope to bragging about a win technically gained dishonestly.

Frisk started softly clapping his hands, and said how good you were, while internally sweating and only now realizing who he had to deal with.

"Yeah, I know, I kno—" The sound of the cell phone ringing made your attention snap back to it. It should be Toriel. Maybe she will come back now.

What you heard certainly wasn't what you expected. There was heavy panting at the other end of the phone, and suddenly... Barking.

You heard a distant voice.

"Stop, please! Come back here with my CELL PHONE!"

And the call ended.

Frisk saw your expression and asked you what happened.

"Do you remember that I said a dog took Toriel's flour?"

Frisk gave you a nod.

"It seems that it also took her cell phone."

He briefly laughed at that, and asked you if you wanted to finally go out and explore.

"Are you sure? Wouldn't it be safer to wait for Toriel?"

He responded by saying that Toriel might take even hours to get here, and that it would only be a waste of time.

"If you say so..." You weren't absolutely convinced by his sophistical words, but agreed nonetheless.

He asked you if you could give him the cell phone.

"Sure."

... You didn't really expect him to ridiculously shove it into his pocket. But he did. And it formed a big bulge.

You and Frisk got up from the pillar, while dusting your clothes off, and walked to the door before you caught something with the corner of your eye.

You turned your head, and you swore you saw something yellow behind you, retreating immediately into the ground.

Could it be what you thought it was...?

"Hey, Frisk."

He stopped and looked at you, asking what was wrong.

"Maybe I'm mistaken, but I think I just saw Flowey."

You were scared, yet by what exactly? You wanted to think that you feared Flowey trying to hurt you or Frisk again.

Only then, you remembered his words again, the 'it's kill or be killed.' Was he scared himself? Yet, painting his image as being just an innocent talking flower and then trying to take your life was an awful move di per sé.

You expected Frisk to reassure you, instead, he said that it may be that Flowey was following you, but not to worry, since now you two knew his tricks.

"I hope you are right." With a defeated sigh from your nose, you and Frisk exited the room.