Twice Fallen [Undertale]

Chapter 4

Fray plucked the flower by its stem and closely observed the white corolla where Flowey's face usually appeared. It was blank now. Fray stood there pondering for a moment longer, slowly turning the fragile stem between their fingers. Frisk loves flowers, especially the ones that they picked together by the meadow when they were younger.

Frisk would love this, Fray thought before gently tucking the flower into their pocket, very careful not to damage the delicate petals. Also a souvenir from our first kill, the voice in their head muttered cunningly. Now that that was done, they brushed their hands off and continued through the second labyrinth.

Fray didn't feel any guilt for killing Flowey. It was a necessary act of violence. But they thought they would at least feel some sort of remorse, maybe even a tiny pin-prick of regret. However, there was none. Only a twisted satisfaction.

A soft giggling resonated in Fray's mind. That's me, the voice whispered in their ear. Fray had stopped questioning it, as they knew they wouldn't get an answer. Not yet.

Much to Fray's surprise, Toriel was just then arriving. She looked confused for a second then brushed it off. For a moment Fray though they'd made her save her first line because Flowey was no longer there, before they remembered their suspicions for Toriel keeping Frisk from them.

And then (and much to Fray's annoyance), Toriel, like a robot, repeated her line.

"Why, hello there. I am Tor-"

"Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. Yes, I know who you are." Fray interrupted, not wanting to waste any time. Toriel looked surprised for a moment.

"Why yes. I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins." She recovered and smiled warmly at Fray. "I come down here every day t-"

"To see if any humans have fallen down. Yeah! I know!" Sweet heavens, it was like talking to a robot. "You yourself just said that not since ten minutes ago!" Besides Flowey, doesn't anyone else feel the ...reload? Do other beings just go down the amnesia slide?

There ya go, the voice said, tone tinged with... pride? Fray didn't really know. You're finally catching up a bit.

Toriel openly gaped at Fray, obviously not used to this type of manner. Fray just stared back, eyes bored but mind restless.

She made some more effort to get to them. "And... and what is your name, my child?"

There it is again. "I told you. You're not allowed to call me that." Amnesia or no amnesia, they weren't gonna let anyone call them that. It reminds them too painfully of their own mother, who Fray doesn't want to think about, not now. Their sudden defensiveness made their hand reach up to their knife, not pulling it out entirely, but ready to fully reveal it anytime she makes a move.

"Now, child. Please try to calm down."

Okay, that was the final straw. Fray's just gonna have to do the opposite of calming down.

"NO!" it came out as a scream but Fray didn't care if they sounded like a cry baby just then. All they cared about was Frisk. "Do you think this is some sort of game? What with all the pulling me back from time to time and droning the same lines over and over again. Is that going to happen every. Freaking. Reload?"

Toriel looks genuinely scared by now. Fray admitted they did sound like a lunatic. Half of what they said, Toriel was innocent to all of it. But they weren't stopping anytime soon.