Stay Determined

Frisk

They say nobody ever comes back from climbing Ebbot Mountain.

What that means, I'm not certain. But it means, at the very least, that at the top of the mountain, I will find something different than what life is like now. Maybe that is death, and maybe that is a new life, but it will, at least, be different. 

I can't take what life has become.

I climb the mountain, up and up and up. The top of the mountain seems no different than the ground. I'm disappointed, until I find some sort of opening, a hole. I peer into it, wondering how deep it goes and gathering the courage to find out, when a sudden gust of wind makes me lose my balance. I trip and fall. I fall for a long time, and all I can think is that now, at least, I don't have to feel anymore. I close my eyes and wait for an impact, but none seems to come. At some point, I lose consciousness.

Suddenly, I wake up. I get up off the ground and blink. I'm sitting in a bed of golden flowers. I recognize the flowers, as there's a meadow full of them at the foot of the mountain, but I don't think that's where I am. I look up, and there is no sky, just darkness, with occasional sparkles. I think I'm in some sort of cave. There seems to be a path, so, without anything better to do, I follow it and I find a flower, a larger version of the tiny golden flowers which grow on either side of the path. This flower, however, talks to me.

"Howdy!" It says cheerfuly. "I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower. You're new to the underground, aren't you?"

I blink at Flowey and cock my head. What is this place? What is happening?

"Golly, you must be so confused!" Flowey says. "Someone ought to teach you how things work around here! I guess little old me will have to do. Ready? Here we go!" 

Suddenly, inside me, I can see a little red heart glowing in the middle of my chest. I touch it. It's slightly warm to the touch. None of this seems real. Am I dead? That was a long fall.

 "See that heart? That's your soul. Your soul starts off weak but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV." He grins at me. "LV stands for love! You want some love, don't you? Don't worry, I'll share some with you!" Five spinning white pellets appear by Flowey's head. "Down here, love is shared through little white..." Flowey pauses. "Friendliness pellets! Are you ready? Move around! Get as many as you can!" 

Flowey sends the pellets towards me. One of them hits my red glowing heart, and it feels as though I've been stabbed. Red-hot pain shoots through my body, and I clutch my chest, crying out.

Flowey's smile changes from kind to devious. "You idiot!" He shouts. "In this world, it's kill or be killed. Why would anybody pass up an opportunity like that?"

I stare at Flowey. If he kills me, he kills me. I just hope he does it quickly. 

Suddenly, Flowey gets blasted out of the way by a fireball and the pellets disappear.  A tall... goat, I think, is there. "What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth." She says. She's wearing a purple dress. 

Is this goat lady going to try and kill me too?

But then she kneels down beside me, putting a hand on my shoulder, and suddenly the pain is gone. "Ah, do not be afraid, my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins. I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down." Maybe it's my imagination, but for a second, Toriel's face fills with deep sorrow. But then it's gone, and she smiles at me. "Come! I will guide you through the catacombs." She tells me.

I stand and follow her. She teaches me how to get through the puzzles in the catacombs. She shows me what to do in an encounter with a monster and how to mercy and act, rather than fight. She tells me to watch out for attacks aimed at my soul, because that will hurt me the most.

I wonder whether a direct shot to my soul will kill me. I don't know if death worries me or not.

Then she shows me her house. There is a room with a bed my size in it. There are lots of differently sized shoes, even a broken ballet shoe. There are walls of books, many of them Westerns, but some are cookbooks.

It's as if this room has been occupied by other children before.

I shake my head. I'll just go to bed. In the morning, there is a slice of pie on a plate near the bed. I take a bite, wary. It's delicious. There's a note next to it. 'I thought you might be hungry, so I made you some pie. It's butterscotch-cinnamon. I hope you like it. -Toriel.'

It's sweet of her, but I'm not staying here.

I don't want to stay anywhere.

And anyway, she doesn't really want me here. Nobody does. And this place... I can't stay here. I can't stay in this cute little house with Toriel. I can't let Toriel heal me. I can't let myself live here.

I just... can't.