"Hello? Is anybody there?" Frisk called out into the darkness, but no one answered. It was so dark, she could hardly see her hand in front of her face. "Mom? Sans?" she called out again. Hearing nothing, Frisk began to get anxious. She stood there, not knowing what to do next.
Suddenly, she began hearing a strange noise. It was so quiet that Frisk couldn't even make out what it was, or where it was coming from. Frisk listened intently, and the sound began to grow louder. No, closer… Frisk finally recognized the sound, and it filled her with terror.
Static
The sound seemed to be coming from all directions, and it began to close in. Despite this, Frisk knew she couldn't just stand there. After getting her legs to move, Frisk ran in a random direction, hoping it was away from him. After a few seconds, Frisk saw a light shine on her. She glanced back, and saw Omega Flowey's massive, horrific form closing in.
Frisk's running slowed to a crawl. For some reason, her legs had stopped working. She began to panic, desperately trying to get away, but it was no use. Within moments, Omega Flowey plucked Frisk off of the ground and brought her up to his face.
"You will never be able to get away from me!" he bellowed, before closing his vines around her tightly.
Frisk gasped as her breath was squeezed out of her. She coughed and squirmed, but to no avail. As her eyes began to close, Flowey laughed, and said again,
"Never!"
Frisk jumped awake with a start, breathing heavily. After catching her breath, she numbly removed the covers that were wrapped around her and climbed out of her makeshift bed. After having the same dream every night, Frisk thought that it shouldn't faze her by now, but during the nightmare, it was as if everything else disappeared. Wanting to forget about it, Frisk left the tent and walked over to the table in the camp where Toriel was.
"Oh, hello Frisk dear. I hope you slept well." she said.
Frisk shrugged and sat down at the table. Not breaking the silence, Toriel set a plate of cinnamon pancakes in front of Frisk, and then sat down with her own.
"Actually, I have been having… nightmares the past few nights." Frisk said carefully.
"Oh no! I'm sorry you're dealing with that Frisk." responded Toriel sympathetically. "Don't worry. We'll do everything we can to help you."
"Yeah, don't sweat it kid," said Sans, who had been nearby. "I'm sure we can dream up a solution that'll work."
Frisk let out a muffled laugh, her mouth filled with pancakes. She could always count on Sans to lighten the mood and make her feel better.
"So, do you have any plans today Frisk?" asked Toriel.
Frisk nodded, her mouth still full of pancakes. After swallowing, Frisk opened her mouth to speak, but froze when she spotted something crawling out of her tent. It was dark, and looked like a shadow, except solid. The thing slunk out of the tent, and as it moved, noises escaped it that made her cover her ears, trying to block it out.
Ṱ̜̤̰̯h͈͕͉̘͚̀e͓͍̗͔̼͇̞͠ ̲̰̣̞̥̙ch̯̳̲̝̥̞̜͞i̵ḷ͕̜͖̱̀d̰͟ ͇̖̪i̫̥̱̦̭̜s̡̜̭͉͎̦̹̳ ̵͈̲a̯͓̕l̦̗͙͍̱r͉̯̦̗̞̮eą̰̗d̪̗̹̱̱̮͈y̛̰̖ c͇̪ru͕̟̫͕̤̥ͅmb̶l̥̲̖͇̣i̥̺̖̯͓̳͔͢n̻̺̙͙͖̪g.̸ ̼S̹h̛͎̗͚e̝̱̝ ̤͔̪is͈͈͎̯ͅ ̶f͚̙͔̞͎̞͈a̞ḻl͏̥iṉ̠͕͈̬͉g̡ ͇͇͕a̗̼p̱͚̥̝̫̯͡a̦̟̗͝r̘̠̪̱̹̮̦t͚̳̕ͅ,̦͉ ͍̩̝̼͕̯̲͜a̢͕n̨̬̘̫͓̯̜ͅd̻̣́ ͏̮̯h͠e̵̞̞͇r̤͘ ̥̳̻̦̭̙̝h̸͉̯͉͙̫̲͚e̜a̲̦͎͚r̠̙t҉̳͓̠̟ ̧͉͇̪g̶̗̪̤̩͔̬̺e̷̮t̺̪͇s̘̥͓͍̱̕ͅ ҉̹w̸̲͔͚̙̤̻e̬̖̠̣͇̮͓a҉̦k͎͓̫̦̕ḛ̰̙̼͖̖r̺̯̗̱͇̼̯ ͈̦̦͈̠̦e̻̤͚̫v̰e͏͔̦ry̷̠̥̹̣͖͈͍ ̯̙͡
d͍̮͉̜ͅà̙̞y.̡̻̰̲͖̦͖̯͘S͙͟o̲̗o̭̖̪̭̖̝̣n̡,͖̳̪̰͉ͅ ̨̰̯̦̟w̰͉͉̮͞e̶̱ ̨͇̤̳w͎̞͟i͇̝̮̭l̹̘͖l̝̩̜̫͘ͅ ̥͓g͓̰̣a͎̻̪͇̫̦̣i̠͉n̞͇ ̸͙͎̭̠͖c̶̞͔̰̻o̤͇̜͠n͏̬̥̰͙̜t͓̩̘͓̬͘r̨̝̯̻̟̙̣͕ọ͚͢l̤̬̙͙͕̮ͅ.̱̦̳̘̰ ̢̤͚̮̻̻ͅThe̛̻̣̱͕ ̷̟̙͓̻̘ͅd̗͎̦a͇̼͙̱̹̻͘y̲̼̩̞͕̙͈ ̸a̘͍͡p͚̤̰̤͖̠̜p̮̯͇r͇̪͙̜͈̗o̺̯͚͕̭a͏̦c̼͇̰he̮̮͠s̩̼͍̠̱ ͕̮̰̬͜q͏u̗͖͎͖ic̣̺̤̝̹͡ḵ̕l҉y̧͕͓.̸̟̰̯͕̦̙̠̣̖͎̭̝Ḏ͜į̪͖̭e̯̟͚͕͟ͅͅs͕̫̞ ͕̖̩̜̩m̳̮̣̱͉͖͡o͍͓̺̙̹̕ͅr̵̭͕̭̼̗̟͈t̮i̤̙͇͔̯͠s
"Frisk? Are you okay?"
Frisk blinked, and the creature was gone. She glanced back at Toriel, to find her staring. "Um… Yeah, I'm fine. I'm uh… Going to be hanging out with Caleb today."
Toriel still looked suspicious, but didn't pry. Instead, she just nodded and continued eating.
After breakfast, Caleb arrived at the camp. He came with a backpack full of food.
"Oh child, you didn't need to bring a lunch. We will provide that." said Toriel sweetly.
Caleb shrugged with a smile, and explained that his mom made him bring it. He set the backpack on the table, and turned to Frisk, who was smiling ear to ear. "What should we do first?" he asked.
Frisk thought for a moment, and then got an idea. "How about we play hide and seek?"
Caleb cocked his head. "Hide and seek?" he asked with a laugh.
Frisk lowered her eyes, now feeling embarrassed. "Uh, I guess it's a little childish huh? It's just… I always played it at the orphanage and it was really fun, so…"
Caleb nudged Frisk playfully. "Sure we can play. It'll be great, but… can we hide in the woods?"
Frisk nodded, and Caleb ran off into the woods without a word. Frisk, taking the hint, closed her her eyes and began to count.
"17-18-19… 20. Ready or not, here I come!"
Frisk took off after Caleb, determined to find him. When she entered, Frisk looked behind trees, in bushes and logs, up trees and in ditches. Suddenly, Frisk saw movement behind some bushes to her right. A sly smile crept onto her lips as she snuck towards the hiding place.
"Ah ha!" she shouted with glee, jumping into view.
Instead of Caleb, however, a strange creature sat before her. It was goopy and strange. Frisk was so surprised that she took a quick step back, nearly falling over. It had no eyes, but Frisk still felt like she was being watched. It frightened her, in a way that she couldn't even describe.
Suddenly, the creature rose until it was just as tall as frisk, and whispered in a raspy voice, "Lorem ipsum docet…"
At the same time, Frisk felt something touch her shoulder. She screamed, and this time, did fall over as she tried to turn around. Frisk looked up to see Caleb smiling ear to ear.
"Oh my gosh, I got you SO good, that was hilarious!" he laughed, giving Frisk his hand.
Frisk took it, and was soon back on her feet. Caleb's laughter died down when he saw the look on her face. Now he looked concerned.
"Hey, you're good right? I… didn't scare you that bad did I?"
Frisk shook her head, "Um, no… I just thought I saw something."
Caleb looked around, nervous now. "What?" he asked.
"I don't know." she responded absentmindedly. "It seemed familiar, but I've never seen it before. At least, I don't think so…"
"Well," Caleb started. "Maybe we should go back to the camp."
Frisk nodded. "Y-yeah, That sounds like a good idea…"
She turned around, and began walking out of the woods, Caleb following. Frisk felt bad that she had ruined the game, but so many other thoughts were swirling through Frisk's mind. What was that unsettling creature?
Frisk didn't have much time to think about it, because as soon as they came out of the woods, they saw Papyrus running towards them.
"Frisk! I have to take you to Mr. Benson!" he yelled.
Frisk was confused, to say the least. "Mr. Benson? Why, did something happen?" she asked with worry.
Papyrus finally stood in front of them, panting loudly. "I don't know. He contacted Asgore and called an urgent meeting. He and Toriel already left, and I'm supposed to drive you." he said.
"What about Caleb?" she asked, looking at her friend, who seemed concerned, but curious.
"He can come too, let's go!" Papyrus answered, before running towards his car.
Frisk and Caleb shrugged, and followed him. They all piled into the car, and soon they were off.
"We should play a game!" said Caleb excitedly.
Papyrus and Frisk were confused.
"A game… In the car?" asked Frisk.
Caleb nodded. "Yeah, there are lots of games that are perfect for car rides! Like, um… We each pick a certain color, and then count all of the cars we see with that color. Whoever has the most wins!"
Papyrus instantly yelled, "I'll take red!"
Frisk laughed and said, "I'll take blue."
Caleb thought for a moments, before saying, "I'll take green. Ready… Set… Go!"
What followed was an extremely fun game of "Color Cars" with lots of laughter. Except for the loser, who suffered the shame of defeat.
Eventually, they arrived at the office. However, when they tried to enter Arthur Benson's office, they were stopped by the new secretary.
"The ambassador only, please." she said curtly.
Frisk turned around and looked at Papyrus and Caleb sadly.
"Don't worry," reassured Papyrus. "I will take Caleb home, and maybe he can come over another time."
Caleb gave Frisk a thumb's up. "Yeah, no worries! I had fun today, and we'll have even more next time. Besides, I can teach Papyrus some more games, like slug bug!"
Frisk smiled and waved at them as they walked out of the building. Then she turned around and walked into the office. Asgore and Toriel were already there, sitting in chairs, and Mr. Benson was sitting at his desk. Frisk took the chair between her family, and sat down.
"Thank you for coming," said Mr. Benson. "It seems your break will be over sooner than expected. There are some public appearances you need to make, well, everywhere. We'll pay for all the expenses, of course. I suggest you start traveling by tonight."
A shocked silence followed for a few seconds, before Toriel spoke up.
"Now wait just a minute. Frisk has started school now. She is catching up fast to the level of other children her age, but it won't help to drop all of that to go on tour." she argued.
Mr. Benson looked at three of them, quite surprised to meet any opposition. He folded his hands, and leaned forward.
"Yes, but you have chosen Frisk to be ambassador, and she needs to be expected to balance her education, recreational activities, and the job." he said sternly.
Asgore cleared his throat and leaned forward as well. "Mr. Benson, is this plan absolutely necessary for the citizenship of monster kind?" he asked.
Mr. Benson's eyes widened. "Well, no… But I believe that it is a very important step in integrating yourselves into society. People from other places have heard of you by now, but actually meeting you in person will help ease people's minds who might be confused or fearful."
"But, is Frisk essential for this particular 'tour'? I believe Frisk's education should come first, unless it's absolutely necessary. Or perhaps, this could be done at a later date." countered Asgore confidently.
After a few seconds of silence, Mr. Benson let out an annoyed sigh. "Oh… Fine. Frisk can stay here, but I need you, Asgore, to go to the Nation's capital at least. We can reschedule for the full tour, but this needs to be done right away." he said, sounding frustrated.
Asgore nodded. "Very well, I will go."
Mr. Benson then started going over the details of the trip. Airline tickets, packing, and so on.
Before long, the meeting was adjourned. Frisk, Toriel, and Asgore exited the building and found Papyrus back with his car.
At the camp, Asgore immediately began packing. It wasn't even an hour before he was ready to go.
"Papyrus, I'm sorry, but I need a ride to the airport." he said.
"No, do not be sorry King Asgore, I am glad to help. You should be excited!"
Asgore laughed. "Well, I suppose it will be quite an experience."
Toriel stood next to him, and looked at Papyrus. "I will be coming too." she said. "To see Asgore off at the… Air-port."
Papyrus nodded with a smile and got into the car. Toriel and Asgore said goodbye to everyone, and each gave Frisk a hug.
"I'll be back by tomorrow Frisk, I hope you sleep well."
"Goodbye Frisk, I'll be back before you know it."
Within a few minutes, they were gone. Frisk suddenly felt very tired. The last few hours had been crazy. She realized with a start that she had hardly said anything in those few hours. Frisk probably would've felt bad, but honestly, she was too tired to think.
"I think I'm gonna hit the hay," she told her friends.
"Sleep well"
"Be ready for P.E. tomorrow!"
"Aw, come on. What did hay ever do to you?"
Ignoring that… last comment… Frisk went into her tent and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.
Frisk opened her eyes. Confused, she began to look around, but there was only darkness.
"Where am I?" she wondered.
Suddenly, Frisk could hear something getting closer. She didn't know what it was, she couldn't even see anything, but a feeling of dread began to form in her stomach. Frisk took a step back, then another. She couldn't even tell where the sound was coming from.
Then, in an instant, two things occurred: Frisk recognized the sound as static, and heard the sound directly behind her. Without even looking back, she began to run in the opposite direction. She ran faster and faster, but it seemed like the closer the sound became, the slower she ran. Frisk risked a glance behind her, but saw nothing. When she looked ahead, Frisk noticed something in the distance. She was fearful for a moment, until she recognized Toriel.
"Mom, help me! Flowey's gonna kill me again!" Frisk called as she approached and thew her arms around Toriel.
Toriel wrapped her own arms around Frisk protectively. "Do not be afraid, my child." she said.
Frisk closed her eyes tight as the static grew closer. She wasn't afraid anymore though. As she waited for Toriel to make Flowey go away, Frisk felt her body get warm. She was confused, but she began to feel hotter, and hotter. Frisk's eyes snapped open, and she half pushed and half fell out of Toriel's arms. Lying on the ground, Frisk tried to see her back, which was searing with pain. She looked up at Toriel with shock, and saw that her hands had an open flame resting on her palm.
"Mom, that really hurt!" Frisk cried, feeling terribly confused.
Toriel knelt down to Frisk's level, and before Frisk could move away, pulled her into a hug.
"I'm so sorry my child. So sorry…" whispered Toriel.
Frisk didn't know what to think of this. She felt confused, hurt, angry. She didn't have time to process these thoughts, however, as she suddenly felt heavy breathing on her back. Frisk pulled out of the hug and whirled around. Omega Flowey was sitting there, seemingly having watched the scene unfold. Frisk shakily stood, and backed up, reaching her hands behind her for Toriel.
Frisk's hands met empty air
Frisk looked behind her for Toriel, and was horrified to see her walking away.
"Mom! Where are you going?!" she asked in disbelief.
Toriel didn't answer, but just kept on walking. Frisk began to run after her, but her legs hardly seemed to work. After only going a few feet, Frisk fell to her knees in exhaustion. When she looked up, Toriel was almost gone from sight.
"Mom, please!" Frisk screamed. "Don't leave! Mommy! Toriel!" her voice was starting to get hoarse, but she didn't stop. Frisk screamed and cried until she couldn't anymore. She coughed as her throat burned. She let out one last whisper, "Please…"
Suddenly, a large hand wrapped around Frisk as Omega Flowey had finally had enough of this show. He brought Frisk up to his face and smiled wildly. Frisk couldn't scream due to her lost voice, but as she flailed and struggled, the terror in her eyes said enough. Flowey laughed as a cannon emerged from his huge, rotating body. Frisk was face to face with the barrel of it. Deep inside the cannon, something began to glow, and Frisk could do nothing as the light got brighter, until an enormous flame shot out of it.
Frisk shot up with a horrified scream. Her voice had returned, and the scream was so loud, it startled Frisk, causing her to instantly stop. What resulted was a short, fearful cry that was quickly cut off. After a second of shocked silence, Frisk broke down with sharp, painful sobbing.
This went on for less than a minute, before someone tore the flap on the tent away and rushed inside. The loud and careless entrance made it clear that whoever it was thought that Frisk was in some kind of danger. There was a few seconds of silence, however, as the intruder assessed the situation. Finally, Frisk felt two skeletal hands gently touch her face. With hardly any strength, Frisk allowed him to lift her face into view. She was staring into Sans' eyes, which were hollow, and his smile turned into a pained grimace.
"Frisk? What happened?!" he asked.
Frisk's face held fear and desperation as she suddenly clung to Sans as if he had just saved her from some evil. She didn't answer him.
"Come on kid, don't cry. It's okay." said Sans. He was utterly confused, and was surprised by Frisk's reaction, but he didn't pull away. He finally realized that there was no danger, but Frisk had had some kind of nightmare. He sighed. Sans was not very experienced when it came to this kind of thing. Sure, Papyrus had nightmares now and again, but never had he seen such a reaction.
Frisk's sobbing was accompanied by panicked breathes, and she still clung to Sans tightly. Sans looked into Frisk's eyes and saw that they were wild and unfocused. Getting a little panicked himself, Sans pulled Frisk close and began stroking her hair softly.
"Shhhh…. It's okay Frisk, It's fine. It was just a dream." Sans whispered. He could feel Frisk's tense grip loosen as she relaxed. Her sobs had died down, and when he looked into Frisk's eyes, he saw exhaustion, fear, but also life.
"Heh, you good Frisk?" he asked. "You really scared me there for a second."
Frisk looked away.
"Hey, don't worry about it though… everyone has nightmares now and again. It's okay." he said reassuringly.
When Frisk didn't answer, Sans just lifted Frisk back into her makeshift bed. As he was standing, however, Frisk grabbed onto his hand.
"Sans?" she asked with a hesitant whisper. "Will you… sing to me?"
Sans was quite taken aback by this question, and he stammered out, "W-what? I mean… I don't really sing, uh…"
Frisk shook her head. "Yes to do. You sing to Papyrus when he has nightmares. He told me."
Sans' eyes widened. "Did he now?" he asked. "Well, it's been a long time, not sure sure if I even remember."
"Please Sans?" Frisk insisted. Her face was covered with tears, and her voice cracked on just about every word. Sans sighed, and cleared his throat. didn't even look at Frisk as he began.
"Let's go in the garden… You'll find something waiting" his voice was shaky and quiet. "Right there where you left it… lying…"
he stopped suddenly, and shook his head, a little frustrated. "No, I can't. Sorry Frisk, it's just… No, goodnight Frisk. Don't ask me to sing again, cause I won't" He said this quickly, and then exited the tent without another word.
Frisk sat in her bed, with shocked silence. She buried her head in her hand with shame. She couldn't believe she had done that to Sans. He was trying to help, and she just screwed it up with her dumb question. In fact, Frisk realized, she had probably woken him up with her crying and carrying on. She swallowed the new tears that threatened to spill out, and laid her head on her pillow with a huff. The nightmare was slowly leaving her memory, and all that occupied her thoughts now, was how she had ruined Sans' night. Before Frisk closed her eyes (knowing it was unlikely that she would actually sleep) she was determined to never do that again.