Chapter Text
Come on. Get up. You’ll be late for school.
Although the journey across the underground had taken no less than 6 hours, the sheer amount of things that happened in that time stood out in Frisk’s memory like it was 1000 years long. Anything that would've happened after would pale in comparison to what they witnessed underground.
...
That being said, having to go to school still sucked.
Frisk groaned. They checked their watch, it was 8:03 AM. They had to go to school in negative three minutes if they wanted to make it on time. Fortunately, it was the end of the second quarter, so it wasn't like they were going to be missing any lessons.
(…Will probably have to check with Noel later though, just in case.), they thought, as they rushed through getting ready. They made and ate a small bowl of oatmeal with dinosaur eggs, which, Papyrus was right, this cereal is rather good.
The house was empty, as Toriel’s headmaster job brought with it absolutely cruel working hours and Frisk often found themselves alone as they came to school and alone as they came back.
Usually, Frisk would wake up early to see her off, but they had spent most of their night rushing to write a script and practically collapsed immediately afterwards.
Hometown, as it was named by Asgore, was a small town. It contained no more than around 300 monsters but it was largely considered to be the “capital” of the monster settlements despite being far smaller in size as most of the people of note resided here.
That small urban size, however, was of great benefit to Frisk, who was able to run from the T.Dreemurr Residence to the school in 6 minutes, arriving at class at 8:14 AM, barely under late.
The first thing they heard was Alphys, who said “S-so does everybody have their partners?”, which was interrupted by them opening the door at full force.
“O-oh Frisk! You're just in time! You sh-should pick your partner. I was about to start explaining the group project,” Alphys said, in a nervous tone, although all of her tones are nervous, but I suppose some things never change.
…And about 10 minutes later.
(Crap. Everyone has a partner.)
Berdley wanted to try making his duo into a trio, and that's with Noel.
(Thanks, but I think literally anything is better than being in a group with Berdley again.)
You may want to eat your words. Everybody in the classroom has a partner, which leaves precisely one option.
Frisk gulped. They realized what exactly their headmate meant, and suddenly a group with Berdley was sounding a lot more palatable.
Frisk desperately rushed out, “AlPHYS I WOULD LIKE T-”, but it was too late.
The door slammed open, revealing Suzy as she entered the classroom. “H..hi Suzy…”, Alphys meekly greeted.
“...Am I late?”, the dinosaur asked, and obviously you're late, it is 8:38, and we are so incredibly done, Frisk.
(Can't believe you're the same person who told me to go directly against Undyne.)
That's different. A fight against Undyne was AWESOME and I’m glad Alphys kept the tapes. This is just all-around a bad outcome.
As this internal conversation was going on, the inevitable result happened. Frisk was to be paired with Suzy, and Alphys explained the performance task, which they were too nervous to pay attention to. (They’ll have to ask Noel later.)
The rest of class was relatively uneventful. Most teachers used their time to either let the students work on incomplete projects or used it as an outlet to talk about their day. The one exception, Gerson, the Monster History teacher, still went on for a lesson, as for the time being, the Monster History curriculum was, and I quote, “whatever Gerson says”.
The class was let out after that, and as Frisk was leaving the hallway, Suzy confronted them.
She started with, “Hey. Guess we’re stuck in this group project.”
Chara took over, as they had the better nonchalant expression, “I suppose we are.” Frisk, get back in your damn body.
(You can handle this, bestie! Take care!), Frisk said, fading from consciousness so Chara couldn't pull them back in their own body.
Their focus returned to Suzy, who was visibly agitated. “Were you even listening, FREAK?”, she spat out.
Chara tried to play it safe, “Yes. Completely. I did,” as they were lying through their teeth.
Suzy saw through the completely indestructible façade, “No, I know you didn't. You got into one of those weird bits where you were like, talking to the air. So lemme repeat the gist of it.”
She took a few steps closer, and Chara, and Frisk, who, seeing what's about to happen, returned to give Chara some comfort, attempted to back off. “ You’ll do our project, capiche?”
It's a better deal than being found dead in a ditch somewhere.
(You're saying that like she can actually hurt us. We have to take a stand.)
No, but we can't exactly fight back. The wrong move with the wrong intent, we’ll have far more complicated problems.
(We're not gonna fight her. But we have to be assertive.)
“Hey, stop taking so much time to think! I'm not ACTUALLY giving you a choice,” Suzy interrupted.
It's your funeral. Chara resigned control of the body to Frisk and prepared to confront Suzy.
Suzy shot a confused look, as Frisk began to stand their ground. “No,” they affirmed.
“What?”, she sneered. “I told you. You got no choice,” she said as she began closing the distance between them.
But before she could get within pummeling distance of them, Toriel called out from the distance. “Frisk, my child, do you want to go home with me?” I suppose she got an early out today, Chara assumed.
Suzy huffed out a breath. “Guess you got an out today. But this isn't over. Tomorrow, you better be at the bunker south of town.”
Ah, she really is planning to put us in a ditch.
Frisk disagreed, (Beat me up? Sure. But she still needs me to actually get a grade, so she won't be going at full force.)
They stepped out into the school's exit and walked home with Toriel. They prepared some of the basic elements of their project, had a good dinner, and went to bed, early this time.
In the morning, they asked Toriel for permission to go out, which she approved. As Frisk began walking outside, one thought occurred to their partner.
Do we even know what ‘the bunker’ is?
Frisk spoke, “I think it’s the old air raid shelter at the edge of the lease the Evashire county gave us.” There weren't many people out on a late autumn’s weekend, so Frisk felt confident in speaking out loud.
They treaded the poorly maintained path until they saw the bunker. They sat themselves in the shade, under a tree. Suzy wasn't here yet, so they figured they had the time to talk and relax a bit more before whatever happens will happen.
“Y’know, seeing it up close, it doesn't look like an air raid shelter.”
Also, remember that Evashire was literally a middle of nowhere town in the war. This looks more like a refurnished fairy fort than a shelter.
“Fairy fort?”, Frisk asked.
Old Celtic constructions. They were said to have been built by druids to be indestructible against faerie magic. Attempting to destroy one of these would lead to great misfortune, but I can't say I know what would happen if one renovated a fort.
“How do you know all this?”, Frisk asked.
I lived around here. I heard the rumors. Also, Wikipedia.
“So this was here in your time?”
If it really is a faerie fort, then it's been here since the 800s at the latest. Although there's something strange about this one.
“Hm? What about it?”
All other documented faerie forts are in the Irish countryside. What is this one doing all the way in Evashire? The archeologists in my time figured that Evashire was a town that got settled by the Irish in droves around the 400s bringing some of their culture with them.
“...That's. Around the time of the Human and Monster War, isn't it?”
Not sure. The last time I checked, the historiography around all of that was still a screaming match.
“Well, you said these were supposed to ward off magic. And Mt. Ebott is literally right there,” to which Frisk pointed at the former dwelling of the Monsters, only an hour's drive away from Hometown.
Chara noticed Suzy's figure emerging from the shadows of the trees. Welp, discussion later. Death now.
After coming into full view, Suzy said “Huh.”
Frisk arched their brow, “What?”
She sneered. “Part of me thought you wouldna showed up.”
Frisk put on their most determined look. “Well, I'm here now. What'd you want?”
Suzy stepped closer. Frisk backed away, only to meet the cold doors of the bunker. Her expression turned dark. “To knock some sense into you, freak !”, as she pushed them hard.
So hard in fact, that it broke open the doors. Frisk fell onto the floor of the bunker. It was dark. So dark, that it seemed like it was spreading into the outdoors. …Photon readings, negative?, Chara suggested, harkening to the very weird experience they had with the eerie hallway that "wasn't" there in the True Lab.
Suzy stood still. Her expression… it seems that there is a hint of recognition?
(Now that you mention it… this all feels so familiar), Frisk thought, noticing the goosebumps on their skin and what felt like a faint presence screaming into their mind to run away, NOW.
But after a moment, Suzy returned back to reality. “I… Sweet. Let's thrash this place,” She then glanced at them. “Unless you want us to continue what we're doing?”
They immediately stood up, “Uh, sure. But um, why?”, they asked.
“Dunno. Something about this made a part of me scream at me to tear this whole place apart, and well,” she looked at them with a dark but less nightmarish face, “Would be rude not to indulge, right?”
Frisk's partner interrupted. Frisk. Remember what I said about the faerie forts. Do not thrash this place. We are probably already cursed just breaking the door open.
Against their better judgment, they continued following Suzy. Something about all of this just feels so familiar.
But after a solid minute of walking, they noticed that they really should've encountered a wall by now. And the darkness felt like it was starting to consume them.
The darkness keeps growing. The shadows cutting deeper, Chara almost frantically recited, again from that eerie hall. It's hard to notice, but after 6 years of cooperation, they could tell when Chara was afraid. Hell, they were afraid.
Suzy huffed. “Frisk. There's something wrong with this bunker. The… walls are broken or somethin’,” they noticed her chills down their body before they continued, saying, “... Let's just.. go home, okay? I dunno, this is all just… so creepy.”
I agree with her. Let's move.
With all three in the bunker in agreement, they headed towards the exit. …Was it always this hard to walk?
Right as they reached the door, it shut them out right in front of them.
Suzy pounded on the door with all their might. Frisk followed her example, “H..hey! This isn't funny! Let us out!”, she said.
Frisk, I don't like this. I don't like this at all, the specter in their head said. Chara was rarely ever this forthcoming about their emotions, but right now, two people’s worth of adrenaline was rushing through their veins, pushing them to get out, NOW.
But it was ineffective. The ground shifted and faltered below them, and the world was covered in darkness.
Suzy? Susie..? Opened the closet doors and entered the room. They backed away, but she forced them to enter the closet.
Frisk was not in their own body. They were not even in Chara's body, either. (Is this really who the third entity was?) …No, whoever it was, they're not them. I don't know how I know but I know.
“See? Why're you so scared? There's nothing in here but old papers.”
This closet was dark. Too dark, just like earlier. The human and the Suzy-looking monster continued walking forward, looking for a lightswitch.
But the room refused to follow their request, nor did it conform to the basic rules of space. This room had no end.
“Hey Kris. I think this closet's… broken. There aren't any walls.”
So we have a name.
(Kris…)
“Well we've worked hard enough. If Alphys wants chalk so bad, she can get it herself.”
Following that, much the same happened. The door was shut right in front of them, the monster tried to break their way out, and then the floor below them collapsed.