Chapter Text
I have to do this. I’ve done everything else in this universe. It’s just the same people, the same events, the same story line. I need something new. Otherwise life will continue to be so…
B O R I N G
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A short-brown-haired child blearily opened their eyes. A room materialized before them. It was small, very small, and blank, with white tiled walls and flooring, and one door at the end. The room was illuminated by some bright light, although there was not an obvious source; it seemed to come straight out of the walls. The child couldn’t remember anything, except that their name was…”Frisk?” Yes, that's right. Phew. Any other attempt at recollection only resulted in a blank, dead end.
Unsettled, the child turned their head, and noticed a small table, with a note written in green ink.
“Howdy!
You, my lucky friend, have been selected to play in my new, ultra special game! I call it, the Hunger Games! Golly, isn’t this absolutely stupendous?
It is simple. You, along with 23 others, will be transported to a random arena. There, you can gather items, and FIGHT TO THE DEATH.
In this world, it’s KILL, or BE KILLED.
The arena is does not only include your opponents. The landscape will be riddled with puzzles, beasts, and general instruments of destruction.
The last survivor is the victor, and will be rewarded handsomely!
Don’t hold anything back. This is your chance! You can finally do the forbidden! Unlock that dark recess in your heart, and unleash your true power! Experience that wonderful feeling of having control over life!
Gather your thoughts. You have ten minutes to prepare yourself and walk through the door. Failure to do so will result in immediate incineration.
Oh, and refusal to cooperate in these games will result in you, my best friend, having a terrible time. Play along and make it easy on yourself, will ya? Hehehe
Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor!”
There was no signature. Frisk looked around with incredulity. Was this a joke? Did the note say they had to kill people? What?! How did they even get here? What is this place? Who wrote the letter? They looked around desperately, hoping that it was just another bad dream. However, the room stayed perfectly real, and they could practically hear a clock ticking down the minutes. Deciding it’s better to play along and not risk anything, they turned the paper over, searching for any more information, and found another, shorter, note.
Every player is allowed to bring one souvenir to remind you of whatever you hold dear, blah blah blah… Why am I including this? Whatever. Just hold on to this paper and think with all your might, and it will appear, provided that it is less than a foot long and cannot be used as a weapon.
I am definitely dreaming, Frisk thought. Nevertheless, they clutched the paper and thought. They did not know what to think of, as they had no memories of parents or siblings or life. They simply thought of their emotions, the repulsive thought of killing another being, and most importantly of all, an innate DETERMINATION to survive whatever this crazy situation is.
With a small pop! the note transformed into a small, red, heart-shaped pin. Frisk looked at it in awe. It seemed to almost glow, and they could feel a comforting aura emanating off of it. They pinned it on their blue and pink stripped sweater, and with a deep breath, walked out of the door.
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-A brief sensation of weightlessness. Blue and purple whizzing by. A dull thud, then yellow.
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Frisk awoke for the second time. They sat up, and noticed that they landed on a bed of what seemed to be soft, golden flowers.
This doesn’t seem too bad, they thought. Am I still “dreaming?”
They seemed to be in some sort of small cavern, with only one narrow tunnel serving as an exit. Standing up and looking around, they noticed way up above, a dizzyingly long distance away, stood the open doorway. The strange light flooded out of it, and it seemed to smile at them in a mocking way. Opposite to the door, seemingly carving itself right into the stone, was a timer counting down.
5:00… 4:59… 4:58…
Frisk looked back down at the passageway. Since there was no other place to go, the ventured down the ominous tunnel.
After what seemed like hours of walking, although they knew it could only have been a minute, the end of the tunnel appeared. Beyond that, there seemed to be a large pile of items. As Frisk got closer to the end, however, a blue barrier appeared, preventing them from continuing forward.
They peered out. This new cavern was a gigantic, rough semicircle. Every ten feet or so there seemed to be identical passages. Others started appearing at the end of their passages, trying to walk about before being pushed back by a similar blue barrier. Frisk saw that there was a tall, fish-like woman with red hair, a friendly looking goat creature, a yellow creature in what appeared to be a lab coat, and a skeleton, to name a few. A hint of familiarity seemed to tickle Frisk in the back of their mind, but they couldn’t tell why. Most of the creatures had the same bewildered expression as Frisk undoubtedly had, although they noticed that a few, like the fish lady, seemed apprehensive, yet determined. A couple of the creatures, however, seemed absolutely… murderous.
Frisk couldn’t see all the passages, but they made an educated guess and decided that there must be 24 in all, meaning 24 different individuals, like the note had alluded to. Will these people try to kill me?
In the middle of the semicircle lay a huge pile of supplies. Frisk also noticed that a couple of items laid scattered around the cavern as well, although the better quality supplies and weapons lay in the center. Beyond, the cavern opened up to one large passage which seemed to lead to another cavern, and which branched off to other locations. Frisk could faintly hear the trickle of running water, and wondered if there was a stream nearby.
Frisk finally noticed, above the pile of random supplies and weapons, a timer similar to the one they saw before. And with a jolt, they realized it was at its final countdown.
0:23… 0:22….
Frisk looked around again. Most had their faces set in grim acceptance, eyeing the gear and readying their hands. They seemed to actually take this “game” seriously, like they were actually willing to murder the creatures around them. Watching the time count down, Frisk vaguely wondered if they should’ve thought up some sort of plan, before the barriers came down and all hell broke loose.