Chapter Text
Frisk sat up in an unfamiliar place, their vision blurred from a throbbing pain that shrouded their mind. Right. They had fallen down, down a hole, and ended up… here…
Here. Where was here?
They looked around from where they sat, eyes adjusting to the darkness. There wasn’t much light to see with, apart from the small amount that filtered through the crack far above them, but they made out the distinct sight of heavier shadows surrounding them. Walls? They frowned. The whole place seemed much too artificial to just be a coincidence of nature. An old bunker from the war, perhaps. Or maybe a series of mines. The mountain they had been climbing previously was well-known for its rich ores.
It was also well-known for the fact that every human who climbed it was never seen again, but… that was just a myth.
Well. Probably.
Frisk stood up shakily, using an isolated branch they had found next to them to steady themselves. They vaguely remembered grabbing onto it and pulling it down with them as they fell, but the fall had left any other recent memories rather foggy.
Turning, they saw an exit in the dirt walls, and, relieved, they started towards it. This would lead to a way out, surely, because there was no way in hell they’d be able to climb out from where they came from.
They made it a few steps before freezing, the sound of voices causing their eyes to widen as they stopped, rooted to the ground. Who else could be down here? Who else… huh. At least… at least it meant they weren’t alone.
‘-sounded like it came from over here…’
It was barely audible, but Frisk could just make out what they were saying. They backed up slightly, suddenly reluctant to continue. The muttering got louder steadily, accompanied by footsteps, until two figures came into view. A child, and a… humanoid goat?
Okay. The fall had fucked them up more than they thought. They were definitely seeing things.
‘Howdy, human!’ He spoke, waving at them cheerfully. Shit. He was a monster. Which was fine, except for the fact that monsters and humans were meant to hate each other. ‘I’m Asriel, Prince of the Underground, as this is my little sibling, Chara.’ He gestured to the child who stood beside him, who turned round and glared at him as he spoke.
‘Hey, I’m older than you, fuck-face!’ They folded their arms, sticking out their tongue.
‘But you’re my little sibling, heh…’ He patted their head, grinning. He was right. They were about a foot shorter than him.
They turned away from him with a huff, then nodded at Frisk. ‘Hi. You should probably come with us, human. And don’t try anything funny.’ Their scowl hardened. ‘I know what your kind is like.’
Frisk shook themselves out of their stunned stupor at their words. ‘Um? Excuse me?’
‘You know, humans.’ Chara glared at the ground, failing to notice the irony in their words. Frisk decided not to point it out.
‘Um. Sorry? I didn’t mean to come down here. I just… fell. I need to get back home, if you could show me a way out?’
Asriel bit his lip, and even Chara’s accusing gaze softened into condescending pity at their request.
‘Well. About that…’ Asriel began to speak slowly.
‘There isn’t exactly a way out.’ Chara finished for him.
Fuck.
‘What…? But… I have to go home…’
Chara rolled their eyes, but Frisk noticed them stiffen slightly. ‘Look, human-’
‘My name’s Frisk.’
‘Human,’ Chara continued, pointedly ignoring them. ‘There is now way out. But, this place isn’t so bad. It’s better than the surface. And the peo- monsters here are much friendlier than you humans. So, let’s go.’
‘Um.’ Frisk glanced up at the chasm that stretched high above them. Scaling the walls was sounding more and more inviting by the second. ‘I think I’ll just stay here. Thanks for the offer, though.’ Climbing a 90 degree dirt wall was possible, right?
Asriel cocked his head to the side, frowning. ‘Why won’t you come with us, Frisk?’
‘Like I said, I need to go home.’
‘Yeah, and like we said, there’s no way out!’ Chara snapped, frowning at them. What was with this human? Normally the kids just accepted it and followed them out, but this one…
‘There has to be! Sorry, but I really, really need to get back.’
‘Well. I hate to have to do this, but in that case, you’re under arrest.’
‘Chara! You can’t do that!’ Asriel giggled nervously, hoping that they were kidding.
‘Yes I can! By the order of the Royal Guard-’ They tapped a badge that was pinned to their too-big jacket. ‘you’re under arrest!’
‘The fuck? What for?’
‘For trespassing!’
‘Then let me leave!’
‘Hah! Now you’re resisting arrest! That’s a double crime!’
‘What!?’
‘Yep! You’re under arrest! Sorry, human, but I can’t allow this horrible violation of the law to continue. Now, follow us.’
‘No! You’re crazy!’
‘Asriel! Restrain them!’
Asriel burst out into laughter. ‘Chara, this is stupid. Let’s just talk to them!’
‘Yes, please don’t arrest me. I’m too young for jail, etcetera.’ Frisk’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
Chara gasped. ‘Sass!’ But they were grinning too. ‘Okay, fine. I’ll explain what’s going on. But, we’re talking as we walk! Let’s go!’
Frisk rolled their eyes and decided to humour them, walking in step with them.
Asriel smiled, walking alongside them with a slight spring in their step. Cute. ‘Well, you probably know about the war between the humans and the monsters, right?’
‘Yea-’
‘Of course they know, it’s all those humans talk about. How they won. How they were heroes. How they left us here to die-’
Asriel shushed them by lightly slipping a paw (!?) over their mouth, rolling their eyes. Chara pushed his hand away, sulking, but stayed quiet. It was weird, the way they referred to themselves as a monster. The way they acted like they were related to Asriel. Frisk didn’t say anything about it, though. Not their business.
‘After the war, the humans sealed us monsters away underground. They made sure there was absolutely no way to escape, but in doing so… they created a trap. One way in, no way out. So… they’ve been unknowingly losing humans- children, for some reason- through their own defence mechanism.’
‘Because humans are idiots.’ Chara interjected again.
‘Yeah, that’s an, um, opinion.’ Asriel glanced nervously at Frisk, who simply looked more intrigued than offended.
‘I never knew that. I mean… I knew monsters lost, and were driven away, or something…’ Frisk shrugged. Maybe they shouldn’t have slept through their history classes.
‘Y…yeah. But… The first human who fell down here was, um, Chara.’ Chara stiffened as Asriel spoke, but stayed silent. Frisk had a feeling the whole ‘human’ thing was a sore subject for them. ‘I heard them fall, and took them to the castle. At first, everything was fine. Everything was great! There was so much hope, because everyone assumed they had been sent down here by the humans, as a peace compromise. But…’ Another nervous glance directed at Chara. ‘Well. That wasn’t Chara’s purpose. They… didn’t come here for a very happy reason.’
‘Bah! That doesn’t matter now! Basically, I didn’t have no ‘higher purpose’. I just fell. So! I was adopted. Because they thought I’d be useful. Like a hostage.’
‘That’s not true!’
‘Whatever. I’ve been here for six years now. This is my home. And every other kid who’s fallen down here feels the same. You will too, eventually. You just have to… get over the fact you’ll never see the surface again.’
Frisk looked down, shivering numbly. They’d never see the surface again… They’d never see their family, or their friends, or their home again… Was that really how their life was going to be? All their hopes and dreams just thrown away, because they fucking tripped.
Asriel and Chara were silent, leading Frisk through the darkness until they stopped at a tiled room. It was lit with a few flickering torches, so Frisk noticed how the walls were a pale purple, and there was an open door across the room.
‘Welcome to the ruins! This is the way to the rest of the underground.’ Chara grinned turning round to face Frisk. ‘You know, you’re lucky you fell at the right time! Asriel and I check for humans here nearly every day, but it can get pretty cold down here. Speaking of which…’ They frowned at what Frisk was wearing. ‘You’re gonna need some warmer clothes. That jumper isn’t gonna do shit against Snowdin’s weather.’ Laughing at Frisk’s blank expression, Chara dragged both them and Asriel onwards, through the door. ‘You’ll see. Let’s go!’
‘Chara, we should probably warn them about the... others.’
Chara frowned in confusion. ‘You mean the kids? Oh! You mean…’ They turned to Frisk again. ‘Just FYI, this place is riddled with monsters. But don’t worry! Most of them are cool with humans! Most of them… just don’t do anything to set any of them off. ‘Kay?’
Frisk nodded, slightly overwhelmed. Then they began to ask, cautiously, ‘Um. You mentioned the other ‘kids’? Who… are they?’
Asriel and Chara exchanged glances, before Chara launched into the story. ‘Okay, so, I was the first to fall down here, but. I wasn’t the last. Other than you I mean. There are six other kids. They… ahah. They’re… interesting.’