KNOCK ON WOOD - Ruins (Ch.3)

You wake up in a bed of flowers.

Frisk peeled their eyes open and stared into darkness. It was above them now, instead of below. If they squinted (they were already squinting, because even now their eyes hurt to open too widely), they could almost fool themselves into thinking they saw the Vault’s lights far above, but they couldn’t really. It was too bright to see through the dark.

Why was it bright? They had to be way underground. They should probably get up and investigate.

…

They should probably get up now.

With a grunt, Frisk forced themselves into a sitting position. It wasn’t easy; their body was sluggish and fighting them the entire way, but Frisk wasn’t going to let a few aches and pains keep them down. They’d had quite enough of down for the time being, thank you.

It turned out it was bright because a giant sun lamp was set up in a corner of the… room. It was positioned to shine on the bed of flowers that had broken their fall.

Why would someone--how would anyone… Frisk shook their head; thinking hurt right now.

The flowers are well cared for, even after the sun stopped shining down here.

It was nice to see the flowers well cared-for, Frisk supposed, though it was a bit of a mystery how there were any down here to begin with.

But wait. A functioning light meant electricity. Electricity meant people. People meant an exit, question mark?

It wasn’t much of a plan, but any plan at all was better than sitting here doing nothing, so Frisk found their broken stick in the flowerbed, and then started following the sun lamp’s power cord.

Why would someone go to such trouble to keep flowers in a cave alive? Frisk thought. Were they endangered? They just looked like really big buttercups…

As they followed the cable, the ground changed from stone to grass. Away from the lamp it was nearly pitch black, but they could tell when the ground turned from hard to springy.

…Didn’t Pip-boys have a flashlight--oh, there it was.

The grass soon turned back to stone, but different than before. It was smoother, regular, and a brief inspection revealed that it was brick. Also, though it was hard to tell with the Pip-boy’s green light, the stone was vibrant purple.

What in the world?

Stepping through an archway, the tunnel suddenly lit up again, and Frisk blinked the spots out of their eyes from the sudden change.

It was a well-kept little courtyard, if you could call it that. Odd red leaves littered the ground, despite the lack of trees. The light that filled the room didn’t seem to be coming from anywhere in particular. A set of stairs led up to the next doorway, where the ever-lengthening power cord continued on.

Frisk stepped up into a circle of dead leaves and looked up at the Ruins. The ceiling of this courtyard was very, very tall, allowing Frisk to fully take in the immensity of the structure before them. Just how far did they fall?

The shadow of the ruins looms above, filling you with Determination.

Frisk’s grip tightened on their stick. It didn’t matter how intimidating these ruins were; they were going to find the way out.

There was the sound of shifting earth behind them, and Frisk turned to see a larger flower, nearly as tall as their waist, sprouting out of the ground behind them fully formed.

And then it spoke.

“Another collapse…? No, I don’t see any rubble. I could have sworn I felt something fall this way.” It shook its… ‘head.’ “But that’s impossible, those idiots plugged the hole when they--”

As it spoke, it turned, and the instant it noticed Frisk they locked eyes--it had eyes! And a face!--and it gaped at them.

It stared at them for just long enough to be uncomfortable before Frisk decided to make the first move. Taking a step forward, Frisk opened their mouth to say something.

“...”

You couldn’t think of anything to say.

Their jaw clicked shut, and Frisk shrank in mild embarrassment.

“Uh. Howdy,” the flower started, plastering a smile across its face. “I’m Flowey! Flowey the Flower! Golly, you must be confused…”

The flower trailed off, smile faltering as it looked Frisk up and down, lingering on the Pip-boy for a moment before looking them in the eye.

“How did you even get here?” it said quietly. Frisk wasn’t sure it even meant to say it out loud.

I fell, Frisk started to say, but they still couldn’t find the words.

“Ugh.” Flowey grimaced. “I’ve just been having the worst day this time around. I can’t believe I didn’t… It’s too late to give my speech, isn’t it?” At this point Frisk was fairly sure Flowey wasn’t talking to them anymore. “Well, whatever, I’ll just try again and this time I’ll be ready.”

Frisk watched, wary, as Flowey looked to the side and closed his eyes.

After a moment, he peeled one eye open and looked confused. “I said… This time I’ll be ready.”

Nothing continued to happen, and the flower leaned over to look past Frisk. Whatever he thought he saw made him pale, and with one last look at them he withdrew back into the ground.

Confused, Frisk turned to see what had spooked him, but saw nothing. The only thing of note in the room was the pile of leaves… And something glinting underneath? Frisk pushed the leaves out of the way, but whatever was shining was nowhere to be found.

That was a talking flower. Maybe they hit their head in the fall. Did that really just happen? Regardless, the flower didn’t seem to be coming back any time soon, so for lack of anything else to do Frisk moved on.

The next room was odd, having a series of buttons on the floor. Four of them were already pressed down, and with nothing else to do Frisk moved on. Then the next room had more going on, with vines covering the walls and pools of water. The cord snaked across a pair of bridges. Levers on the wall were clearly labeled, but had already been switched.

It seems these puzzles have already been completed…

Were these… obstacles? Puzzles? Who built places like that?

“Ribbit.”

As they crossed the second bridge, a large, white frog crawled out of the pool and shook itself dry. It stared at them with lidded eyes, not moving as Frisk walked past. They kept an eye on it, and so they saw when the dark patch on its chest opened a second pair of eyes. Frisk left the room very quickly after that.

Talking flowers, giant mutant frogs… And now this room just had a straw dummy set up inside.

Frisk huffed, starting to feel distinctly unraveled. “I suppose you’re going to talk too?” they asked softly, feeling slightly aggravated.

The dummy stood impassively, unmoved by their troubles.

“Of course not,” Frisk murmured, moving to continue on.

“...I can, but I don’t like to.”

They tripped, surprised. Frisk twisted around, eyes wide, and found that the dummy’s head had swiveled to follow them. “Y-You--”

It just stood there. Its body turned on its stand to match its head.

Frisk groaned, falling to lean against the wall. “I don’t know what’s going on anymore…”

…

“You are alone,” the dummy noted. Its voice was utterly devoid of emotion or inflection.

I already knew that, thanks. Frisk grumbled, running a hand through their hair. They brought up the stats screen on their wrist, to see if maybe something was wrong with them. All systems were clear, so it seemed this was really happening.

“She did not meet you.”

Frisk looked up, scowling. “She who? The only person I’ve met was that flower.”

“Oh, him.” The dummy’s face was unreadable, but after a moment it seemed to come to a decision. And then everything turned black and white.

What?!

Wait… not entirely black and white. They cupped their hands around the glowing red heart that had appeared in front of them. “What is th-this?”

“You,” the dummy said simply. At their confused look, it continued. “Your everything. Your SOUL.”

“My soul…?” It was warm. Looking at it was, oddly, a lot like looking into a mirror, while at the same time nothing like that at all. But seeing themselves reflected was always an odd sensation, the way they could see their own eyes and their mouth as it moved. And this gave them the same feeling; that it was them in every way that mattered was all too easy to believe. “My soul.” Cool.

“I am a dummy,” said the dummy. “I am for showing you how to survive down here. Usually, she does the lesson, but I have seen her practice enough to do it myself.” It cracked its neck to the side. “Hit me.”

“I--what?” Frisk said, taken aback. “But I don’t want to--”

“Good,” it said. “Hit me anyway. It’s my job.”

Frisk’s fingers tightened around their stick, uneasy. But the dummy seemed certain of what it was doing, so reluctantly they gave it a swing. The dummy rocked back and forth on its stand for a moment before settling.

“Nice one,” it said. “Don’t hit anyone again.” It paused. “You can also CHECK, or try to talk to me.”

Check? What did that me--

Dummy. ATK 0   DEF 5

A cotton heart and a button eye, you are the apple of my eye.

“Thanks, kid.”

Frisk blinked, confused at what it was thanking them for, and they said as much.

“Listen.” The dummy paused for a long time. “The lady says that no one has to get hurt. Try to remember that. This is me Sparing you, now.”

Frisk shook their head, and just like that everything was back to normal. The world faded back in with all of its colors, and the dummy returned to its original position.

“P-Please,” Frisk said, “Can you just tell me what’s going on? I don’t understand.”

The dummy was silent, staring ahead stoically.

“Hello?” They poked it with their stick, and it wobbled on its stand. It seemed for all the world a normal stuffed dummy. “Did you fall asleep?”

“...”

Unfortunately, dummies can’t talk.

Frisk scowled and sent the dummy rocking with one hard shove. “Thanks, I guess.”

-------------------------------

“Ribbit.”

Frisk and the frog side-eyed each other as they came up to the next “puzzle.” It was just a bunch of metal plates suspended over water. “What am I even supposed to do?” they asked themselves.

“Ribbit,” the frog supplied. The face on its stomach mewed quietly. When Frisk started to step on the plates, the frog’s eyes widened and it hopped in front of them, blocking the way. And then they were pulled into that monochrome space once more.

It was more disorienting than when the dummy had done it, but the end result was the same. The red soul hovered in front of them, and the frog stared at it with a blank expression.

“Ribbit.”

Froggit. ATK 4   DEF 5

Life is hard for this enemy.

The information lay superimposed across their vision, and Frisk blinked it away. That hadn’t been very helpful. They were confused when the Froggit spat a handful of glowing white flies into the air, which lazily flew towards their soul. Frisk wondered what that was all about.

Didn’t you… no, the Dummy didn’t tell you, did it…

The Froggit looked confused and then concerned when Frisk made no move to get out of the way as the first fly reached their soul. It croaked worriedly when it hit, and Frisk shouted in pain. It surprised them more than it hurt, but it still hurt.

“Ribbit? Ribbit?”

Froggit is Sparing you.

Fine, whatever. The battlefield went away, leaving the two of them staring at each other once more.

“What was that about?” Frisk asked angrily.

“Ribbit…”

(I’m sorry, human. I didn’t expect you to just stand there and take it.)

So upset was Frisk that they didn’t even question their sudden ability to understand Frog. “Then why did you attack me at all?!”

(...it’s traditional…)

Frisk huffed. They made to push past the Froggit and move on, but it got in their way again.

(Wait! This puzzle is dangerous!)

“Dangerous how? It’s just a bunch of metal floor, isn’t it?”

The Froggit shook its head, and spat out another fly. Frisk tensed, but instead of towards them it floated onto a random tile. The instant the tiny fly made contact, the panel swung open and spikes taller than Frisk sprouted in its place, breaking the little bug apart into motes of light.

Frisk gaped as the spikes slowly retreated, leaving the ground flat once more. “W… Why?”

(Lady Toriel has ordered all puzzles in the Ruins shut down until the current crisis is dealt with,) the Froggit said. (But that made this puzzle in particular more dangerous than normal. Those spikes are supposed to always be extended, and that means the springs are touchy.)

Frowning, Frisk stepped back onto the stone floor. “So… How do I?”

The Froggit hopped into the previous room, where a patch of lighter stone marked a path. It gestured with its eyes at the plaque on the wall.

The western room is the eastern room’s blueprint.

So, this marked the path they were supposed to take through the spike field? That was simple enough… in theory. That was still dangerous though, so Frisk had a better idea.

Int. check: 4. Passed.

They held their stick out in front of them, scraping against the floor. If something as light as a fly could set it off, surely the stick would too. And it did, three times before Frisk made it to the other side.

The Froggit clapped for them from the other side. (Well done! And good luck, human!) “Ribbit!”

Frisk waved awkwardly.

This place was so weird. Kris would have loved it. They loved weird things.

…

Maybe Kris would make it to the vault and fall down too. And Dad too.

You know that they won’t.

But maybe they would!

Frisk grimaced, shaking their head. They felt strange. Everything was fuzzy, like trying to feel things through a blanket. Or like everything was coming from a long way away.

The next room shook them out of their momentary introspection by virtue of having stuff going on inside. One long, long, long hallway, lined with tents of various sizes and shapes.

…A town with only one road lies before you.

It looked like a recent development, though Frisk wasn’t sure why that occurred to them. The… north wall, checking their wristband’s compass, was one long unbroken row of tents. The hall was long enough that they couldn’t see the far end of it from the entrance, and as far as they could see there were tents. Tents! Frisk boggled. Blue, orange, red, green, and even a purple the exact same shade of the wall, such that their eyes wanted to skip over it entirely. Some of them were proper canvas, with loose bricks holding down the stakes keeping them up, and others were blankets precariously draped over stacks of books, or paired chairs. Some were squat and so short Frisk would have had to crawl on their belly to get underneath, while others were the opposite, tall and skinny enough that Frisk had to wonder what the point even was. Then there were the ones inexplicably hanging from the wall, like they’d seen in pictures of mountain climbing, or ones set up upside down on the ceiling in defiance of physics.

The very first tent Frisk came to was one of the short and squat ones. It was a vaguely nauseating shade of green that didn’t quite manage to hide the fact that it was coated in a thin layer of slime. Frisk impulsively reached out to touch it, and it sent a shiver up their arm at how cold and clammy it was. Their touch, light as it was, sent the whole thing wobbling like the gelatin mold that was slithering out of the tent right at that moment.

Frisk’s eyes popped open. A perfect specimen of lime green jell-o crawled out of the slimy tent and turned in place. It had no features whatsoever, and yet Frisk could feel its attention on them.

It produced a sound like laminated paper shaking back and forth, giving the impression of agitation, and then wobbled back inside.

Frisk stared stupidly after it, then a movement out of the corner of their eye drew their attention. The next tent, which was what Frisk would have considered a much more reasonable size, opened up and a… a thing apparently made of 80% eyeball stepped out and stretched. It yawned, showing off a mouthful of sharp teeth.

The stick fell from slackened fingers, and the sound of wood falling against stone made the cyclops flinch and turn towards them. A handful of small creatures resembling a depressed moth emerged from one of the hanging tents, and a giant cockroach scuttled in from down the hall, before standing up to reveal a disgruntled face on its underside.

“And what are you looking at?” the cyclops sneered.

Frisk took a step backwards; they were shaking so badly that they fell over instead.

The Froggit was weird, but it could have been some kind of giant faune native to these caves. The Dummy was odd, but robots could come in all kinds of shapes. The flower… Frisk didn’t have an explanation for that one, but it had been and gone too fast for Frisk to linger on it. But now? Slimes, giant bugs, fairies, and cyclops? These creatures, under Mt. Ebott, they were

Monsters.

But that’s impossible. Dad said there weren’t any, they didn’t exist. Even Kris didn’t believe in them.

But here they were.

Oh wait, did that mean the stories were true?

Oh dear, they were trapped under Mt. Ebott with monsters.

Oh no, were they in danger?

“Hey, uh,” the cyclops asked, sounding concerned. “Are you… alright?”

It reached out with one clawed hand.

Frisk curled up into a ball and then they kind of checked out for a while.

----------

I guess that was one shock too many, huh? I can’t believe you fainted over a Loox. Boy, oh boy.

I guess it could have been worse. You could have screamed. That would have been humiliating… Oh, what’s happening now?

Hm? Oh. Oh boy…

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Further Along the Very Long Hall

“Ribbit!! Croak!”

“What he said!”

“Oh my. Lead the way, please.”

Location discovered: Refuge Row