ArsonFell

Mount Ebott seemed like a giant patch of fire in the darkness. It was so bright with some sort of light that some people had to wear sleeping masks when they went to bed. A mountain that everyone ignored the best they could, but still feared in the back of their minds. Sometimes, people would even mistake it for a volcano about to explode. But, nothing ever came out.

It was a place one particular teenager, Frisk, liked to visit, despite all of the warnings their elders gave them.

It was a place of quiet and solitude. It was a place that was free of the dangers and stresses of the days.

On one certain day, they had been in a sour mood and decided to run away to Mount Ebott. The adults once again warned them and told them not to go. Frisk was fed up listening to them saying the same horror stories they told children who thought about going there. That anyone who climbs the mountain are never seen again. The human had been up there several times and had always came back. They shook their head to shake the thoughts away.

And just like that, just because they didn’t watch where they were going, they didn’t notice a patch in the mountain that was starting to crumble. Just like that, they felt their feet sink into the ground. Before they knew it, they realized they were falling. Soon, it almost felt like they were falling for an eternity.

Frisk didn’t land on their feet like they were hoping. They instead landed on their side, wincing as pain shot up through their arm and hip. They waited for more pain, but were surprised that only two spots hurt. The teenager looked down as their eyes stared at what looked like some flowers. Like a bed, just in a perfect spot. They stood up slowly and carefully to check their surroundings.

It was cave-like, which they weren’t surprised about. What did surprise them was the lights in the cave walls. Thanks to them, the way wasn’t too dark. It was enough to see where they were going at least. Frisk’s head tilted up, but then lowered back down when there was only darkness in the direction they fell from. It was most likely nighttime. They shrugged and walked, seeing the opening in front of them was the only way forward.

The teenager started to hear soft weeping coming from the room they were going into. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” It sounded like a woman. The human spoke out, speaking softly as to not scare who was crying. When Frisk approached the source of the sobbing, they finally saw the woman. She was sat on the floor, appearing to have a small fire on her left hand and on her left shoulder. Out of pure impulse from seeing the fire, Frisk patted at the places where they were. But, the fire didn’t even seem to move and it burnt their hand. The woman’s head finally shot up when Frisk touched them, jolting at the contact.

Frisk’s first reaction when seeing what this woman was should have been panic and fear, but in place of that was concern. The monster paused at their reaction, confused even when they asked if she was alright. The woman’s crying seemed to get worse when she saw Frisk.

Frisk panicked and tried their best to comfort the monster. They were worried if they had somehow scared her, apologizing repeatedly. She shook her head and inhaled sharply, trying her best to regain her composure. “No, I’m sorry for this display,” the monster said. She stood up and brushed off her dress of any dirt that might have collected. “Did… you just fall in here, young one?” she asked them, wiping her eyes with the cloth of her sleeve. Frisk nodded and the monster sighed sadly. “I wish you hadn’t, then,” she whispered. “You should have just broken your neck when you fell…” The human asked what she said, but the monster told them it was nothing.

The monster glanced towards the opening to the next area, then towards Frisk’s hand. She looked back up at them and smiled slightly. “Your hand looks bad. Come. I’ll show you to my home and I’ll see what I can do for it.” The woman turned from them and started to walk as the human walked behind her. A stranger she may be, they couldn’t just turn down someone helping them.

The goat woman walked with Frisk through what she called the RUINS. The Ruins were foggy and piles of ash polluted the area. The human asked why there was so much ash, but she only said, “...The poor things never had a chance.” Frisk was confused by her words, but they continued to follow the monster.

When they finally came to the monster’s house, some of bricks seemed loose and parts of the home seemed burnt. Other than that, it looked cozy enough to stay in. The monster walked inside, turning to Frisk when they didn’t follow. “It’s alright, human. Come in.” Frisk reluctantly complied, passing by a moving black star. They started to glance around the house as they go in.

The home was dark inside. The only source of light were small candles on the walls, and the fire that she had on her. When the human asked about the fire, the woman only said it was normal down there. “Are you hun- Oh goodness, I almost forgot.” She held out her hand for the teenager to take. “Here. Put your hand in mine.” Frisk did as they were told, placing their hand carefully on the goat monster’s. At first nothing seemed to happen, but slowly pain they had felt earlier was going away. Even the burn on their hand was disappearing.

The human’s eyes widened at that and moved their hand close to their face when the monster was done. She chuckled at their face of awe and curiosity. “Even with my age, I guess the healing magic still works.”

The original thought in popped into her head, turning her body to her right. “If you’re hungry, I made some pie this morning. You’re welcome to have some,” the monster told them as she smiled. Frisk nodded quickly, since they were sure they had missed dinner. The monster smiled once again and walked off, but stopping and looking over her shoulder at them. “If you also need to rest, the first door down that hall has a bed you can sleep on.” She then left Frisk alone to retrieve a piece of pie for them.

Frisk moved after another glance around the entry area. It looked like basement stair in front of them, a coat rack by the door, and a lightly faded ‘welcome home’ doormat. It was a nice home. Nicer than any they have seen on the surface.

They slowly walked to the door in question and opened it, ready to walk in. Before they do, they stopped. The room was a disaster. It looked like it was destroyed by an animal, then hit by a tornado. Marks were all over the walls, clothes scattered all over the floor, and there was a closet with a broken hinge that caused it to be partly open.

This scared Frisk, more than seeing an actual monster. They ran from the room just as the goat woman was returning with not a piece of pie. What was in her hand was a cutting knife from the kitchen, clean and unused. “Young one, where are you running off to?” she asked, moving towards them. Panic-stricken, Frisk ran from the monster and darted down what they presumed was the basement stairs in the entrance area. But, they soon realized that it wasn’t a basement.

To Frisk, it looked like a series of tunnels. “Don’t go down there. Stay up here with me, human.” They gasped as they heard the monster woman calling for them in the distance. They started to run faster as they ran into one of the middle tunnels, not caring that the tunnel was getting darker and darker with each step.

It felt like an eternity running. The human even wondered if they got turned around a few times, or if the tunnel was actually long. Frisk soon ran into a dead end. They turned to go back down to a different path, but halted in their step. A ball of light as well as two other lights appeared down the tunnel, where the human just came from. Frisk backed up to the wall and held their breath, hoping the lights wouldn’t continue down the path. To Frisk’s horror, the lights became brighter.

The monster woman slowly walked towards Frisk, a fire ball hovering over her hand with an almost saddening smile on her face. She stopped as the light of the fire illuminated what was seen as not a dead end, but a door. “Human, I will forgive you for running from me if you go back now.” The monster continued to smile, starting to extend her free hand. She stopped as she saw the door in the corner of her eye. She gazed up at it and the insignia, quieting down for a brief moment.

Another silent thought struck her, one that made her ache on the inside. Her smile faded as she glanced down at Frisk once more. “Young one… Forgive me for what I’m about to do,” she said softly.

The goat monster sighed and the fire in her hand glowed brighter. Frisk also noticed that the spots of fire on the monster were dim. “I was hoping that no more of you would come down here. And seeing you look just like…” Her words trailed off as she looked away, then back to the human. “...I’m… I’m tired of this. I’m tired of seeing young humans drop down here, just for my husba-- for them to go away.”

The look on the monster’s face was heartbreaking and her words were starting to tug at the human’s heart. They opened their mouth to speak, but she cut them off before they could. “Dear one, you should not be here any longer, or I might do something despicable.” Frisk just met her, but they could tell she was frantic. “Human, might I ask one thing of you before this door opens?” the monster woman asked. The human asked what she wanted and she went silent. After a moment, she finally said, “Peace.”

The goat woman handed Frisk the knife that was still in her hand, her smile returning. “Take this and turn me to dust.” The human’s eyes widened at the request. They asked her why and got a very cold response. “Because I’m tired… and the only way you’re guaranteed to go without…” she trailed off again, finding the words difficult. “...Please just do it, for both of our sakes.”

The teenager tried to refuse the knife. “If you don’t go, I’ll make sure to break your legs beyond repair so can’t leave me.” Even with that threat, Frisk continued to refuse. Then, the woman started to conjure several fireballs, the fire on her body fluctuating.

The monster threw a few of the fireballs at Frisk, hitting them two times. It hurt and it burned, but they still didn’t want to do she wanted. Fireballs continued to fly at Frisk until they were at 1 HP. She paused to see what Frisk would do. “Young one, please… just hit me…” the goat woman whispered, her body trembling lightly. She wanted them to fight back. She was doing her best to give them a reason to fight her. If just saving this one child would help her mentally, she would give them her life.

“Here, I’ll even make this easy for you.” The fireballs stopped going for Frisk, and instead changed direction so they flew towards the goat monster.

The fireballs started hitting the woman, the flames moving towards her like metal beads would a magnet. They stopped once her HP was low enough for Frisk to end her life in one hit. She gave a shocked Frisk one last chance to end her life peacefully as she moved close to them. The human hesitated, not knowing what to do or what to say. After a long moment, she frowned. “Well… fine,” she sighed again, hurling a fake attack at Frisk.

Seeing how much in emotional pain she was in and seeing another attempt at hurting them, Frisk instinctively slashed the knife across the monster’s stomach. After a mere moment, realization at what they just did hit them hard. ‘Why did I…?’ Tears immediately started to stream down their face as they dropped the knife.

The goat monster smiled at Frisk, patting their head softly. “It’s alright, human,” she whispered to them. “I wanted this, I promise.” She knelt down and picked the knife up, handing it back to the human. “Keep this, alright? You should be safe when you’re out there.” Frisk was reluctant in taking the knife back, but they took it anyway as they stored it into an inside pocket of their jacket.

She smiled at the response. “Thank you, dear one…” the monster whispered as she gave them a tired hug, her body soon disappearing into a cloud of dust and ash.

Frisk stayed there for several long moments, still in shock of what just happened. They wished for the goat monster to return, but they soon realized their wish was in vain. They wiped their eyes and slowly stood up. They still weren’t sure why the monster was so adamant to… make them do that. ‘Couldn’t there have been another way help?’ they thought to themselves. Their thoughts were like this when they turned back to the door and opened it. ‘I can do better… I can…’

They didn’t even realize that a small patch of fire was starting to form on their back, just under their left shoulder blade as they walked out of the Ruins door. It was a dim fire, but it was slowly starting to radiate heat.