Chapter 9

“I… I need some air…” Piper murmured quietly, her voice trembling slightly. “I just… I need to go…” She turned towards the door and went out to the lava filled maze outside.

“P-Piper…” Alphys reached for her, but Undyne stopped her with a shake of her head.

“Give her some space,” she whispered as the human went out the door.

Piper paced back and got outside, running her fingers through her hair as she tried to calm down.

She knew she'd only have one chance to get out with Frisk. She really did. But to hear that Frisk, her little sibling and the light if her life, had probably died dozens, maybe even hundreds of times… oh God, she felt like she'd been torn in two.

She tripped on a rock and fell onto her hands and knees, hissing softly as her palms were scraped against the ground. She rolled into a sitting position and brought her knees to her chest. A whine escaped her throat before it turned into full on tears.

She fumbled with her phone and dialed up Grillby. She needed to talk to someone. Just to hear him crackle would be enough.

He picked up at the third ring. [“Piper…? Is something wrong…?”]

“I-I-I guess…?” she whimpered with a sniffle. She was trying hard to fight her tears. “I just… I just need to hear ya talk…”

[“Has something happened…?”]

She nodded, though he couldn't see it. “Frisk…”

[“Did something happen to them…?”]

“M-Maybe… do ya know about the S-SOULS and their abilities…?”

[“I believe so…though I was always unclear about what red did…”]

“R-Red RESETS time…”

He paused, only the sound of his crackling and her sniffling heard over the phone. [“Do you need me to come over…?”]

“Please…” she whimpered, her voice barely a whisper.

[“Very well…I will be there shortly… Stay where you are until then…”]

“Okay…”

[“Do you want me to stay on the phone with you…?”]

“I don't want to distract ya…”

[“Very well… stay safe…”]

“You too… Please hurry…”

[“I will…”]

She listened to the click as he hung up before doing so herself. The rumble of the lava flow beneath her grounded her thoughts before they carried her off somewhere she didn’t want to go right now.  

“Well, if it isn’t the tough girl from the surface,” sneered a certain flower she really didn’t want to talk to. She turned and glared over her shoulder at Flowey and his stupid little face. “What happened? Someone bruise your punk ego?”

“None of yer business, ya weed…”

“Oh, nothing!~ Just to watch you cry!” He grinned at her. “You humans seem to be very good at that sorta thing.”

“Go away…”

“Fat chance. You’re weak, and you know it.”

“Then how’d I get this far-”

Flowey’s laugh cut her off. “You really think that you could’ve gotten here on your own?! That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard! You’ve never even been in a real battle! What’re you gonna do against someone like Asgore? Shoot him with that water pistol you call an attack?”

“I have my-”

{A/N: Start of Emotional Abuse. Skip if you'd be triggered.}

“Your knife? That’d only give him a paper cut or a bruise!” His face twisted into a evil grin. “Admit it. You’re a weakling. You’ve got no chance of getting out of the Underground alive. You’ll be dust on the ground before you can ever even get the barrier. You’ll die alone and as a nobody. No one will remember you when you’re gone because you’re nothing!”

Piper flinched at his words. “I-I’m not nothing...”

“We both know you don’t believe that. I’ve heard everything you’ve said. I’ve got ears everywhere.” His eyes narrowed. “Underneath that tough exterior is a kid who’s so beaten down, she’s completely empty inside. I bet you lived like a dog for years! Or worse! How much blood is on your hands? How many have you hurt to stay alive on the streets? You’re no better than me! Hell, you’re probably even worse!

“But we both have one thing in common, don’t we? We have to do whatever it takes to live. Because, in this world, it’s kill or be killed!” He cackled madly, and Piper cringed under the weight of his words.

He was right. She had done horrible things in her life. She wasn’t proud of them. “You don’t know me…”

“I know enough. And that’s all I need. Your life has been worthless. Nothing redeemable about it at all. Your death won’t have any effect on the world. If you died now, no one would be there to mourn. No one would know. You should just do it now instead of carrying out such a pitiful existence. Your SOUL could be worth so much more to someone who actually needs it.”

She couldn’t help but glance at the edge.

“Yeah, that’s right. You could just take a few steps, and off you go!” He grinned maliciously. “One SOUL free for the taking!”

“I think not.” A blast of fire was shot at the flower, making him hide back into the earth. Out from the tunnel to Waterfall stepped out a raincoat-clad Grillby. He closed his umbrella and took off his raincoat, then went to Piper’s side and knelt down next to her. “Are you alright…? That flower seemed most troublesome…”

{A/N: End of Emotional Abuse.}

She shook her head, unable to hold back the tears anymore. She threw herself into his arms and sobbed into his neck.

He sighed and rubbed her back gently. “We should get you inside… You need to rest somewhere cool…”

“Okay…”

He picked her up by her thighs and stood up. He took her back inside Alphys’s lab and set her on the nearest flat surface.

Undyne frowned at Piper’s tear-stained face. “What happened to her?”

“Someone who decided it was a good idea to prey upon a distraught woman…” Grillby got a wet washcloth and wiped up Piper’s tears and the dirt on her hands and face. “I managed to scare them off… but I doubt that will be the last of whoever they are…”

“Was it a yellow flower?”

“Why yes… You have encountered it before…?”

“Piper has. It’s a nasty little weed from what she says…”

“Then I should stay with Piper to keep it away…” He gently held her hand. “I won’t let any harm come to her…”

Piper smiled and blushed lightly, squeezing his hand lightly. She wouldn’t admit it out loud, but… she was happy to have him with her again…