Puzzles!

Our heroes walk into a large room. Two sets of stairs go up and lead to a door that most likely leads into another chamber. A bed of red leaves lay on the ground in between the flights of stairs. To Akio's confusion, he sees a glowing yellow star floating by the leaves. He cocked an eyebrow seeing it. Frisk noticed his gaze and looked at the Checkpoint Star then at him.

[Checkpoint Star is the Yellow Save points you see throughout Undertale... at least that's what we're calling them]

Her eyes widen as she realizes that he can see it.

"You can see it." she said dumbfounded.

Akio looked at her.

"What is it?" he asks.

Frisk snaps out of her awe and looks at it as she then walks towards it. Akio and Kira follow.

"I'm not sure myself. But whenever I died, I would go back to the point where this thing is." Frisk said.

"You died?" he asks, finding that piece of information surprising.

"yeah, a lot of times. I even remember how I died." she said sheepishly.

Akio cocked up an eyebrow as Kira looked at her with a look that said "Wtf?". Akio then looked up at the door and the lead out of the room. He then decided to walk up to it. Taking the staircase on the right. Frisk follows him as Kira vanishes and goes into Akio's mindscape. They trek up the stairs and reach the door. The duo didn't stop and went right into the next room.

The next room was fairly small. It had a series of large buttons on the ground as well as a bright yellow switch. Well, formally yellow switch. The yellow was darker thanks to time withering it away with hints of rust on the edges. Frisk walks over to the large buttons and presses down four of them with her feet before going to the yellow switch and pulling it.

Thankfully the switch was still useable and a clicking sound was heard. The door next to it opens when the clicking sound is heard. Frisk looked at Akio with a smile, but he merely returned a stoic gaze. He sighs and walks through the door before she does. Frisk follows suit. Within the next room was yet another damn room.

"How many doors that lead to other rooms are there?" he asks.

"a lot. This is the only part of the Ruins I was in during my time down here. Never explored the ruined city at all." she explains before she continues on.

Akio just followed her. There's so much that he doesn't know. Also, how did all of this go undiscovered? Surely some curious geologists would have stumbled upon the Ruins by now. Sure, everyone knows that the Monsters were all sealed away within Mount Ebott. But a lot of people believe they withered away and died throughout time due to the confinements of their prison.

Seems the Monsters are some resourceful bastards. They've lived long enough to have a section of their new home become the very ruins he was walking in. Frisk seemed to know her way around. Then again, she did say she was down here before. But, even after Four Years she still knows her way around. Talk about a good freaking memory.

As they walked to the next chamber, Akio looked around at the purple ruins around them. He wonders how this place is still standing. Based on the corrosion, this place has been here for hundreds of years. It's a miracle the stones haven't been consumed by the natural rock formations that surrounds them. There are a lot of vines and other various foliage types on the walls, sprouting up from the ground and coming down from the roof hanging down like chandeliers.

The Uchiha boy now believes that Frisk must secretly be very adventurous. He wouldn't have expected her of all people going into places like this. Now that he thinks about it, Frisk had been jumping between various Clubs. He guesses she was trying to fit in and make friends quickly. She takes part in many Clubs and after school activities, it's almost admirable. Well, to others it is. To Akio it isn't. Especially since he knows her motives. Not to improve her skills—which she's been doing—but find a way to make a lot of friends and fit in within the school.

This is what led to her being noticed and becoming popular. This also led to bullying because they saw an orphan trying to be something they're not. The only part of it that impressed Akio was how fast she did it. The quickness at how she became popular and joined a multitude of clubs was impressive to our hero. Even he can admit impressive feats when he sees them.

He's not like some who just deny that they happen. He's not cocky or excessively arrogant. Sure he tends to act cocky, but he knows he can back it up because everyone in that school was weak. None of them used their Soul Trait abilities. For example, he's seen some Justice Souls use their traits to create yellow bullets and some people with Kindness souls can create powerful green barriers to act as defensive measures.

Akio could go on and on to someone about Human Soul traits and their abilities due to knowing so much about them. He is brought out of his thoughts when he and Frisk stop at the next room. The floor ahead was covered in spikes with water on either side. Frisk notices the vines on the spikes.

"Flowey wasn't lying when he said he broke the puzzles." she notes.

Akio looked at her before looking at the water to the right of the left of the spikes.

"How will we get across?" she asks under her breath while trying to find out a way around.

She quickly looked up at the other side of the spikes. Her eyes widen.

"How did you get across?" she asks.

Akio was on the other side of the spikes.

"I can walk on water." he said.

"that's.... so coooool!" she coos in amazement as her eyes shine brightly in awe hearing this.

Akio just rolls his eyes.

(Admit it, she's cute.) Kira said within his mindscape.

(maybe a little. But in the end, she's just really childish.) he barked back.

(Well for a child she's fairing just fine.) she retorts.

Akio then noticed what she was talking about as frisk was knee deep in the water. Walking across it. Akio just sighs. When she got close, he grabbed her arm and pulled her up out of the water with ease. Lifting her easily. Frisk was wide eyes at suddenly being picked up like she was nothing.

"do I weigh anything to you?" she asks.

"Not really." he replied. "you're about as light as a grape."

Akio let go of her arm and turned to press on. Frisk just stood there surprised to hear how strong he was. There is a lot that Frisk doesn't know about Akio. It's actually what's on her mind. His battle with Flowey, or well beat down, has been glued to her mind. She had no idea he could use magic—or that's what she thinks it is. She knows that Toriel and Asgore can use fire magic. She couldn't remember if any other monsters could use fire magic.

She'll have to wait till they're out of the Ruins to figure that one out. She then rushes after Akio who had already begun to leave at this point. The duo reaches the next chamber which is just a long corridor. Nothing eventful happens as they trek down the long hall. Frisk just has nice memories of her first arrival in the Ruins and being taught by Toriel on how the Ruins worked.

Toriel's tender tone as well as motherly concern was heartwarming to remember. She hopes that Toriel will forgive her for what she's done. From what Flowey said, Sans already gave into despair a bit. She hopes that Toriel hasn't. She hopes that all her old friends were still that. Her Friends. She already knows that Akio could care less about that. He's made that clear. But she won't hate him. She doesn't know him personally.

His life, his childhood. His Story. There's so much she doesn't know, and it intrigues her to no end about one day hearing his story. She at least now knew his real name. Akio Uchiha. Flowey seemed both spooked and fascinated by the Uchiha name as well as Akio's eyes. She needs to ask him when she has the chance. But she knows now isn't the time since he's probably still mad that she defended Flowey.

She'll wait till she gains his trust before asking personal questions.

The duo left the long corridor and enters the next room. More red leaves and another Checkpoint Star is seen. Frisk rushed over to it and touched it. Akio just walked over and followed suit. Nothing really happened.

"The hell does this even do?" he asks.

"when I did it, it healed me. Since I can't reset anymore. I'm using them as landmarks and healing points." she said.

Akio looked at himself. He grabbed his kunai and cut himself to test something. Frisk freaked out seeing it. He then touched the Checkpoint star. His cut instantly healed.

"fascinating." he said as he inspected her perfectly healed arm.

"Please don't do that again." she begs, showing some bits of worry.

"Calm down. I'm not gonna kill myself. Just wanted to test if what you said was true. That's why I only made a small cut. If this didn't work, it would've healed on his own. I have good regeneration abilities." he said, lightly jabbing at Kira's ability to heal him.

"Well, just, please don't do it again." she begged, calmer than before but still having the same pleading eyes.

Akio looked into her pleading eyes for a few seconds before sighing.

"won't happen again, Frisk." he said, almost mockingly.

"good." she said, now happy.

Frisk honestly didn't mind how he said her name. The mocking tone was clear to her. She just didn't mind.

"Now, onward!" she said while pointing forward and beginning to advance.

Akio just watched her go past him.

"that's the way we came." he pointed out calmly.

She came back and walked past him again.

"I knew that." she said, clearly embarrassed that she just went the wrong direction.

Akio rolls his eyes, letting a tiny smile appear on his face. Finding the action humorous. The duo leave the chamber and head into the next one. The next puzzle was simple and Frisk managed to jump over it. Akio followed suit. The duo didn't waste time and went further down the hall. They make it into the next room. Within it, they see a rock that was stuck to a pressure plate. Vines wrapped around it pinning it to the ground.

"Flowey's doing." she comments.

"how many puzzles are there?" he asks.

"Don't remember. But they're simple enough. Though there was this one trap that I had to press certain switches that were color coded. Took me some time as it was a rotation of perspective kind of puzzle." she told.

"hm, good to know." he said before he continued through the room.

He and Frisk walk around the rock and walk over where a line of spikes would have been. They make it out of the room and into the next. In the next room, they came upon more fragile ground. Frisk motioned for him to follow, and he did. She walked a path through the fragile ground, and it didn't collapse beneath them. It took some time as Frisk almost fell but thankfully Akio caught her.

They get out of the room and into the next where they see three more rocks and more pressure plates. They—like the previous rock—had been pinned down by vines on top of the pressure plates. They walk through the room without pause and silence. They enter the next room—or more accurately hall—and see yet another Checkpoint Star. Frisk, for funnsies, went up to it and touched it. Akio didn't cause he didn't see the need.

A thought then came to mind.

"Do you know the way out? Or did time rot your memory?" he asks.

"my memory is as sharp as ever, Akio. I know how to get out of here. It's just far away and through a house." she said.

"So we're breaking into some poor persons house?" he asks, jokingly.

"what-no! The house used to belong to Toriel before she most likely moved to the Capital to become Queen of all Monsters following King Asgore's death." she said.

"Wait the King died?" he asks.

Frisk stopped and tensed up. Akio glared.

"Talk."

A hand grabs his shoulder. He looked to see Kira.

"Leave her be. She said before that It's a touchy subject." she said.

"if she's here to make amends. I'm guessing she killed the King." he points out.

Frisk looked at him surprised before looking down in shame knowing he was right.

"Akio. Drop it. Besides, she probably didn't mean to kill him. It was probably an accident." she proclaimed, defending Frisk.

Akio scoffs and lightly wacked her hand off his shoulder.

"Regicide doesn't happen by accident, Kira." he spat before he turned and walked down the rest of the hall.

Frisk stood there, somberly. Kira sighs and walks over to her.

"Hey, just ignore what he said." she said.

"No he's. He's right. I was responsible for the King's death. B-but I didn't mean to-I didn't want to-I wanted to-" she went on before being cut off by Kira and just gently hugged her.

"Calm down and breathe girl. We can talk about past mistakes later. Right now, we need to get you to some of your Monster friends and then to the barrier to get everyone out of here, right?" she beckons.

"y-yeah. Right! That's our mission!" she said, her sadness fading away quickly.

"Then come on! Akio won't wait forever now, will he? Keep being determined, Frisk. It will carry you far." she said with a playful wink making frisk roll her eyes humored at what she said.

Kira vanished and returned to Akio's mindscape before Frisk picked up the pace and rushed after Akio to catch up with him.