#uuuh i was working off memory for this so a couple things might seem kinda wonky

[warrior-of-waistbands]

Luckily for everyone, I've been meaning to write something for Fallen Down for ages and now I finally have the motivation!

Have a quick snippet, set during the Waterfall portion of the journey

--

Find Harold. Find the exit. Get to the queen. Get the heck out of here. Find Harold. Find the exit. Get to the queen. Get the heck out of here.

This was the thought circling through George's mind as he made his way through the darkness.

He replayed the events of the last half hour in his mind: he and Harold had been trudging through Water-whatever this place was called, happy as clams all things considered, when what should appear but a monster garbed all in armor, a sparking spear of energy in hand, clearly not looking to make friends with the boys any time soon.

They ran.

They ran, and when they'd made it into this horribly dark cavern they had tried to stay close, stay together, but everything kept getting darker and vaster and....

....Well, here was George now. Walking down a trail of moss that was only occasionally illuminated by the faint glow of the lanterns placed here and there.

"Harold?" he called. No answer.

"Tch."

As he walked, George couldn't help but let his mind wander. He found himself thinking about the statue they had found a few trails back, it and it's dingy old music box. It had been nice, the melody produced by it. Peaceful, even. The Underground was not a safe place for humans, oh no, but he supposed that there had to be bright spots somewhere.

Hmmm....you know, if I weren't in constant fear for my life, this place would be giving me so much inspiration. Maybe it still can? Hmm, let's see— maybe it could be, like. A comic where two kids discover a bunch of aliens living inside the planet, and then....something something, more aliens....something something....basketball? What does basketball have to do with anyth—

Something was quickly running up behind him.

Shoot.

He ran.

Find Harold. Find the exit. Get to the queen. Get the heck out of here. Find Harold. Find the exit. Get to the queen. Get the heck out of here. Find Harold. Find the exit. Get to the queen. Get—

"Hoi!"

"AHH!"

And he tripped over the tiny creature that had plunked itself down right in his path.

"Ow ow ow what was that what the heck was....oh."

The little white fuzz ball of a creature was snuffling at his splayed hand, curious. It looked up at him, smiling, almost apologetic. George couldn't help it— he laughed and smiled back.

"Hey, little guy, where'd you come from?"

"Hoi, I'm Temmie!"

"Oh you can— uh, hi....Temmie....I'm George."

"Hoi Gorg!" Temmie wagged their tail ecstatically. Then, frowning now, they said, "Gorg lost?"

"That's right, buddy. You wouldn't happen to know the way out of here, would you?" Another thought occured to him then. "Actually, I'm trying to find my friend. You haven't seen him, have you? Yellow hair, green sweater, prone to catastrophizing?"

Temmie raised a stubby little paw to their chin and hummed, "Hmmmmmm," in thought. "Nnnnnoope, Tem sorry."

"Oh...."

"But!" Ears perking, Temmie performed a quick bounce into the air in excitement. "Tem take Gorg to Tem Village! Tems help Gorg!"

"Really? You'd do that? Wait—" A sudden reminder echoed in George's mind. "You....you're not going to....attack me?"

"Nope!" Temmie shook their head with gusto.

George bit his lip. Now, George. You have no way of knowing if this adorable little thing is dangerous or not. You're lost in an underground maze in the dark and you have no idea where Harold is. If there is a town here it's your best shot, but what if this guy is lying? Think, George, think.....

The tune from the music box drifted into his memory.

"Alright then." George stood up, dusted himself off, planted his hands on his hips. "Alright, Temmie. Where's this village you're telling me about?"

And Temmie, quite literally, vibrated with excitement. "Frend follow Temmie! Temmie help!"

"Lead the way, Tem."

Another step into the dark.