underprose

[underprose]

Chapter 4

LIGHT BLUE -- “Ball” is “Small.”

You waited, still, for this opportunity…then dethroned “Ball” with a sharp attack.

(You are awarded 4G.)

The silence woke her.

Usually in the morning, she was either woken up by her mother gently shaking her or by the loud chatter or shouts from people who were already awake.

But rather than wake in her shared bed, she found herself instead on a rather small bed of yellow flowers, and golden light from the sun high above shining down on her.

She looked around to see the dark, cavern walls surrounding the room and she wondered drowsily how she got there.

And with a blink, it all came back to her.

Her family was never in the best places financially, because of their problem with money. It was always there, lurking, waiting to pounce. Everyone was aware of it, even her, the youngest, even though she didn’t quite understand it. She did know that it was the reason everyone was on edge, jumpy, ready to move if needed, and hungry. Her mother had decided to send them to school so she wouldn’t have to worry if they weren’t safe. It also gave out free after-school suppers, which also helped quite a bit with their food problem, putting their mother’s mind just a little more at ease.

She deserved any relaxing she could catch, absolutely. She worked two day jobs and the night shift when she could, just to provide for her children. She made sure everyone was as happy and comfortable as they could get in their home, struggling each month to get by. She taught the girl how to braid her hair to keep it out of her face, a much more inexpensive alternative to getting a haircut. In fact, it was her hard work and both of her brothers’ collective pooling that got her the Ribbon she loved so much, a box of Lofthouse cookies for them all to share, and a single cupcake for her birthday. She was so happy that no matter the challenges in the way or the hardships they faced, they always found a way to celebrate her special day.

Her mother’s children knew that they had to do their parts, too. The oldest brother took it upon himself to guard the school trash can and asked for the food other kids would have thrown away. The middle brother played guitar on street corners now, where people could toss change into the hat he set out.

And her, the youngest?

She took it upon herself to smile, to make sure that everyone she was around was happy. Her brothers weren’t sure she was really helping, but her mother smiled back warmly. She thanked her, and told her that that was the most important job they needed.

But then, the day they were afraid of came. And they didn’t have enough.

The next few days were a blur, from makeshift shelter to shelter, scrounging up food.

All four of them spent the days all spread out, doing what they could, all hungry.

It was one of those gloomy days that her mother asked her to search the nearby mountain for berries, or anything else they might be able to eat.

She gladly put on her ribbon and her biggest shoes, even though they cramped and squished her feet too much, and set out.

As she trekked the mountain trail, scouring for bushes, she didn’t take any notice of the path fading more and more.

She finally found her first bush, with black clusters of plump small berries. She popped one in her mouth and recoiled.

It was so bitter! She started to walk away, but stopped.

She looked at the at the bush again.

Well, it was better than nothing…

She ran back to the bush and started shaking berries off and stuffing her pockets with as many as she could. She ate some more, too, easing her stomach a little more.

Satisfied with her hoard, she looked around and it hit her like a bat to a baseball.

She was utterly lost.

The girl spent what felt like hours wandering the mountain, eating some of the berries from time to time, until when she reached into her pocket she found none left.

Night was falling quickly.

She noticed a cave in the dark, and entered hesitantly. It didn’t seem to be empty, and maybe she could rest here until the next day.

She walked a little ways in before she sensed an absence of something, like a void.

The girl realized it was a large hole that gaped in front of her too late, and part of the edge of the hole caved away, taking her with.

So here she sat, on a small bed of flowers, in a quiet cave, far below the surface. She must’ve been sleeping there all night.

It wouldn’t be quiet for very much longer, though.

The girl heard soft, heavy footsteps footsteps approaching from the darkness.

She scrambled to her feet, and saw a pair of bright, maroon eyes peering out from the darkness.

They flew wide with shock as they saw her.

“Oh…oh dear! A child…fallen…again? …No…” Her eyes grew sad as she stared out into space. “…oh! I apologize, I was just remembering something.”

The voice was sweet and gentle, and reminded her of her mother. She relaxed a bit before the owner of the voice stepped into the light, where she could see it.

It was…it was…

“Greetings! I am Toriel, and I live here in-”

“A MONSTER!” The girl fell backwards, where Toriel towered over her even more. She scrabbled at her torn and dirty overalls pockets for something, anything. She was met with only juice stains, her band-aid kit, and-

Her Toy Knife!

She drew it out of her pocket and gripped it, aiming at the tall monster.

“Stay back! I’ll…I’ll hurt you, I will! Go away and…and don’t hurt me!” She tried as best as she could to look frightening while on the ground and holding a toy, which admittedly didn’t work as well as she’d hoped.

The white-furred monster’s tender eyes swept across her, and spoke again.

“Dear child, I will not harm you. Are you injured? Here, let me…”

She reached down, the arm of the robe drooping loosely, as the human shied away, ready to swing her knife.

But the monster’s paw reached one of the scratches she received from a thorny bush on the mountain (that she swore hadn’t been there a moment before she was scratched) and washed green magic over it. The girl watched in awe as the small wounds closed up, and the monster smiled at her.

“There, there…it is alright. I had a child who was afraid the first time they saw me, as well…”

When she finished, she brushed her soft, soft paws on the girl’s newly healed arm.

“It is nice to meet you, young one. As I said, my name is Toriel, and I live here in the Ruins underneath the Surface. Are you lost?”

The girl’s eyes fell.

“Oh, I…I came to the mountain because I wanted to help my…my family…oh, no! I need to get back to them! I need to gather food for them, or they’ll be hungry, and I’ll have let everyone down again!”

A few tears escaped as she looked at Toriel.

“Can you help me, please?”

Toriel closed her mouth, and hugged her close.

“Of course, little one. I will do my best to help any way I can. You may sleep in my home while you remain here, if you’d like.”

The girl hugged back, and a muffled (Thank you.) rose from Toriel’s robe.

She stood up, and the human did the same.

“Come now, my child. My home is this way…oh, I don’t believe I caught your name. What is it, small one?”

She finally put her knife away as she stood up to follow.

“My mommy named me Sahana before we moved to the city, but now everyone calls me just Hana. I like it, though, so that’s okay.”

Toriel smiled again as she led her down the dark hall.

“Hana. That is a wonderful name, dear child. Now, I must know, do you prefer cinnamon or butterscotch…”

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[underprose]

Chapter 3

*CALL (Toriel) → About yourself

“This is Toriel.

You want to know more about me?

Well, I am afraid there is not much to say.

I am just a silly little lady who worries too much!”

Click…

I walked out of the room with a defiant smile on my face.

“Time for puzzles!”

I froze when my brick rang.

I picked it up and pushed a button.

“Hello?”

“Hello? This is Toriel.”

I tried really hard to keep calm as she continued, “You have not left the room, have you?”

“Nope.” I winced a bit.

“There are a few puzzles ahead that I have yet to explain. It would be dangerous to try to solve them yourself. Be good, alright?”

“Sure thing, Ms. Toriel.”

Click…

I looked at my brick and noticed that Toriel’s number was already recorded in it, in case I wanted to call her.

I tried for a smile.

Hey, I finally have a girl’s number! Now I’m one step closer to getti-

Oh, don’t you DARE! That is my MOTHER!

The weird voice immediately shut up and was regretting it ever saying anything at all to me.

Hmmm. A real smile now, and dancing eyebrows. Sounds like some juicy dirt on whoever is following me. You don’t have to always hang around now, do you?

Grumbling. Believe me, I would lose you right now, if I could…

Huh, I shrugged. Guess you’re just gonna have to deal with me for now, I thought as I dialed Toriel’s number.

Hmm…what to say…should I call her Mom, like you do? Or should I…call her Mommy?

I could feel the fierce heat of the glare radiating beside me. I supposed that that was where the voice was.

If. You flirt. With my mother. You. Will regret that you ever even had that thought…also, I’m kinkshaming you.

Now you’re just tempting me even more.

“Hello? This is Toriel.”

“Hi, Mom? When are you coming to pick me up?”

“Huh? Did you just call me…’Mom’?” Her voice broke for a second, and she could barely force the delight out of her voice to sound indifferent.

“Well, I suppose…would that make you happy? To call me…’Mother’?”

The barely suppressed raw emotion I heard in her voice scared me. But only a little bit! Not that much, yeah.

I replied with a yes.

“Well then, call me whatever you like!” And with a giggle, she hung up.

Click…

“That was fun,” I said as I stuffed the brick into my pocket. “Now I want to talk some more monsters!”

My eyes flicked to a nearby Froggit, watching me. It jumped a little when I pointed at it and shouted, “You there, Froggit! You look like you have something important to say! What advice would you like to give a human new to the Underground?”

A bit flustered, the frog monster panicked a bit before squeaking out a “Ribbit, ribbit.”

I deflated a bit, unsure what to say. “Uh…”

The voice spoke up again, saving the day.

Froggit is saying, (Excuse me, human. I have some advice for you about battling monsters. If you ACT a certain way or FIGHT until you almost defeat them…they might not want to battle you anymore. If a monster does not want to fight you, please…use some MERCY, human.)

The wise eyes of the Froggit seemed to confirm what the voice had said.

I looked at the frog with new eyes. “Thank you, Froggit! That was very useful advice!”

It looked away and blushed deeply. “Ribbit.”

Across the room was another of the twinkling stars that I saw before. I felt…drawn to it, like before. But before I reached it, I heard a crunch beneath my foot. I looked down at the red leaves and smiled.

I stepped on more leaves, and then more, and more. I grinned as I kicked through the leaves, playing and stirring them up. I couldn’t remember the last time I had gotten to play in a leaf pile.

I found myself rolling on the ground, laughing and playing. When I stopped, the star was directly above my nose. I reached out and touched it again, relishing the warmth.

(Playfully crinkling through the leaves fills you with determination. HP fully restored.)

I stopped moving and stared at the box, and it stayed.

“It’s back…”

File saved? What’s that supposed to mean?

I waved my hand, and it disappeared.

“Not only do I have to figure out where I am, what is going on, who this mysterious voice is, what these monsters are, but now these star things, too! What do they do? How come no one else can see them? Are there more around the Underground? Is it magic? If I’m using them, am I using magic? How cool is that?”

My eyes strayed beyond the star’s glow and focused on a pair of bored eyes almost directly above me.

“Who are you?”

The other eyes seemed confused before they flew wide with shock, and the owner of the eyes moved backward…or upward, actually. I was lying on the ground.

You can…see me?

I raised one eyebrow. “I guess? Is that you? I can hear you, too, it seems…uh, who are you, exactly? And why are you here?”

The figure above me was hard to see but most definitely looked human. They were about my height, and dressed similar to me, too, in a striped sweater and long pants, but with different colors to mine. It was a bit…eerie, to say the least.

Their eyes were searching, maybe holding some longing. Then they shook their head.

Who I am doesn’t matter, not really. I was supposed to be gone and forgotten long ago…why am I still here?

I wasn’t sure how to answer that.

“Uh, well, you’ve been helping me a lot so far, reading the signs on the walls for me, and translating what the Froggit said for me. So, you’ve been pretty helpful to me.”

My eyes fell to the star. “So far, the only time I could ever see you is right now, near this glowy thing…maybe that has something to do with it?”

The eyes turned thoughtful.

Maybe…just maybe, I be useful…maybe I could be like…like a narrator or something?

I grinned. “Well, I’ve always wanted a disembodied voice to narrate my life, which I’m probably going to regret saying later. Sure, go right on ahead!”

Okay! I’ll be the Narrator, they affirmed to both of us.

A silence was spent with them looking around, unsure of where to start.

Uh, we should go to Toriel’s house, right? Let’s go, then! I’ll, um, start narrating later.

“Alright.” I got up and headed to the right.

That’s not the right way. 

“Jeez, I just want to look,” I said, slightly irritated.

It was a small room, with pools of water lining the walls to the sides, and thick vines covering the back wall. In the middle of the room, a square outline of red leaves around it, was a small pillar with a bowl of candy on top, and a note taped to it.

It says ‘take one.’ Take a piece of candy?

“Sure.”

You took a piece of candy. (You can access it through the menu.)

“The menu? What’s that?”

Ugh, I’m not quite sure how to explain it? Maybe I can open it for you…

I jumped when two black boxes appeared. The first said:

Chara LV 1 HP 20/20 G 0

The second one simply had three words, or rather choices, in it:

ITEM STAT CELL

Huh, I guess I can…somehow…anyway, this is the menu! You can check the items you have, or your stats, or call someone! Like earlier, when you called Mom.

I selected ITEM. According to the list, the only item I had was “Monster Candy,” which I had just picked up. An idea popped into my head.

“Hey, narrate this for me!”

ITEM (Monster Candy) → INFO

Oh, my first time! Okay, hold on… They cleared their nonexistent throat, and began:

“Monster Candy” – Heals 10 HP

Has a distinct, non-licorice flavor.

“Nice!” I waved my hand and the boxes disappeared.

“Alright, let’s get this show on the road, Narrator!”

I marched out of the room with a confident smile on my face and an invisible ghost, or whatever the Narrator was, trailing behind.

Once the room was empty, one of the vines on the back wall released its hold and fell to the ground, ready to continue its life there, and inadvertently revealing a small part of a stone plaque on the wall.

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[underprose]

Chapter 2

This is how the story begins

Will this fallen child make us friends

Or will they give in, kill us all?

Who knows when an angel will fall?

We want to fly

Out from the ruins where we lie

But someday soon

We’ll see the sky

I walked into the room and was surprised by how bright it was.

I looked up and saw the ceiling was littered by large crystals, lighting up the room.

The crumbling, brick, very purple room.

It was a bit irritating to look at before I realized it was a bit softer on my eyes than other colors I had needed to look at before I fell. I was amazed at all the different shades of purple that seemed to appear in the crystals’ light, and how old and mysterious it seemed, with the vines hanging on the walls.

Close to the middle of the room was an outline of leaves in a neat square, and behind it two pairs of steps leading toward a doorway at the end.

Toriel walked up the steps and turned to make sure I did not fall behind.

I walked toward her, a little distracted by what was probably the weirdest part of the room, even given the tall monster that had turned to me in front of the door, again.

Between the pair of steps was a golden star, its four points twinkling alluringly.

When I reached it, I stared quizzically at Toriel.

“Excuse me, but what’s this?” I pointed at the star.

Her expression turned to a rather confused one.

“I am not sure what you are talking about, my child. But you must stay close, alright?”

She disappeared through the door before I could ask anything else.

My eyes fell to the star again.

Well, here goes… I thought reaching toward it and touching it with my fingertips.

I instantly felt a warm feeling wave through my body, similar to when Toriel had healed me earlier.

(The shadow of the Ruins looms above, filling you with determination.)

The voice then whispered, (HP fully restored.)

Unsure of what to do now, I touched it again apprehensively, though a bit relieved it wasn’t dangerous, and suddenly

I whipped my hand back, and the rectangle disappeared.

What the? Heck? What’s happening? What did I just do?

A rather annoyed voice echoed in my head.

You just saved. And your HP is fully restored.

I looked over my shoulder to see no one there.

Who are you? What’s going on?

The mysterious voice seemed to realize that it was heard and went silent.

I felt cold as I was suddenly aware that I was alone in the room.

I climbed the stairs after Toriel and found her waiting in a smaller room.

She smiled when I finally arrived, and I was both relieved and amazed by her patience.

“Welcome to your new home, innocent one.”

I wasn’t sure whether to feel grateful, uneasy, or uncomfortable at her readiness to take me in.

“Allow me to educate you in the operation of the Ruins.”

She glided over to six switches on the ground, stepping on two and U-turning to step on another two before pulling the yellow switch next to the closed door, opening it.

“The Ruins are full of puzzles. Ancient fusions between diversions and doorkeys. One must solve them to move from room to room. Please adjust yourself to the sight of them.”

I looked at them long and hard. I asked her, “How did you solve this puzzle?”

She waved it off. “Oh, it’s already solved now. It is not important.” And she left.

I was still intrigued, so I walked over to a stone sign on the left side of the door.

Of course, I couldn’t read it. It was written in some ancient text I couldn’t hope to decipher. So I stared at it patiently.

An echo of a sigh.

Only the fearless may proceed. Brave ones, foolish ones. Both not walk the middle road.

I smiled.

Walking over to the switches again, I noticed that the two switches Toriel had not pressed laid on a clearly marked path, lighter than the rest of the floor, in between the four switches she had stepped on. My eyes lit up.

“Oh! I get it. To solve the puzzle, you’re supposed to press the switches NOT on the path, and then pull the lever! This is cool!”

Humming, I walked through the door to see Toriel waiting for me again.

“To make progress here, you will need to trigger several switches. Do not worry, I have labelled the ones that you need to flip.”

She excitedly walked to a bridge over a stream of water in the middle of the room and waited.

A sign stood in front of me, and to my surprise it was written in perfect english. I read it aloud: “Press [Z] to read signs!”

What is THAT supposed to mean?

In the bottom right corner, however, was small text, so I read that as well.

“If you can read this, then wonderful! You can read english! This will be very helpful for when you need to interact with any humans. Please ignore the above sentence, it is meant to capture your attention by being large and strange. They hold no real purpose. ~Toriel”

“Huh.”

On the wall behind it was another stone sign, and I walked over to read it. The same ancient text was written on this sign, and I could only wonder what deep and mysterious hint it said.

Stay on the path.

I waited a moment longer before realizing that was literally what it said.

Well, I did want to know.

I looked down and found that I was, in fact, not on the light purple path.

I walked over the first bridge, noticing the path lead to a switch on the wall, sporting some arrows pointing at it and a note next to it.

Please press this switch.   -Toriel

Toriel was pleased as I pressed it, and she walked to the room’s exit, blocked by a pair of tiles sporting rather short spikes.

Across the second bridge, there were two switches on the wall, and the path only led to one of them. The correct switch was also marked by Toriel, a note next to this one as well.

Please press this switch too.   -Toriel

Shink!

The spike tiles Toriel was standing in front of retracted their spikes, and Toriel clapped her hands…paws? together.

“Splendid! I am proud of you, little one. Let us move to the next room.” She left.

Curious, I checked the other switch, trying to flip it.

This switch doesn’t even work…

The next room was a small one, featuring only a dummy standing in it.

“As a human living in the Underground, monsters may attack you. You will need to be prepared for this situation.”

She noticed my expression and reassured me with a smile.

“However, worry not! The process is simple. When you encounter a monster, you will enter a Fight. While you are in a Fight, strike up a friendly conversation. Stall for time. I will come to resolve the conflict.”

She gestured to the dummy.

“Practice talking to the dummy.”

I confusedly tilted my head.

“Okay, if you say so,” I responded dubiously.

I sauntered over to it, and wondered if something was supposed to happen.

Happen it did.

My soul blinked in front of me and the world shifted to black and white.

You encountered the Dummy.

Oh, so you’re here too…

I took a look in front of me, and realized it was very different than when I encountered Flowey.

Four orange boxes appeared in front of me, with a different word on each: FIGHT, ACT, ITEM, and MERCY. I also noticed, in the corner of my vision, there was now a name next to LV 1.

“Chara.”

Well, I’m supposed to talk to the dummy, aren’t I?

I took a good look at the boxes. I was pretty sure talking wouldn’t be classified under “FIGHT,” so I tried touching the ACT box.

*ACT → Dummy

Oh, it’s like a button!

I was presented with two options: Check, and Talk.

I wondered what “Check” meant, so I reached out with my soul and chose that option first.

Dummy – ATK 0 DEF 0

A cotton heart and a button eye

You are the apple of my eye

The buttons disappeared, so I had to wait for something, though I didn’t know what.

It’s the Dummy’s turn.

Oh.

A moment passed, and then the buttons returned.

Dummy stands around absentmindedly.

*ACT (Dummy) → Talk

You talk to the Dummy. …It doesn’t seem much for conversation.

The voice hesitated before adding, Toriel seems happy with you.

You won! You earned 0 EXP and 0 gold.

When the colors faded back, I could see that Toriel indeed was happy with me.

“Ah, very good! You are very good.”

I followed her out the door.

“There is another puzzle in this room…I wonder if you can solve it?”

She walked over a strangely shaped light purple path, one that snaked back and forth, looking back every so often to make sure I was following her.

I fell behind her, observing my surroundings carefully for the puzzle, when it happened.

My soul blinked out and I entered a Fight.

Froggit attacks you!

There, in front of me, wobbling its large head back and forth, was an adorable white frog like monster.

It watched me intently, and I realized it was waiting for me to take my turn.

*ACT (Froggit) → Check

Froggit – ATK 4 DEF 5

Life is difficult for this enemy.

I tried, but I just could NOT hold back the “awwww” building in my throat.

But then the tall shape of Toriel entered my vision, and she glared at Froggit.

Froggit took one look at her and inched away, the tall monster glaring after it.

You won! You earned 0 EXP and 0 gold.

The gentle purples of the ruins bleached back into view, and Toriel nodded to me before walking toward the end of the hallway.

There was a sign on the wall in the middle of the hallway, so I stopped to look at it.

The voice read it to me: The western room is the eastern room’s blueprint.

I wasn’t quite sure what that meant, so I followed Toriel, who had stopped at the entrance to the other side of the room.

“Um, Ms. Toriel? What is over there?”

She looked back at me, moving to reveal a room full of spiked tiles standing just over lots of water in the room.

“This is the puzzle, but…” She pondered something before making a decision.

“Here, take my hand for a moment.”

I tentatively reached out my hand. Taking it, she started leading me over the spiked tiles, the small spikes retracting as she stepped on them. The path we took snaked back and forth and I recognised it from the light purple path in the room before.

We reached the end, and she gave my hand a light squeeze before she let go.

“Puzzles seem a little too dangerous for now.”

And we moved on to the next room.

“You have done excellently thus far, my child. However…” She looked sad, even almost ashamed as she reluctantly continued. “I have a difficult request to ask of you.”

She took a deep breath.

“I would like you to walk to the end of the room by yourself.”

I opened my mouth, but she blurted out, “Forgive me for this.” She was holding back tears.

She hurried away, and I stared after her..

“…What?”

I really didn’t think it was that big of a deal, but Toriel seemed to think so.

“O-okay, I’m coming!”

I started walking down the room.

And walked.

And walked.

And walked.

This is a pretty long room.

Finally, I saw a large white pillar, which was the first different thing to see in the purple room.

It was incredibly obvious that a tall monster was hiding behind it.

I rolled my eyes and walked past.

Toriel, of course, emerged from behind the pillar and spoke to me, clearly relieved.

“Greetings, my child. Do not worry, I did not leave you. I was merely behind this pillar the whole time. Thank you for trusting me.”

It took all my willpower to keep a straight face.

“No problem, Ms. Toriel.”

“However, there was an important reason for this exercise.”

I tilted my head. “There was?”

“…To test your independance. I must attend to some business, and you must stay alone for a while. Please remain here. It’s dangerous to explore by yourself.” Her face lit up. “I have an idea. I will give you a Cell Phone. If you have a need for anything, just call.”

As she turned away, she looked back and called, “Be good, alright?”

And then I was alone. Oh, wait. “Alone.”

I took a look at the phone she gave me. Honestly, it looked more like a brick than a phone.

“I bet if I accidently dropped this, the floor would break,” I giggled.

I shoved it in my pocket.

“I’m bored. I want to see more puzzles.”

I started to walk out the door.

But didn’t she tell you to wait for her to come back? Can’t you be patient?

I smiled. “Nah, I’d rather go out and enjoy some puzzles, and I dunno, maybe see where Toriel lives? ‘Cause you seem to be rather fond of her.”

It fell silent at that.

“Well…I wonder what’s ahead. It might be dangerous, but that’s okay! Let’s go, Weird Voice!”

And I dashed out the doorway.

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[underprose]

Chapter 1

Name the Fallen Human.

As I surfaced from what I sluggishly realized was unconsciousness, I noticed three things.

First, deduced from my eyes slamming shut immediately after I opened them, I was lying in a pool of light, warm and bright, but I couldn’t see what was outside of the pool, meaning it must be rather dark all around.

Second, from the soft aroma wafting up all around me, and the soft (and maybe a little sticky) texture I rubbed my hands against, I was lying on a bed of flowers.

Third, I was incredibly sore, but also incredibly alive.

I moaned and tried to move my limbs. Nothing seemed to be broken, at least. I squinted, trying to figure out how I got here. Last I remembered, I was…falling…

I sat up, and sure enough, I was sitting on a bed of yellow (or maybe golden) flowers on a patch of grass, in great contrast to the rest of the bare room.

I rubbed my eyes to clear the gunk from them, and then rubbed my back.

I decided I didn’t want to kill the flowers I was lying on anymore, so I stood up and walked off, wincing from the pain.

I looked back and noticed curiously that the flowers had sprang back up into a healthy stance, as if no one had ever squashed them in the first place.

(Golden flowers. They must have broken your fall.)

Blinking my eyes to get used to the darkness outside the patch where was lying, I saw the only exit was a hallway with a large, ornate doorway outlined by pillars at the end of it.

I walked through, shivering, when I saw another patch of light and a small flower in the center.

It had the happiest smile on its…’face’…which didn’t make me feel comfortable at all.

And I nearly jumped out of my skin when it started to speak.

“Howdy! I’m Flowey. Flowey the Flower!” It had a light, bouncing rhythm in its voice.

That didn’t help, either, but it seemed nice.

“Flowey? Who named you, the guy that invented the fireplace?” The snark was out of my mouth before I could stop it.

I thought about apologizing, but it didn’t seem to be mad. I didn’t think that was the first time it heard something like that.

“Hmm…”

It leaned its flower head closer and studied me.

“You’re new to the Underground, aren’tcha?”

“So is that what this place is called? Oh, I’m so glad I didn’t mistake it for hell.” I paused. “Is this place hell? You know, ‘cause I was falling, and I might be dead, and I’m having a conversation with a flower…”

It ignored me and continued.

“Golly, you must be so confused. Someone ought to teach you how things work around here! I guess little old me will have to do.”

The flower’s voice was driving me nearly insane by now, if I wasn’t already (or dead).

“Ready? Here we go!”

Then, the world around me turned black, and a red heart blinked in front of me before becoming solid.

I panicked and looked around. A large white square outline surrounded me, and Flowey stood in front of me, its normal flower colors bleached to white.

Flowey didn’t miss a beat.

“See that heart? That is your SOUL, the very culmination of your being!”

I moved around in the box, just to see if I could, and found that I could move anywhere in the box, but I could not escape the outline.

I saw something else, in my peripheral vision, or maybe just in my head, some letters and numbers. No matter how much I turned my head, I could never look directly at it.

LV 1  HP 20/20

What…?

“Your SOUL starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV.”

I turned to it sharply.

“What does LV mean?”

“What does LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course!”

I really, really didn’t like how it emphasized the word LOVE.

It turned its flower head to look at me sideways.

“You want some LOVE, don’t you?”

He ignored my uneasy shakes of the head, again.

“Don’t worry, I’ll share some with you!”

It winked at me and stuck out its tongue. I could almost SEE the star he winked out.

Five tiny, white diamonds (or ovals, it was hard to tell) were produced and spun around Flowey in a semicircle.

“Down here, LOVE is shared through…” he squinted, like he was trying to choose his next words very carefully. “...little white…’friendliness pellets.’”

It turned its smile toward me again.

“Are you ready? Move around! Get as many as you can!”

It sent all five of the ‘pellets’ spinning towards me.

Even though my mind was screaming to escape, to run as far away as I could, I internally tried to convince myself otherwise as I reached my soul out to catch them.

It’s fine! It’s completely fine, the flower is friendly and just wants to help, and giving me

*1/20

I gasped from the sharp pain, and looked at Flowey, who’s friendly facade was tossed into the wind.

Its face had stretched itself into a terrifying smile, and its voice no longer held its friendly bounce.

“You idiot.”

I felt weak.

I really am in Hell.

“In this world, it’s kill or BE killed. Why would anyone pass up an opportunity like this!?”

It showed its fangs and created a circle around me with its pellets.

I stared into its soulless eyes.

So this is it. Death by friendliness pellets. I never thought that this would be how I would

“Die.”

It laughed an evil, maniacal laugh as I cowered there, with my hands on my head as a futile attempt to protect myself.

The pellets spun, closer and closer. I might have shed a tear or two. Or ten. Or flood.

*20/20

But as suddenly as the pain had been felt, it was gone.

I opened one eye. Was it a trick?

No, Flowey seemed to be confused, too. But then what…?

A fireball flew at it from the right. It didn’t see until it was too late, when it hit Flowey directly in its flower face, ripping the flower right out of the ground, roots and all, far, far to the left, where I couldn’t see it anymore.

A stern voice sounded in front of me.

I peeked out in between my fingers and saw a tall old lady, but wasn’t a human, no.

She was a goat-like person, with a coat of white fur and small horns on her head. She had paws with soft-looking pads, and was wearing a long robe with an emblem on the chest.

“What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth…” she looked at Flowey disapprovingly before she noticed I was still cowering.

“Ah, do not be afraid, my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins…”

I removed my hands, but didn’t relax yet. The flower had shaken me up pretty badly, and if this…person? Monster? I wasn’t sure what this Toriel was, but if she had taken out Flowey with one attack…

She didn’t seem to want to harm me, which was a small sort of relief, but then again, neither had Flowey.

“I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come here in a long time. Come! I will guide you through the catacombs.”

The room faded back into the few colors it had, and I saw that Toriel’s fur was as white as it was before, but her robe was purple, with white sleeves and the emblem white on her chest.

She walked to the exit of the room, calling to me behind her, “This way.”

I hesitated before following, unsure of what to do. If I followed, who knows what would happen. But if I stayed, that Flower might come back…

I shuddered and hurried after Toriel, leaving behind the dark, empty room.

First/Previous

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[underprose]

Prologue

I sat in the rocking chair, next to the fireplace, and sighed. It had been a long day, but now it was time.

“Chara?”

The brown-haired child poked their head into the room.

“Yes, Mom?”

“I will begin Storytime in a few minutes. Please round up your brother and the other children down the street, if they want to listen.”

Chara’s eyes lit up.

“Okay, Mom!”

I chuckled. There never seemed to be a bored ear in the room when I told my stories.

Another face appeared from the kitchen.

“May I listen to the story, too?”

I smiled warmly.

“Of course, you are always free to attend my Storytime. Just remember to bring the items.”

“Oh, thank you! May I use items from here? I didn’t bring any from home…”

“Yes, you may. And thank you for asking.”

He re-entered the kitchen, and the sound of the oven opening was gradually overtaken by the pat-pat-pat of small feet and some muffled chattering.

Then a door opened in the kitchen and seven children poured into the room.

I motioned for them to sit down and smiled. They sat in a small semicircle around me.

“Greetings, everyone. It is time to begin Storytime. Does everyone have two items for the story?”

They nodded and started taking off and pulling out items they had, setting the pair of items each of them had brought in front of them. One for attacking, and one for defending.

I looked up, hearing a clamor coming from the kitchen.

“Is everything alright in there?”

The boy from earlier came in, but wasn’t alone. 

He was holding with one hand a shivering child about half his size, their ragged striped sweater thoroughly soaked from the storm.

The boy opened his mouth to explain, but I silenced him with a gesture.

“Chara, fetch a towel immediately.”

They rushed into the hallway and came back with the softest towel in the house. I wrapped the child in the large towel, not unlike a cocoon, and set them down next to the fire.

I sat down in the chair and looked expectantly at the boy, who was nervously shifting a frypan from hand to hand. “Now you may speak.”

Hesitantly, he explained, “I was cleaning up in the kitchen, and it started to rain even harder. I saw that kid walking on the sidewalk and shivering, and I invited them inside…” he trailed off, looking down.

I smiled. “It is alright. You did the right thing. Are you ready for Storytime?”

He brightened immediately, relieved, and sat down, taking off his apron and setting it down in front of him, next to the frying pan.

I scooped up the child wrapped up in the towel, giving a small yelp as I set them in my lap.

“Greetings, child. Are you feeling better?”

They looked up at me with large, faded-red eyes, and gave the tiniest of nods.

“I am glad. It would not do to let a child as small as you out during a storm like this. Would you like to hear a story?”

Holding my gaze, they whispered, “Y-yes.”

“Do you have any items for the story?”

Confusion flitted across their face.

Chara offered, “My Mom tells the best stories! She has us–” she wrinkled her face for the next word, 

“con–tri–byute…?” they beamed in victory when I nodded, 

“–to the story by bringing two items to be a part of it! One for attacking, and one for defending!”

The child shrank back into the towel.

“Oh, but you weren’t prepared…” Chara trailed off.

“It is alright, little one. One does not need to bring items for the story, though it does help, not to mention it tells a lot about one.”

They fidgeted a bit.

“Oh? Do you have items you would like to use?”

They whispered, “I…think I have some, but they probably won’t work…”

“Anything can be an item, young one. It doesn’t matter how common or strange it is. What do you have?”

They shuffled around in the towel before they reached an arm out, holding a soaked stick almost as long as they were tall. I gently took the stick out of their hands and studied it.

“Stick - Weapon, AT 0: Its bark is worse than its bite.”

They giggled a bit. I placed it at the foot of the chair.

“See? Even something as simple as a stick is an item worthy of a description. Do you have a defensive item?”

They looked up and hesitated before pointing to an old, dirty, peeling bandage on their right cheek.

“Bandage - Armor, DF 0: It has already been used several times.”

I tapped them on the nose.

“It looks like you are all set for Storytime. Let’s begin!”

The girl with blond hair raised her hand.

“Can I be in the story?”

Soon, a chorus of children asking the same question sounded, louder than the crackling in the fireplace.

I waved my hands to quiet them.

“Do not worry, children, ALL of you will be in the story. However, the question is, who will be the main character?”

They fell silent, looking at each other. They had heard my stories before, and some of them were not kind to the protagonists.

“Can I be the main character?” Chara piped up.

“Yes, you may. Does anyone have any objections?”

No one else said a word, and some of them shook their heads.

“Great! In the story, can I be older?”

“If you wish.”

The child in my lap poked to get my attention.

“Can I…can I be older in the story, too? I mean, if that's okay...”

I stroked them. “Of course, my child. The elements of a story can easily be changed, as long as it doesn’t disrupt the general flow of one. Or they may be changed varying on the people who tell them or the place they tell them in. Stories change all time, little one. There is no need to worry.”

I studied the nine pairs of items on the floor, then looked out the window to see a flash of lightning illuminate a large shape in the distance, surrounded by trees.

“Children, are you ready? I have a story for you. A story about men…”

All nine children watched me intently as I started.

“…and monsters.”

I cleared my throat, and began to sing.

Sit down, children, do not quail,

Hopes and dreams will sure prevail.

If you climb along this trail,

You will hear the Undertale…

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