Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Running.
You were running.
Climbing higher and higher, every minute, the shouts becoming more distant as you ran. You were beginning to run out of energy. Not seeing the branch across your path, you tripped, falling forward and smoothly transitioning to all fours. This was much faster, as well as more energy efficient. But, it was also more annoying, as your long hair dragged on the ground, catching on twigs and bushes. It’s not like you had time to stop and pull your hair back, though.
You were running for your life.
The angry shouts sounded even farther away now. You slowed for a moment, looking over your shoulder and rotating your pointed ears back the way you had come. It sounded as though they had finally lost your trail in the dark underbrush. You continued up the mountain anyway, just in case. The moon shining through the branches overhead lit up patches of your short silvery fur. Before you could really breathe easy however, your descending hand was hitting nothing but air.
The forward momentum and loss of balance sent you tumbling into the dark hole in front of you.
Falling
Falling
Falling
Darkness.
---
You awoke in a patch of golden flowers, on your back, staring up at a small hole in the far-off cave ceiling. Every muscle in your body ached. Groaning, you sat up and rubbed the back of your head. You carefully picked the leaves and small twigs from your long black hair and halfheartedly attempted to comb through some of the worse tangles with your fingers. You soon gave up and looked around. There was what looked like a doorway in the cave wall to the right, pillars on each side. A strange winged emblem adorned the top.
Odd…
“Might as well get moving,” you mumbled to yourself. Pulling yourself up, you dusted off your ripped and dirty white lab pants, and slowly made your way to the mysterious doorway. On the other side was a very dark room, save for a small patch of green. Creeping forward, you nervously ran your tongue over your sharp canines.
Suddenly, out from the ground popped a yellow flower.
With a face.
A flower with a face.
Okaaaaay…..
“Howdy! I'm FLOWEY. FLOWEY the FLOWER!” it said, smiling sweetly. He looked up at you, tilting his head. “Hmmm... You're new to the UNDERGROUND, aren'tcha?”
You nodded, cautiously. You were nervous, but it was only a flower, right? You sniffed the air, but detected no scent of hostility. Flowey paused for a moment, looking you up and down, probably wondering if you presented a threat as well, but then continued.
“Golly, you must be so confused!” he said sadly, giving you a face full of… pity? “Someone ought to teach you how things work around here… I guess little old me will have to do. Ready? Here we go!”
You felt a pulling in your chest and were startled to see what looked like a purple cartoon heart floating in front of you. You looked to Flowey for an explanation, eyes wide.
He giggled sweetly. “See that heart? That is your SOUL, the very culmination of your being! Your SOUL starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV. What’s LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course! You want some LOVE, don’t you?”
You shrugged.
“Don’t worry, I’ll share some with you!” he continued, winking. “Down here, LOVE is shared through… little white… ‘friendliness pellets.’ Are you ready?”
Little white pellets had appeared over Flowey’s head. They slowly spun in place. As he smiled, they slowly began moving towards your little purple heart. You weren’t sure how to feel about this.
“Move around! Get as many as you can!” Flowey sang gleefully. You decided not to move, partly because you weren’t entirely sure how to move this floating heart in front of you. The pellets flew towards you and hit your floating heart.
HARD.
You dropped to your knees, clutching your chest. That hurt a LOT. You looked at him, wheezing, “Wh-what the… What was THAT??”
Flowey’s innocent face had morphed into something far creepier. “You idiot. In this world, it’s kill or BE killed. Why would ANYONE pass up an opportunity like this!?” he chuckled darkly as ring of pellets surrounded you and your little soul.
“DIE.”
He began to laugh, a horrid, creepy sound. The pellets moved closer and closer, much slower than before. This sadistic bastard knew you couldn’t escape and was ENJOYING this!
Suddenly, a fireball came from nowhere and knocked him into the darkness. The pellets disappeared and your soul moved back into the safety of your chest. You felt woozy. You started to fall, your vision going dark. Before you blacked out, you heard a sweet, woman’s voice.
“What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth…”
---
You awoke in a small bed with a soft and cozy blanket covering you. You sighed and snuggled further into the pillow, just enjoying the unexpected luxury. You couldn’t remember if you had ever slept in an actual bed. You squeezed your eyes shut, trying not to think about how you got here.
No.
No thinking about that now. You had a soft, warm bed to enjoy. You nuzzled the pillow happily, drifting quickly back to sleep.
---
Your growling stomach woke you this time. Well, your stomach and your nose. The sweet scents of butterscotch and cinnamon filled the small room and you had to wipe the leaking saliva from your mouth with a sleeve as you sat up.
You quickly spotted the source of the delicious smell: a large slice of pie sat on a plate in the middle of the floor. You stared at it for a moment before carefully creeping from the bed, over to the plate and sitting cross legged in front of it. It had obviously been left for you, so who were you to turn down such a tempting morsel?
‘Especially,’ you thought darkly, ‘When I haven’t eaten in weeks…’
You tried to keep from simply devouring it, forcing yourself to take small bites and chewing slowly. It was delicious. Beyond delicious. It filled you with warmth and…happiness. A tear escaped your eye as you ate the last bit, savoring it.
Glancing around to make sure you were still alone, which you were, you quickly licked the plate clean.
Picking up the plate, you then walked to the door, gently trying the doorknob. You half expected it to be locked, but it swung open silently. The hallway was lit and there were vases of flowers here and there. The smell of butterscotch and cinnamon reached your nose, leading you slowly past some stairs and into a living room. A large recliner sat next to a crackling fireplace. Beside that was a bookshelf full of books.
You hesitated, but your curiosity got the better of you and you crept carefully towards the bookcase.
There were books on various subjects, from Mathematics to Facts on Snails to numerous joke books lining the shelves. Most of the books, it seemed, were nonfiction. A few seemed handwritten and quite old.
As you were reaching for a particularly old looking book, you heard a gasp from behind you. You turned, embarrassed and fearful, to see a large…white...goat…woman?
You looked down, ears pinned back, and began shaking immediately. Swallowing, you held out your empty plate. “Th-thank you, M-miss, for th-the p-p-pie…It was d-delicious,” you stuttered, not wanting to look her in the face for fear that she would be angry at you for snooping.
You flinched as a warm hand was placed on your shoulder. Slowly, you looked up into her face to see a sweet, motherly smile. She gently took the plate and set it on a nearby table. She looked down at you, her eyes filled with kindness and worry.
“I am Toriel, Caretaker of the Ruins. I found you yesterday while passing through, looking for anyone that may have fallen down. You are the first human to come here in a long time,” she said softly.
You stared up at her, shocked. Human? Why would she think you were human? You looked down at your fur covered arms and hands, then back up at her, tilting your head.
She laughed gently and put a finger to your chest. “We monsters see past appearances, my child. I can clearly see your soul. Regardless of your appearance, you have a human soul. Oh! Excuse me for a moment, while I put this away…” She scooped up the plate and hurried into what you assumed was the kitchen.
You stood there a moment, thinking on what she had said.
A human soul?
A HUMAN?
You felt conflicted. Humans were cruel, uncaring, violent….
The thought drifted off as you remembered how you ended up down here in the first place. You shuddered.
HUMAN.
You weren’t human, regardless of what she said your soul looked like. You could never be…like THEM. Sighing, you looking at your hands. The short silver fur covered them, as well as most of your body. There were dark grey pads on your fingertips and palms. Black claw-like nails took the place of normal human fingernails. You raised your hand and patted your very canine muzzle. Chuckling sadly, you wondered how much differently things would have been if THEY saw you as human, like Toriel did? You quickly shook your head, not wanting to dwell on it.
You weren’t a human, no matter what anyone said.
Toriel returning jerked you out of your thoughts. She took your hands in hers and smiled down at you.
“My child, this is now your home and I want you to be happy here. Would you like me to show you around the ruins?”
You smiled. A real smile.
She… she wanted you to stay?
You nodded carefully, trying not to seem overeager. She led you out the front door by the hand, like a parent would with a small child. She took you through the ruins, showing you the different puzzles and helping you to solve them, though they were all pretty straightforward. She had you talk to a dummy and was delighted when you attempted to tell it a joke. Her laughter echoed in the old catacombs.
Eventually, she felt that you knew the place enough that you could safely find your way back to the house and you both returned in time for bed. As you entered the room you had woken up in, she put her hand on your head.
“This is your room now, my child. I want you to feel at home. I am very glad that you are here. I want to show you my favorite bug-hunting spot. Share my favorite stories. I’ve also prepared a curriculum for your education. This may come as a surprise to you… But, I have always wanted to be a teacher.”
You smiled silently up at her. That explains all the books on the shelf earlier. You couldn’t wait to read them. You always had loved reading, though you had rarely gotten much in the way of reading material...
Toriel seemed to notice your smile falter and she quickly knelt and pulled you into a hug. It was all you could do not to start crying. You think this was the first time you had ever been hugged. It felt so good and so nice. You buried your nose in the soft white fur of her shoulder, loving the fact that she smelled of cinnamon and butterscotch.
The hug finally ended and she helped you into bed and tucked you in. She turned off the lamp and hesitated for a moment before bending to kiss you gently on the forehead. You tried to keep the emotion out of your voice as you whispered goodnight. She smiled at you a moment, eyes full of kindness, before shutting the door behind her.
You lay there in the dark for a moment before the tears began to flow freely. You had escaped, run for your life, fallen down a hole, and somehow found things you never thought you’d ever have. A warm bed, tasty food, books, and someone who wanted to care for you. It seemed to be a dream come true!
You silently cried until you drifted off to sleep.
You dreamt of cinnamon-butterscotch pie and chasing bugs with Toriel.
In your dream, you called her “Mom.”
---
The days soon turned into weeks and the weeks into months.
Toriel became Mom.
You learned to cook.
She taught you Math and Science, Geography and Biology (mostly Monster biology), a brief history of Monsters and about the war that had ended with them trapped underground.
She was surprised when you explained that most humans had actually either forgotten about the war, or assumed it was simply ancient mythology. And that very few humans actually believed in Monsters or magic anymore.
This prompted her to add magic to your curriculum. She taught you about some of the different types of magic and the more common attacks associated with each type. She also tried to teach you how to use fire magic, but you just couldn't seem to get the hang of it, barely managing a spark or two.
After a particularly bad encounter with a couple of Loox (which left you limping and bruised for a few days) she felt that learning to dodge attacks would be more beneficial. Thus, began your hour long, once a week “dodging class” where she would throw fireballs at you, one at a time usually, and you would have to dodge them.
You quickly learned that your soul would just move with you, as you moved. So, as long as you moved out of the way, your exposed soul was safe. Eventually, you got better and better at dodging, until you were dodging ten and twenty fireballs thrown at a time.
Being in the ruins, you were allowed to wander freely again (after Toriel had given you a cell-phone, of course) and you quickly made friends with the monsters that lived there, eventually, even the Loox that had caused your injuries. The Froggits loved to challenge you to races and, over time, you got even better (and faster) at running on all fours. You were happier than you had been since… well, EVER.
You didn’t think anything would ever change.
And of course, that’s when it did.