You did something stupid
Again.
And now
Everything hurts.
You pushed yourself off the ground and glanced weakly skywards, gazing at the hole you had just fell through. The only source of light in this newfound room was emitting from said hole and as your eyes scanned your surroundings, two thoughts entered your mind.
Thought number one:
How in the absolute hell did I survive a fall that long?
You were sure that you would have broken every bone in your body as soon as you made contact with the ground, but the only result of the fall was an ache every time you breathed.
And thought number two:
OH. MY. GOD
I'm gonna die
I'm gonna die
I'm really gonna die
The reason you are going to die? Because your damn curiosity got the better of you.
You had heard about the myths of Mount Ebott. Urban legends, if you will, about monsters that were banished long ago deep underground below the mountain's heart. This legend had circulated your town for centuries and became so popular that many movie directors made films about monsters (Frakenstein and the like). Nobody knew if these stories were true or if monsters actually exist, however suspicions were aroused when several travelers went up to Mount Ebott and never returned.
You honestly don't know what possessed you to make the hike up the mountain in the first place, but now that you've fallen, you really wish you didn't get out of bed this morning.
Reluctantly, you stood up and switched your weight from one foot to the next, weighing your options. Going back the way you came definitely was out of the picture seeing as how it was physically impossible to climb back up the mountain walls barehanded. So the only option left is to go forward and man, did you NOT want to do that. However as much as you regretted it, you walked forward, plunging deeper into the darkness as you moved further away from the patch of flowers you fell on. Your footsteps carried an eerie echo around you as you trudged along and you hugged yourself as a way of bringing self comfort.
Amidst the darkness was a small patch of grass and a light focused conventiently on it. Seeing as how that was the only aspect in the area that was different, you walked towards it and was shocked (well more like scared) when a golden flower suddenly shot up from the ground.
You screamed on reflex, and was surprised when you noticed the facial features on the flower.
That's kinda cool actually.
"Howdy, I'm Flowey. Flowey the flower", it greeted you with a friendly smile.
Holy shit, it talks!
"Uh... Hi? I'm Y/N".
"Nice to meet you! You must be new, huh? Well then, let me teach you the way how things work around here".
You nodded your head, eager to hear any tips. You were still a bit spooked about a talking flower, but it's just a flower right? If anything happens, you can just step on it.
"The monsters around here are really friendly. And sometimes if they like you, they give you friendliness pellets", little white ball-like objects suddenly appeared around Flowey and floated slowly toward you. "Here, try to catch as many as you can!"
Alright. I can do that!
You walked towards one of pellets and stretched out your hands, catching it with ease. Suddenly, a burning sensation seared through your palms and you felt your heartbeat accelerate to a rate that was highly unnatural. You dropped the pellet, and staggered backwards, clutching your hands in pain.
A maniac cackle sounded ahead of you and you looked at the source only to scream at the absolute horrific expression that Flowey was now wearing.
"Don't you know in this world, it's kill or be killed?"
You screamed.
It was the only thing you could think of doing. No, you weren't thinking at all. It was the only thing your body could manage to do at that moment. You were too frozen in fear to move.
Forget stepping on the flower, hell, you didn't even want to go near the thing!
But you didn't have to because at that moment, a ball of fire sent Flowey flying! Rubbing your hands, you quickly glanced around the room, looking for your savior (or your next predator).
Your eyes landed on a monster that closely resembled what would happen if a person were to combine a human and a goat.
A goat lady.
Perfect.
She's gonna kill me.
You slowly backed away, preparing for the next attack of unfriendly "friendliness pellets". However, you were greeted with a reassuring smile instead.
"Fear not, my child. I am not going to hurt you. My name is Toriel and you are?"
You hesitated. You were seriously shaking at this point and after that encounter with Flowey, you weren't sure if you can even trust this "Toriel" person. Nevertheless, you answered her.
"Y/N..."
Her eyes lit up and she smiled once more.
"Y/N? What a wonderful name! Allow me to guide you through the Ruins, for it is very dangerous up ahead", she attempted to hold your hand as a way of granting you comfort, but you flinched away at the notion. Her smile faltered for a second but she quickly regained her composure, leading the way through open doors.
Your mouth went slightly agape at the new surroundings. Something about this room was much more comforting than the last. The lighting was bright which perfectly amplified the beautiful shade of lavender on the walls and you smiled at the feeling of safety in your bones. This must be the Ruins Toriel had mentioned.
"Here underground, we proceed through rooms by the use of various puzzles", she stepped on the buttons present on the ground in a unique order and the door ahead opened.
Woah
"So... They're like keys?" you questioned her.
Her smile widened at the fact that you had spoken and she nodded her head.
"Yes! They work exactly like keys. Excellent observation, Y/N".
You smiled slightly as you followed her though the door and around the Ruins you went. Toriel showed you the many puzzles that were executed in the various rooms, and she even taught you how to interact with other monsters. The more you spent time in her presence, the less you felt intimidated by her. You two even cracked a few puns along the way and you were fairly amused at how her ears shook whenever she laughed.
It was great.
Soon, however, she had to leave to attend to some business, but not before giving you a new phone. To be honest, you should have just told her that you already have a phone (you never leave home without it), but when she eagerly thrusted the device into your hands with her eyes dazzling in excitement, there was no way you could have said no.
You sighed as you held both devices in your hands. You never even thought to use your phone when you first fell here. You just assumed that you wouldn't get any reception to make a call, and after checking your connection, it seems that you were right. The phone that Toriel gave you, however, appears to work just fine underground, though it's extremely outdated.
You peered through the opening of the room that you were in, eager (and a bit frightened) to go out and explore. Toriel had instructed you to stay put while she was gone but you were sure if you just left for a while, she wouldn't even notice.
You walked out slowly, taking one hesitant step after another, but after a while your short tiptoes turned into a confident stride and you suddenly felt like you could accomplish anything.
You guessed one could say, You even felt... Determined.
You breezed through the rooms, as crazy as the puzzles were, and encountered many monsters. All of which tried to fight you, but after listening to Toriel, you attempted to have conversations with them instead of using violence and many monsters turned out to be quite.. Nice. Especially that ghost, Nabstablook. They're a bit of a crybaby, but they're so adorable that you made sure to give them a big hug before you left them.
You swear you saw them smile for the first time.
You ventured until a withered tree came into view and you saw a familiar face. You waved at Toriel, a bright smile apparent on your visage as you still were recollecting the thoughts of your newfound friends. She gasped and ran towards you, worry quite evident on her face.
"My child, are you alright? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you alone for so long".
You giggled and smiled at her reassuringly.
"It's fine, Toriel! I was just out making friends", you replied, looking at her shocked expression. "The monsters here are actually pretty nice.. When they're not trying to kill you of course".
Toriel reached for your hand and this time you held it, giving her a friendly smile before being pulled into her house.
The foyer had a cozy atmosphere to it and you noticed that there were many golden flowers decorating the interior.
You didn't want to look at them.
Toriel escorted you to a room filled with toys and children's clothing.
Did she have a kid or something?
"This is your room", she said gesturing around the room and beaming at you. "My apologies if you might be a bit too... old to be playing with little children's toys".
Wait
What?
Did she just say.. my new room?
"Y/N? Is something the matter?" Her voice was filled with concern.
You flashed her a reassuring smile and shook your head in a hurried manner.
"No. No problems at all. Thank you, Toriel".
She gave your shoulder a comforting squeeze before slowly making her way towards the door.
"Well I guess I'll leave you to get more acquainted with the area", she said and then she was gone, leaving you to drown in your thoughts.
And boy, were you drowning.
Your eyes looked over every object in the room: a bed, a closet, a chest of toys, a desk, and other miscellaneous items. And then you looked over every object again. And again. And again. Until you felt like you were spinning.
You honestly couldn't believe it.
Monsters exist.
The legends were true.
You felt a sense of unease at the fact that you, a human, were now in monster territory. That you, a human, are part of the race that is the reason that monsters are banished to the mountain in the first place.
That you, a human, are totally gonna get your ass kicked.
You nervously paced around the center of the room a bit panicked at the realization that Toriel wants you to stay with her and start life anew. But you didn't want to start a new life. You want to continue living your old life on the surface before it was abruptly put on hold by you clumsily falling in that hole.
You sat on the bed and clutched onto the nearest pillow, wondering how you were going to tell Toriel that you wanted to go back to the surface.
Your brain was filled with different scenarios of how you were to start the conversation and soon you were lying face first on the bed, your mind still reeling.
The thoughts in your brain jumbled into one continuous melody that soon lulled you to sleep.
And everything was black.
-----------
You awoke minutes later.
Or maybe it was hours?
Time really has no meaning underground where the sun is nonexistent.
Rubbing your eyes, you groggily got out of bed and nearly stepped on a slice of pie that was placed on the floor.
Toriel must have set it there.
You picked it up and your mouth watered at the very sight of it. It's been a while since you ate, you realized, and you took a bite of the pie as you walked out of "your" room.
Toriel was nowhere in sight.
You checked the living room, the kitchen, and you even made a daring check in her bedroom where she kept a quaint little notebook filled with puns. The only place you didn't enter was the basement.
Now, you've learned a wide array of information from your past studies of horror movies and the number one rule is:
Never enter the basement.
However, you felt a tug at your heart as you inched towards the stairwell and suddenly you felt very much compelled to venture downwards.
Clutching on the railing, you made your way downstairs, meekly calling out Toriel's name along the way. Beyond the staircase was a narrow hallway that was eerily quiet. You wanted to turn around, telling yourself repeatedly that Toriel wasn't down here at all, but somehow you knew that wasn't true.
You walked until you reached the end of the winding hallways only to be greeted by Toriel and an enormous door. Toriel was standing with her back to you and the feeling of unease sweep over you once more.
"T-Toriel?" you reached out your hand to grab the back of her cloak.
"You want to leave do you not?", she said whipping around to face you before your fingers could touch the fabric. "Your emotions were clearly visible when I had showed you your room. You really do wear your heart on your sleeve".
You swallowed.
So she knew.
"However, I cannot allow you to leave. Monsters out there are not as kind as me. You will be killed, so go back to your room, my child", she turned away from you. "I will destroy the door".
"What? No!" you screamed, which honestly surprised yourself. You weren't much for rebellion, but if your only exit is destroyed, then how will you get out?
"I'm strong enough! I promise! You taught me how to interact with monsters, remember? I know how to handle myself", you inched towards her with a pleading expression on your face. "I know that not all monsters are bad, I met a lot of them and they're really just misunderstood! How do you know the monsters out there will kill me?"
You felt the emotions whirling inside you. You wanted to leave the underground; not being able to see the sun, never being able to go back to your old life, the drastic change in your environment, it was all too much for you to handle. Before you knew it, tears were welling in your eyes and the more you talked, the harder you began to cry.
"Please, I want to leave. I just want to go.. I... I-", you weren't able to finish your sentence because, in that moment, Toriel pulled you into a huge bear hug.
There was something comforting about being in her arms that you just couldn't quite express. Maybe it was the scent of freshly baked butterscotch pie, or the softness of her touch, or maybe it was just the fact that she genuinely cared about you. Whatever the reason was, you let yourself go. You cried for the pain you felt when you fell, you cried for the horror you experienced when meeting Flowey, you cried for the monsters trapped down here without the chance to see sunlight, and you cried for every other reason until you had no reason at all.
After a while your tears finally subsided until you were only sniffling into Toriel's shoulder. She pulled away from you, giving you the same comforting smile she wore when you two first met.
"My child, it seems to me like I was incorrect in trying to keep you here. After all, the Ruins is no place for a person to live, you would only get bored of the reoccurring rooms".
You suddenly felt a wave of guilt. Here was Toriel, giving you a home and food and you felt like you were throwing it all at her face.
"I'm sorry. I'm grateful for everything you've done for me, really I am! I just..." Your voice trailed off as she flashed you a knowing smile.
"I understand, Y/N. Here, I will allow you to leave", Toriel said as she took your hand and lead you towards the door. You gazed at it, still guilty that you were leaving Toriel, but grateful that she understood your feelings.
"Beyond this door are many obstacles that you will have to face. If you want to leave the underground, you must encounter Asgore. He's the one that blocks the way to the barrier that will allow you to exit", she placed her hand on the doorknob and for a second you thought you saw a look of disgust on her face at the mention of Asgore.
I wonder what he's like.
"Thank you, Toriel, for everything", you hugged her one last time before she opened the door, allowing you to finally leave the Ruins.
You couldn't believe your eyes when you entered the next area.
Snow was everywhere in front of you, the door was locked behind you
And you were wearing a T-shirt.
Well, fuck.