I woke up to the smell of nature in my face. I started coughing as all the dust and dirt surrounding me entered my mouth. Definitely not a pleasant situation. I could feel something poking my stomach, so I reached for a stick that I just happened to land on. "Ugh…"

I picked myself up and noticed I'd landed on golden flowers. That's pretty neat, uh, I guess. I checked myself for injuries, and aside from a couple bruises, I was doing alright. Just to make sure, I took a look at my soul. I was glad to see that it wasn't harmed during the fall. The walls around me were all made of stone, and I could still see the light of the human world shining from above. "So this is the Underground…"

My decision to come down here wasn't exactly the most logical, and I knew that doing this was going against a lot of what I stood for. I never liked to leave my house. But my mistrust of the entire human race became too much. I just couldn't deal with them anymore. But living with monsters? Is that really any better?

This decision was not an easy one to make. For one, how would the monsters treat some random human after all these years? Do I just expect them to welcome me with open arms? No, I highly doubt they would. I don't want to make every monster like me, but I at least hope to find something by coming back here. Those who climb Mt. Ebbot are said to never return.

I took a couple Monster History classes, and they referenced this mountain. Putting two and two together, I theorized that this might be a way into the Underground, which it is because my fall through the barrier was pretty memorable. It's actually a good thing that I turned out to be right. If I wasn't, that would still be okay. I make my way down the dark stone halls. I could barely see anything, and the light from above didn't make it into the next room.

I started to see a small patch of grass illuminated in the center of the room. Kinda weird, considering I couldn't find a light source, but whatever. I shrugged it off and began to walk over it. And then a flower just showed up right out of nowhere, in the spot that I was stepping over. My foot nearly crushed its face. "Wh-whoa there!"

I freaked right out and took a million steps back. I started making my way back into the other room. Okay, so coming here was obviously a bad idea, and I know there's a magical barrier above this mountain, but I can probably get past it! Better start climbing! 'W-W-Wait a second!"

I stopped running and got the better of myself. There was no need to start freaking out. This kind of stuff is normal in the monster world. I assume. I slowly walked back to the flower, noticing it was the same type as the ones that broke my fall. "Um, hi…" I timidly greeted.

The flower bounced back and forth, cheery and excited. "Howdy! I'm Flowey! Flowey the Flower!"

I had so many questions. First off, how could this flower even talk? What was it doing here in this dark room alone? Was it even a monster? Did I die on my way down? Maybe that explains why my soul wasn't hurt. "H-Hi, I'm Frisk."

The flower tilted its' head to the side. "Frisk? Really?"

I didn't know what to say. "Yes…"

He didn't seem convinced for some reason. "Are you sure?"

I held back the urge to roll my eyes. "Yeah, I think I would know my own name."

The flower squinted his eyes. "You're not lying to me, are you?"

I was so lost. "Are you? How do I know your name is really Flowey? Kind of a lazy name for a flower."

His eyes widened with annoyance. "Hey! Shut up!"

Things were quiet for a second, as Flowey realized what he'd just said. He tried his best to reorganize himself and his composition. "I-I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me there. You just look very similar to someone I know. Someone who never really knew how to let a joke go."

I decided to ask a question. "What is this place?"

"Why, this is the Underground! The home of all monsters! What are you doing down here?"

I answered truthfully. "I fell. I just wondered if life would be better down here."

His expression immediately brightened. "Well I can assure you, life down here is a million times better than whatever you might've experienced on the surface!"

I was kind of curious. "Really? How?"

"The residents are very friendly towards humans, so you should be fine here."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "I thought that monsters would still hate humans after what happened."

Flowey shrugged it off. "Monsters are very compassionate and forgiving creatures. I'm sure they'll love having you here."

This was all news to me. I had read about all the horrible things that the humans had done to the monsters. They must have been miserable. I don't know what's happened to the monsters since then, but maybe they have changed. Maybe they have forgiven. "Okay…"

"Since you're here, I should teach you the basics of living in the Underground." Suddenly, my soul appeared out of my body. My confusion increased when I saw Flowey controlling these little white dots.

"Do you wanna earn some Love? Down here, Love is shared through little friendliness pellets."

My eyes awkwardly shifted left and right. "Um, okay…"

They approached my soul slowly, and I was kind of wary of them, but maybe there was something to them. As soon as one of them touched me, I immediately fell to the ground. I was on the brink of death, and all the while, that stupid flower cackled uncontrollably. "Did you really think that anything I said was true!? Of course, no monster would ever want a human wandering on their land! They only want your soul!"

The laughter was getting louder and louder, and I could feel my hearing slowly leave. "You should have stayed up there! Coming down here was your biggest mistake! No one will ever accept you here, because down here…" He let out another cackle. "It's either kill or be killed!"

I had never been in a situation like this before. I couldn't just let this flower kill me like this. I had to do something. With my remaining energy, I grabbed Flowey and tried to pull him out of the ground. "O-Ow! What are you doing!? Let go!" I tried pulling him even harder. "P-P-Please! Y-You're hurting me!" He didn't seem to come out of the ground, so I let him go. He disappeared underground without saying a word.

I stood up, hurt. I struggled to walk forward, looking for anything that could help me. "Is anyone there?" I heard a voice coming from nearby.

With what strength I had, I tried calling out. "I-"

My soul stung, so I grabbed onto my chest and fell to my knees. I saw a white and purple figure approach me from the distance. "You poor thing…" A feminine voice said to me.

I looked up at her face and saw a woman who resembled a goat. "What happened? Here, let me help you."

The woman gave me a candy, and I accepted, too weak to refuse. As soon as it entered my mouth, I immediately felt regenerated. I gasped for breath in disbelief. "Are you alright?"

I took a deep breath. "Yes, thank you."

"What happened to you?" She asked me.

My mind wandered back to my first underground encounter. "A flower drained my health, he almost killed me."

I could tell that the woman didn't know what to think about my claim. Either way, she gently lifted me off the ground. I caught my balance. "What is your name, dear human?"

"Um, Frisk."

She smiled. "Dear Frisk, I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins! I come by this area and check for humans everyday."

Before I could say anything, she started dragging me along. "Come with me, and be careful of the puzzles! They're still active after all these years!"

I sat on the bed, eating my Cinnamon Butterscotch Pie. It tasted amazing! Toriel was a fantastic cook! The room I was surrounded by was very nicely decorated. As I was sitting there, my mind couldn't help but wander back to my conversation with Flowey. Maybe he was right. Why was Toriel being so kind to me? She doesn't even know me. I'm grateful, but…I can't help but think that maybe, Flowey was telling the truth.

The monsters in the Underground probably hate humans. Maybe Toriel did too. Then again, I was eating her pie. Kind of stupid of me to eat it, if I really did suspect her. After today, I'm not sure that coming here was a good idea. I should have stayed with the humans. I wonder if it's too late to go home now.

I finish my pie and got up from the bed. I made my way down the hall and walked into the living room, where I saw Toriel sitting on her chair. "Thanks for the pie." I said, pulling her away from her book.

She smiled at me. "You're welcome, dear."

I hesitated for a moment, and then I decided to tell her. "So, um, I…need to tell you something."

She looked at me quizzically. "What is it?"

"Um, so, the reason I'm down here in the first place…I came here on purpose, hoping that I could find the entrance to the underground. I-I wanted to come here, because I didn't feel like I fit in with humans." She sat patiently, listening to me. "And now that I'm here…I'm starting to think that maybe it was a bad idea." I saw a spec of curiosity in her eyes. "I mean, not that I don't like being here with you! This place is really nice…" I tried choosing my words carefully. "Is there any way I could….explore the Underground? And potentially get home?"

Toriel was silent for a solid two minutes. I remained quiet, letting her contemplate. Did I offend her? I really tried not to, but no matter what I say or do, I always manage to screw it up somehow. She opened her mouth to say something. "I don't think you…understand."

I shook my head. "What?"

Toriel took a deep breath. "The other monsters…they'll kill you."

I had never heard her voice this serious before. "I…kinda understand."

She looked at me with a challenging stare. "No, you don't. They all want your soul. Especially Asgore."

She sighed, and returned to her normal voice. "I've made it my mission to protect every human that falls down here." Her eyes shifted to the floor. "Unfortunately, it's not exactly a mission I've excelled at."

If the monster world was really as dangerous as she was saying, then it might be all the more reason to try and get home. I couldn't stay down here forever, and there was no way I was climbing out of the mountain. "Toriel, I understand your pain, but I'm an adult, and I can take care of myself."

She gave me a look that just stood on the border of a glare. "You can, can you? You decided to come down here, and yet you brought nothing with you? Not even a change of clothes?"

She…had a point. "I, um, don't-"

I couldn't continue. I sighed. Thing were silent for a while. I finally spoke up. "I've studied Monster History extensively. I know almost everything there is to know about it, and I know that the monsters won't like me. But I also know that I can survive down here." Now it was my turn to look at the ground. "If I can survive up there, I can survive anywhere."

I looked back up at Toriel. I couldn't tell what she was thinking, but she was clearly in deep thought. After a minute, she spoke. "You…you're lost, aren't you? That's why you came down here." I nodded silently. She sighed deeply. "Well, I hope you find a good life, and I hope you figure out where you belong. There have been a few humans before you with the same problem, and none of them found their way, I don't want the same to happen to you."

I put a hand on her shoulder. "I promise it won't."

She looked at me wordlessly, then sighed. "Follow me."

I walked with her down the hall, the same hall that housed the bedroom I ate in. She took me to her room, and immediately started searching her closet. She pulled out a giant purple snow jacket that was her size, although it looked to big for me. "I know it might not fit, but you should wear this."

I accepted the giant coat from her. "You must always keep the hood on! Never reveal your true identity to anyone!"

I nodded. "I will."

She guided me to another part of her house, down the stairs and into the basement. There were long purple hallways, and they went on for a while. I thought they would never end for a second. We finally came to the end of the hall, to a large stone door. "This is the end of the ruins. Beyond this door is the rest of the Underground. Since you've studied Monster History, I'd assume you know how the barrier works."

I nodded. "Yes."

She took a deep breath. "Well then, I guess this is goodbye."

I turned to face her. "Toriel, I know we haven't known each other for very long, but I just wanted to say thank you for saving me, and thanks for the pie."

She smiled sincerely. "You're welcome, dear."

We both embraced each other in a hug. "I wish you good luck."

I smiled. "Thank you, for everything."

Toriel opened the door, and I took a look at the snow outside. I adjusted my hood to hide my face, remembering what Toriel told me. As I took a deep breath, I stepped outside, into the fresh, new world.

This can't possibly end well.