Chapter 1- The Fall, the roommate and the Soul
I slowly opened my eyes and was met by a dim light. I sat up and felt a soft patch underneath me. I look down and saw a bed of golden flowers.
Wait a second... I know this...
I stood up and stared at the hallway before me. It seems oddly familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I walked through the hall, my dark green coat sheltering me from the cold. I turned a corner and noticed one flower in a patch of grass. I slowly approached it and it spun to reveal... A face?
"Howdy! I'm Flowey! Flowey the Flower!"
I took a step back. Not only could it talk, but that name...
"Hmm, you're new to the underground, aren't cha?"
Then the memories came flooding back. This was a game.
"Actually, not really," I say. A confused look was on Flowey's face.
"Oh? Well I haven't seen you before. But if you already know what's going on..." Small white pellets surrounded me and Flowey's face went demonic.
"You have to die."
They closed in on me, but suddenly disappeared.
"H-huh?" I smiled.
"Bye."
A fireball appeared and knocked Flowey away. I sighed and thought for a second.
How am I here? This world is only a game isn't it?
Toriel walked out from the shadows.
"Oh my, what a horrible creature torturing such a poor innocent youth!"
My face lit up when I saw her. She looked a lot better in real life.
"Thank you for saving me To- What's your name?" I asked. It would probably be creepy if I knew her name before meeting her.
"My name is Toriel, caretaker of the ruins. Come with me young one... Actually, you aren't that young are you?" I laughed a little.
"I'm 14."
"My apologies. It's only been a few weeks since the last human fell down here."
Frisk...
"It's alright. Let's go. My name is Brandon by the way."
She smiled.
"Brandon. What a nice name. Come along now."
I followed her through the ruins until we came to the training dummy. Before Toriel could say anything, I spoke, "Oh hey, a dummy! How are you today?"
As anticipated, the dummy said nothing. Toriel seemed pleased.
"You are quite the expert already I see. Shall we continue?"
I nod and we progress. As we reached the spikes, I remembered the path. I carefully stepped on a square of spikes and it retracted before it could hurt my. I kept stepping until I made it to the end.
"Well done, my child. You didn't need my help," Toriel said. I shrugged.
"I guess I was alright at puzzles."
She giggled and walked through the puzzle. As we walked through the hallway, I realised something.
She's not running off like in the game. That's odd...
She reached into her pocket, but didn't pull anything out.
"Oh my, I forgot I don't have a cellphone to give you!"
"It's alright," I assured her, "I don't need one."
She seemed concerned.
"Are you sure? The ruins may be dangerous."
"I'll be fine, I promise."
Toriel thought for a moment, then said, "Well, I suppose I can take you with me back home and show you my surprise later."
I smiled. Cinnamon Butterscotch Pie!
"Okay. Let's go then."
We walked through the ruins, completing the puzzles on the way. It seemed Toriel was really happy with how I completed the puzzles with ease. Once we got to her house, I noticed one thing. The SAVE point is no longer there.
Strange... There should've been one at the start of the ruins as well, and one in the leaf pile.
"Here we are. Time to show you your new home!"
We walked inside and the smell of butterscotch caught my nose.
"Mmmm..."
"Isn't the smell lovely? I am baking a pie right now, so you'll have to wait a bit. In the meantime..."
She walked to the right and I followed her until we stopped to a door.
"This is you own room, my child."
I stared at the doorway.
This was Frisk's room... Possibly the room of the other six humans too...
I turned around and realised Toriel had left already. I opened the door and looked around. The room looked almost identical to the game. I fell onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.
This is all so weird... This world is a game... Right?
I smelled the sweetness of the butterscotch before I closed my eyes.
I woke up and looked to my right. On the ground was a plate with a slice of pie. I wanted to take a bite out of it, but based on experiences of the game I may need to keep it. I picked it up and shoved it into my pocket. For some reason I didn't feel it squash, or feel it in general. I stepped out of the room and was about to walk over to Toriel when I heard a voice that sent a chill down my spine.
"Human. Don't you know how to greet a new pal?"
It was him. I turned around slowly, and grabbed a hand before seeing anything. A sort of fart noise emitted from it.
"heh, classic whoopee cushion in the hand trick."
I sighed with relief and laugh a bit.
"anyway, the name's sans. sans the skeleton." He seemed bothered by something, but I couldn't figure out what.
"Hey. Um, what are you doing in Toriel's house? And where's-" And then it hit me. If Sans was here, and so was Toriel, Frisk killed Papyrus...
"where's who? you know someone?" He asked. I swallowed hard. He was gonna find out sooner or later, so I might as well tell him.
"N-no, it's nothing. But, I wanna talk about something."
He nodded and we walked out of the house. But as soon as we were out of sight from Toriel, I felt my weight shift and I slammed into the wall. A bone appeared right in front of my face.
"so what kind of human are you? your expressions tell me you know about me. are you just like the kid? can you reset the timelines as well?"
I started to breathe quickly.
"Sans, listen. I don't mean trouble, I promise. I... I may not have been the nicest person on the surface, but I would never hurt a monster."
He seemed suspicious of me.
"how do you know of me? of this world?"
"This world... You, Toriel, the entire Underground... It's a game. A piece of coding within a computer."
His eyes went black, and let me tell you it's creepier up close. The bone disappeared and I fell back to the ground. His eyes returned and he looked at me.
"i guess i can trust you kid. you definitely sound like you're telling the truth."
I smiled, then I felt something within my body. I looked down and saw a white heart pulsing. It was my soul.
"Wha- Isn't white the colour of monster souls? Why is mine..."
"maybe you're a monster," he said. I was still confused. If I was a monster, my soul would be upside down. But it isn't...
"Sans! Where are you- Oh! I see you've met the human!" Toriel aaid from the doorway.
"yeah, i met the kid. good to see another in the flesh." Oh great. Puns. Toriel laughed. I decided to get in on it as well.
"Yeah, though seeing a skeleton really shakes me down to the bone." That got them laughing. I guess I've earned their trust. Suddenly, a burst of energy ran through me. It was the same as when Sans said I was trustworthy.
Trust...
Is that my soul?
"My child? Are you alright?"
I snapped back to reality and said, "Yeah, I'm fine."
Toriel looked slightly concerned, but nodded.
"Sans, I seem to have run out of books to read. Could you go borrow some more please?"
"Sure. I'll be back soon." He walks off, in the complete opposite direction of the house.
Sans and his shortcuts. Actually, I want to check out the rest of this place. But how...?
"Hey Toriel, can I ask you something?"
"Hm? What is it?"
"What happened after the last human fell down?"
She looked away, a hint of sadness in her eyes.
"She were almost just like the others. Wanting to leave, wanting to go home. In the end, she did, at the cost of Asgore's life." She looked at me.
"You do not wish to go home, do you?" She asked me.
"N-not at all, I like it here. But... I do want to see the rest to the Underground," I responded, not wanting to upset her. She smiled.
"Oh! In that case, I would love you to experience the rest of this realm. I'll ask Sans to take you next time."
Then I did something I would never do normally; I hugged to, much to her surprise. Though I was only slightly shorter than her, it felt like a proper hug. Her fur was so soft and warm, like a pillow...
"M-my child..."
I quickly let go and looked away.
"Sorry, I got carried away for a second. I never really give or receive hugs, so..."
She looked at me with a sympathetic smile.
"It's alright. As long as I am here, you can give as many hugs as you like."
I looked up, holding back tears.
"Thanks..." I said. Toriel ruffled my hair.
"You remind me of my first child long ago."
Asriel...
"I do? In what way?" I asked. She giggled.
"You were both so sensitive," she said, "And so kind to others, even if just met them."
Despite knowing what happened to him, I wanted to ask Toriel from her eyes.
"What happened to him?"
She sighed, and for a second I swore I saw a reflection if Asriel in her eyes.
"When the first human died, he took the soul and went to surface. He... Was attacked... And returned in a fatal condition. And..."
She was about to cry, but I wrapped my arms around her.
"It's okay," I assured her, "You don't have to continue."
She sniffed. And for that moment I felt like I belong in the Underground. Like I was a part of it.
A few hours and some pie later
"Ready?" I asked. Sans nodded.
"Be careful out there. The monsters don't seem to like humans, but Sans will take care of you," Toriel said. As I opened the large doors, the cold wind hit my face. I hesitated for a minute, but gathered my courage and stepped out into the cold atmosphere of Snowdin.