"Psssst. Gorey, wake up." Toriel opened the old white door slowly, holding a video camera. She stepped in and slowly inched forward until she was sitting on the edge of Asgore's bed. He opened his eyes, and smiled at the sight of her.
"Mmm? What is it, dear?" He noticed the video camera in her hands. He could tell it was on, because a tiny red dot was shining from the camera. "…err, and why do you have that video camera?"
"Shush! I want to get your reaction." Toriel had an amused look on her face. "Gorey, dearest. What is my favorite vegetable?"
"Hmm…" Asgore couldn't quite remember. Suddenly it came to him. "Carrots, right?"
"No no no! My favorite vegetable is… Eda-MOM-e." She snorted, holding back a laugh. Asgore smiled patiently at her. These puns were made all the time. "…get it?"
"…" Asgore wanted to laugh, but he was extremely tired. "Go back to bed, dear."
"No no! Not yet! Hee hee hee!" She sat and thought of her next joke. Quickly, she found the perfect one. "Now, if I were a dog, what breed would I be?"
"Hmm… I don't know, honey." The king saw the joy in his wife's face. It made him feel joy inside him too. "What kind of dog would you be?"
"I would be…" Toriel paused, and then blurted out, "A MOMERANIAN."
The queen had the most beautiful smile Asgore had ever seen. He chuckled. "Hohoho! You sure are excited to have this child."
Toriel blushed, and looked down at her baby bump. She was pregnant with a child they planned on naming, Asriel Dreemurr.
"You know, if you keep making jokes like this…" Suddenly, a pun came to Asgore's mind. "One day you could be… A famous, MOMedian."
"…" The queen rolled her eyes, biting her lip, trying not to burst out laughing. She got up carefully, and stated, "Well, I am going to bed."
"Hey! Come on, Tori!" Asgore was shocked. "That one was funny!"
"Hahaha, I know. I am just teasing you." Toriel kissed Asgore's forehead, sweetly. "Goodnight, dear."
"Goodnight, honey." Asgore turned over and tried to fall back to sleep.
The queen left the room, heading back to her own, before she realized that the whole time, there was no light to see in the video. "Oh dear, perhaps it is too dark in here for the video to come out…"
Turning the camera off and placing the video camera on top of the bookshelf in the hallway, Toriel tiptoed back to her room, dreaming about her unborn child.
~Seven years later~
The king stood in his giant garden. No flowers had bloomed yet. They lived in a big grey castle in harmony, and they were quite happy there. "It's a shame there are no flowers growing here. Each year we plant them, yet they never sprout."
Asriel was playing with a toy in the dirt. Asgore smiled, and asked, "Asriel, my son. Would you care for a game of catch with your father?"
The goat kid stood up and replied, "Yeah, that would be fun! Hehe! I'll go get my ball!" They child ran into the castle to get his ball out of his toy box.
Suddenly, Asgore heard footsteps too loud to be Asriel's. The king turned, and found the young fish monster, Undyne, behind him. She was stomping her feet, holding a sharpened stick to look like an arrow. Both eyes opened wide in rage, Undyne shouted, "Fight me, king! I must prove to all monsters that I am worthy!"
Hesitantly, Asgore patted the little girl's head. She was only about five, and she already wanted to fight. "Well, my young fish, you mustn't try and prove anything. I already know you have a strong soul."
"But Mom says I'm not good enough! So I have to fight you and prove her wrong!" Undyne punched Asgore's chest, but the blow was nothing, as her tiny fists hit hard metal beneath his cloak. She curled back, and held her hand in pain.
"Oh my, I did not mean to hurt you! I only wear this for protection against any ongoing threats! Here, let me heal your hand." Asgore waved his hand over hers, and somehow, it felt better. She stared up at his face in awe and then the temporary amazement was gone. She frowned, and began to cry. Asgore wiped her eyes with his other hand and asked, "What is wrong, my young friend?"
Undyne sniffled and then answered, "I just wanted to be strong for once. I didn't actually want to hurt you; or hurt myself…"
"Yes… Well, you see, I am very good at training others to be strong like me. Would you like me to train you to be big and strong?" Asgore asked.
Staring up at him with glee, Undyne nodded her head enthusiastically. Asgore saw Asriel return with a glove and a ball. "Good. I am a tad busy today with my son, but perhaps you can come back tomorrow?"
Undyne nodded, smiled, and then and giggled, showing her crooked child teeth. The girl ran out of the yard, and back to her home.
Asgore chuckled and said, "She's quite the rambunctious child, is she not?"
The prince of the Underground replied, "Yes. But father, now that I think about it, mom has been a bit quiet, just reading her books all day. I think I will go pick flowers for her."
The king smiled at how kind his son was. He walked over to Asriel, kneeled down, and pet his head. "That is a very kind thing to do for your mother. Be safe."
Asriel walked quickly. The only spot he knew where flowers grew, was just before the entrance to the Underground. He walked through the city, and down the elevator to Hotland. He took a boat down a river that rushed with pristine water, and crossed over bridges made of oak in the ruins, until finally he arrived in tat his destination. The small patch of grass was beneath a hole in the top of the cavern. He liked to lie on the grass, and stare up at the sky through the hole, wondering what it was like above ground. Being surrounded by flowers, and breathing in the occasional gust of fresh air that would breeze in, made Asriel love to go there often. Oddly, there were no longer flowers growing in this patch. Disappointed he could not pick and buttercups for his mother, the young prince turned and began to walk back to his home.
Suddenly, a startling thud, came from the other side of the purple entrance gate. He heard a groan of antagonizing pain echo in the cave walls. Alarmed someone may be hurt, he ignored his father's rule of staying out of the entrance, and pushed the rusty metal doors open.
"It sounds like it came from over here…" Looking at his surroundings, Asriel saw yellow flowers everywhere. Stained white pillars reached high, and vines grew on every inch of the walls. There was an enormous entry at the top, and so much sun poured in, that the prince had to cover his eyes. That is when he noticed a child lying face first in the flowers.
"Oh! You've fallen down, haven't you… Are you okay?" Asriel ran to the child to help he or she up. "Here, get up…"
The child stood up, with the help of the prince of monsters, clutching its head. It muttered, "H-hi. I'm Chara.
The prince gave the child a sideways glance. Chara was about his height, and had pale skin, choppy brown hair, dark eyes, and a slight red blush to his or her cheeks. "Chara, huh? That's a nice name."
Chara looked up at the monster in confusion. The child had never seen a monster, and had only heard stories presumed to be false about them. Asriel smiled warmly, and stated, "My name is Asriel. Nice to meet you! You must be a human, huh? ... What kind of human? Boy, or girl?"
The human squinted, before half smiling, and holding out a hand. "Well, my… 'Family', called me 'young lady', but that doesn't matter. I could care less what I am. You? I've never met a monster so… Call this a first."
"Well, I have never met a human! I'm a boy; a prince!" Asriel shook the humans hand very hard. The human winced, and bent over coughing. "Oh! I'm sorry! I forgot you're probably hurt."
"Don't worry about it. I'm…" Chara fainted.
Quickly, Asriel lifted Chara onto his back, and carried the child to his home. When he got inside, he placed Chara on the table. Toriel, who was sitting in her plush chair, noticed, and got up, frightened.
"I- Is that a…?" The queen gasped.
"Yeah, mom! A human! They fell down here! Their name is Chara." The name felt weird on his tongue, like saying it was something forbidden to do.
"I need to see if the poor child is hurt. Please step aside." Toriel briskly walked up the fallen child, while Asriel stood watching from behind. After a few minutes of inspection, Toriel spoke. "I cannot find anything wrong with them, besides some bruises and scratches, so perhaps all that they need is some rest. I will bring them to your room. I hope you do not mind sharing."
"No way! Chara can be a part of the family now! They can be my sibling, and we can become best friends!" Asriel's mouth formed a large grin, and his eyes sparkled too.
Toriel frowned as she looked down at the human in her arms, unsure if this was the right thing to do. But she knew there was no way this child could leave ever again, so they would be forced to stay here. The queen looked at her son lovingly and said, "Of course, dear. But it is up to the human if they would like to stay with us."
Asriel and Toriel entered the prince's room, and laid Chara on his bed that was tucked in the left corner of the room. They tucked the human in, and turned off the light. Asriel told Toriel that he could sleep on the floor tonight. So that night, Toriel rolled out a sleeping bag, and put his stuffed animals on it. They put it in the right corner of the room, careful not to wake Chara. They wouldn't have to worry though, because Chara wouldn't wake up for the next two days.
The prince sat at the edge of his sleeping bag, playing with his toys. Eyes flying open, Chara sat up, scaring Asriel. They seemed to have awoken because of a nightmare. The human's forehead was sweating, and they were breathing heavily. "W-Where am I…?"
Asriel dropped his toys, and ran over to hug the human. Chara shoved the prince off, and Asriel fell to the ground with a thud. He looked up at the human in confusion. Chara stared at Asriel, and without emotion, stated, "I don't like hugs."
"Oh, ok," Asriel said slowly as he stood up.
The human started to smile, as they looked around Asriel's bedroom. "So. This is your bedroom."
"It's yours now too!" Asriel pointed out. Then he added, "That is, if you want it to be. You can't leave here… It is impossible without enough power. We just don't have enough!"
"Why can't I leave? There isn't an exit to… wherever we are now?"
"We are in the Underground. And no. The only way to exit is through SOUL power! We'd need power equal to that of eight human souls to get out! At least, that's what my dad told me."
"Oh. Well in that case, I guess I am staying here for a while. If that's true, then I have a question to ask." A small smile was plastered onto Chara's face. "Where are the knives?"
Asriel's eyes became wide, and a chill was sent through his spine. He stuttered, "W-Why would you need a knife…?"
"To protect myself of course. Your parents need human souls, right? I don't want them, or any of your kind coming after me," Chara lied.
"My mom and dad, King Asgore and Queen Toriel? No, they are the nicest king and queen ever! They would never hurt you, even for our freedom! In fact, they have been caring for you, ever since you arrived. Of course, I did too! I need a new friend to play with. But you couldn't play with me when you were asleep."
"So, no knives then?" Chara's stomach roared. "Oh well. I'm hungry a craving for chocolate. Do you have any?"
Asriel grinned and then motioned for the human to follow. They walked into the kitchen, and the prince opened the fridge. Inside were brand named candy bars. He took two, and gave one to Chara. Instantly, the human unwrapped the candy, and ate it quickly. It took Asriel a while to eat his.
"You sure love your chocolate!" The prince pointed out, laughing as Chara took three more candy bars from the fridge and stuffed them into their pocket. "I do have one question though. How did you fall in here?"
Chara was dead silent, but had that same smile on their face. The human replied, "I was trying to die."
To be continued…