Isla loved to dance. It was the only thing she did love, really. Certainly not her mother, despite their shared passion in the art. She danced before she even knew what dancing was, only copying what the stern lady at the front was showing them, and what the other girls in the room were doing when her attention had faltered. As she got older, she learnt the steps, the twirls, the hops, never the best, never being allowed to perform a solo piece, but she was close, agonisingly close. This was thanks to her mother, and her endless prodding, her endless pushing, her never ending lessons, pointers, and criticisms. Sometimes Isla wondered if school would be any better if her mother spent this time to help her study.

She was given a solo at the next recital, only after a conversation her mother and her teacher that she overheard, in hushed tones, of intense ferocity. It wasn't very long, it wasn't particularly complicated, but she was proud to have something of her own, something she could show to say yes, I am as good as you other girls! They didn't help her practice, as usual. Her mother, however, did the opposite, with every waking moment spent on honing her technique, memorising the patterns. They started skipping meals.

On the eve of the performance, none of the other girls said a word as Isla took the stage. There were no friendly faces in the audience, and her mother's was the most terrifying of all. Thin lips, narrow eyes. The music started. She extended, she span, she leapt, and she tumbled. And under the harshness of the stage lights, and the rising murmurs of the audience, she did the only thing she could, and silently trudged off stage.

There were tears in her eyes and thoughts buzzing around her head. Thoughts quickly blown away by the screams of her mother. "This was your one chance," She cried, "You made me look like a fool!" Isla felt her shoulders being grabbed. "You're useless! I gave up my whole career for you, and this is how you repay me? I wish you had never-"

Isla never heard her mother's wish. She was too busy running, and crying, out of the building, out of the city, and into the woods, away from the noise, away from the anger, away from everything. She ran for a long time, until she could barely run anymore, and…

She fell.

The flowers broke her fall. Her throat was too hoarse to scream for help, and once her eyes had adjusted, she realised the darkness wasn't so dark. She heard a voice behind her. "Well isn't this interesting…"

Trembling, Isla turned her head slowly. "H-Hello?" But all she saw was the bed of flowers she fell on. Until one sprang up, somehow with a smile on its face.

"Howdy! I'm Flowey, the flower!" The face suddenly twisted into a horrible grimace, and Isla shrieked. "I t ' s - b e e n- a- - -I -h a d- a- n e w - -t o - -w i t h!"

The flower grew, with twisted vines and a maniacal laugh, and Isla never stopped screaming.

Suddenly Isla snapped back to the flowerbed. Flowey now had a happy face. "Well kid," he drawled, "it's been fun, but this time I'm gonna let you move on." So he popped back into the ground, before raising his head once again with an ugly expression. "D i e- y- c a n- y o u?"

He was gone, and Isla felt a chill like no other, deep in her bones.

"Hello?" A new voice called. It was a lot sweeter than the last, but Isla still shrunk up completely. "Is anybody there?" Paralysed, she couldn't move, and only stared at the figure coming around the corner. Its shadow loomed at a considerable length, and shortened to reveal a large creature, and a creature it was, with floppy ears, stumpy horns, along with an almost fervid disposition. "Oh my goodness."

She hurried over to the fallen child, and Isla could see her eyes were, somehow, filled with concern. "My dear are you hurt-" she began, before seeing the child was trembling wildly. "Don't worry," She soothed, going down to Isla's eye level, "I won't hurt you. I am Toriel. What is your name?"

"… Isla…" She mumbled, holding out her hand and stroking her saviour's face, causing their eyes to widen in alarm. "Are you a goat?"

"N-no…" She admitted, shuffling away gently. "Have you been down here long my child? Are you hungry?"

Isla was confusingly unsure how much time had passed since she fell, but thanks to her mother's strict diet plan, she was hungry. She nodded to Toriel, who held out a hand, which was shaking slightly. "Then come to my home, and we can get you something to eat."

Taking her hand, Isla allowed herself to be led by this strange woman, who she felt that in the very first few moments of meeting was kinder than anyone she had ever met. Toriel told her of this place, the Ruins, and beyond that, the whole Underground, where monsters like her lived in peace. There were strange devices, puzzles, Toriel called them, and even stranger monsters, that were less than friendly, but Toriel glided past them all breezily, and soon she and Isla were settled inside a rather cosy house, in front of an inviting fireplace.

"…So you live here?" Isla asked. It was a silly question, but she needed to start somewhere.

"Yes, not for too long though." Toriel smiled, then sighed. "Yet you do not. Tell me child, how did you become so far from home?"

Isla was quiet for a few moments. "I was running and I tripped..."

"But then why were you-" Toriel attempted to ask, but the tears in her eyes made her instead envelop the little girl into her arms. "Hush now, it's okay, I'm here..." For one of the few times in her life, Isla felt safe, content in the arms of this fluffy monster (a term only used in the technical sense). "Now dear, you must be tired. There's a room set out where you can rest if you'd like?"

With a small nod, she was guided to the room by her new guardian, one much brighter than she had been allowed at home, with a bed much softer (her mother insisted a stiff mattress was key to a good posture). And for once, she was permitted to rest.

Isla spent days under Toriel's care, who delighted in showing her how to cook, and telling her stories of the Underground beyond the Ruins. She constantly complemented the girl's pretty pink tutu, and clapped when she finally gave in and showed her routine. "You're a very good dancer Isla," she declared, picking her up and spinning with pride, "It is a favourite pastime of many monsters!" Isla laughed, her imagination brimming with thoughts of all manner of strange creatures tapping their feet in time.

But she never met any other monsters with Toriel. Walking through the Ruins (and receiving a thorough education in professional puzzling) she met the occasional Froggit, but they were rather dull. Time wore on, and Isla started to wonder what was happening here. "Aunty," she asked during one breakfast, with Toriel blushing as considerably as when Isla started calling her that, "Can't we leave the Ruins? You just make the whole Underground sound so wonderful! I want to see it all!"

But the monster's lips thinned, and in her eyes, Isla could see some sort of line had been crossed. She closed her eyes and sniffed. "Oh, I was hoping to protect you from this…" Getting up from her seat, she gestured for Isla to sit on the couch, whereas she sat on the rug in front of her. "Isla, my child, you need to understand…" She breathed in deeply, and exhaled with her answer. "If you leave this place, you'll be in a grave danger."

Isla smiled at first, the idea was so ridiculous, but then she saw the pain in Toriel's face, and could only mirror her expression, and say a single word. "Why?"

So Toriel explained. How there was a war between humans and monsters, leaving the monsters trapped in the underground behind an immense barrier which could only be broken with extreme power. How she used to be the Queen of the Underground, with her husband, the king Asgore, when another human fell. How the child, Chara, was taken in as their own, and became inseparable from Asriel, their son, becoming a beacon of hope for the underground that one day, humans and monsters could live in peace. How tragedy struck, Chara suddenly taking ill, dying, then Asriel absorbing his SOUL to take his body to the surface, where he was killed by humans, thinking the boy had killed his own brother. And Toriel, in tears at this point, told the child of the king's decree, that they would take war to the humans, by collecting seven human SOULs, giving him the power immeasurable that could break the barrier.

"You cannot leave," Toriel choked, her hands grabbing fistfuls of her robes, "Asgore and his guards will find you, and then they will…"

But she felt something on the back of her hands, and as her crying slowed down, she could see Isla's hands lay on her own. "Aunty Toriel… I can't stay here. I have to get home to Mom."

"But my dear," She replied sadly, taking the child's small hands into her own, "From what you told me of your mother, she wasn't the nicest person. You could stay here, safe with me, for as long as you want…"

She considered her offer, she really did, but she felt a tug in her heart that could not be denied, in spite of callous treatment. "But she is still my Mom."

With the illusion of a safe Underground shattered, events transpired rather quickly. Though she tried to hide it, Isla could feel rejection pouring from Toriel's heart, washing over her in waves of guilt. The monster, without so much as a word, presented her with a backpack, containing monster candy, bread, and a single wrapped slice of her butterscotch-cinnamon pie, along with a small black object. "It's a cell phone," Toriel explained quietly, gulping back tears. "If you have any questions about anything you find in the underground, please, call me first. It can be a dangerous place."

Isla nodded, and she was ushered to the doorway in the basement. "Out there is a forest, which leads to Snowdin town," Toriel started, looking at the door as opposed to the child. "It's rather cold out there, so please be careful, I'm sorry I didn't have anything in your size…" She stared almost longingly at her pink tutu for a moment, but caught herself and continued hurriedly. "From Snowdin, getting to Hotland through Waterfall is mostly straightforward, and from there, getting to the throneroom from the CORE is well signposted…"

The monster coughed, before getting on her knees and resting her palms on Isla's shoulders with an uneasy smile. "My child, I wish you didn't have to go through this trial, but monsters will be looking for someone like you. You have to promise me that you will hide from them, and try to stay unseen. The magic some possess is powerful, and under Asgore's proclamation... Can you do that Isla?"

"Yes Aunty Toriel," she nodded, stepping forwards and wrapping her guardian in a tight embrace. "I'm going to miss you…"

Toriel was immobile, consumed by a spate of sombre reverie to a thousand other hugs she'd received in the past, but quickly pulled the child in closer when she regained her senses. "Try and sneak past Asgore at the barrier as well," she whispered, "If that fails, talk to him. I can't see him being able to follow through… But if that fails," she finished sternly, "Run."

With a solemn "I will", Isla moved away, waving at Toriel one last time, and as the monster returned the gesture, the stone doors opened, and Isla walked through the passageway. Hit by a sudden pang of fear after stepping into this dangerous part of the world, she turned back, and Toriel could only ache from seeing the fear in the child's eyes, as the doors closed with a mighty thunk.

Isla was alone.

Traversal of the Underground was a strange business. The wilderness was covered in frost, yet the chill Isla felt was thin, and not particularly noticeable. The snow underfoot crunched wonderfully, yet, in her hands, was comfortably fluffy, without causing her fingers to freeze. This place really is magic, she thought dreamily.

Toriel's words rang true in her head however. Any sounds made her dash for cover, with a shiver that had nothing to do with the festive environment. From the bushes she saw silhouettes, darkened, fantastic, and dangerous. Their patrols were rigid however, startlingly so, and it was a simple matter of slipping past when they moved the other way. She saw fur on some, much like Toriel's, but while the child really couldn't see these creatures being capable of causing any kind of harm, she pushed forwards regardless. The puzzles she had been warned about failed to materialise. There were marks in the snow, strange symbols, though she was pretty sure there was some kind of construction tape buried underneath the snow. She ate her candy and her bread in a secluded area, not having been fed nearly enough before her show due to her mother's stresses about her dress fitting.

Mom… With every step away from the comfortable homestead where she had been resting since her fall, doubt snaked around her tiny form. Would her mother even be happy to see her? Should she have just stayed? Would things be different when she came home, filled with tales of adventure after overcoming the hidden world of below? It would be a lie if she said she could swallow these worries away, but she didn't see any other choice. She didn't belong here. She had to get home.

She found her way to a small town, Snowdin, she remembered. Even in the winter setting, it radiated some sort of heat, not that of a furnace, but of a fireplace. Like Toriel's…

In a daze, and with a pain in her heart, she went to the right of the entrance, moving around the warm, welcoming town, reaching the other side with little incident. As she walked, she saw the snow begin to fade into a darkened grass, and realised she must have made it to Waterfall. Looking back to Snowdin, something in her heart ached. It felt so nice, even from a distance, and she never got to really see it. She dismissed the feeling as being uncomfortable in this suddenly dark new place, and soldiered on.

Waterfall wasn't dark per say; it was more a reminder to Isla that she was actually underground, and without the snow to brighten things up, it was a rather murky place. Snatches of light from glowing moss and grass did make it easier to see where she was going, but the darkness comforted her in as so much as she know any monster's would have a harder time catching her.

It took her a while to navigate (having to learn about using bridge seeds certainly didn't help), but there were definitely fewer monsters to avoid here than around the forest. She was actually beginning to feel rather confident in herself when she stepped into the cave. And then she gasped. Above her were patterns, gorgeous patterns, spinning around the roof of the cave, in dots and streaks and spirals the likes she had never seen. It's so beautiful, Isla thought, gasping in wonder, If only more people could see- "Argh!"

She tripped, lost in the spectacle above her, on something very thin. Landing in a heap, she looked behind her at the foreign object, eyes widening when she realised it was attached to a body, itself attached to a head, of which its defining feature was five dark eyes. "You people, always trying to step on spiders…"

Isla scuttled back, getting ready to run. This was definitely a monster, and if she could get some distance between her then maybe-

But nothing happened. She just stared at the creature, who just stared back, eyelids all blinking at an unnervingly irregular manner. "Don't you have something to say?" It said; she said, Isla realised, actually rather appreciating the pigtails tied in its hair, and the puff in their rather retro pantaloons.

There was something to say, but it took her a few moments of feeble grasping before she could get it out. "I'm sorry for tripping on you," she said clearly, "I was looking at the ceiling and really didn't mean it."

"Hmm," The spider-lady mused, tapping an arm, (One of her… six? Isla realised with a little awe) "I can understand that. It was one of the reasons I chose to rest here."

"Rest?"

"Rest," she repeated, her smile still rather feeble despite her sharp fangs. "I am not very used to the snows of the forest, or the humidity of Waterfall, and this place is much like my home."

The monster kept on blinking through the lull of silence. "So," Isla tried, "Where is home?"

"The Ruins, deary." The child had noticed her voice was a singsong, one old fashioned and uptight.

"Oh. I was just there actually, but I'm trying to get to my home, above ground-"

"Oh my!" The spider interrupted, clapping two of her many hands. "A human! That is what you are, yes?"

"I-um…" She knew that she was supposed to be hidden, not in the very least admitting she was the very target of the Underground's anger at their imprisonment, but she couldn't lie. She never could- she wasn't quick enough for starters, and such things had left a bad taste in her mouth (a metallic one, the one time she hid her ballet shoes in a gambit to escape practice for just one day.) "Yes," she answered simply. "Yes I am."

"Oh wonderful, wonderful!" The spider's head began to bob around, as she rubbed her hands together. "Yes, your SOUL will do nicely!"

As the spider extended its spindly limbs, Isla crawled back shakily. "M-m-my SOUL?"

The monster nodded, its whole body swaying now. "Why of course! We all know humans are nasty creatures; we've heard tales of your people stomping on spiders, ripping off our legs, burning us with magnifying glasses! These are all true, aren't they?"

Frozen in place, the spider's movement was hypnotising her, and through all the danger immediately in front of her, Isla's integrity shone through. "Only some humans miss," she croaked out. "Many of us don't give you a second thought. Bobby from school loves you all; he says you're really fascinating."

The monster's smile didn't falter, though the glee Isla saw in her eyes dimmed slightly. "Even if that is so, I see little other option. You see, my clan are found in the Ruins, while there is another beyond this place, in Hotland," she explained, gesturing in both directions. "We spiders are too fragile to cross the forest, all but myself I should say." Her bouncing slowed, and her arms lowered. "My strength falters, such is the arduous journey I have already faced. But your soul will clearly provide me with the power to continue my journey, and my people will be united."

With that last thought, the spider began to sway with more energy, and Isla realised something- she was moving to a beat, dancing with a beat. Toriel had told her monsters did know of dancing, and that some even enjoyed it. She knew this woman was much too strong for her, even the lesser monsters she had seen from afar emitted an aura that let her know she stood no chance facing them. So, instead of running, instead of fighting-

She chose to dance.

Daintily getting to her feet, she judged the movement of the monster opposite. When she felt she had found the right tempo, she began to sway with her. Her many eyes narrowed as they followed the child. Then Isla morphed it into one of the routines she had learned, something simple. She pointed her toes and moved side to side. She stuck out her leg and stretched, as high as she dared. She crouched as low as her knees would let her and sprang into a huge leap. She kicked in one direction. She kicked in the other. She tried a cartwheel, and mostly succeeded. She pirouetted one, two, three times, before finishing her display with a graceful curtesy.

The spider clapped her hands. "My dear that was wonderful, a real delight! What is your name?"

"Isla, miss."

"A pleasure to meet you Isla, my name is Muffet." She sighed. "Now taking your SOUL will be much harder, to take a good dancer from the world is a terrible thing…"

Isla's stomach dropped at this admission. "Miss- Muffet, if I may?" She took the silence as permission to continue. "All I want to do is go home. I can't really do that if you take my SOUL."

Her shoulders drooped. "But I only wish for the same. I cannot be idle when there is family I am yet to even meet. Spiders are solitude; we make webs in dark corners, and hidden in plain sight. Pieces of art that are truly beautiful- yet are treated with callous disregard by most and the rest see it as a death sentence. Our people are our only real equals. And even a beautiful dancer like you cannot get in my way."

I never thought I would get eaten by a spider. So many girls in her dancing lessons came close to breakdowns over the smallest arachnids in the studio. They would always shriek how they would be killed by them, so it was kind of ironic- Wait! Isla realised, Eaten, that's it!

Swiftly, she reached into her bag and pulled out Toriel's pie, holding it out to Muffet. "Here."

"Hmm." She leaned in closer, all her eyeballs swivelled onto the pastry. "Is this a pie?"

"You said you needed to rest," Isla replied, pushing the meal towards the monster, "And you said my SOUL would give you strength. I'm not sure if this would give you as much strength as my SOUL, but-"

"Oh, don't be silly child!" The spider chided, smiling incredibly warmly. "This should do nicely!" The spider took the pie, ripping it into six pieces for each of her hands, and munched happily through it all, with a slight blech when she was done. "My. I apologise, that was rather rude."

"I don't mind," Isla smiled, relieved at the spider's satisfaction. "So you liked it?"

Muffet nodded dreamily, her eyes closed. "Yes deary, very much! I do have quite an affection for pastries, but it was rare to have the means for such things in the Ruins…" After a moment, she snapped her fingers. "But in Hotland, the whole area will be an oven for me and the others!" She began to sway again, in glee at the revelation. "Oh, we could all do so much! Tell me, did you make that wonderful pastry?"

"No, my Aunty did," she said honestly, "Though I tried to make an apple pie for a bake sale-"

"A bake sale!" Muffet sang, spinning on the spot in sheer excitement. "My dear you have it!"

Isla cautiously smiled with her. "I do?"

"But of course!" The spider assured, still dancing on the spot. "With a bake sale, we could all raise funds to get the spiders out of the Ruins. We'd need some kind of transport that will shelter them from the coldness of the forest, possibly a limousine…"

Isla made a face. "We only got twenty dollars from our bake sale. A limo sounds much more expensive."

Muffet waved her new friend's concerns away with a wave of a choice few of her arms. "It may take time, years even, but I am willing to do anything to make my family whole. Speaking of limbs," She continued, stretching her limbs, "I have spent far too much time resting, and with a fundraiser to organise, there is no time to waste." She returned the child's earlier curtsey. "Thank you, Isla. I hope you find your way home."

"Thank you for not eating me. I hope-" But Muffet was already walking (with a hint of a skuttle) down one of the dark hallways of the cave. "Wait!" Isla called, and see could only see 5 orbs, the monster's eyes, glinting in the darkness. "I'm heading that way too… Couldn't we go together?"

"A spider walks paths people are best off not knowing," was the reply that echoed through the cavern. Isla's heart sank. "However," she also heard as a cheery addition, "A good girl like you should go far in this place!"

The eyes slowly blinked there was into darkness, and Isla knew she was once again, alone.

There was little incident for the rest of her time in Waterfall. She went out of the cave and traversed the walkways, the grasses. The problem was it was always so dim, and all looked so similar. Then there were the mazes, the spaces of just pure black. Suhe couldn't understand the torches, and every time she felt any kinda of movement that wasn't of her own doing, she went back the way she came, becoming more and more upset. Gradually, with each setback, she began to feel tired. That was until her final attempt, where she began to feel pain.

She didn't know what hit her, deep in the thick grass, but it was sharp, with a viscous power, that managed to hit more than enough blows as Isla tried to get away. She greeted the exit of the darker patch by crumpling to the floor. She didn't look at her injuries; they hurt, and that was all that mattered. She dragged herself to a rockey wall so she could rest against it, and despite her better judgement, decided to look into her bag. She sighed. I knew it was empty and I still looked for something… Part of her regretted giving her last bit of food away, while another part knew she wouldn't have made it this far if she hadn't. If only I snuck into that town before, there might have been something I could take…

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw it. A clump of mushrooms, in arms reach, down by her right side. There were a few that glowed in the cluster, but a couple where completely plain, somehow reassuringly so. They look just like the ones mom eats, she thought. What could be the harm? While still not acknowledging the fact she knew this something might be the only thing that could get her back on her feet, she pulled a couple of the safest looking toadstools from the ground. She stared at her subjects intently. Scrunching her eyes shut, she pinched her nose and took them down in one gulp.

Only a moment afterwards, she was surprised at how much better she was feeling already. As if a wave of calming lotion had waved over and through her whole body. Even her injuries didn't seem anywhere near severe anymore! Still, she had to take a rest, and thought back to the reason she was in this predicament. Maybe I stepped on it, Isla thought in a daze, maybe I just didn't know any better. From Toriel and Muffet, she learned you could talk to some monsters, negotiate with them even. Maybe she could have talked her way through the whole Underground? That pair were perfectly reasonable at the very least, maybe the rest would have been too…

Thinking of talking to monsters, Isla realised she had been neglecting the cell phone in her pocket. I should have gotten Muffet's number, she berated herself, Then I could find out if she was okay... But there was a person she had to tell that she herself was fine. She held the speed dial, and held the phone to her ear. It didn't even ring once. "Aunty?"

"Isla?!" Toriel's voice shrieked from the other end of the line. "Oh, my child, thank goodness you're okay! I wanted to call but I wasn't sure if that would raise anyone's attention- but never mind that, are you okay? Where are you? You're not hurt are you? Are you eating well?"

"Aunty!" Isla giggled, warmed by the concern she held for her. "I'm not stupid, I had the ringtone on silent! And yes, I am completely fine. A little bruised up, but-"

Another shrill tone down the line. "Bruised?! By whom? I swear I will find them-"

"It's okay," Isla soothed, slowly. She was beginning to feel slightly dizzy, and her words were a little slurred. "I didn't see them anyway, I'm in a dark part of Waterfall. But I found some mushrooms, and they're doing a real good job of-"

As opposed to her previous loudness, Toriel's response was entirely muted. "Mushrooms." Silence. "My child, weren't you ever taught how dangerous they can be?"

"Well, yeah, but," She admitted, her vision becoming a bit of a blur, "They looked pretty safe. And I ran out of things to eat, so…"

"Gods above, I should have…" The monster muttered, before raising her voice. "Isla, listen to me, you need to clear your stomach. Put your fingers down your throat so-"

"Ew, that's icky Aunty T!" She laughed, for a lot longer than she should have. "That sounds funny. But really, I'm going to be fine. I just need to…"

Toriel's voice became high, frantic, and racked with sobs. "Need to what? Isla?"

Isla tried to get the words out with her laboured breathes. Her heart was beating faster than it had ever before, but that didn't seem particularly important. "Need to… Sleep. Need to- I gotta- I-"

All Toriel knew was the thud on her end of the line. "My child? My child please talk to me. Isla? Isla?!"

And Toriel cried out, to the heavens above, to the other creatures of the underground, to the Isla herself, for someone to save this poor, lost, human soul.

But nobody came.

AN: Hi! As you can imagine, this is meant to be the start of a series. Ideas are laid out, but not exactly expanded upon, so don't expect anything regular, hell, this took me about a month to get doing. Please, tell me what you think. Until next time -WN