A/N: Howdy! First Undertale fanfic has begun! TRIGGER WARNING: Anxiety and panic attacks are mentioned in this chapter, if any of these things trigger you, please turn back! Anyway, this chapter consists of a lot of Flowey's actual dialogue, so I apologize for any tedious-ness. I just wanted to make it seem more like the game itself, but I shall change things up with goat mother in the Ruins, just you wait! Oh, also, the character is already named, heh XD
Chapter 1: Flower Bed
There was a resounding thud as you hit the ground, which echoed from wall to wall. You let out a strained sigh, groaning as you opened your eyes. Bright, white light struck them like daggers, and you brought a hand up to your forehead. Craning your neck upwards, you marvelled at how far you had actually fallen; the gaping hole at the top of the mountain was but a pinprick now.
You let your head drop backwards, and your arm fall slack at your side. Feeling a smoothness against your bare arms instead of the familiar blades of grass you were expecting, you realised that you'd landed on a plush bed of yellow flowers.
'Huh' you thought. 'Did these break my fall? How the hell does that work?'
You felt some of the pretty flowers rustle softly behind you, and your chest tightened slightly. Brushing it of as wind, you began mentally assessing yourse – wait. You licked your finger and held it above your head. No breeze was felt against your fingertip. There's no wind down here, so what in the hell was tha-
"Howdy!"
"Aagh! Jesus fuckin-"
"My name's Flowey! Flowey the flower!"
You were taken aback, and you couldn't move. The only thing you could do was sit – sit and watch whatever that yellow abomination of a flower was. It carried on speaking, his face (pollen thingy? You weren't quite sure) twisted into a creepily joyful smile.
"Hmm, you're new to the underground, aren'tcha?"
'Underground?'
"Golly, you must be so confused. Someone ought to teach you how things work around here! I guess little old me will have to do!" A slight twitch of his far-too-enthusiastic grin caught your eye. "Ready? Here we go!"
Suddenly, your surroundings went black, leaving only a slightly cracked, dull red heart before you, inside a white box. Flowey then appeared atop it, looking slightly confused, but still donning that awful smile.
"See that heart?" He asked, pointing a leaf towards the heart in front of you. "That is your SOUL. The very culmination of your being!"
You didn't like the sound of that, and the fact that something as precious as your actual soul was accessible to this shifty weed sent chills down your spine.
"Your SOUL starts off weak," he continued, "but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV."
'So this is like some sort of game?' you wondered. 'And what does LV stand for? Levels?'
"What's LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course!" Your face crinkled in confusion. Had he just read your mind? "You want some LOVE, don't you? Don't worry, I'll share some with you!" His clown-like grin contorted into an almost adorable wink, and he poked his tongue out slightly. Five white, bullet-like things sprung from him and hovered above his petals, spinning in the air.
"Down here," he began again, peering off to the left slightly, "LOVE is shared through…little white…" There was noticeable hesitation after "white", as if he was trying to think of something on the spot. His expression also became more strained after this, sending the already uneasy feeling in your stomach into overdrive, "'friendliness pellets.' Are you ready?" He gazed back at you. "Move around! Get as many as you can!"
The "friendliness pellets" began to move closer to you, and, as if by instinct, you moved to dodge them. At least, your soul did, you stayed put. Almost instantaneously, his expression darkened into a rather pissed off frown.
"Hey buddy," he said, his tone far less lively, "you missed them. Let's try again, okay?"
He sent more pellets in your direction, and, yet again, you dodged them. His face became much more intimidating now, with an angry grimace replacing the previous grin. "Is this a joke?" he growled. "Are you braindead? RUN. INTO. THE. BULLETS! – friendliness pellets!" He threw more bullets at you, and you dodged once more.
The look on his face was becoming pretty amusing now, and you suppressed a snicker. All of a sudden, a sadistic, twisted, ear-to-ear smile spread across his features, and two little white dots appeared inside his eyes. Four fangs also became visible, manipulating the smirk into jagged lines.
"You know what's going on here, don't you?" His voice became a forceful snarl, slicing fear through your chest. "You just wanted to see me suffer."
A circle of bullets surrounded you, leaving no possible escape.
"DIE."
He began laughing manically, his face twisted into an awful, toothy grin, if it could even be called that. You began to panic, your breath catching and your heart missing beats at a time.
The bullets were closing in at all angles, dooming you for death. You could feel an anxiety attack coming, and the usually empty feeling in your chest became replaced with the familiar feeling of dread. You began to violently hyperventilate, and tears streamed down your in your spot, you prepared for your positive demise, when the white bullets disappeared.
A blue ball of beautiful flames rocketed at Flowey, and, with a yelp, off he flew. To his spot walked a sweet, motherly looking, goat lady, wearing a flowing purple dress with a strange shield-like emblem on the front. She was rather tall, so had to crouch to her knees to reach your small height of 5ft 1, not to mention the fact you had curled into a ball.
"Hello, my child. My name is Toriel."
She placed a fluffy, white, paw on your shoulder, and spoke in a soothing voice.
"It's okay now, that cruel creature is gone. Now, take some deep breaths for me, it shall help to calm you down." Toriel watched as your back rose and fell slowly, and gave you a soft, caring smile when you eventually lifted your head up. She wiped your salty cheeks with a large, fuzzy thumb, and held out a paw to help you stand.
"Now, my child, as I began, my name is Toriel, and I am the keeper of the Ruins." She brought you to a large, purple archway, and hugged you to her side. "What might your name be?" You hugged her back, and mumbled your name into her dress.
"Finn. My name's Finn."
The walk through what Toriel called the Ruins was pleasant, but rather hasty. You walked by her side, your hand in hers, through multiple rooms that seemed to be made of puzzles, and caught the glance of many a strange monster along the way. A crippling silence hung over you both, as you pondered on what to say. Anxious thoughts and questions had already begun leaking their way into your mind long before the goat mother spoke.
"So, my child," she started, "I am taking you back to my home for some well-earned rest. You seem tired and hungry, so I decided I would bake something for you."
As delicious as your hunger made her suggestion sound, you were unsure. You had never even heard of monsters before (only the bad types in story books), so you had no clue what monster food would taste like. Would it be made out of gross ingredients, or nice ones, similar to that in the human world? You weren't sure.
"I can make pie, if that seems appealing to you. How does butterscotch and cinnamon sound?"
Ah, that was more like it. Although butterscotch and cinnamon was a combination you were yet to try, you were eager to taste it. You glanced up at her crimson eyes and gave an enthusiastic nod.
"Sounds great!"
She suddenly gave animated gasp, and patted what seemed like pockets.
"Oh! I nearly forgot! I have a phone here for you, to keep us in touch all the time! Make sure to call me if you need any help at all." Toriel smiled gently, handing you a rectangular object. It looked pretty past it, but was better than nothing.
You grinned back and pocketed it.
"Thanks, Toriel!"
You had finally arrived to Goat Mom's home in the ruins, and were sat on the bed she had leant you for rest The intoxicating smell of cinnamon and butterscotch drifted into your nostrils, and you sighed in bliss. You couldn't wait to try a slice.
There was one thing on your mind, however. How would you get back to the surface? You missed it already, and you hadn't been in the Underground for more than a day (at least, you thought so, it was hard to tell). Despite not really having anything to go back to, the relaxing feeling of freedom was something you craved, and, being trapped down there was making you slightly jittery.
'It's okay, though' you thought. 'I'll just ask Toriel what the easiest way out is, simple. No problem.'
Boy, were you wrong.
Whenever you brought up the subject, she would awkwardly change the subject to snails, or just completely disregard you question. It was beginning to bother you.
After enjoying Goat Mother's wonderful cinnamon-butterscotch pie at the neat dinner table, you decided to press on the subject a little harder. It began relatively normal, just like before, but eventually got more tense, until Toriel announced she had to leave.
You watched her fluffy ears bob and her purple dress flow as she made her way down the stairs, and instantly your curiosity was peaked.
What in the hell would she need to do down there?
You decided you would find out, and began to follow her.
You were not expecting to find what you did at the bottom of the stairs. Instead of an average room, like you had imagined, you were met with a long, purple corridor, similar to the rest of the ruins. You could see Toriel in the distance, walking at a hurried pace.
"Miss Toriel!" You called out.
Her rapid speed faltered slightly and her head inched towards you. A jolt of hope struck your chest. Unfortunately, she regained composure and kept walking.
Turn back, my child." She called, cold and stern. "Go back to your room and wait for me."
Her tone of voice took you by surprise, and it was your turn to falter. She certainly struck you as the motherly type, by the way she spoke, acted, everything, but now she seemed more like a teacher: firm but fair. Today, though, you weren't having any of that, and this circumstance most definitely wasn't fair.
"No!" You called, but she wast too distant to hear. "Hey, wait!"
You ran after her, gaining on her with a sprint.
You asked her another question, "Toriel! What're you doing?" But she didn't respond. She only stared at you in her perhiperal vision.
You noticed her eyes, and she looked conflicted. At last, she spoke.
"I am doing this for your own good, my child." Her words echoed throughout the hall. "What lies beyond this corridor is...simply too dangerous. I am merely keeping you safe."
Her final sentence reverberated off the walls of your mind, hauntingly repeating itself.
That's exactly what they all said, before-
"NO!" You screamed. "Don't tell me that! Don't say I can't keep myself safe!" Toriel had turned to fully face you now, a large, dark door looming behind her. She had an air about her that struck alarm bells, but, despite this, you carried on.
"I'm perfectly capable, I'm an adult for goodness sake!"
Your last sentence seemed to change something within her, and her eyes looked darker and sadder than they did before. The strange air became more tense, much like it did with Flowey, and that familiar tugging feeling tingled through your chest. As you had expected, your soul had been pulled from your chest and was now hovering before you, in its dull glory. Fear now filled the empty space your soul had left, and your senses became more alert.
Toriel hesitated.
You swallowed thickly, trying to surpress your dread.
A pulsing blue glow began radiating from her paws, making your soul quiver. For options appeared in front of you, hologram-like things, and you lifted a finger towards one.
MERCY, it read.
Toriel gasped. "What're you doing, child? You think that'll help you out there?" She gestured behind her, and you followed her movement. The goat lady spotted the window of defencelessness you had left, and took her chance to spring her first attack. You yelped at the burning pain as bright blue fire singed your arm.
"OW! Toriel! No! I don't want to fight!"
"But you must! If you think yourself to be prepared for the outside, then show me!" She curled her paws into emblazoned fists, and another wave of anxiety hit you.
"P-please stop!" Your voice began to quiver. "Nobody has to get hurt!"
"I'm afraid that's where you're wrong, my child."Toriel's voice was unnaturally even. "In that world...it's kill or be killed."
A searing jolt spread throughout your chest, and your body pulsed with agony. Your vision started blurring; you knew you were severely injured, and you had began blacking out. The last thing you saw was Toriel's panic-stricken face, before you lost vision entirely.
You awoke from your unconsciousness beside the same looming, violet door, covered in a fluffy coat and jumper. You shifted your head, hearing a crinkle by your ear. Reaching a hand up to the source of the sound, you pulled it in front of your face, at arms length.
'It's a letter,' you realized, 'from Miss Toriel.'
"Dear Finn," it read. "I am sorry I reacted the way I did - you were right, I did not need to fight you. However, as I said, it is unsafe out there. They - Asgore - will kill you, if you're not careful. Keep yourself safe (and warm), for I know you have already made up your mind. Good luck my child. Love, Tori."
You smiled, scanning over the letter again. Finding a P.S. on the back, you checked it out. It was Tori's number.
Adding it into your phone, you slipped on the jumper and coat, heading towards the doorhandle. You pushed it open, and was met with a chilling gust of freezing air.
Shivering, you took a step out.
A/N Soooo, there we go! I got a comment about rambling on with a bunch of pre-Sans chapters, so decided to update this to fit the whole Tori incident and stuff into the same chapter. Also, it was too short, so I doubled it, haha. Anyway, next chapter, you meet good ol' Sansy! Yayy! I hope you enjoyed this, comment anything I could improve next time. Have a good day, see you next chapter :D