This isn't what Chara had in mind when they climbed Mt. Ebott.

They groggily stared up at the distant point of light. Was that really where they had fallen from? And why was part of the light white while other parts glowed golden? Chara closed their eyes in an effort to give their brain some relief. At least they were still alive; a fall from that height could have easily killed them.

Despite what the people in their village would probably assume, Chara hadn't climbed Mount Ebott because they wanted to die. Everyone they knew said the mountain was cursed, and that anyone who dared to set foot on it would never return. That was the reason Chara had done it, so they could come back down and tell the villagers that they were all being idiots. If the village was proved wrong about the mountain then maybe the idiots would see they were wrong about other things too, such as what made someone a 'demon'.

So much for that plan. Chara couldn't tell anyone anything if they were stuck in a hole.

They tried opening their eyes again, and found that the light didn't cause such an overload this time. This also meant they were able to fully take in the scenery for the first time. Chara was surprised to realize that the light wasn't different colors; the white light was shining through something golden and translucent. Whatever it was towered over the child, casting them in shades of yellow and green. Maybe they had landed in a patch of sunflowers? The petals seemed kind of big for sunflowers though.

Whatever, who cares what kind of flowers they were? Laying there wondering about it wasn't going to get them out of this stupid hole. Chara pushed themselves upright, wincing a bit. They definitely had some bruises, but they could handle it. Then they tried to stand up, and found they were very much mistaken.

Pain flared through Chara's left leg. The child screamed and collapsed into a panting mess. Fucking God their leg was broken! They'd been in plenty of fights before, but they'd never felt pain like that. Probably because they usually won. Chara shook their head and chided themself for dwelling on the past. They had to focus and come up with a plan to get out of here. They refused to die at the bottom of some hole because of their fucking leg!

Okay, step one, find something to brace their leg. Chara wouldn't get far if they couldn't move without screaming. They managed to sit up a little and look around. They spied a long branch among the thick stem bases; it was just out of their reach. Of fucking course.

Chara didn't bother trying to hold back their cries or swearing as they dragged themself over to it. It's not like anyone was around to hear them, and even if there was nobody would care. They lay down for a minute and caught their breath before grabbing the branch. They bent their good leg so their knee was up in the air, and brought the branch down forcefully over it. Now they had two branches and an additional bruise. Next they needed a way to keep it tight against their leg. They hardly thought about it before ripping off the long skirt they were wearing. Chara hated that the matron always made them wear it, and they had opaque tights on underneath. They tore the skirt into strips and then lined the branches up with their leg, swearing loudly as they tied and tightened the straps of the makeshift splint. This had better be worth it.

Thankfully, it was. With the splint on their leg they were able to grab one of the flower stems and pull themself up. Standing at their full height Chara was just about as tall as the flowers were. They definitely weren't sunflowers, the centers weren't dark enough.

Step two, look for a way out. Obviously climbing up the sheer rock face was out of the question, so they'd have to find another way. Chara was unsteady on their feet, and used the surprisingly sturdy flower stems for support as much as they could. They looked around for more branches that could be used as crutches or a walking stick, but couldn't find anything. The mountain was covered in trees and only one branch had found its way down here, just their luck.

On the bright side, it looked like this place was more than just a pit in the ground. Things were mostly dark outside the patch of sunlight they were in, but Chara could see a path off to the side. If this place was actually a cave, then maybe there was another opening they could use to get out of here. It was worth a shot.

The problem was that there was a good distance between the edge of the flower field and the wall of the tunnel. They would have nothing to support them in between.

The thought of making it there, despite the pain they'd feel and the odds being stacked against them, filled Chara with determination.

Chara limped across the gap as quickly as they could, knowing how difficult it would be to get back up if they stopped to rest. Pain lanced through their bones with each step, but they kept going. They shouted each time they had to put weight on their hurt leg; it helped them breathe more steadily. After what seemed like an eternity they made it to the wall of the tunnel and collapsed against it. The rocky wall jutted out at odd angles and dug into their back, but they didn't care. It was just such a relief to have the weight off of their leg.

As they lay there, gathering strength for the next part of the journey, Chara became aware of a strange noise. It was a rhythmic, scuffing sound; and Chara felt like they should have recognized it. The noise was quickly getting louder, and they felt their heartbeat begin to rise with it's volume. Fight or flight started to kick in, and without a visible target to deal with flight won out. They couldn't tell what direction the noise was coming from, everything echoed so much down there, so they went the direction they had always gone. Forward.

Chara forced themself to stand up, despite the way their leg screamed at them. They used the wall for support as much as they could and hobbled onward, focusing entirely on putting one foot in front of the other. Chara was so focused on this task that they didn't notice when the sounds suddenly stopped, but they did notice when they ran face first into something solid.

Thrown off balance, Chara hastily grabbed at what they had run into to keep from falling. Their hands met rough fabric; they gripped it tightly and leaned against it.

'You idiot!' Chara berated themselves internally. Only an idiot would fail to see a wall that was right in front of them, even if it was covered in dark cloth. They should have been more careful; it wouldn't do them any good to get cornered by whatever was coming. The sound wasn't there anymore though. Maybe they lucked out and didn't have anything to worry about.

"Howdy!"

Every muscle in Chara's body tensed. Adrenaline flooded their system, their injury temporarily forgotten. That single loud word had come from above them. Very far above them. Slowly, Chara looked up, craning their head back as far as it would go. Chara had never really believed the villagers when they said the mountain was cursed by the monsters that lived within it. Chara had to admit that, in this one instance, those idiots might have been right about something. Because there was no way the giant goat-like face staring down at them could have belonged to anything but a monster.

Chara let out a startled cry and flung themself back. They landed hard on their bottom, which sent a painful jolt through their leg and forced them to bite their tongue to keep from crying out.

"Wow! You're so small! Are you a human? Mom and Dad never said anything about them being so tiny."

Chara looked up at the giant beaming face, which was now looming over them even more than before. A quick glance showed them that the monster was actually kneeling, how could he still be that tall when he was kneeling!? That meant that the 'wall' they had run into was actually the monster's knee.

'Idiot! Can't even tell when there's a fucking giant right in front of you!'

Despite their internal rant, Chara did nothing but stare at the monster in shock. When the human didn't respond to any of his questions the smile slipped away from the monster's face, and he began to study the human more closely.

"Are you okay?" he asked, eyeing the splint on the human's leg. "Oh, you've fallen down haven't you?"

Chara finally came out of their stupor. They didn't know how to interpret the look on the monster's face, because it couldn't have actually been concern. Whatever the look meant, Chara decided they weren't going to just sit there and let God knows what be done to them by this strange creature. Gathering their determination, Chara grit their teeth and struggled to stand.

"Oh! Here, let me help you up."

Chara saw a white paw that was nearly as big as they were move toward them, and ice shot through their veins.

"Don't!" Chara snapped.

The hand stopped, and the monster looked confused. "Huh?"

"Don't- don't touch me. I'm fine, I can get up by myself."

"Uh...okay. If you say so."

The monster's hand lowered, and he sat back. Chara stared at him for a few moments, confused as to why he would give up so easily, but decided not to dwell on it. Chara rolled over so they could use the wall to push themself up, hissing in pain as they did so. They saw the monster twitch out of the corner of their eye, but he made no move toward them.

Chara limped along the cave wall, one pain filled step at a time. When they got close to the monster he scooted away from the wall a bit. The movement must have been minute to him, but for Chara it created a grating loud enough to make the human wince.

"Sorry." The monster murmured.

Chara halted and stared at the monster. He actually looked apologetic, and the way he hunched his shoulders and lay his hands in his lap made him seem...meek? Weird. Chara shook their head and continued forward. Their musings over the monster's behavior continued to distract them, and within the next few steps Chara tripped over an unnoticed crack.

Chara shrieked as their bad leg was twisted and they fell forward. They expected to crack their chin against the rock floor, but instead found their cry muffled by something soft and warm.

For a while Chara could do nothing but lay there gritting their teeth, riding out the wave of pain. When the wave subsided the human lifted their head, trying to figure out what had happened. They discovered they were resting on the paw of a very distressed goat monster.

"Are you okay? That sounded like it really hurt! Looked like it hurt a lot too..."

"I'm fine..."

"No you're not!" The boy argued. "You're hurt really bad and help is a long ways away, even for me. Won't you let me help you? Please?"

Chara gazed up at the monster. They didn't trust him. In their experience very few people were worthy of any level of trust, and even if that weren't the case it would be foolish to trust the monster. Trusting a giant they just met in dank cave? Only an idiot would do that.

Unfortunately, they didn't seem to have a choice. They could feel their broken leg throbbing, and knew it would hurt even more if they tried to stand. If they continued like this they might damage their leg permanently, and where would that leave them? If any climbing was needed to get out of this place they'd be screwed.

Truth be told though, it was the goat boy's eyes that sealed the deal. They were desperate, pleading, and stupidly sincere. Chara didn't trust him, but those eyes made them want to.

"Alright."

The goat boy beamed, and very carefully lifted Chara off the ground. The next thing the human knew they were being cupped in both of the monster's hands and held against against his chest. He was wearing a green and yellow sweater, not all that different from the brown and orange one Chara wore. The yarn used to knit the monster's sweater was thick enough that Chara could easily pick out the details of the weave.

"What's your name?" the monster boy asked as he stood up and started walking.

"...Chara."

"Chara huh? That's a nice name. My name's Asriel."

"Where are we going Asriel?"

"To see my Mom. She's the best healer in the whole Underground, so I know she'll be able to fix you up."

"If you say so..."

In that moment it sunk in that Asriel really was a child, probably around Chara's own age. The human shuddered a little. If Asriel was this tall as a kid, then his parents must be enormous! Swallowing a bundle of nerves, Chara thought back to a stray kitten they'd once found. Maybe that kitten had felt the same way they did now. Chara hoped Asriel's parents responded better to a stray than the matron had.

A.N.

I hope you all enjoyed the second installment of my version of the Undertall AU. I'm open to suggestions about future chapters if you've got them. :)

This first chapter was inspired by some fan art done by miniature-knight on tumblr, check it out!

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