Prologue
It was just the usual day on Mount Ebott. The land was quiet, unmoving, for the legend that anyone who came here disappeared kept everyone away. But then footsteps began to disturb the silence, but they were just as quiet, like the owner didn't want to disturb the peace.
The somewhat plump figure's dark brown, floofy hair bounced with the motions, as he looked around wearily, hands tucked against his stomach.
This was his first mission alone. To investigate this place and see why there was an anomaly signal. Apparently, they thought he was ready, which Steven appreciated, but…
..why here?
He sighed and brought out a bottle of water from his cheeseburger backpack, chugged some of it, and put it back as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. The hike up here from the newly instituted Warp Pad was a tiresome one, but he could finally say that he made it. Amomgst all the nature, the thinning trees, was a gaping hole that wasn't easy to miss.
Steven furrowed his brow, looking down into it carefully. He couldn't see the end. All he could see was darkness. He bit his lip and looked away. Now, he wasn't exactly scared. He had his floating power, after all.
But…
He looked down in it again.
...it looked endless. Like he'd fall forever. But the anomaly had to be here, he mused, thumbing his chin. I should at least investigate…
With this thought in mind, his forehead crinkled with determination, and he took a deep breath, before he picked up a nearby rock and tossed it down, kneeling and putting his ear to the edge.
He wasn't that impulsive, after all.
It took what seemed to be forever before he finally heard a faint clatter as it reached the bottom. He smiled, and stood up.
Now he took a breath, and jumped into the mountain, slowing his descent when he felt he had at least gone halfway. Still, all he could see was darkness. Until he saw light and what seemed to be gold. Eyes starry, he sped up his descent just a little and soon landed gracefully upon the patch of what he now knew were flowers, with how soft they were against his exposed toes.
He stared down at them for a while, trying to figure this out. And at the floor as well.
Wait.. floor?
There's a floor at the bottom of a mountain? he frowned, stepping carefully out of the patch with curiosity vaguely masking his anxiety and excitement.
This just got more interesting.
Steven walked deeper, looking back every now and then. The farther he went, the more he could feel that this place was empty.
Like.. as Amethyst had described.. an empty place that was once full. He could feel that people once lived here. But where they had gone? he didn't know.
He ran his hand along the wall, which was peculiarly smooth for the inside of a mountain. He was beginning to think this whole place was the anomaly. Until he ran into a wall, and mumbled his apologies as he rubbed at his nose.
The instinct had him look to his right, and there.. there in the center of the room, was a lone golden flower.
But.. unlike the others, it didn't seem to be doing so well. It was drooping, seemingly wilting, and.. just.. seemed alone.
Steven clasped a hand over his mouth, and approached it, kneeling once a foot away and taking a closer look.
By all accounts, up close, the flower seemed fine, though the petals covered its "face". But even a powerful empath like Steven couldn't read the levels of despair practically emanating from the poor thing.
Wind seemed to blow through just then, but the boy wasn't focused on his environment, just letting it gently tussle his hair and watching the petals on this flower flutter softly.
He blinked, shaking his head, and looked around. Nobody came. It was like this place had had the life sucked out of it. Much like the Kindergartens. But the flowers. And this one. This place still had life. It was just empty.
He brought out his camera with a sigh and took careful pictures, and collected some samples too. He figured the Gems would want to see this. But then he took a look at the flower again. He decided he wasn't going to leave it behind. Others would say it wasn't necessary, but he felt something about this flower that he hadn't felt about the others.
Luckily, he came prepared, bringing out a plant pot and fertilizer and setting it up. And then he carefully uprooted the flower and placed it in the dirt. Steven could've sworn this time that he felt emotions of shock and confusion that weren't his own, and that he saw the flower very slightly move on its own. The young teen blinked, but otherwise thought nothing of it.
He made sure it was comfortable before he picked up the pot and then spoke to the flower, "It's okay. I'm going to bring you home. You won't be lonely anymore."
Home? the flower's eyebrow twitched, unnoticed. He had also noticed that the voice didn't belong to whom he hoped. A little sigh passed his lips. Guess he was forgotten after all.
Steven began walking back to the patch of flowers, and looked up through the hole into which he'd jumped. For some reason, he could see sunlight. The flower tilted, again, unnoticed, upwards, not even wanting to raise his petals. Brow furrowing, he began to get confused.
What chance does he think he has getting back?! the exit is the other way! he snarled within his mind. But the boy saw a way. He took a deep breath, squatted, and then jumped.
The potted flower nearly jolted with alarm. He wasn't expecting this. Not at all. He could feel himself soaring higher and higher, until he felt gravity begin to pull them, but that's when Steven grasped the dirty wall and bounced off it to the other, gaining altitude with each jump. Since he was so into this, the sunflower thought he might peek, raising his petals just a little. He was mildly impressed with the feats, and then took a look at the boy's face. While his eyes were open, he could see the same expression Frisk had worn from time to time. His eyes widened at this.
And soon, the boy graced sunlight, having vaulted out of the final reaches of the abyss and onto land gracefully with a kneel. He stood, and smiled, looking down upon the flower who quickly reassumed position, but the smile faltered just a tiny bit. He could've sworn he saw it move.
Steven brushed it aside then, eyebrows and lips upturning as he chuckled halfheartedly, "Well, we're out. Let's go."
And then he proceeded to walk back down the mountain, humming softly. The flower mumbled, but other than a raised eyebrow, the boy shrugged and kept going.
However, just before he disappeared beyond the top, a figure dressed in blue glanced out from the trees, closed eyes somehow seeing. But those eyes twinkled softly, and a small smile graced the figure's face. And then she turned and walked away…
A FLOWER AMONG GEMS
BY PERI WALKER.
A/N: As you can see, I decided to do something a little different with the title. Make it more like the title of Undertale. :3
So here's a story I'd kept in my drive files for a while, but it's not finished. I'll upload the rest of it when I'm done with the story, so for now you'll be getting this prologue here. Reason being I'm tired of stories "ending" when they're not finished. I plan to work on it though. So, here you go. I hope you enjoyed it. :3