My notes: Thank you for all the positive feedback, I really appreciate it! I am glad you guys like the story, so far! I hope you all continue to enjoy my work. Please leave a review telling me what you think and if I made any mistakes, I love hearing what you guys have to say!
Replies to Reviews:
89ingenting: Thank you, I am glad you like it, so far! Thank you for pointing that out to me, by the way. I must have missed that when I was editing the chapter, sorry about that.
Noob6: Thanks, and I will! Unfortunately, no. Neither Frisk nor Chara will appear in this story. Chara will be mentioned, like they are in the pacifist run, but that will be the extent of it. As for Frisk, they are not going to be in this story period. Dana is kind of replacing Frisk, thus why I had her wear a pink and blue striped sweater as well as why I made her a kid again. Chara might make an appearance if I do a genocide version of this story, which I am still debating, but no guarantees.
Disclaimer: I don't own Prototype or Undertale
Alex and Dana finally came to the end of the tunnel and discovered yet another opening, though this one was very different in that it was carved in the shape of an ornate door frame.
"Well I can't say I expected to find anything like this down here." Dana commented idly.
Alex ignored the door frame, only taking it too mean there could be potential danger ahead. He stared into the next room, scanning it with his standard, thermal, and viral visions. He saw nothing except another door on the other side of the room and a small patch of grass with a single golden flower in the middle of the room. He smelled for any poisons, gases, or other hidden chemical traps, but again detected nothing. He finally relented, deciding there was nothing there after all.
"It should be safe, I can't detect any traps. Stay alert though, we still know nothing about this place." He told Dana, who just rolled her eyes at her brother's behavior. They both walked in and made it about a quarter of the way through when they were stopped by a strange voice.
"Howdy" It said, immediately putting Alex on guard. "I'm Flowey. Flowey the Flower!"
Both Dana and Alex immediately looked down at the flower in the middle of the patch of grass, illuminated by another hole in the ceiling. They saw it looking back at them, with it's eyes. Flowers weren't supposed to have eyes, or a mouth for that matter, or teeth in said mouth which it was using to smile at them innocently.
"Does that flower have a face, and did it just talk to us?" Dana asked Alex, unsure if she was finally going insane or not.
"Yes and yes." Flowey chuckled, seemingly amused by her question.
The siblings had two very different reactions to this. Alex immediately felt his tendrils begin to thrash internally. It was a fight to keep from consuming the little plant on the spot. He usually avoided consuming plant life due to the fact that he had a hard time integrating them into his biomass, though he could do it. In this case, however, he desperately wanted to make an exception so he could study this things DNA and find out how it works. How was it even sentient, let alone intelligent? He only held back because he knew Dana would be upset with him if he attacked this thing without provocation, even if it wasn't human.
Dana, however, was stuck trying to decide whether it was cute or creepy. On one hand she found it absolutely adorable, on the other hand something about it's beady black eyes was extremely unsettling. She settled on cute. After Greene, hardly anything scared her anymore. Compared to her, a little talking flower was nothing.
"You're both new to the underground, aren't 'cha? Golly, you two must be so confused. Someone ought to teach you how things work around here! I guess little old me will have to do." Flowey chimed happily.
All of Alex's instincts shouted at him not to trust this thing, that it was lying to him and Dana, that it was dangerous. This thing was acting too nice, too innocent. It was far too eager with it's offer to help them. This reeked of a trap to him.
"Uh, yeah were new down here, I guess. Your really willing to help us out, so easily? We don't have much to give you in return." Dana told Flowey, far more open minded then Alex, though she was still slightly suspicious herself.
"Of course I am!" Flowey smiled. "Also, I am doing this out of the kindness of my heart, I can't let a couple of strangers like yourselves continue on without teaching you how the underground works! So no need to worry about repaying me." Flowey stated innocently.
"How generous of you." Alex scowled, crossing his arms."Unfortunately, we can't take you up on that. Not to be rude but me and my sister need to keep moving." He grabbed Dana's wrist, despite her objections, and started towards the door. "Come on, let's get out of here."
Flowey's face became frustrated for a moment before returning to it's usual smile quickly enough to go unnoticed by Dana, though not by Alex who's senses were far superior to a normal human. The expression solidified the thought that the flower was trying to deceive them, in Alex's mind.
Small vines came up out of the ground and wrapped around Alex's ankle, causing him to stop dead in his tracks. He wondered if he should just shred them and bolt out of there carrying Dana, to keep her out of danger or if he should see where this was going so he would know what to expect later on if they ran into anything else like this flower creature. He decided to see what this thing was capable of. Such knowledge would make it easier to defend his sister later if they ran into any other sentient plant things down here, or whatever else. Besides, he was confident in his ability to keep her safe if this thing did turn out to be hostile.
"Hold on!" Flowey pleaded. "Please, it won't take long I swear. There are just a few basic things I want to teach you. You don't want to get in trouble because you made a mistake that you could have avoided, right?" Flowey continued to smile.
"Come on. It seems nice enough, and it says it wants to help us. I say we could at least give it a chance." Dana chided Alex, thinking he was just being paranoid.
Alex huffed, seemingly in annoyance, and said, "Fine. Well listen to what it has to say." He had already decided that it would be best to see what Flowey could do so he could know how to counter it or similar things later, but he thought it best to act irritated and suspicious so as to not draw suspicion. He didn't want the Flower catching on to what he was doing. Fortunately he was very likely the best actor in the world, he had to be to keep up disguises and infiltrate top secret bases as he use to, so this was child's play for him.
"Wonderful!" Flowey beamed. "Ready? Here we go!"
Suddenly two glowing hearts appeared in front of Alex and Dana, one floating in front of each of them at about chest height. Dana's was bright red and healthy looking, while Alex's was pure black. They were both shocked by the hearts sudden appearance.
"Whoa! This is so cool!" Dana exclaimed excitedly before reaching out to touch hers. Her hand passed right through it without doing anything. That did nothing to squelch her excitement and curiosity, however.
Alex simply stared at his, wondering what the hell was going on. Normally he would assume they were some sort of holograms, but as there was nothing around that would indicate such, that he could see, he had no idea what any of this was.
"These are your SOULS, the very culmination of your beings." Flowey explained, earning a death-glare from Alex, and a skeptical look from Dana, both of which he ignored.
'Is this thing serious?' Alex thought. He couldn't see any signs that it was lying or joking, currently. 'It has to be lying. Magic and souls don't exist.' Even still doubt in that claim began to permeate his mind. He couldn't see anything in the room that would indicate technology was the cause, so what could it be? He had no answer. What if it was telling the truth, right now? Alex didn't like that idea in the least. If it hurt Dana or damaged her soul in any way shape or form, he would make sure it's death was slow and agonizing as physically possible.
"Your SOUL starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain lots of LV." Flowey explained, cheerfully.
"What's LV?" Dana inquired curiously.
"Why, LOVE, of course!" Flowey giggled.
Okay, this thing was officially screwing with them, Alex decided.
"You want some LOVE, don't you?" Flowey asked, not giving them time to respond. "Don't worry, I'll share some with you!" He winked, his tongue sticking out the side of his still smiling mouth. Suddenly a tiny star shaped spark appeared above it's head before disappearing. Five small spinning seed shaped things appeared above Flowey's head, in it's place.
"Down here LOVE is shared through... Little white... 'friendliness pellets'." Flowey stated, looking off to the side slightly. The way he said it combined with his expression, immediately telling Alex he was lying.
"Are you ready?" Flowey asked. Suddenly the "friendliness pellets" began moving towards Dana very fast. "Move around! Get as many as you can!" Flowey told them.
Alex's internal alarms were sent screaming to an all time high as the pellets flew towards Dana. "Watch out!" He shouted, jumping in front of her to intercept the pellets, tearing apart the vines that held his ankle. He stopped four of the five, which impacted his head and torso, blowing holes in them. He hit the ground and immediately began regenerating from the damage. The fifth, flying past him despite his best efforts and hitting Dana in the shoulder, causing her to scream in pain as it blasted a hole all the way through. They were about as powerful as nine millimeter bullets.
Dana's scream put Alex in a rage. How dare that weed hut his sister! He was going to tear that weed apart and consume what ever was left! He wanted to hear it scream, to beg for mercy. He would make it suffer.
"You idiots!" Flowey shouted, his face now sporting a large sadistic expression. "In this world, it's kill or BE killed! Why would ANYONE pass up an opportunity like this!?" His face morphed to become more monstrous in appearance. More magic bullets appeared, encircling Alex and Dana, cutting off any chance at running away that they had. "DIE!" Flowey shouted, his face morphing back into it's previous sadistic expression as he laughed hysterically. The bullets began slowly closing in on Alex and Dana.
Alex didn't know what any of this was, but that didn't matter, because right now, he was pissed. Viral tendrils engulfed him as he morphed into his armored form, transforming his arms into his claws.
The pellets paused for a moment and Flowey stopped laughing, now confused by the sight before him. The big human transformed into a huge black creature with massive sword like claws. Did it even have eyes?! He couldn't tell. Was this thing even human? It certainly wasn't like any monster he had ever seen before. No matter, what ever it was it would die like everyone else. The pellets continued on their path.
"A-Alex?" Dana stuttered from a mix of pain and worry over what was happening. Her voice was too quiet for anybody except for her or Alex to hear.
Alex just stabbed one of his claws into the ground and engulfed Dana in a bullet proof tent of reinforced spikes, ensuring the tent was closed off underground so the flower couldn't use more of it's vines, which it had previously grabbed his ankle with, to attack Dana from below. He also made certain it had just enough space for air to enter and exit on the surface so Dana could breath. He detached the biomass he used to create the tent from his body, and prepared to pounce on the flower so he could rip it to pieces.
He was just about to throw himself at the flower when the pellets disappeared, confusing both him and Flowey. "What!" Flowey hissed angerly. A fire ball suddenly appeared out of no where and hit the flower, tearing it out of the ground and sending it flying into the shadows of the room. Alex immediately scanned for it with his thermal vision, but failed to find either the freshly uprooted flower or it's ashes. It just disappeared, along with the heart floating in front of him.
Enraged at the loss of his newest prey, he looked around the room to search for anything that may have created the fireball. On the other side of the room, another creature entered through a door frame. This one was a nine foot tall humanoid goat like creature in purple robes, with a strange symbol on the chest. It looked slightly angry it's self.
"What a horrible creature, torturing such a poor innocent youth." It said to it's self, it's voice indicating it was a female, if it's species abided by the same biological rules as humans, that is.
Alex readied himself to pounce again. If this thing also attacked him or if it got too close he would not hesitate to tear it to pieces as well.
She stopped a few feet from the door seeing Alex facing her, claws outstretched and ready to pounce. "You have nothing to fear from me, clawed one. I merely wish to see if the human you were protecting was harmed, and heal her if necessary." She stated, trying to make her tone as calming as possible. She took another step closer and Alex manipulated his cells to emit a loud screeching hiss, tensing further. This caused the creature to stop dead in her tracks.
He considered killing the creature now. She was a potential threat to Dana's safety, despite her claims to the contrary, and he was very reluctant to risk anything at the moment. Especially since Dana was already wounded at the moment. He could hear her shouting from the inside of her armored tent and kicking at the walls, wanting to be let out, but he refused to release her until he knew there were no more threats to her life. He would have to be fast though, because the wound she received was pretty bad and he didn't want her bleeding to death either.
He was on the verge of deciding to eliminate the goat person when she spoke again, after seeing that he refused to let her get any closer without a fight. "I see... I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins. I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down." This did not help her case any in Alex's mind. "Please excuse my rudeness, but, what kind of monster are you, if I may ask? I have never seen anyone else like you before." She asked kindly.
The way she said that confused him. Did these things call themselves monsters? Her wording seemed to indicate as much. Well that fucking flower just proved that magic and souls existed, why not monsters too?
Tendrils engulfed Alex as he morphed back into his human form and stood up straight, pretending to relax and let his guard down, though he still kept his claws. He did this as a kind of test. If she was really a threat, this "Toriel" would see this as an opportunity to attack him while he was vulnerable.
Toriel seemed confused at first until she realized that he must be warming up to her. It happened much faster then she had initially anticipated, seeing how aggressive he was acting at first.
"Monster, huh? I'm guessing that's what you and that flower thing call yourselves? How fitting." Alex commented, crossing his arms.
Toriel was confused yet again, and very slightly offended, though she didn't take his words to heart under the current circumstances. "Yes, indeed... I take it you are not a monster then? Strange, I have never known a human to be able to change their form as you do."
"I'm a shape shifter, let's just leave it at that for now." Alex told her.
"Very well then..." Toriel stated, unsure of what to do next. The child he was protecting was very likely in need of medical attention but she got the feeling that he wasn't going to let her near them any time soon.
"So. You just gonna stand there, or are you going to leave? My sister was wounded and I need to help her, soon." Alex stated, walking backwards towards the spikes, before leaning on them. He could hear Dana yelling at him from inside the tent, it was far from sound proof.
"I'm sorry?" Toriel asked, taken aback by his blatantly rude behavior and out right dismissal of her and her offer of assistance. "I... I would like to assist you. I can heal her if you would just let me, besides which she seems to want to be let out."
"No." Alex stated bluntly, amused by the look on Toriel's face at that one simple word. She was apparently not used to being told, no, by anyone. "The last monster that offered to help us ended up trying to kill us and succeeded in blasting a hole through her shoulder. Why the hell would I trust you or any other monster after that? I would have to be stupid to take down those spikes and leave her vulnerable with one of you around, whether she wants me to or not." He scowled.
She almost seemed hurt by his words. "Surely you will not base your entire opinion of us on the actions of one misguided creature?! I can assure you, most monsters are completely harmless!"
"Yeah, words are cheap lady. Say what ever you want, that doesn't mean I have to believe you. You pose a clear and obvious threat to my sister, even if you say you want to heal her." Alex told her, nonchalantly. Tendrils engulfed his arms as he morphed them back to their base form, getting sick of keeping his claws out.
Toriel seemed at a loss as to what to say for a moment. Finally her face brightened and she said. "You are correct, you do not have to believe me, but if I really meant you or your sister any harm, would I not have attacked you by now?"
Alex shrugged, "It could be an act to make me let my guard down just like that flower."
"Very well, but why would I have helped you instead of allowing you both to tire each other out before killing all three of you, if I were as dangerous or violent as you seem to make me out to be?" Toriel asked, upset that she had to speak of such things instead of helping the wounded girl this man was trying to protect.
Alex struggled to find a reasonable answer.
"Well?" Toriel asked cautiously, not wanting to provoke him.
"I'm thinking, damn it!" Alex half shouted in frustration. His arms were no longer crossed as he paced in a small area in front of the tent. "Fuck! I don't fucking know!" Even the memories of the thousands of people he had consumed couldn't provide him with a reasonable answer. She had him in a corner with shear logic!
Toriel cringed at his casual use of foul language but decided not to comment so as to not offend him any more. "Will you allow me heal her?" She asked tiredly, almost ready to give up knowing how stubborn humans could be when they wanted to, and this one seemed exceptional in that aspect.
If he had teeth in the way humans did, they would have been powder at that point from how hard he would be grinding them. Dana was hurt badly, and all he could really do was use thin strands of dead or inert biomass to try and sew up the wound, or maybe tear the sleeve off her sweater and tie it around her shoulder to act as a rag or bandage, and hopefully keep her from bleeding out. He could always infect her with his strain of Blacklight, but he could never actually bring himself to do that to her, not in reality.
Needless to say he had very limited options, and here was someone who was offering to actually heal her for him through what he assumed was magic, which was just something he couldn't do. All his arguments against it were obliterated at this point.
Damn it! He should have made the tent of spikes around Dana sound proof so he could consume this creature with out her ever learning of it's presence, but that would have required him to make it airtight and he had no idea Toriel even existed until he made it. As it was though, Dana definitely heard their conversation, just as they had heard her shouting. If he consumed Toriel at this point to gain the knowledge and ability to use magic, without her attacking him first, Dana would be furious with him.
"Shit..." Alex cursed, he was in a box here and he couldn't see any way out. "Fine!" he growled furiously, morphing his arm into it's sword form. "But I'll be watching the entire thing. If I see even a hint that you are even thinking of hurting her, you will be dead faster then you can blink." He threatened, placing his normal hand on the spikes before pulling all of the biomass used to create them back into his body.
Toriel seemed relieved that he finally relented, though she ignored his threats. She began walking towards him and Dana
Dana stumbled forward holding her shoulder, having the wall she was about to kick suddenly disappear. Her sweater was stained with blood and there was a red puddle where she use to be standing. "Finally!" she stated, after regaining her balance. "I know you heard me shouting from in there. Why didn't you let me out sooner! Flowey was gone already, I know that because I heard your conversation with Toriel!" She shouted, looking at Alex.
"You heard what we were saying, so you should know already. I didn't think it was safe, in fact I still don't, but we don't have many options and unfortunately she destroyed my arguments against letting her try to heal you." Alex shrugged, never taking his eyes off Toriel as she walked through the room.
"You can be a real jerk sometimes, you know that? Not every one is a threat!" Dana scolded him, only slightly upset with him. Looking at Toriel, who was walking towards her, she said, "Sorry about my brother. He can be pretty aggressive sometimes, especially when it comes to trying to protect me."
"Not to worry my child I understand his drive to defend his loved ones, very well. I can not say I would not have acted similarly were I in his place." Toriel stated, now kneeling down in front of Dana. "I am sorry but I must ask you to move your hand so I can see the wound." She told Dana, who was still clutching her shoulder.
"Oh, right. Sorry." Dana apologized. She hissed in pain as she took her hand off her shoulder. Blood spilled from it as soon as she did.
"Oh dear, this is worse then I expected!" Toriel exclaimed after examining the wound. "That wretched thing. How dare it do something like this to one so young and innocent as yourself! This will only take a moment, I promise you wont feel a thing."
Alex raised his sword arm, ready to behead her if she hurt Dana any worse or made any sudden moves.
Toriel raised her claws to the wound, though she did not touch it. Suddenly, green light began emanating from her claws and into Dana's shoulder. a few moments later the wound began to close, seemingly on it's own, as did the hole in Dana's sweater and shirt. After both were fully closed, the blood on Dana's clothes also began to disappear. Soon the green light faded and Toriel stood back up.
"Wow, It's good an new! Thank you for healing me, and thank you for fixing my clothes too." Dana thanked her, still amazed at the existence of magic.
"It was no trouble, my child, I am happy to help." Toriel stated happily.
Alex morphed his arm back into it's base form and finally started to relax, though he still kept his guard up, he still didn't trust this lady yet. "Thanks for the help, I guess. I don't know if I would have been able to do much for her my self." He told Toriel. "I suppose I should apologize. Sorry for being so rude and aggressive towards you. This was just a bad situation. I hope I didn't offend you." He apologized, sounding completely sincere despite the fact he didn't mean a word of it. He only apologized at all because he knew Dana would make him later if he didn't do so now, hopefully it would also serve make her less angry with him.
Toriel looked at him happily. "It is quite alright, human, I took no offense. I understand that this must be a difficult situation for you and your sister. I only hope you will trust me eventually." She stated. "Let us move on to other things. You know, you two are the first humans to come down here in a long time. This is no place to talk though. Come, I shall guide you through the catacombs." She said, before turning and walking towards the door she came through.
Dana began to follow her, while Alex just stood where he was. Seeing her brother still being stubborn Dana looked back as she continued walking and said, "Come on, she's trying to help us, besides there is only one way for us to go."
Alex clenched his fists in frustration. Dana was right, there was only one way to go, and that meant they had no choice but to follow the goat for now. That didn't mean he had to like it though! He reluctantly began trailing after them, quickly catching up with Dana.
