Welcome to the rewritten chapter 2. Before the story continues, I wanted to thank 251960 and Pokeme197, who were the first ones to think my story was good enough to follow. I also want to thank everyone else that has followed/favorited me or the story since then. I wouldn't have written anywhere near as much as I have, and this story would probably be shelved while only half finished without the encouragement of everyone so far.

-X-

"It should've been you that died, you little demon!" The shouting came from a woman, holding a wooden rod as she towered over the quivering form of a child. They huddled in a corner in a ball, doing their best to protect themselves from the larger and stronger person. While not an every day occurrence, it did happen with far too much frequency.

"Instead, you killed your own parents when by bringing that horrible disease from Hell with you!" They had been blamed for their parent's deaths ever since they were born. The entire town said the same thing, and they all had their own ways of punishing the child. None were more cruel than the one currently striking them over and over.

"And you have the nerve to pretend to cry, to act like you didn't do it on purpose!" His mother's sister, who had promised to take in any children should something happen to her sibling, showed nothing in the way of love or compassion towards the child. She gave the child as little as she could just to keep them alive, but that was only so she could punish them more.

They cried out for help while curled in a corner, voice barely croaking out between the sobs and pain as they looked up at their rod-wielding tormentor. They were afraid of how long this could go tonight, silently hoping it'd end soon. It wasn't the worst they had weathered, but any amount was too much for someone so young.

"Help? No one would help an abomination like you. In fact, why don't you go out and ask, see what happens?" The woman remarked with a sneer, taking the child by their ragged, striped shirt and practically dragging them to the door. Tossing them out after opening it, she stood in the doorway in case they tried to get back in, smirking as the child only lay there.

"Go on, try to find help. See if anyone here will have mercy on the red-eyed demon that killed several people with their horrid disease, including their own parents. You'll come crawling back to me, because I just had to promise my sister to take you in. Now get going, and don't let me catch you anywhere near my home tonight."

The door slammed and locked, leaving the child alone, cold, hungry, and hurt. They roused themselves after a few minutes and walked away, not knowing or caring which way they went. They couldn't stay, or they'd be punished more harshly. Asking for help wouldn't be any better either. They'd just get ignored or beaten more, like always. So they looked around before their eyes rested upon a large shadow looming beyond the forest.

Mount Ebbot, the cursed home of monsters. Perhaps, if they were a demon and hated by humans, they could find solace among other creatures shunned by humanity. Or just killed outright. Either way had to be better than what their life was like now. And so, with the thought of leaving their old life forever, they walked along the path towards the mountain, unaware of what awaited them.

-X-

The walk lasted forever as the two small figures made their way through different rooms and hallways, one limping with little hops to move forward, the other walking slowly to keep the first steady. It wasn't easy, as Frisk couldn't see straight with their eyes open, and couldn't see at all with them closed. Perhaps that was for the best though, as one look at their eyes and this helpful person would let them go and run off in fear. Judging by their height, Frisk assumed they were a child too. Living underground, they might not know any better anyway, but they didn't want to risk it, at least not until they were feeling better. Some rest and food would help them a little, though with their arm and leg in such sorry states, they might be out of commission for weeks, maybe months.

Asriel talked quietly as they went along, helping this new, injured person along. They were headed to his old home, Home. He still laughed at the names his father gave places sometimes, wondering if his mother had any say in it, or just went along with them. A lot of monsters had moved out to New Home, and some had even made homes outside the doors to Home, where there were plateaus full of trees and snow. His father suggested to the residents there the name of Snowdin, since they were always in snow. Asriel rolled his eyes, wondering how anyone could take a name like that seriously.

For now though, those thoughts were pushed aside as he led Frisk. The first room after the cave was simple to get past, but the stairways after were more of a pain. Asriel had to lift Frisk onto a step, then step up himself, then repeat it until they made it to the top. It was exhausting work, and it was just the beginning, but he was going to do all he could to help this human. That's what his parents had taught him to do, help anyone in need.

He was thankful all the traps and puzzles had been inactive for a long time now as they came to the first one, some pressure plates to the side of the room that would open the door across from them. Instead, the door was already open, as were all the pathways, allowing them to proceed unabated. The switches and spikes in the next room were deactivated, so the hardest part was making sure Frisk didn't fall off the two small bridges into the water flowing through channels.

A couple rooms later, they came to a larger bridge surrounded by water with holes all over it. That is where spikes would normally be sticking out of, requiring one to walk a specific path, otherwise they could not progress. The two children passed over the now spike-less bridge slowly and emerged into a very long hallway, though thankfully there was nothing in this one to impede them.

During all this time, Asriel had been giving Frisk words of encouragement and advice, telling the human how his parents would fix them right up and that they were doing well despite being apparently badly injured. Frisk hardly said anything, other than some soft apologies whenever they lost their footing and a thanks here and there when being helped past something in the way. The poor human never thought someone could be this kind at all, let alone to them.

They passed rooms with trap door puzzles and pressure plates needing rocks to push down, as well as one where the resident Froggits liked to congregate and share news. They then descended down ramps between rooms in a clockwise manner before turning left at a fork in the road. Finally, after over an hour of slow hops and stops, they came to the front yard of the old house with the tree, leaves filling the branches. As they got closer, Asriel called out, hoping someone inside could hear.

"Mom, Dad, I need help!" Frisk flinched, unsure if this kid was really loud, or if their head hurt so much that any noise above a normal speaking level would hurt. However, this cemented in their mind that this was another child helping them. The sound of a door being thrown open and slamming into the wall outside caused another wince.

"Asriel, what is wrong?" came a worried voice ahead of them. It was decidedly feminine, and from what Frisk could tell from their squinting, quite a bit taller. They were also a white blur, the figure wobbling in their sight with the rest of the house behind her, causing the child to groan in nauseous pain. They caught the sound of a gasp and footsteps hurrying to them, and the woman knelt before the duo.

A pair of hands reached out towards Frisk, causing them to recoil back on instinct when they felt themselves get touched. This was an adult, and they were with their child, which never ended well for them on the surface. They couldn't move far, as Asriel still held onto them, but the hands stopped and moved away a little.

"Do not be afraid, my child. I am Toriel, Queen of the Underground. There, there, I will heal you." She again reached out, one hand on Frisk's head while the other pressed softly against their chest. Frisk felt...something flowing from those hands into them. It was a cool sensation, like mint but all over their body. Their aches and pains faded under the soothing touch, their thoughts becoming more coherent in their mind as the headache and nausea dissipated and their limbs and body stopped crying out in pain. Soon, the feeling faded, Toriel taking a few deep breaths as though she'd just finished running.

"That should help you for now, my child," She said as she pat Frisk's head affectionately, noticing they still squinted their eyes to the point of barely being open.

"It's alright, child, you can open your eyes. It surely isn't that bright here." Frisk let out a small whimper at those words, hoping they could've held off until after they ate, but looked like they wouldn't get the chance now. Setting their other foot down experimentally, they felt a small amount of pain, but it was well enough now that they could limp on it, and their arm was just a dull ache. Breathing deeply, they looked up and opened their eyes, letting this woman that helped them see who, or more accurately what, she'd just saved.

The two gasped simultaneously, though for different reasons. What before was a wobbling, blurry white blob was now something out of a fairy tale. Before them was a woman, but she certainly wasn't human. Instead of skin, pure white fur covered her everywhere Frisk could see. Two long, floppy ears fell beside her head down to her shoulders, with small horns protruding up beside them. Deep brown eyes stared at their own, and a mouth with small fangs hanging out smiled at them. Her dress was a blue or purple, hard to tell in the low light of the underground, and fit her loosely yet comfortably. It had a strange symbol on the chest which Frisk had never seen before. She looked like a goat was mixed with a human, but not like in the horror stories. Instead, she looked quite beautiful.

Toriel meanwhile stared at the child's eyes, which appeared so red as to almost glow. It wasn't the color of the eyes that shocked her though, it was the emotions she saw within them. Fear, suffering, and grief were the most prominent, all with an underlying layer of self hatred and doubt. Through it all though, she saw that, whether for good or bad, this child was determined. She could also see their attire, and the sad state they were in. Their striped shirt was dirty and torn, with stains of who knows what all over. Their shorts seemed too big, with the legs different sizes as though two separate halves were shoddily sewn together. Their leather shoes were old and worn, providing no comfort to their steps.

It was only seconds, but it felt as though hours passed as the two summed each other up before Frisk shut their eyes hard and turned their head away. They trembled, knowing for sure that they would be turned away, yelled at, hit, or worse. If humans were bad enough to make them run away, then they couldn't imagine what horrible things a monster would do to them. They'd come this far though, and were determined to see this through, no matter what happened. When they felt a fuzzy hand touch their shoulder, they jumped but otherwise didn't move.

"My child, what is your name?" came a soft, sweet voice, filled with the same concern from when Asriel called for help.

"...Frisk." they replied at a near whisper, shaking under the gaze and touch of a literal monster.

"Well Frisk, you have very lovely eyes," Toriel said with a smile.

What? Was that...a compliment? And on their eyes, of all things? They expected to be hit, bitten, all out attacked for being a demon and daring to come to the realm of monsters. Even though they had a small hope that they'd be welcomed among monster-kind, it was still unexpected. The first kind words they could remember hearing, and it came from what was supposed to be a vicious, uncaring beast. They couldn't help as they looked back up, tears filling their eyes, and jumped against Toriel, latching onto her neck and shoulders with both arms, ignoring the bright flash of pain and burying their face into the crook of her neck, bawling.

"Mom, are they okay?" Asriel asked while giving his mother's outfit a small tug after a moment of surprise. Toriel, after a bit of shock, wrapped one arm around the blue and pink striped form clinging desperately to her and stood, taking Asriel's hand in her free one and leading them into the house.

"They will be, but we just need to be patient. There are some injuries cannot be healed with magic."