Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing to do with Undertale or anything of the sort besides this story. If I did I'd actually have money.

-Chapter 2: The bonds that transcend-

"...Ah! Is someone here?" ... "Oh no. A-are you alright?" ... "Hey. Don't give up. You're going to be ok. Take my hand" That voice. Had I heard it before? It sounded like a young boy. Something about it filled me with... determination. I opened my eyes.

Only to find I was alone. Where had that voice come from? Who did it belong to? I desperately needed to know. I pushed myself up slowly, wracking my brain to try and dig something loose from it. All I did was make my headache worse.

How on earth was I still alive? My hands brushed against something soft and damp. Glancing down I realized that I was in a large bed of flowers. I didn't know the specific name of them but most people called them 'golden flowers'. A bunch of them grew in the town center and I kinda liked them. Did they cushion my fall somehow? They where pretty little things, and it almost felt a shame that I had crushed some.

Still sore but alive, I had nothing better to do than set forth and get a feel for my surroundings. Second verse, same as the first. Another cavern, albeit somehow better lit. A few broken pillars littered the area, confirming my suspicion that the hole wasn't wholly natural. Heh, I made a funny...

Further back was carved archway with a tunnel leading further back. My only way out it seemed. Not even a few steps toward it something caught my ear. "Hey!" I stopped a moment. Did I just hear someone? I didn't see anyone here though. Maybe it was my imagination? I must have knocked my head good. Shrugging I started again.

"Heeey!" And there it was again. "Hey! Down here, dumbo!" Deciding to look down to see who had the nerve to say that all I noticed was another golden flower on a small mount of dir- Waiiit a minute. The flower had a face of all things. Almost comically cartoony appearing with a wide sickeningly sweet smile. I didn't like it already.

"Oh good. You have ears after all. Howdy! I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower!" Flowey the flower? Seriously?! If I didn't like the thing before now I REALLY didn't like it. If I was dead and this was heaven, Flowey wasn't exactly doing the afterlife any favors. If this was hell, eh, they could probably do worse.

Not discounting the possibility that the unusual animate flower might just be the byproduct of a nasty concussion, I decided to play along and humor them though. So I made an attempt at a smile. "Flowey, huh? Well howdy yourself." The flower's cheer never wavered an inch, like it's smile was caught in amber. That smile was starting to feel mighty empty. " My, you're a friendly sort. I like you already! Remind me of an old friend actually."

Oh great. I reminded the flower freak of someone. I reached for the knife so I could have it handy in case the flower tried something funny or I felt like doing some weeding. Except the knife was gone. Where did the knife go? A cold chill ran down my spine in an instant. Without giving me a chance to protest, the puerile flower continued to talk unbidden. "Well, either way someone's gotta teach you the way of the underground. Might as well be little ol' me, right?"

All I had time to do was open my mouth and make a stupid sound. "Uhhhh-" In an instant my perception of the world around me somehow changed, and a glowing red heart appeared in front of me. Not an anatomically correct one by small fortune, it still was enough to shock me into silence. "See that heart? That's you're soul! The culmination of your very being! Ain't it a beaut?"

Well. The flower just called my soul pretty. That was... sort of flattering? I didn't particularly like that it was so exposed right now after he explained just how important it was. "You're soul starts off weak, but can grow stronger if you gain a lot of LV!"

LV? What was he getting at? The flower was making it sound like this was some sort of game. As if to answer my question he continued. " What does LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course! You want some LOVE, don't you?" My stomach roiled at the way he said 'love'. It felt... wrong. VERY wrong.

"Well don't worry buddy, I'll share some with you!" With a wink, the flower called forth a number of swirling white oval pellets. "Down here LOVE is shared through... little white... 'Friendliness pellets.'" Now I knew the flower was screwing with me. There was nothing friendly about the way he said that.

"Are you ready? Move around! Get as many as you can~!" Like hell I would. The moment the pellets approached I moved my soul around them. Note to self: The flower's one hell of a liar. Some annoyance briefly flashed across their face. "Hey buddy, you missed them. Let's try this again, alright? I know you can do it!" Oh come on...

I avoided them again, of course. Just to spite him. I can be quite a vindictive lady when I want to be. "Oh. So it seems you know what's going on here." The expression of the flower changed... dramatically. It was not a pleasant face. A demon's face. Oh dear. I missed my knife already. " I might like you kid. But that doesn't mean I won't do this!" A huge mass of Flowey's 'friendliness pellets' formed around my soul. No where to move. Oh come on. The least I could do is not be murdered by a flower of all things.

"Die." And so the bullets closed in slowly as the flower cackled. I was so focused on the flower I didn't notice a ball of fire come out of nowhere and blast the wretched thing, dissipating the pellets and sending the terror flying. From the shadows a womanly voice spoke which struck a cord with me. "What a terrible creature, torturing a poor, innocent youth like that."

The tall figure approached enough to be more visible and... her appearance was quite a surprise to be sure. Like something out of the ancient legends of monsters. A tall woman bearing caprid features, though her eyes where distinctly un-goatlike and warm, and in place of hooves she had large warm looking paws. A long robe adorned her as well. It was... quite pretty really.

"Are you alright, my child?" I gave a hesitant nod, still taking in her appearance. It was a bit of a shock to the system seeing another intelligent being that wasn't human. Somehow I felt safe around her though. Safe. That was a feeling I hadn't felt in a very long time. I wondered why I felt it with her?

"Fear not. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins, and..." She trailed off, hesitating a moment as she looked at me. Almost as if she was looking through me and had seen a ghost. It passed quickly though. "You are the first human to fall down here in a very very long time..." It wasn't hard to see there was some melancholy there when she said that.

"Come. Take my hand. I will guide you through the ruins." Feeling too tired to protest, I accepted. A small part of me relished the idea anyways. Why fight it? I placed my hand in her's and it was as soft and warm as I imagined. "This way."

We stopped in a small room. Several rows of raised stone buttons sat on the floor in one corner with a lever on the wall. On the other wall was a sign. The door deeper in was locked. A puzzle of some sort? It was like I had walked into a video game. "Allow me to teach you in the operation of the ruins." With that she walked on the 4 outermost buttons and pulled the lever, opening the way. I took a moment to read the sign. -Only the fearless may proceed. Brave ones, foolish ones, Both walk not the middle path-

Huh. That made sense in the context of the puzzle. The middle buttons where unpressed. Good as a hint. However I couldn't help to feel it meant something deeper as well. My train of through was drawn away by Toriel speaking again. " The ruins are full of puzzles. Ancient fusions between diversions and door keys. One must solve them to move from room to room. Please adjust yourself to the sight of them." So puzzles where a commonality down here, huh? I would need to get used to them I guess. I nodded to her and so we continued.

And so I followed her through the winding halls of the ruins. Dark purple stone work of an impressive sort which clearly stood the test of time. Fall-like leaves covered the ground in places. Small streams I found, also passed through the ruins. "Welcome to your new home, my child." New home, huh? I... liked the sound of that actually. Not like I had anything better to do.

As we progressed, Toriel took the time to tutor me on each new puzzle we would come across to proceed deeper into the ruins. Many of them where quite simple and rudimentary though. Still I appreciated her enthusiasm if nothing else. After a moment we stopped in a room with a lone dummy of sorts in it.

"As a human living in the underground, monsters may attack you. You will need to prepare for this situation." No shit, Toriel. I nearly got murdered by the world's most spiteful flower. God I wish I had a knife now. "However worry not! The process is simple. When you encounter a monster, you will enter a fight." Unbidden, my mind thought back to the tugging sensation of my soul becoming exposed. Was that... was a fight was like down here?

Toriel gave a calm smile. "While you are in a fight, strike up a friendly conversation!" I just blinked at her dumbly. Finally getting a chance to get a word in, I spoke. "Excuse me but.. what?" She still kept that patient smile. "A conversation. You'd be surprised. The main point however is to stall for time so I may come and resolve the conflict." She motioned a hand to the dummy. "Practice talking to it."

Now this... was a bit of an absurd situation. However it felt that disappointing her would be even worse. I trusted her. More than anyone else I knew at least. Which is kinda crazy since I only just met her like an hour ago. Approaching the dummy I took a breath, and nearly shouted in surprise as my soul appeared in front of me. I was in a fight with... the dummy?

Now that I was in a more controlled fight than I was with the damn flower, I was more aware of what I could do myself. I could... well... fight of course. I could perform a number of actions. I could use items which might help me. Or I could spare them.

I decided to check the dummy. -Dummy HP: 15 Def: 0 Atk: 0, A cotton heart and a button eye.- And somehow I knew more about it than I probably should have. Strange. Still, I should focus on the task at hand. So I talked to it. " Um... hey. So nice meeting you here, huh?" Seemed the dummy wasn't much for conversation. "...Huh. Pretty wooden, aren't we?" This prompted an amused laugh from Toriel, who seemed pleased with the outcome.

In an instant the 'fight' ended and my soul vanished to... where ever it goes. "Ah. Very good, my child. You did well." Her praise filled me with warmth. With that we proceeded deeper once again. Along the way I took a moments pause. A strange creature had caught my eye. Another monster?

It looked like a white frog. Only its two front feet where visible, with three black dots on its chest. Between its two front feet is what appeared to be some small black creature with a rounded mouth and eyes that excessively blinked. It would be almost cute if it where not for the fact it had just pulled me into a fight.

I decided to check the frog monster like I had checked the dummy before. - Froggit HP: 30 Def: 5 Atk: 1, life is difficult for this monster - Remembering what Toriel told me, I decided to try striking up a conversation and toss a compliment it's way. "Well, aren't you a cute little thing."

I doubt it understood what I said, but it seemed flattered anyways. Before the fight could continue however, Toriel returned, presumably having noticed I had fallen behind, and gave the froggit a scolding look. It immediately slinked away and the fight ended. Such a disapproving look... I never wanted her to send one my way.

With that we continued on once more. After a time she stopped, and looked to me, an apologetic look crossing her face. "Forgive me my child, but there is some business I must attend to and you must be alone for a while." she raised a finger to her chin thoughtfully. " Ah. I have an idea."

With that she rustled through her robe before placing something with a bit of heft in my hands. "I will give you this cell phone. If you have need of anything, just call. This way I will never be far."I took the device reverently and nodded.

"My house should not be much further. I trust you to be able to make it there on your own, my child. Be good, alright?" Nervousness set upon me. "I'll.. I'll try my best." And with that, I was alone.

I wandered a while more before deciding to test it out, and give her a call. Perhaps her voice would ease my nerves? It was a strange thing, the cell phone. Not like one I'd seen on the surface. It was pretty nice though.

Ring... ring... "Hello, this is Toriel." A small smile touched my lips at her voice. "Hey, mom." Eh? Did I just call her mom? Where did that come from? Given the pause on the other end she must have been just as surprised. "Did you just call me... 'Mom'? Well... I suppose... Would that make you happy? To call me 'mother'?" ...Would it? It felt... right for some reason.

Taking a breath, I replied. "Yeah. I'd like that, if it's alright with you." Her tone became rather quite cheery as she responded "Well then, by all means. You may call me that if you wish." Her words filled me with warmth. And so I continued on.

Not long after I ran across another froggit. This one thankfully seemed noticeably more friendly. On a whim I decided to talk with it. Maybe this one would understand me? "Howdy there." The froggit blinked in slight surprise. "Ribbit, ribbit (Oh. Hello there stranger. If you have the time I can give some advice to you on battling monsters.)"

By some manner of strangeness I could understand the froggit's ribbits as if they where plainly spoken word. How odd, but given everything I found myself becoming less and less surprised. "Sure. I'm a bit new here so lay it on me." The froggit nodded to itself a moment before continuing. "Ribbit, ribbit (Alright youngster. If you act a certain way with different types of monsters, they might not want to battle you anymore. If a monster doesn't want to fight anymore, that's when you give 'em some mercy.)"

Mercy, huh? I'd have to keep that in mind. "Alright. Thanks for the heads up. See you around." The froggit winked. "Ribbit (See ya, human. Be safe out there. You seem like a nice kid.)" It didn't take long for me to press a good way in. By then my phone rang. Was Toriel calling me?

I answered it. "Hello my child. For no reason in particular... which do you prefer? Cinnamon or Butterscotch?" Why would she be asking me this? I decided to humor her anyways. "Cinnamon." There was a slight pause. "Hehehe. I had a feeling. Truthfully, when I first saw you, I felt... Like I was seeing an old friend for the first time. Strange, is it not? Well... thank you."

...It was strange. "Oh. You do not dislike butterscotch either, do you? I know what your preference is, but would you turn up your nose if you found it on your plate?" Would I? I don't think so... Not that i'd ever really had butterscotch in recent memory. "No. Why?" She laughs softly. "No reason in particular. Thank you for being patient." Click.

The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful, with the occasional monster. I stuck to the froggit's advice and made it through without anyone getting hurt. It made me wonder though. Would all monsters be like this? Would there be a point where I had to fight?

The ruin tunnels opened to a large clearing of sorts with a large and ancient looking tree at the center. "Oh dear. That took longer than I expected it would." Toriel came into view from behind the tree, ready to make a call before noticing my presence and hurrying over.

"Oh dear. Are you alright my child? I can heal any injuries you might have. Oh. It seems that you are completely unharmed. How surprising." After having made sure I was uninjured she gestured for me to follow. "Come this way. I have something to show you."

I followed, my curiosity taking hold. She lead me to a house at the back wall. Could this be where she lived? A pleasant smell wafted out from inside. The inside itself was very warm and cozy. Miles from the abandoned house I had used last night.

The walls where a soft peach color, and the floor fine crafted maple. A number of paintings hung from the walls as well as a gas lamp. Two book cases lay against the back wall, one with a flower pot on it with a flower I didn't immediately recognize. A set of stairs led downward, but that could wait.

"Do you smell that? Surprise! It is a butterscotch-cinnamon pie." Ohhh. So that's why she called about that earlier? Now it made perfect sense. "I thought we might celebrate your arrival. I want you to have a nice time living here. So I will hold off on snail pie for tonight." Wait, what?

"Ehh? Snail pie?" She gave a soft laugh. "It is not as terrible as it probably sounds for a human, I assure you. Oh. I have another surprise for you." She gestured for me to follow down the hall to the right of the entry area.

The hall was a warmer golden yellow, with a fine rug along the floor. Several doors lined it, and a large mirror sat against the wall. she stopped at the first door. "This is it. A room of your own. I hope you don't mind it." I hadn't realized how close I was to her until she was rubbing my head softly. It was... well... It was nice. It also made me realize how tired I actually was. I could stay in this moment for ages...

But life doesn't work out that way unfortunately, and the moment had to end. "Oh? Is something burning? Ah, make yourself at home my child." And with that, she went off down the left hall leaving me to myself.

I decided to take this moment to look myself in the mirror. It had... been a while since I'd actually bothered to. Shoulder length dark brown hair. My god, I forgot how pale I was. A bit of rosiness to my cheeks which was omnipresent. Older women always commented on how 'cute' it was. My ruby eyes stared back coolly. I wouldn't say I was ugly, but the other kids at the orphanage called me creepy because of these eyes. Despite everything, this was still me.

I let myself into the room she had said was mine. Raspberry colored rug and wallpaper greeted me. It was a pretty nice room really. A nice comfy looking bed, a full sized dresser. A few old dolls and a box of toys. A night stand with a lamp on it, and a book case with a picture frame sitting on it.

It seemed fit for someone a little younger than me, but it was nice having a room I could call my own. Opening the dresser, I was pleased to see that the clothes inside where just about the right size for me. Tossing my old jacket aside and throwing the plain grey shirt I was wearing off as well, I grabbed a knit sweater. Green with a yellow stripe across it. I really like green... It was like it was made for me! I didn't hesitate to put it on.

Something black caught my eye in the back of the dresser as I spun to look over myself with the new attire on. Digging it out, I found it was an old video camera. Not any kind I'd ever seen much like the cellphone, so safe to say probably monster made.

I toyed around with it a bit but couldn't get it to really work, so I set it aside. The bed seemed terribly inviting anyways. Throwing myself on it, I felt my mind slowly whirring to a close. Pie would be nice, but I needed rest. I'm sure she'd wake me when it was ready anyways. And so I slept... and dreamt.

MsYakumo: Now we really start to get into the meat of things. Chapter 2 ended up a bit longer than I expected it would since there was a lot to go over. Hopefully you where not too disappointed that some characters didn't show up yet. I know some people really enjoy a good spooky ghost.