A/N Hey guys! Here's the next chapter! Sorry that it's much shorter than the previous one. But good news! I'm mostly done with the third chapter. So hopefully I'll get it done quickly and won't have to deal with too much writer's block. Anyway, please enjoy the chapter!
The teenager shut his eyes. The stinging cold already wasn't doing any good for him, and he had just gotten outside.
He didn't expect snow.
"How the heck is it snowing, anyway? Aren't I underground? And Toriel totally could've warned me." He shivered, wishing he were wearing something warm.
Not noticing the camera hidden in the bushes, he trekked forward.
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Somewhere in Hotland, a short yellow dinosaur pressed an alarm.
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"Hey." The teen turned to face a young child. "What kinda monster are you? You look weird."
"Why's it matter?" The kid frowned.
"'Cause I wanna know." The human stuffed his hands into his pockets.
"I don't have to tell you."
"C'mon! What are you?"
"Not saying."
"Geez, what are you, a human? You're being real suspicious."
The human started to sweat.
"Leave them be, little one. They do not want to answer."
The teen turned to see...fire? With glasses? Wow, these monsters come in all shapes and sizes, don't they.
The small child huffed, leaving when the flame monster gave them a stern look.
The two stared at each other.
"You're a human."
"Uh. No? What, what makes you say that?" The flame rolled their eyes.
"I've seen humans before. Are you aware of how much danger you're in?"
"Uh, yeah. I've been told." The monster sighed.
"I really shouldn't be associating with you. I shouldn't even be nice to you, but...Wait right there." The flame left, soon returning with a burger and fries. "Here. I'll bet you're hungry." The human stared, stunned.
"Oh, wow! Thanks!" He gobbled up the meal. The monster smiled.
"Nice to see that a human likes my food. Even when it's poisoned."
The teen froze.
"...Snrk! Ha ha! The look on your face -"
"Was that a joke?!" Soot fell from the monster's eyes as they laughed.
"It was. I wanted to see how you'd respond." The boy scowled.
"That was cruel."
"It was. But as I said, I really shouldn't be kind to you." They wiped their eyes. "I'm sorry about that. It really wasn't poisoned, I promise."
"Should I even trust you?"
"Probably not, but I swear I'm telling the truth."
"Ugh. How old are you?"
"17."
"Geez, you're older than me! Behave!" The monster laughed again.
"I should get going. I can't be seen around you." They waved. "If you live to remember me, the name's Grillby." They took off.
The human didn't learn his pronouns until three years later.
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"Bork!"
"A...dog? Are you a monster? Or maybe you fell from above?" The white haired teen tried to pet the dog.
The dog stood, rising from the snowy ground and towering over him.
"...Uh?" He could only stare at the animal and its armor. "Uh?"
"Bork!"
The battle begun.
"What in the -?!" The boy shouted, dodging the first attack. "Seriously?!"
A few minutes later, more dogs sniffed him out, and he had to run.
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Hearing the dogs leave and the door close, the teen crawled out from under the table and sighed. A green lizard stared down at him.
"What are you doing?"
"Uh, n-nothing."
"You gonna check out a book?"
"Um, I'm just gonna browse." The reptile nodded and left. The human stood and started looking through the shelves for something to read. He thumbed through a green book.
"...Yeah, I agree that humans don't need love or compassion to live, but the part about hope...I think whoever wrote this got that wrong. We need hope to survive. Without it...Well…"
He chose another book. This one was blue.
"Huh. I remember Toriel telling me that monsters are made of magic. Magic's weird, but it seems kinda cool." He reached for another book.
"Hey, you."
The teen jumped. Turning around, he saw the same kid from earlier standing before him.
Oh boy.
"So what kind of monster are you?"
"What kind of monster are you?"
"Pft. Obviously, I'm an elemental."
The human had no idea what that meant.
"I answered you. Now you gotta answer me."
The human started to internally panic. He needed a way out of this.
"Ok. How about this? You fight me, and if you're able to land a single hit on me, I tell you."
"Deal!"
'What have I gotten myself into?' The human wondered as they walked outside. "This battle is gonna last three minutes." The younger one nodded.
"I'll set up a timer."
"Ready?"
"Ready."
The timer counted down.
The battle began.
The elemental immediately sent out a swirl of water. The white-haired one swiftly moved out of the way.
Skidding on his heels, the teen grabbed two handfuls of snow and slugged them at his opponent. They yelped and turned themself into a puddle. Reforming themselves, the child sneered.
"No fair! That wasn't even magic!" The teenager shrugged.
"Who said this would be fair?"
"Grr - ! Fine! I'll show you unfair!" The monster raised their arms, and pieces of hail rained down. The human danced his way around the attack, nearly getting hit multiple times.
This was a bad idea.
Glancing around, the teenager spotted a conveniently placed stick, and lunged for it. Shooting upward, he pretended to throw it.
Taking the bait, the monster turned around.
The human rushed at the child, striking their head. They fell.
He then proceeded to flee the battle. Thoughts bombarded his mind.
'Oh man, Flowey was right about me running away, looks like I'm a coward. But how could I do something like that, he's just a kid, I mean he's wearing a striped shirt and Toriel said that monster children wear striped clothes. Wait, the kid might've been a "they" and not a "he". Damnit, this ain't the time to be thinking about Toriel and her lessons! Dang, I hope that kid's okay, what if I really hurt them? What if - oh my gosh, more dogs.'
Just as he turned around, the barking began.
"AAAAAAAA - !"
And so, the dogs were chasing him again.
The boy continued to run, not realizing that the dogs had quickly lost his trail. He decided to speed up rather than slow down -
...Which led to him smacking into another monster.
The human froze.
He looked up.
And before him stood a peculiar type of monster, one that he never would have guessed he'd find.
Nor did he expect this monster to change his life for the better.
This monster was, but of course, a great, lanky skeleton.
