Long ago, two races ruled over Earth: HUMANS and MONSTERS. One day, war broke out between the two races. After a long battle, the humans were victorious. They sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell.

Many years later…

Mt. Ebott

201X

Legends say that those who climb the mountain never return…

DUALTALE

A boy dressed in a red and black shirt, blue pants, yellow shoes, and an orange and yellow scarf laid on the ground with his eyes closed, his body sore from the fall. "Are you ok? Say something!" Came a voice. He groaned as he opened his eyes to see a child younger than himself with bandages on their wrist and cheek staring down at him with a worried expression. The boy let out a sound of alarm as he crawled away from them.

"Who the- what? What happened?" He asked as he looked around.

"You fell." Said the child as they pointed upwards. Nemo followed where they were pointing and saw a large hole with sunlight shining through it.

"I see… wait, who are you?" Asked the boy as he looked back at them.

"I'm Frisk." They replied.

"Nice to meet ya Frisk, name's Nemo." He said. With that Nemo stood up and walked over to the wall of the cavern they were in. He put a hand on the wall and walked around the cavern. After taking a full lap around the cavern he stopped and walked back to Frisk. "Well, looks like we can't climb out, the walls are too flat." He explained.

"I see." Said Frisk sadly. Then they turned and looked another way."If we can't go back the way we came, then there's only one other way to go."

Nemo turned to where Frisk was looking and saw that the cavern continued that way.

"Alrighty then." Said Nemo as he looked at Frisk. "Shall we?" Frisk gave a small smile and nodded their head. With that the pair walked together down the path, they didn't have to travel far before reaching a framed opening. "That's strange." Commented Nemo as they walked inside. Once through they walked a short distance before seeing a lone sunflower in the center of the cavern. "Is… is that flower… smiling at us?" Asked Nemo.

"I think so." Said Frisk.

"Howdy!" Said the flower, causing both humans to jump in surprise. "I'm Flowey. Flowey the Flower!" It looked at the duo. "Hmmm… you're new to the Underground, aren'tcha? Golly, you must be so confused."

"Talking flower." Said Nemo absentmindedly.

"Hm?" Said Flowey.

"Frisk, you also see the flower right?" Asked Nemo. Frisk nodded their head in response. "Ok, good, so I haven't lost my mind yet. Please continue talking flower."

"I told you, my name is Flowey." Replied Flowey. "Someone ought to teach you how things work around here! I guess little old me will have to do. Ready? Here we go!" Suddenly a glowing head appeared from each human, Frisk's was red, and Nemo's was white. "See those hearts? Those are your souls. The very culminations of your beings! Your soul starts off weak, but will grow stronger if you gain a lot LV. What's LV stand for? Why, LOVE of course! You want some LOVE don't you? Don't worry, I'll share some with you!"

"There's something off about this." Thought Nemo.

Suddenly a bunch of white pellets shaped like sunflower seeds appeared above Flowey. "Down here, LOVE is shared through… little white… 'friendliness pellets'. Are you ready?" Asked Flowey, suddenly the pellets began to move towards them. "Move around get as many as you can." Nemo gently grabbed Frisk and nudged them out of the pellet's path while avoiding them at the same time. This action caused Flowey to make a face. "Hey, what are you doing?" He asked.

"Pardon me if I find this a little bit sketchy." Said Nemo as he crossed his arms.

"Come on Nemo, Flowey seems nice, we should trust him." Said Frisk.

"Frisk. Look at where we are, look at what we're talking to, consider what it's asking us to do, then honestly tell me that this doesn't seem the least bit suspicious." Said Nemo in a tone like an older sibling talking to a younger one.

Frisk looked at him then turned to look at Flowey. Suddenly the duo felt pain as a pellet struck each of them. "YoU aNnOyInG bRaT." Said Flowey in an unsettling voice and with an even more unsettling face. "iN tHiS wOrLd, It'S kIlL oR bE kIlLeD, lIkE i WoUlD pAsS uP aN oPpOrTuNiTy LiKe ThIs."

"Ok!" Said Nemo as he grabbed Frisk's wrist. "Time to go!" He tried to run, but a swarm of pellets surrounded the pair and began to close in.

"Die." Said Flowey as he let out a demonic laugh. Nemo brought Frisk close to protect them and braces for impact. Suddenly the pellets vanished, the three of them looked in confusion. Then a small fireball appeared next to Flowey and knocked the small creature away. From the shadows appeared a tall goat monster dressed in purple robes.

"What a terrible creature, torturing poor innocent youths… ah, don't be afraid my children, I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins. I pass through this place everyday to see if anyone has fallen down. You two are the first humans to appear in a long time. Come! I will guide you through the catacombs." She walked closer to them and extended her hand. "This way."

This action caused Nemo to take a step back while still holding onto Frisk. "Nemo?" Asked Frisk.

"My child please, you need to come with me." Said Toriel.

"Look lady, we were almost killed by a flower. A flower. So please tell me why I should trust a six foot, bipedal, fire shooting goat lady, when a single attack from a sentient weed almost took us out?" Asked Nemo while still holding Frisk close.

Toriel looked at him for a moment before sighing. "I suppose after what just happened you have every right to be suspicious of me." She said. "But I promise that I am telling you the truth, I only wish to keep you safe."

"Nemo." Said Frisk. The taller boy looked down at them, who was giving him an innocent look. "I think we should trust Ms. Toriel, she did save us from Flowey after all."

"You also said we should trust Flowey and look how that went." Said Nemo as he gave them a flat look. Frisk looked back at him with puppy dog eyes. The pair continued like this in silence for a moment. Then Nemo bent his head forward and sighed. "Fine…"

"Yay!" Cheered Frisk as they jumped for joy. Then Nemo turned around and crouched down. "Huh? What are you doing?"

"Giving you a ride, what does it look like?" Asked Nemo as he looked over his shoulder. Frisk let out a smile as they climbed onto his back. "I'm so weak." Thought Nemo with a frown as he stood up with Frisk safely on his back and looked at Toriel. "Alright, let's go." Toriel smiled and nodded her head before leading them through the doorway behind her.

The group entered another room that was well lit, they walked across and reached some steps. Near the steps was a pile of leaves with a glowing star. Nemo stopped walking to look at it. Then Frisk leaned over and touched it, and a warm feeling spread over them as their wounds vanished. "Woah." Said Nemo as he looked at his hand. Then he resumed walking through the next doorway. The next room had a series of six buttons on the ground and a yellow lever on the wall.

"Welcome to your home, innocent ones." Said Toriel. "Allow me to educate you in the operation of the Ruins." She then walked across four of the buttons and pulled the lever. Doing so caused the door to open. She then looked back at them. "The Ruins are full of puzzles. Ancient fusions between diversions and doorkeys. One must solve them to move from room to room. Please adjust yourself to the sight of them."

"That seems kind of extra to me, but what do I know." Said Nemo with an awkward expression. He then continued forward. Toriel went to the next room through the door, but Nemo pauses and looked at the sign next to it. He and Frisk stared at it in silence for a moment. "What language… is this?" Asked Nemo.

"Only the fearless may proceed. Brave ones, foolish ones. Both walk not the middle road." Said Frisk.

"Huh?" Asked Nemo as he looked at them.

"It's what the sign said." Explained Frisk.

"You can read this?" Asked Nemo. Frisk nodded their head. "That's… interesting." With that they continued forward. They entered the next room where Toriel waited for them.

"To make progress here, you will need to trigger several switches. Do not worry, I have labeled the ones that you need to flip." She explained before continuing forward.

Nemo walked down the path that Toriel took, flipping both of the switches that were surrounded by yellow arrows. Upon flipping the second switch, spikes blocking the path to the next room sank into the ground. "Splendid! I am proud of you, little one." Said Toriel.

"I'm like, four inches shorter than you." Thought Nemo with a flat expression.

"Let us move to the next room." Said Toriel, walking away. Nemo followed her.

The next room had a training dummy in the middle. "As a human living in the Underground, monsters may attack you. You will need to be prepared for this situation." Explained Toriel. "However, worry not! The process is simple. When you encounter a monster, you will enter a Fight. While you are in a Fight, strike up a friendly conversation. Stall for time. I will come to resolve the conflict. Practice talking to the dummy."

"Seriously?" Thought Nemo.

"Can you let me down? I'd like to talk to the dummy." Said Frisk.

"Seriously!?" Thought Nemo. He sighed and crouched down, letting Frisk get down, who then walked over to the dummy. Suddenly their red soul appeared in front of them.

"Hi there, my name's Frisk." Said Frisk, but got no response.

"Ah, very good! You are very good." Said Toriel as she walked through the next pathway. Nemo and Frisk followed her. She awaited their arrival in the next room. "There is another puzzle in this room… I wonder if you can solve it?" She continued onward with the children following close behind. Suddenly Nemo's soul appeared in front of him.

His eyes traveled downward to see a Froggit standing in front of him. "Hi there?" Said Nemo. Froggit was about to act when Toriel showed up and glared at the frog monster. Froggit meekly looked away before slinking off. "Thanks." Said Nemo, Frisk gave him a thumbs up. With that the trio continued forward. Nemo and Frisk paused and looked at another wall sign.

"The western room is the eastern room's blueprint." Said Frisk.

"What?" Asked Nemo. Frisk simply looked at him and shrugged. They then continued down the path and stopped next to Toriel. "Something wrong?" Asked Nemo. He looked past her and saw a bridge covered in spikes over a body of water. "Yikes, whoever made this puzzle must've really been trying to prove a point." Nemo at his own joke. Frisk sighed while Toriel let out a giggle.

"This puzzle is a little too dangerous, please take my hand and follow closely." Said Toriel. Nemo looked down at her extended hand, he then gently grabbed Frisk's shoulder and pushed them towards Toriel.

"You first Frisk." Said Nemo. Frisk nodded their head and grabbed Toriel's hand. Toriel then began to walk with Frisk while Nemo followed close behind. As they walked, the spikes retracted where they stepped. Soon they were across the bridge.

"Puzzles appear to be too dangerous for now." Said Toriel before continuing forward. Nemo and Frisk followed close behind. She awaited them in the next room. "You have done excellently this far, my children. However… I have a difficult request to ask of you." She paused for a moment. "I would like you to walk to the end of the room by yourselves. Forgive me for this."

"What?" Asked Frisk worriedly.

"Good grief." Thought Nemo as she walked away. After a moment they walked down the hallway. After a minute they were at the end of the hallway. Suddenly Toriel came from behind a pillar.

"Greetings, my children. Do not worry, I did not leave you." Said Toriel, causing Frisk to let out a cheer.

"Good grief!" Thought Nemo with a flat expression.

"I was merely behind this pillar the whole time. Thank you for trusting me. However, there was an important reason for this exercise… to test your independence." Said Toriel.

"You talk about us learning independence when you're the one who asked us to join you." Thought Nemo.

"I must attend to some business, and you must stay alone for a while. Please remain here. It's dangerous to explore by yourself. I have an idea. I will give you a cellphone. If you have a need for anything, just call. Be good, alright?" Asked Toriel as she gave them the phone, then left.

Frisk moves over and parked themself in front of the pillar. Nemo looked at them, sighed, then sat down next to them.

They sat there for a while. Eventually Nemo sighed and stood up. "Alright, I'm bored, let's go." He said.

"But Ms. Toriel said not to go anywhere." Protested Frisk.

"She also said that we needed to be independent." Replied Nemo. "Besides, you got something better to do?"

Frisk was quiet for a moment before sighing. "Alright." They said.

"Great! Let's go!" Said Nemo with a grin. With that, they proceeded to the next room.

Suddenly the cellphone rang, Frisk pulled it from their pocket and held it between them. "Hello?" They asked.

"Hello? This is Toriel." Said Toriel over the phone. "You have not left the room, have you? There are a few puzzles ahead that I have yet to explain. It would be dangerous to try and solve them yourself. Be good, alright?" The phone clicked as she hung up. Frisk gave Nemo an unimpressed look, who simply shrugged with a nervous smile in response. The pair walked and saw another glowing star. Frisk went over and touched it. A familiar feeling of warmth spread through them.

"What do you think those are?" Asked Nemo.

"I'm not sure, but they make me feel… determined." Said Frisk.

"Determined?" Asked Nemo with a chuckle. "Ok, whatever floats your boat kiddo." He looked around and saw that the could go left or right. "Alright, your call, left, or right?"

Frisk strokes their chin for a moment. "Let's go left." They said.

"Left it is." Said Nemo. They turned and walked to the left. They didn't get far when their souls appeared in front of them. They looked down and saw another Froggit. "Great."

"Meow." Said the Froggit. Suddenly a bunch of flies appeared and flew at them.

"Get back Frisk!" Said Nemo as he raised his hand at them. They nodded and walked backwards. Soon their soul disappeared. The Froggit leapt at Nemo, who jumped out of the way. He glared at the frog creature. "Alright small fry, get out of here before I hurt you." Threatened Nemo. His threat made Froggit shiver. Then it leapt at him and struck him in his stomach. Nemo growled and grabbed Froggit. "I said." He swung his foot up and kicked it in the jaw, sending Froggit up and into the roof of the Ruins. "Get lost!" Froggit let out a weak meow as it fell to the ground. It laid there for a moment before turning to dust.

Nemo and Frisk stared at the dust and watched it blow away in the wind. "You killed it." Said Frisk.

"Yeah." Said Nemo without looking at them.

"Why!?" They cried.

"Because it attacked me. You heard Flowey, it's kill or be killed, and I'm not a fan of the latter option." Said Nemo.

"But-." Started Frisk, but we're cut off as Nemo wrapped an arm around their head and pulled them in for a one armed hug.

"Don't worry, you won't have to kill any of these monsters leave the fighting to me." He said. Frisk trembled for a moment before nodding their head. "K. Let's get going." With that the pair continued forward.

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