Ooooooh my goodness! I finally wrote a story for Inverted Fate! Yaaay! Enjoy, peoples!

"Eeeeeeeeeee!" A lady screamed as she fell down, her black, and purple tipped hair blowing upward along with her blue scarf.

She reached out to grab her sketch pad that was falling a few inches away from her and held it close to her chest. The ground was coming closer, as she took a moment to breathe slowly as she calmed herself down. Wings made from pure blue magic sprung up from her back as she slowed her descent and landed on the flowerbed below her, safely.

"Phew! My goodness. I thought I was going to lose my sketchpad. That would have been dreadful... Hmm, where am I? Did I happen to... -Gasp- I'm underground!" The lady said, as she looked around in awe.

"How intriguing. So Mount Ebott really is another way to enter. How exciting! I can begin an excavation!" The lady said, as she started walking.

She wore a purple dress with black leggings, black boots, and a blue, long jacket with purple furry edges on the jacket and hood. Her glasses were shaded in the light and clear in the dark, and her hair was loose and up to her waist with a hair clip of a iris flower on the upper left side of her head. As she entered deeper into the Ruins, her sparkling blues eyes saw a goat monster taking care of his plants, and as she approached him, she introduced herself as Curtain. They had a long conversation as she drew sketches of the Ruins, and after drinking some tea with the friendly goat monster named Asgore, Curtain continued her journey outside of the Ruins.

"Snow in a cave... this is quite a discovery! I wonder who lives here. What are the inhabitants like? Is it snowy all the time? Well, I guess it's time to find out," Curtain said, as she started her trek through Snowdin forest.

As she passed by a sentry station while taking a quick sketch of it, she noticed various footprints in the snow, taking into account their freshness and kneeling down to get a closer look.

'About thirty minutes ago... locals? Seems like it, but the scents are quite peculiar. One of them is... human?! But how?' Curtain put the pieces together and stood up as she said,

"They must have fallen too! Oh dear, I wonder if they're okay... Wait, why wonder when I can hurry? Alright sketch hand, don't fail me now!"

As Curtain started briskly walking through Snowdin forest, she would sketch anything she saw, even while having a conversation with a few of the monsters there. She crossed over a bridge, and decided to take into account the same footprints she saw earlier.

'Hmm... roughly fifteen minutes. I'm very close,' Curtain thought, and she continued ahead into Snowdin village.

"Oh! It's a small town. How adorable! It's so quaint and neat," Curtain said, as she looked around with bright eyes and a fascinated smile.

She walked on ahead, and seeing the library she immediately entered in. She read the books so quickly, that the monsters inside were shocked by how fast she was able to read everything. They also noticed that with every book she read, she made a quick sketch in her book.

"I don't mean to interrupt you, but why do you sketch as you read?" The librarian asked.

"I sketch to take note of what I've read or seen so that I can remember it later. Thing is, I love to learn, but there is so much that can be learned, so I like to keep notes," Curtain explained, enlightening the librarian and the others as they found her work to be more admirable than odd.

Afterward, Curtain left the library and walked around the town to visit other places.

"Such a lovely little place, it reminds me of Mar- Wait! I'm looking for the human!" Curtain said, as she turned and started running towards the main road.

Curtain picked up the scent of the human, as she followed along and was about to pass a decorated house. She quickly sketched it, and as she did so, a certain pair of eye sockets noticed her drawing his house. After she finished, Curtain looked at her sketch proudly and closed her sketchpad as she continued walking. The skeleton who noticed her decided to follow her since he didn't know who she was or what she was doing, but he was going to find out. He followed her as she was about to enter Waterfall.

Suddenly, Curtain stopped walking, as the skeleton who stood a few feet away while staying hidden watched her carefully. He noticed her sniffing the air, and then she said out loud,

"Who is there?! I can sense you, so hiding is futile unless you wish to face the wrath of my pencil jabbed into your eyeballs!"

Curtain held her pencil backhanded as if she held a dagger, while she held her sketchpad close with her other hand.

"Woah there, lady. There's no need to be aggressive," the skeleton said as appeared before her, but not too close.

She looked at him in surprise and curiosity, since she noticed he wore some sort of badge on his sweater.

"Now, considering that I don't have eyeballs, Eye don't see how your pencil's wrath will be quenched," Sans said with his grin widening a bit.

Curtain looked at him with a raised eyebrow to his pun, as she lowered her pencil and relaxed her pose.

"Well, that is true, Mr. Skeleton man. I was just being cautious, since I could call you a stalker, you know," Curtain said, as she looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Hehehe. Well it's my duty as the Lieutenant of the Royal Guard to be aware of everyone who is underground, including you. But then again, I could consider you an intruder since I've never met you before," Sans countered, and Curtain grew nervous and said,

"Oh my! I-I mean no harm, Royal Guardsman. I didn't mean to be so truculent! I'm just a little trepidatious in a new environment, especially since I sensed you were following me."

"Huh. A newbie. Where did you come from?" Sans asked, taking a few steps closer to her.

"Uhmm, I come froooom up," Curtain said as she pointed upward.

"… The Surface? Then that means you're a human right?" Sans asked, feeling surprised but not letting it show since he didn't want to startle her.

"Uuuuh, yes and no," Curtain replied with a half-hearted smile.

"What do you mean?" Sans questioned.

"I'm half human, and the other half is Aecan, which is a monster," Curtain clarified, and Sans eyes widened.

"Half human, and half monster… from the surface? How is that even possible?" Sans asked.

"Well, not all of the monsters were sealed down here. The Aecans were monsters that could fly, and they lived in high places, so the ones in the war were the ones who were sealed while the others stood above. Of course, not all of them survived after… a while," Curtain said, looking downward sadly.

"… I see. I guess it was pretty harsh on them to lose half of their own and the rest of the monsters, huh?" Sans said, and Curtain nodded after a short pause.

"Hm. So half human and half monster. Then your parents… I assume one is human and the other monster right?" Sans asked, to ease the tension from the earlier questions.

"Ah, yes. My mom was a monster, and my dad was a human," Curtain said, as Sans tensed up a bit when he heard her use 'was' to describe her parents.

"I see. Well, you don't seem like a threat, or have done anything wrong, so I have no reason to really bother ya. Besides one thing," Sans said.

"What's that?" Curtain asked.

"My name is Sans the Skeleton. What's yours?" Sans asked, as he stretched his hand towards her.

"Ah! Well, hello Sans. My name is Curtain. Nice to meet you," Curtain said, as she took his hand with a smile.

"Heh, nice to meet you too. You have a nice smile there," Sans said, as they parted hands while he smiled.

"Huh? My smile? Why, thank you. You too," Curtain said, her smile slightly widening as her blue eyes sparkled a little more.

"Heh. Yeah, it's much better than being sad about what you can't control, right?" Sans said, hoping he wasn't being too strong with his comment.

"… That is true. I just wish someone could have told me more about my monster side. I've been studying so hard to find some answers to my questions about myself, but it's rather difficult without anyone to help me out and give me some form of direction. That's why I came here in the first place," Curtain said.

"Well, that makes sense. But I haven't met an Aecan before. I mean, I did have a book about monster species that included that name, but I failed to encounter one before so I overlooked it. And I've been just about everywhere underground," Sans said, feeling bad about telling her this since she seemed to feel bad about the news.

"… Do you happen to have that book with you? At least that's something right?!" Curtain asked, as her eyes brightened with hope.

Sans was momentarily stunned by how quick she seemed to brighten up, but he also noticed the similarity between her eyes and Frisk.

'Heh, that must be her human side. I recognize that determination. But I didn't realize how cute it could look though…' Sans thought when he noticed how her sweet little smile, bright eyes, and hands being together just below her mouth made her look more radiant and illuminating-

Sans caught himself as he stopped his thoughts and replied, "I don't have the book on me. It's back at... Undyne's lab."

"Undyne?" Curtain asked.

"Ahh… yeah, she's the Royal Scientist… and hellbent on catching the human to acquire their soul by all means… so I guess getting the book might be hard to explain to her. Although, your situation might be an exception, I think," Sans said, not really sure himself, as Curtain grew worried.

"O-Oh my. This makes this more problematic," Curtain said.

"Yeah, and the kid being here doesn't make things easier..." Sans said, as he realized he shouldn't have mentioned that when he saw her eyes widen.

"Wh-What?! That's right! I sensed a human came through here! And they're just a kid?! Oh my goodness, their life is in danger! Wait… wait… they're just a kid, and yet… Does Undyne wish to… kill them?" Curtain asked.

"Well, that's the only way to acquire a human soul… but it's not like she wants to," Sans replied.

"But if she is hellbent, she would… what kind of atrocity is this?! Killing children just to break a barrier to supposedly free the Monsters, meanwhile becoming what Humans think you are by killing children and you expect everything to be all fine and dandy when you reach the surface?! This is madness! And ignorance! And extreme desperation if you think about it since you guys have been stuck down here for a very long time," Curtain said, as every sentence she said she made a different pose of woe and outrage, until her last sentence which was much more tamed.

"Well, that basically sums it up. But she made a promise, and she intends to keep it for the sake of all the Monsters. And then there were the tapes, so the monsters aren't so objectionable to her actions… much," Sans said.

"Tapes?" Curtain asked.

"It's a long story," Sans replied.

"Well, I can't just sit back and let a child be killed like that, even if it is for saving the Monsters… it just feels wrong… everything does honestly," Curtain said, looking downward.

"And being both human and monster must make it rough on you, huh? It's not like you can choose to only feed half of yourself," Sans said, and Curtain sighed and nodded.

"Hmm. Well, maybe we can work something out. You see, I'm trying to keep an eye on the kid, but with everything going on, I wouldn't mind having an extra set of eyes and ears to help me out. So how about this: you help me with the kid and investigating a certain flower I've had my eye on, and I'll help you by getting the book from Undyne's lab so that you can learn of your species, safely. Deal?" Sans asked.

"Hmmmm. Sounds like a plan, and a good one at that. What is this flower you speak of?" Curtain asked.

"Well, he's not friendly, at least not to me, but he might be a potential threat. I especially don't like that he's been around my brother and the kid, and they don't seem keen on telling me what's up. So having you help may help me since that flower hasn't seen you, and it would make it easier for you to investigate where he was or is going since he seems to be on the look out for me mostly," Sans said.

"I see, I see... Okay then. I'll help you," Curtain said with a nod.

They shook hands, and Sans placed something in her hand as he told her to put it away and only to show it in an emergency. Curtain nodded, and then they both went to work.

Her first task was to investigate Sans' house, of which she learned a little about the skelebros when looking around, and then she noticed a suspicious hole in the floor of Papyrus' room. She sniffed around and caught a leafy scent in the air. She poked inside the hole with her pencil and was able to reach the bottom.

'Hmm, this plant isn't very big, so this does confirm that it is a flower roughly normal in size to most flowers… But for it to break the floor so easily, that definitely means it has some power to it...' Curtain thought, and then she tensed when she heard a voice say,

"So what did you find?"

She immediately sent her fist flying towards the voice, as Sans caught her hand with his own.

"Woah! Geez, Curtain! Sorry about spooking ya like that, I didn't think you'd attack me though," Sans said, as she calmed down.

"Ah! I'm sorry about that. You startled me," Curtain said, taking her fist back.

"I happened to find this hole in the floor. It smells leafy, so a plant was here, but the diameter of the hole does conclude that it was small enough for a flower to fit in. But for it to break through the floor panel here would mean it's pretty durable and has some power to it," Curtain reported, and Sans nodded and took a picture of the hole.

"So it was here too… I also found a few holes like this one in Snowdin. So they must all be related," Sans said, as he showed Curtain more pictures of the holes he mentioned.

"Yes, quite. They all appear the same diameter in these photos compared to their surroundings. No other monsters make holes like these correct?" Curtain asked, and Sans nodded.

"I also found some seeds. What do they look like to you?" Sans asked, as he showed her the bundle of seeds in his hand.

"Hmmm, let's see..." Curtain said, as she took out her sketchpad and flipped through the pages while occasionally looking at the seeds.

"Ah ha! I see it now. They look like seeds from a golden flower, which comes from the surface… which is strange for them to be down here," Curtain said, as she showed Sans the page of her sketchpad that had flowers, petals, and seeds, where two other plants along with the golden flower were sketched in various stages of growth.

"Huh. Just as I suspected. Then these definitely belong to that flower," Sans said, clutching the seeds in his hand but not too hard so that they weren't damaged.

"Do other monsters produce seeds? Like maybe Vegetoid or someone?" Curtain asked.

"Yeah, but you specifically said 'seeds from a golden flower,' and I never mentioned what kind of flower it was, but you still got it," Sans said, and Curtain's eyes widened in surprise.

"This is quite the connection, isn't it? And I assume you purposely didn't inform me of the type of flower, correct?" Curtain asked, and Sans smirked.

"Yeah, I wanted to be sure of where these came from, and since you come from the surface, who better to know than you. Especially since you are the observant type, so I suspected you would know this, or at least drew it," Sans said.

"Heehee. Well, it seems like I'm not the only one," Curtain said with a smile.

"Heh… so since we're done here, how about you go ahead and meet the kid? You might as well since you were looking for them anyway. Just, try not to mention our meeting until we can get more information, especially about that flower," Sans said.

"Sure thing. I do hope I can catch up to them in time. I'm sure they'll be in more trouble at Waterfall and Hotland, especially with Fort Aquarius in Waterfall," Curtain said, surprising Sans.

"How did you know about the Fort?" Sans asked.

"Well, I did visit the library before meeting you, so I learned a lot about the underground, and about a few other things, like the Waterfall incident…" Curtain said, as Sans looked downward.

"I see… and you still want to help the kid?" Sans asked.

"I don't find it right to judge one for all. Do you think humans are all kind, or monsters are all kind? Or how about flowers? Should you burn all the golden flowers for one being suspicious?" Curtain asked.

"Yeah, I see your point. Well, come on. I know a shortcut," Sans said, with a wink when he mentioned 'shortcut,' and they left the house.

Once they stepped outside the door, Curtain noticed that they weren't in Snowdin, but Waterfall.

"What?! But we were just- how?!" Curtain said in surprise.

"Hehehehe. Like I said, I know a shortcut," Sans said, amused by her bewilderment.

"My word, how extraordinary! When I finish this investigation of a vegetation, I think I'll set my sights on you next," Curtain said with a grin.

"… Hehehehehe. I'm flattered. But maybe we should go to dinner first," Sans said, as he couldn't help his smile from widening when he saw a small blush on her face.

"O-Oh dear, that may have come out differently than I intended. I meant more for practical reasons like research…" Curtain said, turning shyly away from him.

"Heh, it's alright, I know what you meant. I'm just teasing," Sans said, as Curtain pouted.

"… Oh really? Well, since you insist, then dinner would be lovely," Curtain said, turning towards him with an ambiguous smile, as Sans' smile dropped.

"Uh, wait, you really want to go now?" Sans asked, sweat forming on his skull, as he felt his cheekbones heat up.

"Why yes, of course! It would be nice to spend extra time with you after we finish this flower business, and for me to continue my research. It's a win-win," Curtain said, extending her hand towards him.

"So, do we have a deal?" Curtain asked, her sweet expression on her face causing Sans to give in as he took her hand.

"Alright, alright. For the sake of your research," Sans said, playing it cool, and Curtain smiled brightly as they released hands.

Curtain moved on ahead to find the human since she caught their scent being much closer than before. Sans stood back to let her walk ahead, as he soon realized that he couldn't stop smiling nor move from his position until he no longer could see her. As Curtain moved on ahead, she looked at her hand that she shook with Sans and didn't realize that she was smiling while doing so as she thought,

'He seems nice… very on point, but overall a good skeleton-man… I shouldn't grow attached… but something about him just gets to me… like something familiar…'

For now her thoughts were cut off when she sniffed the air and found traces of the human scent and another familiar one as she followed them.

One chapter down, two more to go.