"Howdy! I'm Flowey. Flowey the Flower!" Both of the humans stared at the animated flower, seemingly dumbfounded. Flowey simply smiled, almost smirked, at them. "Judging by your reactions, you're both new to the Underground, aren'tcha?"
This question snapped Tenebris out of his stupor. "I've heard the legends of monsters being sealed under Mount Ebott, but I never realized that was actually true. Then again, if games taught me anything, it's that if there's a legend, it's always true."
Selendis gave him a flat look. "Video games of all things taught you that?"
"Ey, no judging."
Flowey giggled. "Well he IS correct. However, I'm willing to bet that you're confused right now, huh?" The humans exchanged looks before slowly nodding. "Well, you aught to learn how things work down here or else you might be caught unprepared! Since nobody else is around, I guess little old me will have to do."
Tenebris hummed a bit. Even if Flowey looked pretty trustworthy, he wasn't allowing his suspension of disbelief to go through. They were trapped in what is essentially an alien world, meaning anything could be possible. Perhaps Flowey's "lesson" could help alleviate some of that hostility?
Before he could ponder it further, Flowey cut in. "Judging by your silence, I take it you're ready? Then here we go!"
Suddenly the room got darker and Flowey suddenly became all white instead of colored. Both of the humans felt something pulling from their chest and when they looked down, they saw a heart-shaped over their chests.
"See those hearts? Those are your SOULs, The very... um... culmination of... uh... your being." Flowey couldn't help being tripped up as he adopted a surprised look. The female had a green soul that occasionally had blue or purple swirl over it, that much he knew.
The male's soul? It was a very dark purple, border-lining on black; something he has never seen before. Flowey recomposed himself and corrected his smile. So there's more to this newest anomaly than just being an extra person. This will be interesting... very interesting.
Flowey wasn't the only one who noticed. Tenebris noticed that his soul was a lot darker than Selendis' and he though it was because of how dark and/or depressing his thoughts were for a while, which permanently stained his soul. That... or something else changed it.
Flowey noticed the looks he was getting from the humans. "Oh golly, don't pay that any mind. Anyways, your souls start off weak, but can grow stronger if you gain a lot of LV."
Tenebris frowned. "LV? Like levels? The Underground is starting to feel like a massive, real-life RPG at this point."
Flowey giggled again. "You're partially correct. LV stands for LOVE! Everyone loves... well, LOVE, right?"
Selendis sighed. "That sounded so cheesy, but I suppose... that's true."
"Well don't worry, I'll share some with you!" Flowey punctuated that sentence with a wink before summoning five spinning white ovals. "Down here, LOVE is shared through little white... 'friendliness pellets'. At least I do; other monsters share theirs through somewhat similar means, depending on who you're talking to. The only consistent is that all of them are white."
Selendis nodded, but Tenebris didn't like how Flowey said 'friendliness pellets' or how his eyes shifted right when he said it. Flowey didn't give him any chance to really think it over. "Mine will serve as a taste at least. Ready? Gather as many as you can!"
Tenebris's eyes shot up as the pellets started moving towards them. His face contorted in horror when he connected the dots and saw Selendis reaching for one. "Wait, don't-"
She let out a cry of pain and fell backwards when the pellet phased through her hand and collided with her soul. He kneeled down and clutched her as he glared at the flower, who now wore a demonically sadistic grin. "You idiots! I wasn't lying when I said I would teach you how things went. It's kill or be killed down here, and nobody will ever try to save you! After all, why would anybody pass up an opportunity like this?!"
Suddenly the two humans were completely surrounded by the same pellets that severely hurt Selendis, with no way to avoid them. "With a loud hiss of "DIE" from Flowey, he started cackling madly as the pellets started to close in on them.
Selendis had begun sobbing, both in pain and from the fact that they were about to die without ever finding Frisk. Tenebris hugged her tightly to protect her before mentally sighing. Looks like my hand has already been forced.
He began imagining all of the pellets bursting into flame before he snapped his fingers on his left hand. His left eye flared up in pain and all of the pellets suddenly combusted in dark purple flames.
That was the reason why he was kidnapped so many months ago.
Flowey immediately stopped laughing and gave a surprised look. "What? How'd you...?"
Selendis stopped sobbing and looked up to see why they haven't died yet, only to be surprised that the pellets were gone. "W-what happened?"
Flowey grinned. "So that's how it is, then? Well lucky you! I suppose I'll let you two go for now, it'll be much more interesting that way, but don't forget the one rule down here: Kill or be killed! I wonder how long you will last out there." He shot an even bigger grin at Tenebris. "And how long until you're consumed." He let out another chilling laugh before disappearing underground, the area relighting and the human's souls going back into their bodies.
Tenebris sighed before look back at Selendis. "Are you going to be okay?"
"I-I don't know. That pain... it's unlike any pain I've felt before. It hurt... so bad..." She lets out a shuddered breath before standing. "I... think I'll be fine though. The pain fading into a dull throb, so we shouldn't waste anymore time here. If what that psychopathic flower said is true, he won't be the only monster out there to try and kill us. In fact, that makes our mission to find Frisk all the more vital; who knows how long until a monster gets it's filthy hands on my sister"
Tenebris nods. "If you're feeling better, then we should hurry." He stood up with her, but lagged behind her when they moved to exit the room, his eye still burning from before. It was the first time in a while he used his power since he was infused with it and his eye was reacting negatively to it.
He shook his head and did his best to ignore it as he quickly caught up to Selendis, who started speaking. "The one thing that still worries me is the fact that we're unarmed. Against monsters who can used ranged attacks like that flower, we wouldn't stand a chance."
"Unless you can improvise something else, they only things we can do is hit them over the head with a metal water bottle or with some granola bars. Other than that, I've got nothing."
She grunts. "I suppose we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. We can prioritize finding effective weapons after we find Frisk."
As they walked on, they were unnerved by how strangely empty the ruins were, as well as the fact that many of the 'puzzles' have already been solved. Both of them figured Frisk was the one who solved them and quickened their pace, hoping that there were no monsters on her path.
It was in the room with a random training dummy that their 'luck' ran out. "Oh my goodness, I didn't expect more humans!"
Both of them whirled on the spot and took up offensive stances against what looked like an anthropomorphic goat. Their sudden aggression caught the monster off guard "Ah, do not be afraid, my children. I mean you no harm."
Selendis let out a growl. "And where's the guarantee that you won't try to kill us as soon as we lower our guards?"
Tenebris nodded. "One monster already tried to kill us by being friendly. We refuse to be tricked like that again!"
The monster let out a sigh. "Let me guess: you ran into a psychopathic flower when you fell down here?" She shook her head sadly when the two humans gave her a shocked look. "That vile creature only speaks poison. Do not heed anything it says; it'll only serve to misguide you." She sighs again when both humans looked unconvinced. "I suppose I can't blame you for acting like that, however. To be tricked like that would certainly make anyone paranoid. But please, give me time and I can prove to you that I mean you no harm."
Both Tenebris and Selendis couldn't help but feel relaxed by the monster's soft, motherly voice. Tenebris especially didn't see anything in her facial expressions that told him she was lying. Selendis let out a soft sigh. "Al...alright. But if we-"
"Wait, your soul is injured!" The monster approached Selendis and gave her what looked like candy. "Eat this, it will help you feel better."
She looked at the candy apprehensively before eating it. As soon as she swallowed it, relief spread through her body and the pain receded. "I-I do feel better. T-thank you..."
The monster smile. "I'm grateful that you feel better. My name is Toriel and I'm the caretaker of these ruins. If you'd like, you can come with me to where I live."
The humans looked at each other until Selendis shrugged. "We... would greatly appreciate it. Between our fall and that flower, I think both of us need a rest."
Toriel smiles. "I'll be honored to have you. Ah, before I get ahead of myself, I should warn you. As humans in the Underground, other monsters may try and attack you." This immediately got her nervous looks. "Don't worry, many monsters are actually very kind. They just... express themselves in ways that are unintentionally harmful to humans. If you happen to encounter one, try striking up a friendly conversation. More often than not, it'll convince them to leave you alone if you're pleasant to them."
Tenebris raised an eyebrow. "All it takes is friendly conversation and they'll leave us alone?"
"Well... perhaps not always. You may encounter monsters who will leave you alone if you appease them in a certain way, but that's for another time. For now, come along and I'll show you the way towards my home."
Tenebris nodded. "Alright. We'll try not to overstay our welcome."
Torial giggled. "Don't be silly. I can handle two more of you, though I might need to make further arrangements."
"Wait, two more of us?" Selendis looked curious as the trio started walking.
"Oh, yes. Another human recently fell before you, a few days ago I believe. She's been living with me ever since I guided her to my home."
Selendis suddenly grabbed Toriel by both wrists. "Please tell me, does she have brown hair, green eyes, and is wearing a blue sweater with magenta stripes?"
This caught the monster off guard. "Why... yes to all of them. Why?"
Selendis started crying, much to Toriel's confusion. "I can't believe it... I finally found my little sister!"
