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, legends say that those who climb the mountain never return…

Mt. Ebott: 2010, Day…

(Justic)

A young man, 22 years old and with the build of a runner, trudged forward as quickly as his sluggish body would allow. He had piercing yellow eyes while his short jet-black hair was an utter mess. His attire consisted of clearly battle worn clothing.

His earthy brown, no sleeved shirt was covered by a black blazer, wrapped diagonally across his chest to staunch a wound. He also wore blue jeans with noticeable holes and earthy brown combat boots with black trim. His shoulders drooped, and his arms hung limply at his sides.

One of his weapons, a katana, dangled precariously from his loose grip and dug through the ground as he moved. His body ached from exhaustion while his feet and legs pleaded for their owner to at least lean against one of the many trees he passed on his journey.

He stopped in place and concentrated on his hearing. "That cloaked figure hasn't reappeared, perhaps I got her?"

The young man knew it was wishful thinking on his part. He's met plenty of strong people before, but whoever that enemy was, they were on a whole other level. Well beyond what even his last-ditch effort could best.

"Still, maybe I can rest here for just a moment." The young man thought.

That simple thought was enough to see him leaning against the nearest tree; however, he refused to go any further. If he put even a knee on the ground, he would not be able to react in time should that strange enemy find him.

The young man took a deep breath of mountain air and cast his gaze out carefully just in case the assailant was somehow attempting to sneak up on him. Eventually, he spotted someone in the distance making their way up the mountain.

"No cloak, and they look too small to be…WAIT!" The young man got off the tree and began making his way as quickly as possible, now with a boost of adrenaline, towards the smaller figure. "They're heading towards the hole!"

(Determination)

A young boy, 11 years old, was moving quickly up the mountain as he held himself. He had messily chopped, short brown hair and red eyes which overflowed with tears of sadness. His attire consisted of a long-sleeved blue shirt with two purple stripes, blue pants, and brown shoes.

"Maybe I should think about heading back already…" The young boy thought those words, yet he made no move to leave his present course.

Whenever things were difficult, no matter how much his caretakers tried to prevent it, he'd often escape into the forest of Mt. Ebott. In all those times, he's never come this far. Eventually, the boy made it within a cave and spotted a hole just ahead.

"What's that?" The boy thought.

He was curious enough to approach the hole and gaze down into the darkness. Suddenly, the boy's eyes widened as the ground gave way, but before he could scream, someone slid in from above. They managed to grab him by the back of his shirt.

(Justice & Determination)

"Hold on." The young man was panting as hi exhausted body had clearly not liked the sudden movement nor the weight he asked it to hold. "I'll pull you out of here and…"

Suddenly, the ground gave way beneath him, and both were sent plummeting into the darkness.

Underground

The boy sat up and looked around to find he was in a rather dark place. Only the light of the sun above filtered down to the bed of flowers he seemed to be resting on. It was a bed of buttercups, and the young man who tried to save him was laid out nearby.

The boy gasped. "Mister?"

The boy noted just how damaged his attempted savior was, not knowing he'd been like this before the fall.

The boy scrambled to his knees and rushed over to the man. "Mister!"

The boy checked for signs of life. The young man looked to be breathing, and the boy confirmed it by putting his hand under the man's nose, where he felt air. He then went about checking for a pulse on the man's wrist and neck. He found both, and they were steady.

"Those are good signs, right?" The boy questioned himself.

Regardless of whether these were good or bad signs, the young man seemed worse for wear. Considering he put his life on the line for him, the boy had to see about returning the favor. He stepped away from the guy to look for any way out of the cavern.

The boy looked above at the hole they fell through and noted something glittering seemed to be in the way. "Wait, is that the barrier that kept Monsters from coming to the Surface?"

The boy had often read about Monsters. Many Humans depicted them as violent beings who tried to take over the Surface while others deemed them innocent victims that were segregated from Humans. The boy had ideals about Monsters more in line with the latter.

With the barrier in place, and how high it was, there was no way he could get back up that way. He turned his gaze to a path that seemed viable, but it led deeper into the mountain. The path was covered by a thick layer of darkness.

"What could be down that way?" The boy gazed back at the man. "Will this guy be okay if I leave him?" The young man seemed to be resting peacefully. "Mister, I'm so sorry." He tried to shake the guy awake. "Please…wake up."

The man merely groaned but did not awaken.

"Well, hey there." The boy jumped when he heard a new voice.

He turned around only to see a blue flower with three blue petals and three black petals.

"Is that a Monster?" Frisk questioned himself.

"I'm Aqua, Aqua the flower." The flower introduced with a large smile which displayed rows of sharp, yellow teeth. "My, I've never seen you two down here. You must be awfully disoriented from that fall."

"Please Ms. Aqua!" Despite this flower seeming creepy, the boy was desperate for assistance. "I need help for this guy. He hurt himself trying to save me."

"I suppose I could help." Aqua thought about it before grinning. "Not like anyone else is here. Some of my pellets ought to do the trick."

"Pellets?" The boy asked.

"That's right." The flower declared. "If you want to heal this guy, you can utilize my pellets."

At this point, the young man's eyes fluttered open, and it wasn't long before his gaze settled on the kid he had attempted to save. From there, his eyes locked onto the flower, potentially a Monster provided what he learned was correct.

He watched as the flower summoned forth five blue pellets. "Here, catch."

"That's not green magic!" The guy noted.

The young man tried to speak; however, words could not escape his throat, so he worked on rising to his feet as quickly as his body would allow. The boy, unaware, cupped his hands to receive the pellets. Aqua flung them, only for the man to push him out of the way.

Pellets went into the man's limbs and gut. All he could do was silently scream in agony as the force pushed him against a wall of the cavern. Blood escaped from his wounded flesh as he slowly fell to his butt. The boy turned to see this with fearful eyes.

The flower's face contorted into a downright demonic expression as red liquid started dripping from her mouth. "You are stupid, yet that older Human is even worse. In this world, its kill or be killed. Why would anyone stick their necks out like this?"

The flower's roots suddenly emerged, and grabbed hold of the young man before working to pull him in.

"Mister!" The boy cried.

He lept at the man as he passed and went about ripping the roots away. The boy only managed to rip away one, making the flower cry out in pain, before Aqua wrapped him as well.

"You're more than welcome to join this older Human!" Aqua declared.

"That is enough!" A voice proclaimed.

Suddenly, a bone struck the deadly flower. She immediately released the boys before burrowing into the ground for safety. With the immediate threat gone, and both males freed, the boy scurried over to the man. His eyes had lost a lot of color, and his skin was rather pale.

Fresh tears came to the boy's eyes. "Mister, I'm so sorry…"

The young man couldn't form words, so he reached up to rest a hand on one of the boy's arms. This drew the boy's attention as the young man gave a sincere, weak smile. He then pointed behind them, and the boy turned.

Only a few feet away stood a tall skeleton Monster clad in a Delta Rune emblazoned robe, epaulettes, and boots. "Are you two alright?" He was approaching only to stop upon seeing how wounded the young man was. "Oh, you're wounded. Here, let me heal you."

The boy flinched, not eager to trust another, but the young man firmed his hold on the boy. The boy noted this man wasn't attempting to send the Monster away. If the man who a saved him wasn't trying to push the Monster away, then the boy wouldn't either.

"Trust that I won't hurt either of you." The skeleton Monster tried. "I simply wish to ensure you both live."

The young man stared firmly at this Monster before ultimately letting his arm fall.

"Mister?" The boy asked.

The young man managed a slow nod, so the boy nodded back. The Monster took this as a good sign, yet he was slower to approach. When neither fought him, he knelt next to the pair.

"Just bear with me a moment." The Monster voiced.

He rested one hand on each of their heads. Green magic freely flowed, healing whatever wounds they may have sustained. While that wasn't much for the boy, anything the young man sustained was fully healed.

"Wow…" The boy gasped in amazement.

"Actual green magic." The young man could speak again and was relieved.

"My acquired skill with green magic's healing capabilities is something I take great pride in." The Monster informed. "Now, I'm going to get you two back to my place where you can get cleaned up and have some food."

At the mention of food, both guys' stomachs growled. While the pair blushed, the Monster's face lit up. The young man struggled to stand; however, the exhaustion of the day's events had clearly not left him. He barely rose a few feet before collapsing to the ground.

"Not to worry, for I can carry you both back." The Monster voiced.

In mere seconds, the Monster had the boy on his back, telling him to hold on, while he picked up the young man to carry him. The Monster then moved back through the path. The young man ended up drifting to sleep not long into the trek.

? Home: Evening…

The young man awoke feeling much better as he got to a sitting position. He found himself within a purple room with a wardrobe, basket of toys, and two lamps. The guy got out of bed and moved to the door which opened out into a dull red hallway with a flame inspired carpet.

There were what appeared to be two more rooms along the hallway and a bathroom at the end. The other way led to a large living room where he could hear laughter. The man strolled that way where he found the boy sitting with the skeleton Monster in a large recliner.

From what he could see, the Monster was reading an old-looking book on puns to the child before said child's attention was drawn his way. "Mister!"

He leapt from the chair and rushed over to the guy in an instant before hugging him. To the man, this made everything, even trapping himself Underground and almost dying, worth it.

"Hey." He rustled the kid's hair. "Are you okay?"

The boy ignored his question as he stared up at the man with fresh tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry." The young man froze, yet the boy didn't seem to notice. "Because I was curious, you got stuck down here. Then, you got hurt to protect me."

"A second set of red eyes…" The young man shook his head. "Hey, take it easy." He pulled the boy back and got on one knee before him. "If I hadn't done what I had, I'd have failed to live up to my job."

He then turned his gaze to the Skeleton Monster, who looked at the pair with a genuine smile. "It is good to see you up and lively." The young man stood. "I am Papyrus, guardian of Old Home." His smile turned more boisterous as he approached. "Who might you be?"

"Damien Valor, sir." The young man nodded. "I just want to say, thank you for helping us. I don't know what we would've done without you."

"It was no trouble." Papyrus declared. "I help anyone who needs it within Old Home. Now, you must be starving. Frisk here certainly was."

Damien's stomach growled at the mention of food. "Can't exactly argue against that."

"He made the best spaghetti I've ever eaten." Frisk declared with more wonder than Damien had ever seen in a child.

"Ah, this one ate plenty." Papyrus informed. "Though it was a bit quicker than I'd have liked, I worried he might end up chocking at several points with how quick he seemed to devour plate after plate."

"Sounds dangerous." Damien looked at the kid. "Given there was enough for 'plates worth' I don't think you needed to eat it that quickly."

Frisk chuckled nervously. "Well, it was good."

"Have I lost touch with my inner kid, or is something not right with how Frisk is reacting?" Damien didn't think it wise to get into this right now, so he merely nodded. "Well, I think I'm more eager to eat after hearing such a glowing review."

They all traveled to the kitchen entrance where Papyrus proceeded to heat up the food on the stove. Once it was ready, he served Damien a hearty plate. They then moved to the table where the young man dug in.

"Whoa, Papyrus is a great cook!" Damien thought. "I haven't had home cooking like this in years!" While not at the rate Frisk had eaten his, Damien was still quick to wolf down his own plate and looked to Papyrus. "Is it alright if I have seconds?"

"Of course, Damien." Papyrus stood and took his plate. "I ensured there was plenty made for the two of you."

"Now that you're up Mister, I'm going to go have a bath." Frisk hoped down from his seat.

"Thanks Kid." Damien nodded. "Before you go, I only caught a glimpse of the bathroom? If you've seen it, is it a bath and shower?"

"Yeah, it's got both." Frisk answered.

"Alright, once you're done, drain it for me." Damien ruffled the kid's hair. "I'm more of a shower guy myself."

Frisk nodded eagerly before hurrying off.

"Here we are." Papyrus had returned and put a fresh plate before him. "May I ask how it is you came to be here?" He retook his seat. "I attempted to ask Frisk, but all he would tell me is that this was his fault. As well as that you two only came into contact moments before falling."

"Well, I originally came to Ebott City in search of family after my parents passed away not long before I turned eighteen." Damien began.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Pyparus bowed his head. "I understand what it is like to lose family."

"It's okay." Damien assured. "I've come to terms with what happened. Anyways, from the moment I turned Eighteen to now, I worked to follow in their footsteps. I spent the last four years as a member of the MDF, Magic Defense Force."

"I've heard of them from others who fell before." Papyrus noted. "The MDF is a worldwide organization with two main goals, right?"

"That's right." Damien nodded. "First, we deal with rouge Wizards. Those who pose a threat to the peace. Second, I suppose you could look at us as mercenaries. For a fee, depending on how challenging the task is, we can be hired out to perform duties.

Escorting shipments, bodyguarding, and being lent out to other organizations are prime examples. If you don't have much experience, or you enjoy the work, we can be sent out to do more mundane things."

"Wow, I wasn't aware of the finer details." Papyrus voiced. "The MDF sounds nice, though I've heard from someone they don't always seem to do their job."

"Must have heard about it from one of the Humans who were reported to have fallen." Damien resolved to store that information away for now. "Anyways, my parents were some of the bests in the MDF, which is why it's been hard to come to terms with what they hid.

I returned to the old family home recently and came across a chest full of letters. Up until finding those, I only ever thought I had my parents. Turns out I got an uncle, aunt, and cousin I've never met. I'm not even sure they know I exist given the content of those letters."

"Could what drove them apart really be that bad?" Papyrus asked. "Though, I often ask that about you and me, Sans…"

"The debate on Monsters." Damien revealed to the Monster's interest. "I won't go into detail on this now, but I'll give a brief overview. Many Humans think of them as violent beings who tried to take over the Surface while others deem them innocent victims.

I always knew my parents were of the former, but it never seemed to make them think less of me. That may have to do with me seeing Monsters as innocent until proven guilty, so perhaps it was different from the fact my uncle's family was seemingly in the latter camp."

"I can see how this would be difficult, but it doesn't explain how you ended up on Mount Ebott." Papyrus noted.

"Regardless of how I feel about my parents, I had to meet my family." Damien stated. "I used the resources I have as a member of the MDF to confirm they were still within Ebott City and took a leave of absence.

Along the way, I stopped off only to spot a shady figure in a white cloak skulking around an alleyway. I couldn't leave that alone, so I ended up trying to confront them. They ran, so I followed them onto the mountain.

Flashback

Damien had been following the cloaked figure since the city. "They're fast, yet clearly something is wrong here. Even if they've done nothing wrong, and think I'm a danger, they ran past a police station with no hesitation."

Damien eventually broke through some brush to enter a clearing surrounded by trees, and the mountain loomed above. The figure stood in the center of the clearing with their back to Damien as their cloak fluttered in the breeze.

"No more running?" Damien asked.

"So far, you are impressive…for where you are." The voice was distinctly female. "I often wondered how you handled things before."

"It's like this person knows me, yet I would remember a voice like this." Damien thought.

The cloaked figure turned to reveal her head was obscured by the shadow of the cowl. Only the figure's eyes could be seen because they glowed intensely. Both were a piercing red; however, the left eye contained a glowing yellow ring while the right contained a glowing light blue ring.

"Determination…Patience…Justice?" Damien questioned rattled. "In all of recorded history, Humans have only ever had the chance to show two traits, and it's never been recorded to happen within a soul of Determination."

Was this just a whole new breed of Human or one who somehow contradicted what they understood about souls? Could it somehow be a Monster that slipped through the barrier and killed Humans to take their souls? Was it something outside the understanding of anyone?

"You won't arrive at the answer." Seven skeletal hands, with hole inside the palms, spread out in a circle behind the figure. "Especially since I'm done talking."

Within the center hole of each skeletal hand, there was a color befitting one of the seven traits. Green, yellow, orange, red, purple, blue, and light blue.

Papyrus' Home: Present…

"Ah!" Papyrus exclaimed.

"Hm, do you know something about this individual?" Damien asked.

"It feels like I should…" Papyrus was confused. "What you told me about those skeletal hands sounds like something I've seen before, yet no Monster, to my memory, has demonstrated such magic."

"Perhaps it was a Monster from the distant past or maybe you're confusing it with the capabilities of a Human you once knew?" Damien tried.

"No, I'm positive this is the ability of a Monster, yet no Monster I have met has had such an ability." Papyrus voiced assured of that comment.

"Peculiar." Damien nodded. "Well, to continue…"

Flashback

The circle of skeletal hands closed in and each one's center glowed yellow before a massive beam of yellow magic was fired off at Damien. He gritted his teeth while putting his hand on the handle of his blade. As the beam came his way, he drew the blade and moved with sudden speed.

He traveled alongside the beam, but before he could reach the figure, they rose their right arm to summon a wall of bones. Damien had his sword glow with yellow magic of his own and slashed the wall. The bones still held strong with only minimal cracks.

"I'm not the strongest the MDF have, but I know I'm not that weak. This…" Damien noticed it was brightening up, so he turned only to see that prior, yellow blast had stopped before moving towards where he stood now. "That's not good."

He turned with his blade in hand and placed his second hand over the handle. Suddenly, the blast broke apart into multiple spheres which surrounded Damien. They all moved as one to collapse in on his present location.

Damien took a deep breath before swinging his blade forward. In this instance, he upped his speed to such an extent that he bypassed the perimeter of the attack. Given the nature of just how much speed he needed, it was such a short distance of movement.

In the end, it had the required effect as the sphere's nailed the ground where he'd been standing. Suddenly, one skeletal hand was before him while another was in front, and they glowed yellow. Both unleashed a barrage of smaller, yellow spheres.

They nailed Damien, tearing through his clothes to deal damage to his body. He went about deflecting what he could with his blade while steeling himself. This allowed him to withdraw his combat pistol from an inside pocket.

He fired it into both hands, shattering them before whirling around and firing a few shots the figure's way. One of the hands glowed green and moved in the way to project a domed shield that effortlessly defended the figure.

Two of the hands then surged forward with one glowing blue and the other a light blue. The former unleashed dark blue, bladed chakrams while the latter let off light blue tendrils. Even as Damien defended himself from the tendrils, they managed to still bind his arms together.

With the two chakrams coming his way, he suddenly lept into the air over them. As he landed, both chakrams stopped and flew back towards him. He managed to position his arms in a way where it cut through the tendrils before the second buried itself in his right arm.

Blood splattered on the ground as Damien cried out in pain. "She's battling circles around me." The chakrams faded as he dug in his feet to keep from falling. "This is an opponent I can't beat, even with my ultimate magic." He looked at the figure. "It might be all I can do to get away."

"Is this the best you got?" The figure asked mockingly.

"Not quite." Damien declared.

He sheathed his katana and holstered his gun before lowering his hands down his blazer. He took a deep breath before suddenly crossing his arms, only to pull them out a moment later. In each hand he now held three black kunai, and they were glowing an intense yellow.

"I still have my ultimate technique!" Damien shouted.

Suddenly, just how he had avoided the large spheres of yellow energy, he moved around the clearing and staked a kunai as he appeared. Eventually, he was all out of kunai and breath as he reappeared back where he started.

The moment he reappeared, the orange center of that skeletal hand glowed and Damien was surrounded by multiple, smaller spheres. All of them glowed orange as the yellow magic contained within the kunai suddenly connected and formed a six-pointed star in the clearing.

"Just how sturdy are you?" The figure asked.

"Probably not as durable as you, but I like my odds." Damien returned.

He snapped his fingers. Just as the orange spheres around Damien exploaded, the yellow energy pooled underneath the figure and resulted in a massive blast of yellow energy engulfing the figure.

Papyrus' Home: Present

"…Even though the explosions hurt, I was still able to make my escape." Damien explained. "While running, I took off my blazer and wrapped it in a way that my gun would stay secure while compressing the wound that bladed chakram left.

I withdrew my katana to defend myself, even if my body really didn't like that. I didn't see the figure again after, but I don't think my strongest attack was enough to end them. Then, I came across Frisk, and you know what happened."

"That is quite the harrowing tale." Papyrus noted. "Do you think this figure could make their way to the hole you and Frisk ended up falling into?"

"Hard to say." Damien shrugged. "It seems to me they wanted to lead me out here for that fight. As I said, I don't believe for a second my strongest magic ended things, yet I didn't see them again. I was on the move for a while."

Papyrus hesitated for a moment. "Would you want to go back to the Surface?"

"Well, I'd have to figure some way out of the barrier for that." Damien reasoned. "As things stand, trying to head to the Surface might not be the wise decision. I should take some time to rest here, provided that's fine with you."

"Of course." Papyrus voiced. "I've already told Frisk you two are welcome to stay as long as you'd like. I have plenty of space for the two of you, and I'm sure I could make another bed to accommodate as well."

"Eh, don't worry about me." Damien waved him off. "The kid can have the bed, and I can fall asleep in that recliner of yours when you go to bed." He smiled at the Monster. "That said, if you don't mind us staying, and that's what the kid wants, I wouldn't mind it."

"As I've outlined, it is no trouble at all!" The Monster declared. "I shall work on some things for you tonight until I can have other clothes made. Frisk has taken to some old clothes children of mine used to wear, and with a little altering, some of mine could suit you."

Damien nodded. "Thank you."

"As I've said, it is no trouble." Papyrus declared.

He then left the table to attend to Damien's clothing situation while the man himself moved to put his now empty plate in the sink. He then headed towards the bathroom just as Frisk stepped out in fresh attire. His appearance was night and day after a good bath.

"If Frisk was that filthy, I must be a mess." Damien noted.

"Hey Damien?" Frisk questioned.

"Yeah?" Damien asked.

"Are we staying here awhile?" Frisk asked.

"I'll be staying a bit before seeing about finding my way out, but my decision doesn't have any bearing on what you do." Damien voiced. "If you want to leave, I'll escort you out. If you want to stay, I won't stand in your way."

Grant it, someone on the Surface might have something to say about that, but he couldn't take an unwilling child with him. Sure, Papyrus was nice, but that flower showed not all Monsters would be. If Frisk didn't want to come, this seemed like a good alternative.

"I…I don't know." Frisk admitted.

"Why are you uncertain?" Damien asked, concerned, but Frisk looked away. "Look Frisk…" He knelt on the kid's level. "I wasn't going to pry, but now I feel I must. Is there something wrong with the Surface?"

"I mean, I do like the Surface itself." Frisk looked away. "It's just…"

"Don't push yourself to tell me something you aren't ready for." Damien stood. "The simple fact is you have time to decide what you want to do." Frisk nodded in thanks. "Now, I need a shower."

Later…

Damien was quick to clean himself, twice over, before just letting the water cascade over him.

Eventually, he heard a knocking at the door, followed by a voice. "Damien?"

"Yeah Papyrus?" Damien called out.

"I got clothes that should fit you and shall leave them outside the door." Papyrus informed. "Frisk has already turned in for the night, and I'll be heading to bed after this. As such, feel free get the clothes to change in there."

"Thanks." Damien called out genuinely.

Papyrus then took his leave, and after a few minutes, Damien got out of the shower. He grabbed a nearby towel to dry himself before peaking outside and grabbing the nearby clothes. Damien then closed the door and saw he was left with one of Papyrus' attire.

"This will do, with some modifications." Damien noted.

He slipped the clothing on before doing his best to adjust the clothing to his size, he was a tad shorter than the tall skeleton after all. By the time he was done, it seemed to be okay.

"Alright, time for bed." Damin thought.

Even though he'd been asleep for most of the day, a good meal and nice shower brought out what seemed to be the last of his exhaustion. Damien entered the living room and climbed into the chair, which was more than large enough for him to sleep comfortably in.


Might as well go for third time's the charm, it's worked wonders with keeping my third attempt at crossing over Dragon Ball into another series. For those of you who don't get it from that, this is my third attempt at an Undertale story. the prior two were closer to one another than this one is to them. In case it wasn't obvious from the summary or this chapter, I'm doing Storyshift with a few differences and my own ideas tossed in there.