The Fall

"Get off me!" a voice cried. A small body pulled away from the cluster, shaking petals off her apron. Ace followed her lead. He stumbled away from his fallen friends, his knees falling against something soft. He looked down. A patch of golden flowers laid just beneath all of them. Ace and Kat glanced at the cluster. Groaning in pain, the fallen children struggled to their feet.

"What happened?" Frisk asked, struggling to their feet.

"You and Ray fell down that hole," Ace replied, tying his ribbon into his long hair. "Kat, Poppy, and Teri tried to pull you out but they fell in so Clover and I went after you."

"Not one of us thought to call for help?" Poppy groaned, putting on her glasses. Frisk shook their head.

"We could call for help now," Kat suggested, reaching into her pocket. Her eyes widened. "W-where's my phone?!"

Clover reached into his pocket. "I… don't have mine either." Everyone reached into their pockets, searching their possessions but none of them were phones.

"Aha!" Poppy called. Everyone glanced at her, eyes wide with excitement. Poppy let out a sigh. "Dangit, my phone's broken."

"Probably from the fall," Teri replied, shaking the dust out of her tutu. Ace sat down on the ground, pulling out his toy knife.

"We can wait here for help," he suggested.

"What help?!" Poppy demanded. She threw her phone onto the ground, shattering it to pieces. "No one else was with us when we fell! And no one's gonna think to search Mount Ebbot! We weren't even supposed to be there!"

"Frisk, why did you lead us to Mount Ebbot in the first place?" Clover asked. "We all know the legend: travelers that climb Mount Ebbot are said to disappear." Frisk opened their mouth to speak.

Ray cut them off, scoffing. "Well, I guess we know why."

"We're all gonna die," Poppy grunted, crossing her arms.

"Don't talk like that," Clover insisted, wrapping an arm around Poppy. "This is just a cueva- or… que es la palabra... cave, right? If there's a way in, there's gotta be a way out."

"Up!" Ray shouted, jumping toward the cave wall. His face flopped against the hard stone before he fell back to the ground.

"Probably not that way…" Poppy replied, dryly.

"What about that way?" Everyone turned to Frisk, who was pointing down a tunnel. At the end of it, stood a doorway.

"That looks like a guaranteed way to get attacked by bats," Teri scoffed.

"Yeah, I'm with Teri on this one." Ace stood up, stopping beside the dark-skinned girl. "Exploring could be dangerous."

"Well, waiting around won't solve our problems." Ray dashed past Frisk, kicking up dust as he skidded to a halt in front of the doorway. "Come on, let's go!" Frisk nodded to Ray. The others exchanged glances before following Frisk through the doorway. This room was just as dark as the first. However, a small yellow shape stood in the centre of it. It was a flower. It was golden, just like the flowers in the first room except there were two dots on its face that seemed to be eyes and a cheerful smile.

"What's that flower?" Ace asked, scoffing.

"Why does it have a face?!" Teri squealed, pressing her hands against her face.

"Maybe it's friendly!" Kat dashed past her friends, stopping to kneel in front of the flower. "Hiya, pretty flower, can you help us escape?"

"Howdy!" The flower replied. Kat jumped. The others staggered back as well, their eyes wide. "Whoops, sorry, didn't mean to scare ya." The flower winked. "I'm Flowey. Flowey the Flower."

"Pleased to meet ya Flowey," Kat greeted, holding out her hand. She quickly put it back down, however, blushing in embarrassment. "Can you help us escape?"

"Oh, so you're new to the Underground?" the flower asked. Kat nodded. The others stepped forward, nodding as well. "Golly, y'all must be so confused. Someone oughta teach y'all how things work around here. Guess little old me will have to do. Ready? Here we go!" There was a strange clicking noise. Kat stepped back to stand beside her friends as lights beamed from their chests. They looked down. Hearts had formed in front of them, each one a different colour. Frisk's was red, Ray's was orange, Clover's was yellow, Kat's was green, Ace's was a light blue, Teri's was a dark blue, and Poppy's was purple.

"What on earth?" Poppy murmured, her eyes wide.

"Don't you mean in?" Ray asked, grinning. Poppy slapped him.

"See those hearts?" Flowey continued. "Those are your souls, the very culmination of your beings." Ray swatted at his soul as if it were a fly. "Your soul starts off weak, but can grow stronger if you gain a lot of LV."

"What's LV?" Clover asked, patting the top of his soul like a cat.

"It's level, idiot," Ray replied, rolling his eyes. "Like in a video game."

Flowey laughed. "No silly, LV is short for LOVE!"

Ray raised an eyebrow. "Love, seriously?"

"Seriously!" Flowey replied, cheerfully. "You guys want some love, don't ya?" The kids all nodded, except Poppy, who was glaring at Flowey. "Don't worry! I'll share some with all of you!" Flowey winked. Little white pellets appeared from his petals, floating in midair in front of the group. "Down here love is shared through… little white… friendliness pellets!" Poppy raised an eyebrow. "Are you ready? Move around, grab as many as you can!" Poppy jumped aside from the 'friendliness pellets.' The others, however, leaped towards them, letting out shrieks of pain as the pellets pierced their skin.

"Guys!" Poppy exclaimed, rushing toward them.

Flowey's expression was contorted into one of sadistic joy. "You idiots!" he exclaimed. "In this world, it's kill or BE killed. Why would ANYONE pass up an opportunity like this?!" Pellets appeared around the group at every angle, giving them nowhere to run. Poppy grabbed her brother, Ray. "DIE!" Flowey screamed. The pellets slowly began to move closer, trapping them shivering on the ground as Flowey cackled. Then there was another sound. The pellets were gone and everyone stood up, their previous pain gone. Flowey stared in confusion. A bright light filled the room, as it fired straight at Flowey, sending him flying away with a gasp. Another creature entered the room. She was tall, at least twice the height of Frisk, and wore a long purple robe. Small horns protruded from her head and she was covered in white fur. She looked a bit like a goat.

"What a miserable creature, torturing such poor, innocent youths," she remarked, staring at where she had blasted Flowey away. She turned to the group, her eyes gentle. "Ah, do not be afraid, my children. I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins. I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first humans to come here in a long time. Come! I will guide you through the catacombs." She turned and trotted down the hallway.

"Can we trust her?!" Ray whispered, raising his fist.

"She seems nice," Kat replied.

"Yeah, but so did Flowey," Clover argued, grabbing his toy gun."You all saw how well that turned out."

"What do we have to lose?" Poppy shrugged. Frisk nodded, stepping forward to follow Toriel. The others followed Frisk. The next room was much brighter, revealing red leaves and purple walls. Frisk stopped between the staircases. The others continued to follow Toriel, bristling uneasily. Frisk and Kat were the only ones to fully trust Toriel at first but the others were noticeably less tense as Toriel informed them about the Ruins and helped them solve the various puzzles they came across. Plus, Toriel had a genuineness to her. She spoke to them like a mother and her help was actually helpful. Eventually, she led the seven children to a small room, with the same purple walls and a mannequin-like object against the wall.

"As humans living in the Underground, monsters may attack you," Toriel explained. "You will need to be prepared for this situation. 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-"

"Is that really a good idea?" Poppy interrupted," What if we meet a relentless killer?"

"You won't," Toriel replied, smiling brightly. "Not in the Ruins, and besides, I will be there to defuse the situation. All you need to do is stall for time. Go ahead, take turns practicing on the dummy." Frisk gestured to them. Ray approached first, raising his fist and slamming it into the dummy at full force.

"Take that, monster!" he bellowed. The dummy fell to the ground on its side.

"Ah, dummies are not for fighting," Toriel protested, resting her furry paw on Ray's shoulder. "We do not want to hurt anyone, do we?"

"But if they attack first-"

"That's not an excuse to kill someone," Clover replied, propping the dummy back up against the wall. ���Sure, if they attack first, you should attack back, but not kill."

"I suppose that is fair…" Toriel replied. She glanced at the others. "Well, what would the rest of you do?"

"I'd do what you said!" Teri replied, skipping toward the dummy. "Hey dummy, how's it going? It's a beautiful day outside!"

Kat grabbed the dummy, moving it up at down slightly, "But it's raining!" She protested, deepening her voice.

"Rain is the best weather for dancing!" Teri replied, gripping her tutu as she spun around, "And singing! And jumping in puddles! You should try it!"

"Okay, sure!" Kat replied, moving the dummy aside. Kat and Teri both giggled.

"That was very good you two," Toriel replied, patting their heads. "Now, who wants to go next?" Her gaze rested on Ace. "What about you? What would you do?" Ace approached the dummy. He shook, staring into its cotton eyes before turning and bolting away. Ray laughed.

"...You ran away…" Toriel remarked, her smile returning moments later. "Truthfully, that was not a poor choice. It is better to avoid conflict whenever possible." She glanced at the dummy. "That… however, is only a dummy. It cannot harm you."

"Good!" Ace replied, rushing toward Toriel. "Its eyes are creepy!" Toriel rested her paw on Ace's head, running her paws through his long, blond hair.

"Don't worry, stay close to me and I will keep you safe." Ace nodded. Toriel glanced at Frisk. "I believe you are the last one. Go ahead and practice on the dummy." Frisk nodded. They approached the dummy, staring blankly into its cotton eyes. The dummy stared back. It felt like a good five minutes of the two simply staring at each other before the dummy floated away. Toriel glared at Frisk, raising an eyebrow. The others giggled.

"The next room awaits!" Toriel announced, her bright smile returning.

"What was that all about, Frisk?" Teri murmured. Kat and Clover nearby were still giggling.

"I was sparing it," Frisk replied with a shrug.

"Honestly, that isn't the weirdest thing you've done," Teri admitted. "And I doubt it will be the weirdest thing either." Frisk shrugged.

"There is another puzzle in this room," Toriel announced up ahead, "I wonder if one of you can solve it?"

"A puzzle?" Ray scoffed. "No problem! Let's go!" Frisk followed Toriel through the hall, skidding to a halt in the middle with a gasp. A Froggit blocked the way! Frisk let out a gasp, swinging their stick at the creature. The monster shook in place. It's eyes widened before it's body disappeared, blowing like dust against the wall. Frisk covered their mouth. The other six children stared at the dusty wall, their eyes wide and jaws dropped.

"Frisk why would you do that?!" Kat gasped, glaring at Frisk.

"I… I didn't mean to…" Frisk's arms shook. The stick fell out of their hand, clanking against the ground.

"Maybe it deserved it," Poppy replied with a shrug. "It did attack first." Ray nodded to his sister.

"Fighting back is fine." Clover took a step toward Frisk. "But we can't kill! That was horrible."

"But we know you didn't mean to kill that monster," Teri replied, clasping her hands together. "Now, let's go."

The group made their way toward Toriel, who stood up ahead, oblivious to what had just happened. They stopped in front of her. Toriel had stopped in front of a large expanse of spikes, stretching across the hall with water surrounding it.

"This is the puzzle, but… here take my hand and get in a line." Frisk took Toriel's hand. They all got in line grabbing each other's hand, Frisk grabbing Kat's hand, Kat grabbing Teri's hand, etc. Toriel lead the line into the spikes. However, they collapsed beneath their feet as they walked in a certain pattern. "Puzzles seem a little too dangerous for now," Toriel explained, turning to face them.

"Well, thanks!" Kat replied, smiling brightly.

"It's no problem, my child," Toriel replied. She turned and made her way down the next hallway. Everyone followed her. "You have all done excellently thus far, my children," she continued, "However… I have a difficult request to ask of you…" she paused. "I would like you all to walk to the end of this room by yourselves."

"Seriously?" Ray asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh no," Poppy muttered, sarcastically.

"Forgive me for this," Toriel replied, turning and disappearing down the hall. Frisk took the lead. Everyone else followed them, exchanging glances.

"How old does she think we are?" Poppy muttered, ambling forward.

"Well, Ace and Ray are only eight," Kat replied, pointing to the short boy.

"We're old enough to walk through a hallway on our own!" Ray exclaimed, punching his gloved fists together.

"Let's just get it over with," Poppy grunted, dashing ahead of the others. Frisk shrugged. Everyone else followed Frisk at a steady pace as they made their way across the hallway. Toriel reappeared from behind a pillar.

"Greetings, my children," Toriel greeted with her usual smile. "Do not worry, I did not leave you. I was merely behind this pillar the whole time. Thank you for trusting me. However, there was an important reason for this exercise." She paused. Ray and Poppy glared at her, tapping their feet impatiently. "To test your independence," she finally explained. "I must attend to some business, and you must stay alone for a while. Please remain here. It's dangerous for you to explore alone."

"Dangerous?" Ray scoffed. "Come on, how bad can it be?"

"For a human, it could be very bad," Toriel answered. "Can you all promise to stay here?" The group all exchanged glances. Frisk winked. The other gazed at them before turning to Toriel and nodded.

"But how will we contact you?" Teri protested.

"Hm… I know!" Toriel pulled a small object out of her robe. "I will give you a cell phone."

"One phone for the seven of us?" Clover asked, cocking his head.

"My apologies, my child, but this one phone is all I have to spare," Toriel replied, handing the phone to Frisk. "But you can call if any of you have a need for anything. Be good, alright?"

"Yes, Toriel," Kat replied, nodding. The others nodded as well, though many of them bore mischievous grins. Toriel disappeared down the hallway.