Undertale

Chapter 1: Fallen Down

 I woke up on a bed of golden flowers. They must have broken my fall. It was really quite incredible that of all the places I could have landed, it was on this little patch of flowers. Where was I, anyway? I had heard legends about something lying under Mt. Ebott, but I was never told what. I felt fear wash over me; I was miles from the surface. I brushed my jaw-length brown hair out of my face and got up. I had no broken bones, or any apparent injuries, which was amazing considering my fall. I figured I'd better start walking. My footsteps echoed on the stone floor. I heard nothing else except the sound of my breathing. It was cold and dark. There seemed to be no way out of here.

There was an archway in front of me. The archway was made of stone pillars, and there was a strange symbol over the top: three triangles, and a circle with wings. I squinted at it, and walked through the archway towards a little patch of light. There was another little golden flower in a tiny circle of grass, but this one was different; this one had a face. It smiled at me, and started talking. "Howdy! I'm Flowey! Flowey the Flower!"

Flowey the flower. What, it couldn't possibly have thought of a better name for itself? "Uh... hi," I said, "I'm—" but it cut me off.

"Hmm... you're new to the Underground, aren'tcha? Golly, you must be so confused."

"Yes, I—"

"Someone ought to teach you how things work around here!" said Flowey brightly. "I guess little old me will have to do."

I'm talking to a flower. Well, I heard there were a lot of strange things hiding under Mt. Ebott. "Thanks."

"Ready? Here we go!"

Then something strange happened. A little red heart floated out from my chest. I don't mean the kind of heart that pumps blood; that would have been disgusting. I mean a glowing, heart-shaped... something. I didn't know what it was, but it was warm, and something made me want to hold it close and keep it safe, forever. "See that heart?" said Flowey. "That is your SOUL, the very culmination of your being! Your SOUL starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV."

"What's LV?"

"What's LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course!" said Flowey. "You want some LOVE, don't you?"

I took a breath and nodded. Of course I did. Who didn't?

"Don't worry, I'll share some with you!" said Flowey. He winked. His enthusiasm was starting to get on my nerves. "Down here, LOVE is shared through... little white... 'friendliness pellets'." Five little white balls appeared above Flowey's head. "Are you ready? Get as many as you can!" The balls started pelting toward me, more like bullets than anything else. Instinctively, I moved away from them, clutching the heart to my chest. Flowey gave me a look. "Hey buddy, you missed them. Let's try again, okay?" Again, the white balls appeared and I moved away from them. Something here was wrong, very wrong. I felt uneasy. I did not trust Flowey.

Flowey looked angry. "Is this a joke? Are you braindead? RUN. INTO. THE. BULLETS!!! — I mean, friendliness pellets!" he said quickly, smiling again.

That was it. He was trying to kill me. I quickly moved aside. If we just kept doing this again and again, maybe I could find a way to escape.

Flowey gave me a very strange smile. It was twisted and creepy, and his eyes were wide. "You know what's going on here, don't you?" he said slowly, his voice shaking. "You just wanted to see me suffer."

"What? No, I—" Honestly I thought it was the other way around. He was trying to kill me.

Suddenly, I was surrounded by a ring of white bullets. There was no escape. "Die," said Flowey. The ring of bullets started to move in towards me. Flowey's face contorted. His smile widened, showing large teeth, and his eyes were red. He looked terrifying. To think he'd been a cute little smiling flower just a few seconds ago! He started laughing, a high, raspy, creepy laugh that made my hair stand on end. I felt like I was caught in a terrifying, absurt nightmare. Just as I was bent over the heart, waiting for my death, the bullets vanished. Flowey was knocked aside by a little fireball. Another creature came running towards me.

She looked a little like a goat, but stood upright like a person. She had long ears that fell over either side of her face, little horns, and little fangs that hung over the edge of her mouth. She was covered in white fur, and wore a purple dress with that strange symbol on it. "What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth..." she said. Her voice was high and soft. "Ah, do not be afraid, my child. 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 human to come here in a long time. Come! I will guide you through the catacombs.

As she was talking, the little red heart—my SOUL—sank back into my chest. I could feel its warm presence tingling through my body.

"This way!" said Toriel.

I followed her away from the patch of light. There didn't seem to be anywhere else to go, though I wasn't particularly happy about being hurried into things. A talking flower had just tried to kill me, and now this goat lady had rescued me and was ushuring me to who knows where. I hoped I was dreaming.