Dancetale:the power of dance (sans×frisk)

The Underground

BEEP BEEP BEEP

"UGHHHHH,"

"Morning already?" I whined as I got out of bed. All I had to change was a purple and blue striped shirt and old cobbled jeans. Yup, that's the life of an orphan. All the other orphans were awake too, except Maya. Maya. despite being a ray of sunshine was DEFINITELY not a morning person. But as my best friend, I usually just let her sleep in a little. Despite this, I nudged her awake, after all, today was important. Today was the first day of the new school year; well, at least for her.

I had other plans. Last night I got an invite to come to Delta Dance Studio. Honestly, I couldn't believe it when I opened the letter addressed to me. To me, dance is everything. I love dancing more than life itself. My old school had a ballet club and I just took off from there! I was skeptical at first, but ballet made me feel like I could escape from the sorrows of life. My feet were always sore and bleeding by the end, but the smiles on the faces of the audience made it worth it, compliments on how graceful I looked made me beam with joy. Maybe a studio director secretly came to observe new talent during one of our shows and saw me? Excitement bubbled in my chest. There was only one teeny tiny issue...

Delta Dance Studios' meetup time for auditions coincided with the time I was supposed to be in school, and it's located all the way up Mount Ebott. 

I thought it was kind of odd at first, not the timing, but the location. After all, they say that every once in a while people go missing up there. Some say that it's the curse of the monsters who once roamed the world, but most people just think that getting up there is pretty dangerous and falling down can be fatal. I wasn't sure what to think but desperation to escape my current life took over my brain. Even if it was a scam, I could always just come back to the orphanage and cry on Maya's shoulder about it right?

 That's why I decided to sneak away from the orphanage and go to the studio. I already had my ballet stuff packed up and was preparing to sneak off as everyone walked to Richmond High. Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted by Maya sleepily tapping my shoulder. 

"I know you're going to Mount Ebott today~" Maya sleepily whispered in my ear. I froze. Oh no, I couldn't let Maya tell Ms. Horticulture or I'd be in trouble. Ms. Horticulture was the head of the orphanage. She was strict, old, and hated rule breakers with a burning passion. "I'll come too," Maya added before I could plead with her.

Oh. Why did I assume she'd tell Ms. Horticulture? Maya was my best friend, a fellow orphan who understood me. Of course, she'd support me, even if reading my letter was a little nosy.

"Alright, I'll let you tag along, but you can't tell anyone!" I whispered. Maya had always been a bit of a chatterbox which melded well with my silent nature, still, she had a tendency to spill the beans as some would say. "I promise." Maya excitingly said. I nodded, and with that, we headed off for breakfast excitedly whispering about what would happen at the studio and how I should never forget my amazingly awesome friend when I become famous. Haha, silly Maya. Of course I'd never forget her.

After breakfast, Maya and I snuck out and searched for a way up Mt. Ebott. Thankfully, Maya seemed to have found a relatively clear path up. In fact, she navigated the twists and turns so well that it was almost like she'd already been there herself! She assured me that it was her first time, but I was honestly too amazed for words. What couldn't Maya do? 

It had probably been about 30 minutes and even though I was doing okay, Maya seemed to be struggling. It made sense, ballet took a lot of muscle after all! "Do you need a hand?" I asked my friend. She gave me a bit of a side-eye. "Ugh, no I *huff* can do this *huff* without help!" She panted out. Jeez, someone's touchy. I felt bad though, if it weren't for me, Maya could be enjoying her first day of school right now. I felt like I was always leaning on her, for once I just wanted to do something for her instead. Regret seeped into me. As I was about to apologize, Maya suddenly grabbed my hand. "Look, a clearing! We must be near the top!" she exclaimed. 

I slowly walked forward, careful to avoid the cavernous hole in the center of the grassy expanse of the mountain when I looked up to see what Maya was talking about. "Woah..." I whispered. I could see the entire city. What once felt so big looked so small compared to the height of the mountain. The morning glow of the sun shone upon the city and a cool chill filled the air. I could barely make out the people below. How many people were down there, working for their dreams? I wanted to work just as hard, and hopefully, I'd get the opportunity to. Motivation coursed through my veins, but there was still no studio in sight.

I turned to ask Maya if we potentially took a wrong turn when suddenly I felt pressure on my back. My eyes caught a glimpse of her smiling face, only it was twisted into a cruel grin.

"Sorry, but this is how it had to be, have fun in hell!" A voice gleefully exclaimed, getting quieter and quieter in the distance.

I couldn't feel the floor, everything was happening so fast. 

Falling,

I'm falling.

And Maya was the one who pushed me.

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THUNK!

"Aww...my head," I coughed out. I forced my eyes open as I clutched my head in pain. Everything hurt. As my eyes adjusted to the dim glow, I felt something soft below me. Wait, flowers? My eyes shot open fully as I scanned my surroundings. I was surrounded by deep rocky walls, the only bit of sunlight coming from far above me, too far to reach. Below me was a bed of yellow flowers, likely what cushioned my fall. 

Realization hit me, and tears welled up in my eyes. I was in the Underground, the place of legends. When Maya pushed me, she must have known that if the fall didn't kill me, the monsters would. My hands shook in fear. What would happen to me now? I was so stupid, what if Maya planted that note about the studio? I choked back a sob when suddenly I saw them. My tutu and ballet slippers. Both were scruffed up quite a bit, but I felt compelled to put them on.

The urge to dance consumed me. Dancing always made me feel better. I spun and jumped in the air, doing extravagant twirls and twists. A tune played in my head calming me. I wasn't in the Underground, I was on a stage. The flowers were my audience, the sliver of sunlight my spotlight. I spun myself all the way to the next room of the cavern when I stopped in my tracks.

"Wow, you've got some moves doncha?" A friendly voice asked. I looked around until I realized where it was coming from.

Smiling in front of me was a TALKING FLOWER!

Hey, this is the first chapter I have reworked, it was REALLY bad before. Seriously, I didn't even put a space after my periods for the next sentence. It makes sense, I was in elementary school when I started this! I didn't change much in terms of story beats, just added more context. Like...a lot more. This chapter used to be at 500-something words now it's at 1305 whoops. Well, if for some reason you're reading this in 2022, then thanks.