An Underswap AU: A Tale of Seven Book 1

Entry # 8: PATIENCE

"PATIENCE: The fifth Human child who fell into the Underground. Calm and collected even during the most dire situations."

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"If history will repeat itself, I might as well disown myself from this broken family."

She reached the foot of her destination: the dreaded mountain of monsters, Ebott. With a grim smile, she ignored the warning signs nailed on tree trunks and began hiking towards the summit of the mountain.

The crunching of crisp brown leaves under soles of black shoes filled the silence of the forest. The skies above dimmed to the color of a fresh bruise. The sun crossed the west horizon, bidding the world "goodnight" with it's final ray of sunlight.

Staring ahead, sparing not a single glance behind, Alice allowed her thoughts to wander.

That old man should've seen it coming. It was only a matter of time before her aunt finally snapped.

". . . He was a fool." She muttered under her breath. Shadows began to conquer the woods, leaving not a single blade of grass untainted by darkness. Sighing, she opened her flashlight and continued walking.

Of the two siblings, her father was the golden child. Everything about him screamed perfect, from the way he dresses up to the way he acts. He was placed in a high pedestal by his parents, adored and admired by everyone around him.

His brilliance casted a very broad shadow over his younger sister, who was shoved into the role of the scapegoat. This shadow grew only darker as the days and nights went by, so did her bitterness.

When he inherited more than the lion's share of their family's riches, needless to say, she went berserk.

They are not the first golden child-scapegoat pair, nor they would be the last. This narcissistic tradition has been occurring in their family for generations. There is always two: one perfect, one defect. The cycle usually ends with the golden child's success, while the scapegoat fades away in the background.

However for the first time in a thousand years, the scapegoat murdered the golden child without remorse. All those years of mistreatment and neglect took its toll on her mental state. The last news she heard of her aunt was her permanent imprisonment in an asylum.

Alice won't let the same thing happen to her. It is already obvious that they bestowed the title of golden child to her older brother. She scowled. She had patiently waited long enough for all of them to come around.

They never did. And that is already a good reason for Alice to cut ties from her so-called family.

Might as well slash the rope before it turns into iron chains.

She stopped in front of a gaping hole near the mountain top. Alice shone her flashlight inside the jet black void. It looked bottomless from above. She sat on the edge and gazed down. Is this where the missing children fell?

"Why did they climb Mt. Ebott?" She wondered. Is their reason the same as hers? She would never find out.

A minute of hesitation, then she casually slid into the hole. Death is what she's after in this mountain anyway.

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After what seemed like hours, she landed on a bed of flowers, splashing golden petals everywhere. Alice stared at the sky, blinking in disbelief. She's. . . alive?

"Well well well, what do we have here?"

She turned her head to the right so quickly that she might've snapped her neck if she went any faster. A yellow flower sat four meters away from her. But it's not just any flower. This one has an actual face, and it's talking in a Western accent.

"Howdy kiddo! I'm Flowey. Flowey the Flower." It grinned innocently.

Alice narrowed her cyan irises. Something's wrong with this flower. Her hunch was proven right when a bunch of pellets shot her. She hopped on her feet to bolt away, but the moment she stood up pain jolted from her left leg. She fell on her bottom with a hiss, pellets hitting her on different angles.

"Aaww, would you look at that." Flowey sneered in delight. "Broke one of your legs?"

"What does it look like, you scoundrel?" Alice growled.

"Oooohh, feisty." The flower summoned another batch of pellets. "But that won't do you any good. In this world, it's kill or be killed!" Flowey cackled maniacally as the pellets slowly approached the girl.

Out of nowhere, a green barrier protected Alice from Flowey's attacks. A fist plummeted onto Flowey's face afterwards.

"HOW MANY TIMES DO WE HAVE TELL YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM THE RUINS YOU EVIL SHRUB!?" An orange haired boy screeched, punching Flowey repeatedly.

The barrier dispersed as another girl knelt beside her. The first thing Alice noticed is her eyes. She had never seen eyes that green before. The other girl's hands hovered above her aching leg and a green glow engulfed the fractured area.

"SON OF A B*Barbie*H!" Flower screamed, probably in horror. He immediately retreated underground.

"YEAH THAT'S RIGHT! RUN LIKE THE COWARD YOU ARE!" The boy shouted triumphantly.

"There. It isn't fully healed, but you should be able to walk." The emerald eyed girl said. The boy jogged towards them.

"She gonna be alright?" He asked.

"My magic isn't as strong as dad's, but it should be enough to reduce the severity of the injury." The girl replied.

Alice stood up, to her mild surprise her leg didn't feel painful at all. "W-Who are you!? What is that thing!? Where. . .?" She frowned in confusion. "How did you. . .?" She gestured to her formerly(?) injured limb. She must've been acting ridiculous, but she couldn't care less.

A sentient flower assaulted her, and now these two kids her age are talking about magic. She deserves an explanation.

The duo glanced at each other, then looked back at her. The orange headed boy spoke. "This way. Dad's better at explaining stuff anyway."