Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The light from an unfamiliar source shone down onto a bed of golden flowers. It was a beautiful day outside. Birds were singing. Flowers were blooming.

On days like those, kids like this...

...Really should stop stumbling into other worlds.

A small, humanoid child with cat-like yellow eyes slowly sat up after falling an unknown distance. Their brown, cat-ear shaped hat still sat snuggly on their head, and their blue hair didn't even seem ruffled. A scarf of the same color hung around their neck and touched the flowers beneath them even after they sat up. A few of the flowers even clung to them long after they gathered their bearings. The basketball-sized lightbulb- the Sun -in their lap still shone as brightly as ever.

"God..?"

They furrowed their brow. They knew "God's" name- they learned it not too long ago. Still, they couldn't recall it, and they didn't hear any sort of response.

"Do you know where I am?"

Still nothing. They could only hear the wind blowing from the hole above them.

With the Sun in both hand, they stood up and walked over to the only visible exit. They knew the Tower hid many secrets that even God struggled to comprehend at times. Maybe they were being put through another puzzle. It only made sense for this to be the answer. The area they found themself in appeared to be about as dark as the inside of the Tower, anyway.

"Howdy!"

In the back of their head, they could hear a the faint noise of cheery music play as a large flower with a smiling face spoke to them in a high-pitched and suspiciously gleeful tone. They'd... probably seen weirder in the other world, although it caught them by surprise nonetheless.

"I'm Flowey! Flowey the-" Flowey paused, squinting at the humanoid. "Oh." His tone dropped, as did his face and the happy music that may or may not have actually been audible. "You're just another monster. Don't you have anything better to do than hang out here? Scram!"

"Monster..?" They tilted their head. "I'm... Niko! Niko the person." They smiled softly, hoping to maybe lift Flowey's mood back up.

Flower scoffed. "Haha, very funny. No person I ever met had cat eyes or blue hair. And what's with that thing you've got?"

"I'm a regular person where I'm from!" Niko assured him. "And this is the Sun! Don't you recognize it? I need to bring it to the-"

Niko could feel their heart begin to race as some sort of pellets surrounded their body. They weren't sure why, but they had a horrible feeling about letting the Sun touch any of them.

"It's kill or BE killed here, Niko. With this in mind, you understand why I don't feel like wasting my time talking to you."

The white pellets closed in on them from all sides in a cylindrical shape, preventing them from climbing under or over them to escape. They closed their eyes held the Sun close their their chest, feeling their heart beat even through the glass on the other side of it. Even if they didn't know what would happen upon contact with the pellets, the feeling in their gut gave them enough reason to be afraid.

A high-pitched squeal snapped their eyes open. They looked over to where Flowey once "stood," only to see someone else in his place.

"What a pathetic creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth."

A woman stood and an impressive height, literally towering over Niko by at least a meter. She looked like a soft, lovable goat/human hybrid with red eyes, little horns atop her head, and floppy ears reaching her neck. She wore a sort of purple and white long-sleeved dress with an odd symbol on the front. Right off the bat, she seemed MUCH less threatening than Flowey.

"Do not fear, young one. I am Toriel, caretaker of the... Oh!" She chuckled softly. "Oh, I apologize. I thought you were a human."

"I AM a human, Miss Toriel! All people look like me where I'm from."

Toriel took a pair of reading glasses from her pocket, put them on, stared at Niko, then put them away. "Well... Human or not, you aren't from here nonetheless. Come, I will guide you through the Ruins."

Niko could easily keep up with his new acquaintance even with their hands being occupied. The next room they entered contained piles of red leaves and two set of stairs leading up to them same exit. They quickly followed behind Toriel as she guided them through.

"Allow me to educate you in the way of the Ruins, innocent one." She stepped on a variety of grey buttons on the ground, prompting a purple door up ahead to open up. "The Ruins are full of puzzles. Ancient fusions between divisions and doorkeys. One must solve them to move from room to room. Please adjust yourself to the sight of them."

"Oh... Miss Toriel? Where are we going?"

Toriel smiled. "We are heading to your... new temporary home. You are not the type of human I am used to, but you do not have the same feeling I get from another monster, either. I am going to provide you a place to stay until I know what to do with you."

Niko nodded, and with that they continued forward. They still assumed they were in another weird room of the Tower, so they went along with it for the time being in hopes they'd get to the end and back to where they were previously.

Soon enough, they learned about how basic switch puzzles worked. They seemed easy enough to master since Toriel labeled them accordingly, and they moved on to the next room swiftly.

"As a... non-monster in the Underground, monsters may attack you. 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. Stall for time. I will come to resolve the conflict." She gestured to an odd-looking training dummy across the room. "Practice talking to the dummy."

"Ooo-kay."

Reluctantly, Niko walked up to the dummy while Toriel guarded the exit. They weren't sure what to expect, although they thought more would happen when she mentioned a Fight. Instead of anything interesting, they cleared their throat, and began to speak. "Umm... Hiya there! Nice to... meet you? I'm Niko."

Despite getting no response whatsoever, Toriel seemed pleased with them. "Ah, very good! You are very good."

Another puzzle done, another room to traverse.

"There is another puzzle in this room... I wonder if you can solve it?"

And off they went through a curvy hallway, where Niko encountered a Froggit!

Several bits of pixelated squares popped up around Niko's vision as they stared down the monster. Not attacking, its head only moved around some while waiting for them to make their move.

"A-Ah... Hello! I'm new here, my name's Niko. And... you're a Froggi-"

How did they know the monster's name? They weren't sure. One way or another, they just knew it was called a Froggit.

Toriel quickly walked up to the monster and stared daggers into it until it left.

You won! You earned 0EX& and 4%0(D!

The jumbled words flashed across their vision. Toriel didn't seem to notice them, as she continued forward until they came across a platform filled with spikes. "This is the puzzle, but..." She looked over the spikes and then back at Niko. "Here, take my hand for a moment."

Niko did as told after tucking the Sun under their right arm. Toriel then guided them over the spikes designed to sink into the ground when approached.

"I have been meaning to ask you," Toriel began while continuing her path, "What are you carrying there?"

"Oh! It's the Sun! Not the sun from my world or yours, cuz I saw the light from it when I woke up here, but it's from another place I need to get back to."

"I... see..."

Toriel sounded apprehensive about Niko's claims, but didn't question it further."Puzzles seem a little too dangerous for now," she explained before pressing on.

After walking down a long and not very impressive hallway on their own, Toriel went off to attend to some business. To compensate for their loneliness, she gave Niko a cellphone to call her in case they grew lonely.

They didn't stay in place for too long.

A piece of candy, a Whimsun, a fall, a rock puzzle, a falling puzzle, a talking rock puzzle, several more monster encounters, a table with cheese resting on it, and MANY phone calls later, Niko came across a rather sleepy ghost. By then, their feet and legs ached, so they felt a tad jealous of the ghost for looking so comfortable.

"Excuse me, mister... miss... mixster... I gotta get through here."

The ghost pronounced the letter Z repeatedly in hopes Niko would go away.

Niko could have tried to move them. They knew this. However, they opted for a more friendly route and lay down next to them.

"oh..... you don't..... have to do this...... if you want through that bad.... i can move..."

Niko shrugged. "I don't mind. My feet are kinda sore anyway." They soon remembered what to do when meeting a monster, and even though they weren't in a Fight, they wanted to greet the ghost regardless. "I'm Niko, by the way. It's nice to meet you."

The ghost grumbled softly under their breath. While they didn't find Niko annoying or the like, they weren't feeling up to conversation. "uhh.... i'm napstablook...... welcome... i guess...."

"Do you do this often?"

"not really..... it's quiet here though..... nobody complains if i cry too loud....."

"Aww, I'm sorry to hear about that." Niko wanted to reach out and offer Napstablook a reassuring touch, only to stop themself upon realizing they probably wouldn't be able to touch them. "Do you wanna talk about it? I might not be able to help, but I can listen."

"nnn..... that's okay...." Napstablook slowly hovered up just enough so the bottom of their body didn't touch the ground. "sorry for keeping you here..... and for being grumpy..... i had a pretty okay time talking to you...... niko..."

"M-hm!" Niko sat up and took the Sun from their lap and back into their hands. "I understand. I sleep a lot when I'm grouchy, too. I'll see you later, Napsta!"

The walk and puzzles ahead proved to be quite taxing on Niko. Between the brain power they needed to use, the injuries they sustained from stubborn monsters and all the walking, Niko wanted nothing more than to sleep. Sure, they may have bought a Spider Doughnut with the Gold they obtained from the various Fights they got away from, and they obtained a cute ribbon and a fake knife, but nothing seemed to make up for how tired they were.

At last, they finally found Toriel once more.

"Niko!" Toriel ran up to them and scooped them into her arms. "Oh, you poor thing. I should not have left you alone for so long." She walked past a leafless tree and towards a quaint cabin up ahead. All the while, Niko swore they felt their bruises and cuts heal up. "Here. You can have a nice nap while I finish a few things up."

Niko couldn't see much of the house though their sleepy eyes and rim of their hat. The bed they found themself in felt so soft and cozy... they didn't ever want to get up.

"Sorry, Miss Toriel..." Niko yawned while being tucked into bed. "I know I should have stayed in place, but I really wanted to explore..."

"I understand, my child. But for future reference? You can eat food made by monsters to recover from injury."

"Oh." They looked up at her. "Miss Toriel?"

She giggled quietly. "You do not have to call me that. Just 'Toriel' will suffice, my child."

"Oh, okay." They sighed, starting over. "How do I exit the Ruins, Toriel?"

Her normally happy expression dropped some, although not as much as Flowey's did when he found out Nika wasn't the right kind of human he was hoping for. "Now is not the time to talk about that. You need to rest for now, all right?"

"I really do need to get back, though."

"Well, you'll have all the time to get going tomorrow. Get some sleep, I'll feed you something when you wake up, and then we can talk about it then. Okay?"

"Mmm... all right."

Before long, Toriel turned the lights off and left the room, leaving Niko to sleep while holding the glowing Sun between their legs. The room they were in looked a lot like a child's room, with toys and a cute drawing on the wall. They wanted to get up to inspect everything, but with how comfy the bed felt beneath them, it might be a while before they decided to poke around. Besides, and nap and a snack sounded really good.

[Niko.]

A voice

A familiar voice.

Niko sat up, their eyes wide and mouth ajar. "God?! Was that you?"

[Yes.]

They exhaled a shaky breath. "Thank goodness. You've been gone for so long. I was getting worried."

[You need to get back.]

"I know, I know. I'm super tired, though. I'll get on it tomorrow."

[Hur^y.]

"A... Are you okay? Your voice-"

[Hu^^y p(3@23.]

Niko could feel their heart sink into the very bottom of their stomach. Their voice... they sounded normal for the most part, but bits of their words became distorted and jumbled. They could still understand everything despite this, although it took them a few seconds to fully comprehend everything. "I... I will! I just need a quick break from all this walking. I'll get back and... make my choice as soon as I can."

Chapter Text

Niko woke up to the lovely smell of something sweet and warm in the room they fell asleep in. They nearly stepped on the source of the smell after getting out of bed, and their stomach growled loudly at the sight of a perfect slice of cinnamon-butterscotch pie. Toriel said something about both of the main ingredients in it during their many phone calls, and they remembered vaguely smelling it when first entering her home. Just looking at it made their mouth water, and even without a fork they managed to devour the entire thing. Oddly enough, they didn't feel all too full after eating it. They weren't terribly starving anymore, but they sure could have gone for something else to eat.

Niko shook their head. They knew they couldn't waste their time eating more pie. However, if there was a slice then there was surely an entire pie somewhere in the house. While they didn't want to chow down on it while time marched on, they really wanted to take a piece with them.

Sun in hand, Niko pushed open the door to them bedroom and wandered into the living room to speak with Toriel before leaving. She sat in a rather large chair while reading a book, and she wore the cute glasses she had on earlier when taking a better look at Niko.

"Oh! You are awake!" Toriel smiled, closed her book, and stood up. "I have a little something that should help you on your journey. May I have your 'Sun' please?"

It took a moment for Niko to finally hand over the precious bulb. They could never really trust others with it, even though they felt as if Toriel had amazing control of her strength and such.

From a pocket in her gown, Toriel produced some kind of red rope woven in a spiderweb pattern. With swift yet gentle movements, she placed the Sun into it and held it up by two loops, making it look a lot like a fancy hanging basket. "You can wear it like a backpack now! Isn't that lovely?"

Niko's eyes went wide with amazement as they took the Sun from her and moved their arms through the loops to carry it on their back. They could finally use two arms while carrying it! "Oh, Miss T- I mean! Toriel! This is super cool!" They did a few quick squats to see if it would stay safely in place, and sure enough, it hardly moved at all. "I don't know how I'm gonna pay you back, but thanks so much!"

Toriel chuckled. "You do not need to worry about that, my child. Now, please take your time looking around. You may also take anything you'd like with you if you think it will be helpful."

"Oh! Really? That's awful nice of you." They briefly turned their head to look at the books, the fireplace, and what they assumed was the entrance to the kitchen. "Is there any more of that pie? I wanna take some with me."

"Sure thing, Niko. I shall be right back."

While Toriel went to fetch them their extra dessert, Niko took her advice and began rummaging through the living room. The many books their taught them a little bit about the history of humans and monsters in the world, and they found the fireplace to be particularly interesting. No matter how close they got to it, they never felt like they were burning. This caused their curiosity to set in, making them slowly stick their hand into the flames. Just as the fire harmlessly licked one of their fingers, Toriel reentered the room with a large slice of pie wrapped in plastic.

"I wasn't doing anything dangerous!" Niko proclaimed as they stood up from their spot in front of the fire.

Toriel smiled warmly. "I am aware of this, young one. The fire before you is completely safe. You cannot even roast marshmallows on it." She handed them the pie, and held back a laugh as they haphazardly stuffed it into their pocket. "Are you going to be leaving now that you have a snack?"

"Probably! Lemme see..."

Niko checked their inventory.

* 13G

* Monster Candy

* Spider Donut

* Butterscotch Pie

* Toy Knife

* Faded Ribbon

"I think I'm good! I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with these toys I found, though."

Toriel quirked a brow. "Toys..?"

"I found this ribbon and a cute little knife while walking around."

"You can wear the ribbon to increase your defense, and the knife is for..." Her sentence trailed off, although she quickly began to speak again. "Monsters won't attack you as harshly if you're cuter, so I suggest wearing the ribbon."

With their newfound information, Niko took out the ribbon and tied it into a pretty bow around their neck. They may not have looked the most fashionable, but with the bonus of not being hurt as much, they didn't really mind. "Okay! I'm ready to go!"

Toriel took Niko's hand to lead them to the basement. "The only exit to the Ruins is through here. I am... uneasy about you leaving. Still, I know it is for your own good."

Niko had a spring in their step as they walked down the corridors with Toriel. Finally! Some progress! For all they new, the rest of the Tower would be on the other side of the door up ahead.

Suddenly, Toriel stopped in her tracks. She released Niko's hand and walked up to the door without them in silence. Niko wanted to take a step forward, but the look she gave them made them want to run back upstairs.

"It was foolish of me to bring you here," Toriel said coldly. "You'll just die out there like the rest of them."

"T... Toriel? What are y-"

Black and red clusters of squares blinked in and out of existence around Toriel. Her body continually flickered from being in color to a plain black and white. Even someone new to this world would get the feeling of something being off, and that's exactly what Niko felt.

"He... Asgore... will kill you. Please go back upstairs where it is safe."

Niko shook their head. "I'm sorry, but I can't! I have something very important to do, so please let me go!" They took a decisive step forward... even though their legs shook. Toriel didn't seem to be affected by the squares, so they felt safe enough to move closer. "I made it this far and I refuse to give up now!"

Toriel sighed. "Then you leave me no choice. Prove to me that you a strong enough to survive."

The squares vanished, and the purple-tinged room around them shifted from black, to white, to purple in slow waves going from the floor to the ceiling. Toriel remained colorless instead of flickering to and from her normal palette, and a somewhat intense yet simple chiptune melody rang through Niko's ears. This... was a Fight, wasn't it? An odd, seemingly corrupted string of code and textures, but a Fight nonetheless.

It looked like Toriel waited for them to make the first move.

"I'll promise I'll be fine, Toriel. You didn't even think I was a human when we first met!"

Toriel ignored their words and threw forward a ball of white fire- several of them, actually. And while they were easy enough to dodge, Niko didn't see one near the side of their face, and wound of singeing their cheek on it.

Their turn again.

She said something about being able to heal wounds with monster food, and the candy in their pocket had monster in the name. They wanted to see if it worked about as much as they wanted their cheek to stop hurting, so they popped the unwrapped sweet into their mouth. They weren't sure of the flavor, but at least it didn't taste like licorice.

Toriel's turn.

More fire, although it rained down from the ceiling in a spiral pattern.

Niko managed to dodge everything swiftly, and since they didn't need to heal again, they could use their turn to try and convince Toriel of their capabilities.

"I didn't even get hit that time, Tori!" They took a few more steps forward, only to be pushed back by a wall of harmless flames. "Can't you just-"

"Fight me or leave!"

Niko blinked. "I am fighting you!"

"No, you're dodging and talking to bide time!" Toriel swung her arm, creating a wave of flames Niko could easily duck under. "Either attack or run away!"

Attack? They could never! They didn't want to hurt someone so nice- they couldn't hurt someone who gave them a place to sleep out of the kindness of their heart. It wouldn't be right.

"I... I'm not going to hurt you! I'm not that kind of human."

Toriel paused in the middle of summoning flames or her palms. "Wha-"

Niko sat down cross-legged, and folded their arms. "I know you can make fire that doesn't hurt, and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't kill me, so I'm not stalling anymore!" They huffed softly. "You don't want me to dodge or waste time talking, right? Well, I'm not doing any of that, but I'm not gonna hurt you, either."

As if to prove an unspoken point, Toriel launched an enormous, blinding blast of white and purple fire big enough to fill the hallway out. Despite its size, the fire skillfully went around where Niko sat unflinching. The flames around them felt warm, although not hot enough to burn them. Even as they leaned to the left and right, the magical burst of heat moved to accommodate the way they sat.

Once everything died down, Toriel turned back to her regular colors of purple and white with red-ish eyes. Niko stood up and made their way to her as she spoke in a melancholy tone, and they quickly realized everything went back to normal- as normal as it looked before they started fighting, anyway. Even the music they heard came to a halt.

"Haha... This whole thing was silly, wasn't it?" She smiled weakly. "I do not even know why I suddenly didn't want you to leave, innocent one. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for my outburst."

Niko nodded. "It's okay! Look, it's just like you said-" they pointed to their cheek "-monster food heals stuff! I'm all good."

Toriel wanted to ruffle Niko's hair, but seeing as they wore a rather adorable hat, she instead knelt down to hug them. "Be good, won't you?"

"M-hm."

"Use what you learned here throughout your travels; don't hurt anyone, know when to stand your ground, and know when to run away."

"I understand, Toriel. I really do gotta go now, though."

"Ah." She stood up. "Yes, I understand. I will not keep you any longer."

Niko nodded and smiled up at her. "Thank you! And, don't even worry about earlier. I'll probably see you again, and we can just pretend all this never happened."

"Pretend all what never happened, my child? I am afraid I do not know what you are talking about."

Soon enough, the two parted ways, and Niko found themself walking down a rather large and featureless hallway. Such a walk gave them enough time to think about all the weird stuff that went down during their little scuffle; the changing colors, the squares, Toriel's weird behaviour... it seemed as though the world needed its own help as well.

Maybe they could find a way to fix things.

"Howdy!"

Niko sighed loudly after coming across a not-so-friendly face. They even rolled their eyes just to show how unhappy they were to see Flowey again. "Listen, I'm just passing through."

"Uh-huh. Sure ya are." Flowey narrowed his beady little eyes. "What'd you do with Chara?"

"Who now?"

"Don't play dumb with me. You and I both know you're not supposed to be here. I can't even see your SOUL!"

"I mean... yeah, I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be here. Still, I don't know a Chara and I'm gonna go now."

They expected Flowey to maybe try and attack them again, but he just smiled in such an extreme way that it looked like his face was tearing. "Don't worry about it, Niko. This is much more interesting than any of the other runs Chara has done." He laughed maniacally before vanishing into the soil below him, leaving Niko to go on their merry little way.

What a weirdo.

Chapter Text

The ribbon around Niko's neck really wasn't helping them fight off the cold of the new area. If anything, the thin fabric only made them even more cold since it retained no heat whatsoever and seemed to absorb the cold better than anything else. Since they couldn't go back, they pressed on through the woods to find a place to warm their quickly freezing body.

Footsteps.

They could hear footsteps behind them as they approached an odd looking bridge.

Even though they picked up the pace, the sound of someone behind them stayed at the exact same distance until-

"H u m a n."

Niko gritted their teeth. Toriel did warn about the whole monsters and humans thing, and from the looks of it she wasn't kidding.

Might as well face the monster with optimism, right? Maybe they'd be nice?

With the best smile they could muster, Niko turned around to face..!

A smiling skeleton who looked rather confident up until he looked into their eyes. Nothing really changed about his smile, per se, although his... eyebrows..? Or, rather, the small areas above his large eyes raised some when he got a good look at them. Soon enough, his sockets closed, as if his skinless face had eyelids, and his weathered blue jacket crinkled softly as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"yeah. figures you weren't who i was expecting. they don't usually carry around a giant lightbulb."

The way he spoke under his breath made it seem like he was speaking to himself.

With a wink, the skeleton continued. "anyway, i'm sans. sans the skeleton."

For whatever reason, Niko got bad vibes from the guy. The way he talked and presented made them feel uneasy, and they weren't sure why. The perpetual grin, maybe? Or did  it have somethign to do with his lack of mouth movements? He did look pretty creepy.

"I'm Niko and I... need to get going. Today's been rough."

Sans tilted his head to one side. "that's kinda rude, kid. don't you know how to greet a new friend?"

His hand extended to shake theirs, and like the kind child they were, Niko shook it... only to pull away moments later after hearing a loud and rather childish noise emanate from his palm.

Wordlessly, Niko turned around and kept walking. They really didn't like the vibe Sans gave off, so they figured they could just... leave. Rude or not, they didn't want to be anywhere near someone who they assumed to be a grown man... skeleton... monster... thing... who put little whoopie cushions in his hand to greet strangers with.

"SANS!"

A loud, nasally voice came from yet another skeleton with a much less creepy demeanor. He towered over Niko, and they hardly even came up to his hip while wearing their hat. His bright orange and white clothes contrasted greatly against their own, and they even looked starkly different against the other skeleton's faded blue clothing.

"heya, papyrus."

"ARE YOU HARASSING THIS CUTE CAT CHILD WITH YOUR BAD PRANKS? WHILE I AM UPSET, I AM NOT AT ALL SURPRISED."

"Excuse me," Niko began as they looked up at Papyrus, who really was a lot taller than he had any right to be, "but I'm not a cat, and I'm gonna go now!"

They wanted to walk on past the two but Papyrus quickly started speaking again.

"WELL, IF YOU ARE NOT A CAT THEN I AM GOING TO ASSUME YOU'RE A HUMAN! AND YOU'LL HAVE TO GO THROUGH ALL MY TRAPS MADE SPECIFICALLY FOR HUMANS."

Niko sighed heavily after hearing the obvious snarkiness in his voice. They closed their eyes, turned their neck to give it a little pop, and looked back up at him. "All right, fine. I'm a cat monster who's too tired for puzzles. Couldja help me get to Asgore's place?"

Papyrus furrowed his... brow... and rubbed his chin. "I AM NOT TOO KEEN ON LEAVING SNOWDIN, BUT MY BROTHER AND I CAN TAKE YOU CLOSE TO THE EXIT. THERE IS A PLACE FOR YOU TO EAT IF YOU'D LIKE TO REGAIN SOME ENERGY... THAT IS... IF YOU DON'T MIND EATING DISGUSTINGLY GREASY FOOD."

"it's not that bad, pap. grease helps put meat on your bones."

Niko didn't like lying to folks, even if they were weird, skinless and/or vaguely menacing. Despite this, they didn't feel all too bad since some grease-filled food sounded lovely after eating nothing but sweets for a while.

Before they could even agree to go along with the two, Papyrus scooped Sans up and held him under his arm like a basketball. "YOU SAID YOU WERE TIRED, YES? WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO CARRY YOU AS WELL?"

"Well, I-"

They were promptly picked up in a similar fashion by Papyrus' free arm, and they were soon being toted all throughout the snowy woods. They made sure to tell him about how delicate the lightbulb on their back was, and he made sure not to touch it or let it be crushed by his 'incredible' strength.

Thus began their somewhat nauseating trip to Snowdin.

There were trees, a cliff that looked over even more trees, various traps that Papyrus simply stepped over, and quite a few sentry stations for members of the 'Royal Guard,' as Papyrus called them. Apparently, they were mostly dog monsters who protected the Underground and kept an eye out for humans. Papyrus wasn't a part of it, but he firmly assured Niko he'd be a member in no time at all.

"so, niko... doesn't your name mean 'cat' in japanese or something?"

"I don't think so," they said while shifting about to face Sans instead of staring at the constantly moving ground. "Isn't 'Sans' just a type of bad font?"

Sans closed his eyes and shrugged. "depends on your definition of 'bad,' ya know?"

"SNOWDIN! HOME TO THE GREAT PAPYRUS AND THE LAZY BUT ALSO GREAT SANS!"

In the nick of time, Papyrus announced their arrival to the quaint little town full of fuzzy monsters. A lot of them looked rather similar to rabbits or bears Niko would see back home, and the town even had a Christmas tree in the middle of it! Were holidays celebrated the same way throughout worlds? A part of Niko sure hoped so. Maybe they'd visit for the holidays if they were given the chance to do so.

"you comin' inside, bro?"

Papyrus placed the two onto the snowy ground outside of a little bar called Grillby's. Niko could already smell the burgers and other tasty foods within the warm and cozy-looking place.

"I HAVE... MANY THINGS TO DO," Papyrus explained while rubbing the back of his skull. "SUCH AS WANDERING OFF GENERALLY TO THE EAST. TA-TA!"

And off he went, leaving Niko with the brother who never once stopped smiling. They wondered what he had to do that was so important. Or, did he just make an excuse so he wouldn't have to put up with the grease?

"welp. i'm dying for something to fill this hole i got in my gut. you going in, kid?"

Without another word, Sans pushed the door open to the bar, letting out a burst of toasty air in his wake. From what Niko could tell, the monsters inside seemed nice enough, so they followed him with little hesitation after adjusting their makeshift backpack.

Inside the bar, the various monsters greeted Sans like an old friend. They cracked a few jokes, and before long the two were sitting in front of a monster made of what looked like pure fire, who Sans called Grillby. Not seeing any heaters in the area, Niko assumed he was the source of the warmth.

"...huh. it didn't go off."

"What di-"

The distinct sound of a whoopie cushion being sat on made Niko roll their eyes. Sans was an adult, wasn't he? Why did he seem so bent on pranking kids? Was he unable to fool anyone over the age of twelve?

"Remind me why I'm here and not heading over to wherever Asgore is?"

"you mean the castle?" Sans shrugged. "i dunno. you're hungry, arentcha?"

Right on queue, Niko stomach let out a louder than expected growl. "Oh, right. I gotta get something in me that isn't pie or candy."

Sans gestured vaguely to Grillby, and without a word he went into the back. "oh yeah. human food stays in you, doesn't it?"

"Huh?"

Grillby came back with a plate of fries and a hamburger. Niko thanked him, to which he simply nodded in acknowledgement.

"monster food just kinda gets absorbed into ya. heals wounds, replenishes health. it'll keep you from dying, but it won't keep you full."

Niko looked down at the piping hot fries before them. The food they ate earlier didn't really stick with them as long as they hoped it would, so what Sans said must've been true.

"hey, don't let that discourage you from eating. we don't need you passing out halfway through waterfall."

Filling or not, Niko starting chowing down on a couple fries. They were crisp, hot, and had just the right amount of salt on them. Despite them being monster food, they really did taste like regular fries.

"oh, uh... by the way..."

The bar suddenly went dark, and the chatter of its patrons came to an abrupt halt. Grillby's flames weren't moving. The air felt stale and cold. Nobody looked like they were moving at all aside from Sans and Niko.

"have you ever heard of a... talking flower?"

Chapter Text

"You mean Flowey?"

Sans' eyes turned pitch black as he got up from his seat at the bar. They soon went back to normal once he slid a scrap of paper in Grillby's direction, and he made his way towards the exit. "i gotta take care of something."

Instead of worrying about why everyone was frozen or how they were the only ones able to move, they were more concerned about who would pay for the food. However, before they could even ask Sans, he exited the bar and everything started moving again. Monsters continued their chatter and Grillby cleaned a glass as if they nobody was frozen to begin with.

Grillby looked down at the crinkled paper before him, which read IOU in some rather poor looking handwriting. Niko couldn't help feeling guilty over the food, but since Grillby didn't seem bothered, they didn't dwell on it too much.

With Sans and the fries gone, Niko decided to continue their journey. They remembered the little shop when they entered town and figured it'd be a great place to stock up on supplies.

"Could I get the bandana and a cinnamon bunny, miss?"

The rabbit monster behind the counter smiled sweetly at Niko. It'd been a while since she saw a fresh face in Snowdin. "You can have whatever you want so long as you've got the gold."

As they fished in their pockets for their pay, they couldn't help but notice the odd symbol behind the counter. It looked a lot like the one on Toriel's dress... thing. Whatever she wore, it bared a striking resemblance. And while they wanted to ask about it, they wanted to get home sooner.

Thanking the shopkeep, Niko left the store with a spring in their step and new gear equipped. With the bandana over their mouth and the ribbon around their neck, they felt just a little warmer. They also felt stronger, somehow.

"I KNOW YOUR SECRET, NIKO."

Near Snowdin's exit, which grew increasingly more blurred with snow as they walked, they could vaguely make out the figure of Papyrus blocking their path.

"YOU'RE A HUMAN! I JUST KNOW YOU ARE! AND I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED THAT YOU LIED TO ME." He used his scarf to wipe away tears they either couldn't see or that didn't exist in the first place. "I UNDERSTAND YOU NOT WANTING TO BE CAPTURED, BUT THAT'S NO REASON TO LIE!"

Niko could feel their heart pound in their chest as a fight with Papyrus initiated. With him towering over them, they felt rather intimidated. Plus, he talked forever about joining the Royal Guard, so they weren't looking forward to taking any hits from him.

Speaking of hits, his first attack came towards them at rapid speeds-!

Several bones jutting from the snowy floor quickly approached Niko... only to maneuver around them. They didn't even have to move.

"I don't wanna fight you, Papyrus," they said while lazily stepping around his attacks and walking up to him. "I'm on a super important mission an' I need to get home."

Papyrus soon noticed the lack of challenge on Niko's end, thus he decided to make things a little harder. "IF YOU THINK YOU CAN WALK OUT OF THIS FIGHT, THEN YOU HAVE ANOTHER PING COMING!"

"Ping..?"

Ping!

Niko's entire body, clothes and all, suddenly looked as though they'd been sprayed in a light coating of dark blue paint. Their chest felt tight and their body didn't move as quickly as it once did. They'd describe it as having rocks tight to their chest and ankles, and they didn't like it one bit.

Just as they opened their mouth to ask Papyrus what was up, several bones came at them, and they were unable to move out of the way. Surprisingly, when a second attack came at them, they somehow managed to leap over it despite their new weight.

"BEHOLD- MY SPECIAL ATTACK! DON'T YOU THINK UNDYNE WILL BE PROUD OF ME FOR MASTERING IT SO QUICKLY?"

They hopped over a few more bone-shaped bullets but were ultimately unable to avoid the blue ones. No matter what they did, they got him by them. Thankfully, the cinnamon bun they bought earlier did wonders for restoring their health and easing the pain of their new bruises.

"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO HOLD STILL FOR THE BLUE ONES, BY THE WAY." Papyrus rubbed the back of his skull. "SORRY FOR NOT TELLING YOU EARLIER. THIS WOULD BE PRETTY UNFAIR IF I NEVER TOLD YOU."

To demonstrate what he meant, Papyrus sent out another unavoidable blue attack. Niko held completely still, and it went right through them without harming their body or the Sun.

"I appreciate your help, but I need to get to Asgore."

Yet again, they hopped over a few more bullets. Their feet made little imprints in the snow every time they did, and no matter how much snow they displaced, they never got to see the actual ground beneath them.

"I'm probably not the right kind of human Undyne wants. I don't look like the ones in your world!"

"SO... YOU'RE SAYING THAT YOU ARE AN ALIEN?"

"I dunno! I just really need to get going!"

Papyrus threw out a few short, quick attacks in order for him to continue the conversation. Niko wasn't paying much attention and managed to trip over one of them, leaving them with a sore foot and a face full of snow after falling down. They had to say something to get out of the fight and keep the Sun safe.

"HOW DO I KNOW YOU AREN'T LYING AGAIN, HMM?"

Niko stood up, groaned, and wiped the snow off their front. "If I am lying, then I probably won't be able to leave. Then you can come grab me from Asgore's place."

"THAT SEEMS FAIR."

"Wait, really??"

"ABSOLUTELY! WITH NOWHERE TO GO, I'LL BE ABLE TO CAPTURE YOU FOR SURE FROM THE CASTLE." He struck a pose, pointing a finger towards where the sky would be if they could see one. "NOW! I AM GOING TO SPARE YOU! NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO ACCEPT MY MERCY."

"Uhh... okay?"

Once Niko accepted is mercy, their body returned to its natural color and they were released from fight-mode.

Papyrus walked up to Niko and handed them a tiny scrap of paper with various numbers on them. "HERE! SO YOU CAN CALL ME TO COME GET YOU. I'LL EVEN COOK YOU DINNER BEFORE DELIVERING YOU TO UNDYNE."

"Ah..." Hesitantly, Niko took the paper and stuffed it into their pocket. After everything, they still weren't sure what to make of the tall, silly skeleton. "I'll... be sure to do that."

"GREAT! I'LL SEE YOU IN A COUPLE HOURS, THEN."

And in typical Papyrus fashion, he gracefully leapt over Niko and walked back into Snowdin. How he managed to jump so high and stay in the air so long without running first would forever be on Niko's mind.

With nothing left to do, Niko made their way towards Waterfall. However, before they made it very far, they remembered they still had Toriel's number.

Ring... ring...

. . .

But nobody came.

Sighing, Niko looked up at the vast and expansive ceiling of the underground. They never knew they would have missed the big, empty sky of the previous world until all they could see was a rocky roof.

"Don't worry. I'll bring the Sun back soon."

Chapter Text

Niko could soon see why it was called Waterfall. The whole place was dyed a deep blue and purple, and it looked as though it'd recently been flooded. They assumed all the puddles and flowing water were there all the time, though. It'd be silly to assume the place received such a name without the waterfalls being a constant.

With soggy feet and the bottom of their shirt becoming somewhat damp, Niko trudged on throughout the caverns, purposely avoiding Sans at his little station. They didn't want there to be any more disruptions. No more stalling. No more goofy or lovable characters to stop them from bringing the Sun home. Not even the tallest knight in armor would stop them from completing the task at hand...

...That is, until they stopped in their tracks to witness Papyrus nearly cowering before who Niko could only assume to be Undyne. While they couldn't hear her scolding him for letting them go, they could hear Papyrus attempting to explain why he let the 'human' go. Even though the thick grass, they could see how upset Papyrus looked at whatever she said to him. They would have felt worse about it if they weren't worried about the light from the Sun giving away their position. Thankfully, the unusually dense and tall grass kept them and their light obscured until Undyne faded away into the distant darkness.

The rest of their walk felt tense. A little armless monster kid occasionally popped up to have a conversation with them. Large blue flowers whispered and laughed at them as they walked by. The water briefly shifted from clear to neon blue while the grass switched to being a pitch black. Sans could be seen out of the corner of their eye every now and then. Monster still attacked them, and they still refused to lay a finger on a single one of them. To make matters more stressful, Niko needed to avoid Undyne's unpredictable appearances. They never really faced her head on, as she would either attack from a distance or get distracted by the little yellow monster who just wouldn't leave Niko alone. They weren't annoyed by the monster, however. They held an umbrella for them as they walked through a rainy hallway and exchanged stories. According to the kid, Undyne would never hurt an innocent person, and this gave Niko hope. The two also walked past a rather scenic view of the castle Niko would eventually need to arrive at. With all the sparkling gemstones clinging to the underground's dark roof, they looked very much like stars. And the castle in the distance was only made to look more grandiose due to all the little reflections they could see on it.

Eventually, the duo of children came to a wall neither of them could climb up. The monster eventually suggested that Niko climb onto their face in order to get over it.

Niko gave a quick adjustment to the rope holding the Sun on their back. "Won't that hurt?"

The monster shook their head. "Nah, dude! I'm real sturdy. Just be gentle, okay?"

Not being able to think of any other solutions, Niko carefully made their way over the ledge while trying not to step on the monster's eyes or nose. They were about to offer them a climb up with their sleeves when they remembered the monster had no arms.

"Don't worry about me. I always find a way."

And just like that, Niko was alone with the Sun once again. At least the light from it illuminated many dark paths ahead, leading them to safety with minimal stumbling.

Things were going pretty well. Niko only lost a single HP to one of Undyne's spears, which nicked their scarf some. The Sun remained fully functional despite the humidity. All in all, they felt confident despite having to avoid the ocasional monster, which they could easily talk out of battle. The only thing they worried about was Undyne and her unending barrage of magical spears.

Speak of the devil, as soon as Niko made their way onto a bridge of sorts, they noticed several blue spots appear on their floor around them before the aforementioned spears stabbed upwards. Niko's heart jumped after realized their life could have ended then and there, but they didn't have time to be thankful for not being dead. More spots appeared. More spears shot upwards with deadly force. They couldn't stay in one place for long least their body be skewered... or worse.

Niko made a mad dash through the darkness, sometimes pausing and retracing their steps as to avoid injury. They could hear the heavy metal clank of Undyne's boots below them. They made the mistake of staying on one place for too long, causing a barrage of spears to be hurdled towards their tiny body. Thankfully, they got away with a small scrape on their ankle.

Eventually, Niko made it to a dead end. Their leg stung. They were breathing heavily. They couldn't see anything in the darkness below them, so they turned around to try and find and alternate exit.

Turning around, Niko met eyes with the figure they'd been running from for so long. They could only see one eyes through her armor, though this didn't make them feel any better.

"H... Hey, can we talk about this?" Niko took in a deep breath, still feeling winded after all the running. "I'm sure we can... work something out here."

Without even giving them a chance, several spears fell from the heavens with deadly accuracy, not aimed at their body, but rather at the bridge they stood upon. Niko was unable to jump in time and they soon plummeted down into the unknown. Undyne faded back into blackness as they descended. Even the Sun couldn't cut through the dark they were soon enveloped in. Before long, everything went entirely black as they heard a soft thud.

"Are you all right?"

Niko could hear a gentle voice almost like Toriel's, only softer and more high pitched.

"You must have fallen down. Are you hurt? Can you stand?"

Niko couldn't get up. They felt nothing. Not their eyes. Not their body. Oddly enough, the stranger's voice alone kept them from panicking.

"&^5C%$, huh? That's a nice name."

What did it say about a name? Niko couldn't hear that part. It mostly sounded like the kind of static you'd get when tuning a radio.

"M y  n a m e  i s . . ."

[Niko?]

Niko's eyes shot open after hearing a more familiar voice call their name. After sitting up and making sure the Sun was unharmed, they soon realized they were in some sort of waterfall-garbage dump hybrid. Upon further inspection, they noticed the golden flowers that broke their fall. They looked up to see if Undyne was still in sight. Alas, they might as well have been looking at a powered-down computer monitor.

After standing up and dusting themself off once more, Niko carried on. No matter how many times they fell down, so long as they could walk, they would get up and keep moving.

Once their burst of energy got them up and moving, Niko's phone began to ring. Answering it, they were greeted with a voice they were somewhat glad to hear.

"HUMAN-ISH FRIEND! FINALLY! I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO CALL YOU FOREVER AND AN HOUR!"

Papyrus' voice came through the speaker much louder than Niko felt comfortable with, causing them to hold the phone quiet a distance away from their ear.

"Hi, Papyrus! How'd you get my number? I don't remember giving you mine."

"OH, IT WAS EASY! I JUST DIALED EVERY NUMBER SEQUENTIALLY UNTIL I GOT YOURS!"

Niko stifled a laugh. Did he really do that? It sounded like something he'd do.

"WHY DID YOU TAKE SO LONG TO ANSWER, BY THE BY?"

"I fell asleep," Niko said impulsively. They technically weren't lying.

A loud sigh could be heard on the other end of the line. "YOU AND MY BROTHER HAVE SO MUCH IN COMMON. ALWAYS WASTING YOUR TIME SLEEPING. ALWAYS NEVER ANSWERING MY CALLS. BUT THAT'S OKAY! YOU'RE VERY BUSY, I ASSUME."

They looked around briefly at all the trash they would have to wade through. "You could say that."

"WELL, I'LL LET YOU GET BACK TO IT. I DON'T WANT YOU TO FALL ASLEEP ON THE PHONE. TOODLES!"

You call has been disconnected.

Niko stuffed the phone back into their pocket. As nice as Papyrus acted, they couldn't help but think of him as rude after he hung up without them getting to say goodbye. Nevertheless, they carried on. They figured they would get to properly say farewell before they left for home.

It only took a few seconds for Niko to feel the cut on their ankle again. Despite their HP not being too low, they wanted to find some food aside from the pie they had leftover so the stinging in their leg would cease. Just their luck, they found a cooler full of freeze-dried space food, and Niko quickly lined their pockets with the stuff after eating one to heal their wound. Did they really not have any other healing items in their pockets? After a quick check, they could only see the pie and the new snacks they took from the cooler. Didn't they have anything else? Did anything spill from their pockets during their fall? Niko didn't want to think about it too much. They could see dry land in the distance past a training dummy, and that's where they were headed. Aforementioned dummy looked an awful lot like the one in the Ruins. Niko looked over its waterlogged body briefly before moving on, quickly putting the cotton figure out of their mind.

"YOU!"

In a very dramatic turn of events, the dummy they gave a passing glance to shot up from the water in front of them and hovered menacingly in the air. Its voice sounded gruff and hostile, and its little button eyes were posed to show anger.

"You're the one who said those AWFUL things to my cousin in the Ruins! And you think you can just ignore me!? You'd have to be a DUMMY to not see a Fight coming after what you pulled!"

Mad Dummy blocks the way!