Chapter Text
In a way, it felt like waking up from a dream.
It was as if you were experiencing life for the first time.
Your mind was a haze of emptiness and your memories nothing but dust.
Except this life was a dark, echoing tunnel, or at least that’s what you assumed judging by the airy sounds of wind and the cold, abandoned atmosphere.
Is that what you were? Abandoned?
It made more sense to just lay here and die. Maybe you were dying. Maybe you were already dead.
A niggling instinct to survive urges your cells to coordinate a cumulative effort into moving your hand across the chilly concrete floor.
It was easier to just give up.
“...Don’t you think?”
You thought you heard a distant voice.
Most likely, it was just your brain trying to hold on to the hope that you were still alive.
Or maybe it was just agreeing with your sentiment to give up.
“I still think you should change it up a bit.”
“How so?”
Footsteps.
“Well, it takes so damn long to get across the barrier we might as well drive.”
“It’s good to get out and walk! A bit of fresh air, that’s what we need!”
The voices were getting closer.
“Even so, I still think we should make the tunnels more inviting. It’s like stepping through a portal to hell.”
“Hahaha!” Brash laughter echoes across the chamber. Or was it a prison? “I don’t think that’s a good use of our resources, the underground is rarely used anymore—”
“Hang on—sorry for interrupting sire, but what’s that?”
Silence returned to the tunnels, and it felt like bliss.
“…”
“It’s a human!” The voices were extraordinary close now, as if the soundtrack inside your head. “My god, we can’t be seen here! We’ll be accused of murder!”
"Oh, calm yourself." The bold voice guffaws once more. “Look, I think their hand moved!”
“Sir, I think you should stand back. Humans can be dangerous.”
“Don’t be silly. We are united now, are we not?”
“But still, sire…”
“Human? Are you alright?”
“…”
“I’m pretty certain they’re not alive, sire.”
“If you paid closer attention, knight, you would notice their breathing.”
“Oh. I forgot to look for that.”
“Human.” All of a sudden a soft hand that felt more like a massive cat’s paw tucks under your chin, stirring your senses back to action. Your eyes peel open as you try to identify the source of the touch.
But the ‘hand’ freezes, quickly jolting away as if struck by electricity.
“Dear god…” The other voice mutters. “Is that…?”
“Ah.”
“I really think we should go now.”
“Human, what is your name?”
Good god, this man’s persistent.
… What is my name?
You watch cautiously and tiredly as the unidentifiable blurry white creature in front of you blinks, then turns back to the hovering person behind him.
“Sir, it is my recommendation that we back off immediately. This is not safe.”
“My name is Asgore.” The white and golden blur explains calmly. “This is one of my royal knights, Alistair.”
Asgore? Is he supposed to be important? I really don’t want to speak.
“What are you doing inside the barrier’s back tunnels?”
I’d like to know the answer to that myself.
What's an important guy like that doing with a knight inside a tunnel?
“Perhaps they do not understand me.” Asgore turns around again, bringing your attention to the hasty knight in the background. “What is it?”
You wish you could see for yourself. Alas, they were nothing but low-resolution pixels against a backdrop of darkness.
“Calling for backup. You need to be protected.”
“Alistair, I am quite safe. Please stop fretting.”
“But it is my duty to protect you!”
“Be that as it may, this human seems harmless and injured. We need not frighten it more.”
“Look at its eyes!” Alistair hisses, which earns a scowl from Asgore. “This is no harmless human; we both know it could kill in an instant!”
What’s wrong with my eyes?
“And yet, I will not have a human's death on my conscience, nor monster-kind.”
“What do you suggest we do?” Alistair asks after a pause, apparently relenting to the so-called King’s authority. “I’d recommend a hospital for humans but I’m not… quite sure if they’ll know what to do.”
Both monsters turn to face you again. “Yes.” Asgore agrees mutely. “However, it is too risky to bring them to a monster hospital either.”
“We could just… pretend we didn’t see them.”
“And leave them here to die?” Asgore declares with such authoritive anger that you almost believed he wasn’t a threat. “No, the castle has excellent infirmary facilities. We will take them there until we decide what to do.”
“Is that safe for you?”
Asgore heavily sighs and Alistair’s face drops. “Could you forget about duty for a moment? This is a vulnerable dying human, and we should show them mercy.”
“…Very well. Just be careful, sire. Humans are incredibly dangerous, this one even more so. Perhaps the most dangerous of them all.”
“I am aware, Knight.” Asgore gets to his feet and glances around the tunnel. “Do you have the strength to carry them?”
I’m a fully grown adult, good luck with th—
“Of course, your highness. I will still lead the way to ensure your safety.”
Who the hell were these people? Why were you being taken to a castle? Why were you dangerous?
Who the hell am I?
***
“Magical biological network threshold has exceeded ninety-five percent. Do we continue?”
“Keep going, as long as the value doesn’t hit ten percent over maximum, it is not lethal.”
“The subject is incredibly weak; I suggest we stop before there is irreversible damage.”
“No, damn it. We’re so close!”
“If you kill her it’ll all be for nothing!”
“And if we stop now we can’t restart the process, it’s too dangerous. Keep going.”
“Stop moving, human. You’re disrupting the process.”
Your own voice resounded in the dream like an echo chamber. “It’s burning so bad…”
“Stop talking!”
“It’s burning!”
“Shut up and deal with it!”
A burning sensation engulfs your body. Your skin feels like it’s peeling off.
“Fuck! Fucking stop it—”
You couldn’t see.
“Stop it!”
…
***
You awoke with a start, inhaling sharply and bolting upright as you scanned the room for immediate danger.
Was that a dream? A memory?
The lights were so bright. You had to get out of here.
Two blurry white figures in the distance are coming towards you.
Fast.
No, no, no, no, no. Not again. Please.
Your overloaded senses allowed you to put your bare feet on the cold tiled floor.
In an instant, your legs wobbled so much you almost fell over, a pressing urge to look for an escape but having no idea where to begin.
How were you supposed to find your way out of a speeding carnival ride?
“Hey. It’s okay.” One of the two blurry figures began to dissipate into a normal silhouette of a deer-like monster.
Who the hell are you?
The deer’s male voice tries to sound reassuring. “Do you know where you are? You’re safe.”
But you can see past the lie. You know now that reassuring words were a trick.
What do you want from me?
“You’re at the King’s castle.” You couldn’t tell what the other monster was supposed to be, but it seemed a cross between a cat and a fox. “In the infirmary. Not many humans are allowed in here, you must be pretty special.”
Either way, they didn’t look very threatening.
“Let’s start simple. What’s your name?” The deer questions, maintaining a healthy distance from you as you stand unsteadily in the middle of the floor. “I’m Curare. And this is Sion.”
Weird names, I bet they made that up.
“Do you understand Standard?” Sion asks, the cat-fox monster craning his head and glancing at Curare for assistance. “Sure looks like you don’t.”
“King Asgore did say they were silent before they passed out in the caves.” A frown appears on Curare's face and he attempts to take a step closer, but you recreate the motion backwards. “They haven’t said a word.”
Sion pulls Curare back a tad when he attempts to move again. “The guard warned us about her, he said she was dangerous.”
“What, Alistair?” Curare snorts, “He says that about all the humans.”
“Yeah but, her eyes...”
Human eyes, yes. Thank you for pointing that out. Have they never seen one before or what?
“Well she hasn’t killed us yet, so either she’s feigning innocence or doesn’t know how to use it.”
“And neither of us can get close enough to do our scans, so what does the King expect us to do about her?”
“I don’t know.” Curare sighs and points behind you. “Let’s see if we can get her back on the bed and go from there.”
With that, they both try to approach you, unaware that you understand exactly what they were saying and are prepared to stop them.
Both of them approach from either side, so you shrink back and duck under Curare’s arm, hiding behind the various large white poles and eventually behind the arm cranes holding the bed up in the back of the room.
As Sion appears to your left, you slide over the bed and to the other side, holding a discarded pole in front of you to defend yourself.
“We’re not trying to hurt you, my god!” Sion exhales in frustration, reaching out for the pole, but you shake it in a threatening manner. “Why don’t you understand us? Standard is… well… standard!”
I do understand. But I’m not going to talk to you because that always brings bad luck. Pain. Punishment.
I’m not talking. I’m not falling for this trap.
Suddenly you’re clobbered by the deer behind you, Curare grabbing the pole and ripping it from your hand. In a panic, you reach out after him but are quickly engulfed in a white light.
“Get down!” They simultaneously shout, confusion whirling through your mind as you began to lose grip on reality again.
You were pushed back and forth shifting between the void like your mind was unable to decide whether to wake up or go back to sleep, until finally the clouds passed.
You was kneeling on the floor now. Which was weird.
You couldn’t remember doing that.
Your vision took a while to settle after the fog cleared.
But what greeted you was a body on the floor and Sion shakily standing over it.
Sion’s face was almost comedic if it wasn’t for the dire situation and the realisation that soon hit you like a sack of bricks. “…What the hell have you done?”
***
At least he was still alive.
That’s what you told yourself.
You’d taken to sitting alone in the infirmary and moping, resigning yourself to the bed after accidentally causing some explosion from doing absolutely nothing and knocking the deer unconscious.
Unsurprisingly, people seemed hesitant to go near you now.
Maybe it was for the best, you hated being around people anyway.
You watch tentatively as staff walk in and out the room, discussing something secret in nature and occasionally looking back at you.
There was no doubt you were the topic of the discussion. For what purpose you didn’t have a clue, but it definitely wasn’t good.
As one of the white-gowned staff approached the phone on the wall, the rest left him alone with you. The lone brave soul that looked rather like a bear continued staring at you as if expecting to be flung across the room in a raging ball of fire.
Well, they were lucky. You couldn’t seem to reproduce what you’d done earlier, so you assumed it needed time to happen. Or maybe it was instinctive. You had no idea.
“Good afternoon, this is Orsan.” The fluffy tan creature warily kept you in his sights as he talked through the phone. “I need permission to patch into science lab three.”
You hoped no one would dare harm you due to the very fact that you were so threatening. This ‘Orsan’ creature looked pretty damn terrified even whilst seven feet away from you.
“Tell him it’s important. This is definitely something he’ll be interested in.”
Who the hell is ‘he’?
“Well, it’d be easier if I could tell him myself, you might forget something.”
When’s he gonna stop staring at me? It’s creepy.
“Okay, but I have an offer he can’t refuse.” Orsan turns back to the phone and smirks. “She doesn’t talk.”
I’m not mute! I can talk … I simply choose not to.
“Trust me. Patch him in. He’ll be thanking you later.”
I’m not that interesting, jeez.
“Thanks. You won’t regret it.”
Whoever this dude is I’m gonna make sure all three of them regret it.
Orsan puts down the phone and slowly turns to look at you. “As for you… don’t think you can be pulling that magical crap on us again. Once Gaster’s finally come down here, you’ll never want to use it again.”
… Who the hell’s Gaster?