Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In a nameless void, he watched. He listened. He thought. Though his presence was shattered, spread through time, space, dimensions and universes, his mind was as sharp as it was the day he arrived.

That's because, for W.D. Gaster, everything was just so interesting. The Universes and Timelines he came across were almost always nothing like his own. There would be some filled with Humans, and no Monsters in sight. They would create Machines and Technology and rely on them to live, despite how inefficiently they functioned, or how little they did to help.

In some universes, creatures beyond the likes other Monsters could've imagined filled the world. Monsters in their own right, they ruled the land, sea, and sky, and yet still chose to co-exist rather than take it all for themselves.

Anyone else would've been overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information.

But this was nothing to him.

Dr. W. D. Gaster is unrivaled in intelligence. He's able to adapt faster than anyone, as far as he knows. So it was little trouble for him to absorb all this information, to process and distinguish the thousands of senses coming to him at once from every fragment of himself. And, when he could, he ran experiments to learn more.

This is why he got excited when he felt a new universe spring into existence. He's experienced the creation of universes before, of course, yet this one stood out to him for a simple reason. It wasn't actually new. The universe was created from fragments and copies of hundreds, maybe thousands of others. Worlds were layered on top of each other, timelines woven between, dimensions and laws stitching and gluing it all together.

It was practically a quilt of a universe, and he couldn't help himself. As his fragments spread to the newly created universe, he parsed though the information, filing it all into the necessary places. Through that, he realized that the bonds and protections which usually stopped interference weren't there.

A smile grew wide across his skeletal face, bone flaking from the cracks stemming from his eyes. The perfect testing grounds.

A fragment found a familiar universe, his old home. Perhaps he could finally find a way to materialize himself for more than a few minutes at a time. He wouldn't be whole. He didn't want to be. But he could do so much more.

But for this to work, he needed the right catalyst. The perfect test subject for a new experiment.

He poked and prodded, before he reached out to one of the universes and located a child. A child brimming with determination, despite those who tried to put him down. Messy green hair swayed as he laughed loudly while passing under a bridge.

It was time for a new experiment, and…

This next experiment

Seems

Very

Very

Interesting.

Chapter Text

Just pray that you’ll be born with a quirk in your next life, and take a swan dive off the roof of the building.

As the boy walked home, those words still echoed in his mind. Even as he disagreed with it, as he fought against the thought, a small part of him wondered, ‘maybe Kacchan’s right.’ It's not like anyone would miss a useless, quirkless Deku.

But no, he squashed down those thoughts as much as possible. He couldn't do that to his mom. Even if she didn't believe in him when he needed it the most, even if she still gives him worried looks every time he says “I want to be a hero,” he still loves her too much to let that happen.

The boy tries to worry her as little as possible, which is why he's gotten so good at hiding the burns and bruises. He often thinks, ‘If mom's not worried, then she won't find out about Kacchan. And if mom doesn't find out about Kacchan, then Kacchan will still go on to be a great hero. And maybe, just maybe, quirkless little Izuku Midoriya will be a hero too.’

Those doubts were still there, but a long time ago, he decided not to care what anyone says. To keep his chin up and keep moving forward! Just like All Might!

“HAHAHAHAHA” He copied the Number 1 hero’s boisterous laugh as he passed under the bridge. He would be a Hero, just like All Might! No matter what!

And of course, that's when the universe decided to take another swing at him. Passing over the manhole cover, it vanished beneath his feet.

Izuku woke up face down against something soft.

Groaning, he slowly got to his feet before blinking a few times to adjust his eyes. He was… in a cave? Looking around, then eventually up, he only grew more confused.

Way up high was a small circular hole, which let light down to where he was. It illuminated the area just enough to see. It's a cave, definitely. The smell of moist dirt mixed evenly with the smell of dry stone. The room was completely empty, except for a small patch of golden flowers right in the center where he was standing–

“Oh no, what if this is someone's garden?!”

He quickly and carefully extracted himself from the flowerbed. Bending down, he tried to make sure that he didn't accidentally kill any of the flowers. He'd have to make sure to replant them if he did, or maybe buy some new ones to make up for it.

Surprisingly though, nothing was wrong. The flowers had a nice scent, the flower bed was in really good condition and, instead of the expected teenager-shaped divot, there were seemingly untouched golden flowers. He didn't even feel any lingering pain from what should've been a deadly fall.

“Maybe this is the work of a quirk? The flowers are some sort of cushion which the user can grow? I can't really tell much about the capabilities of the quirk itself, but there's a good chance it'd be super useful in rescue work! Like if someone's stuck in a building or–”

Midoriya snapped his mouth shut. No time to ramble about quirks. He doesn't know how long it's been, and his mom's probably worried sick. He grabbed his phone to check the time and… it's dead.

That's really not good.

No, no. It's fine. Push ahead with a smile, that's what All Might would do! Time to take stock. He has a dead phone, a charger, along with his backpack containing school stuff, a portable med kit, his burned hero journal, and a couple extra journals which he always had in case of random villain fights.

The last thing he remembered was falling down after the manhole disappeared. He could try climbing back up, but…

As he looked at the rocky walls, and how high up the manhole was, he quickly disregarded that idea. Even if he tried to, he wasn't strong enough to climb for that long. Plus, there's no guarantee he'd land back on the flowers.

Just pray that you'll be born with a quirk in your next life.

He shook the thoughts away. Plan B.

“Hello!? Is anybody up there?! Can you hear me!?! I need help!!”

His voice echoed through the cave as he yelled as loud as possible. After what felt like half an hour, he stopped. His throat was starting to get sore, and it seemed like no one was coming.

He was alone.

One Ring

Two

Three

Four

“The number you've dialed is currently unavailable. Please–”

This was the 7th time Inko Midoriya tried calling her son since she got home. Night has long since fallen, and her worries have only been increasing.

She'd already filed a missing persons report, and had been assured that they'd do what they could to find Izuku. While that gave her some comfort, it wasn't nearly enough.

Inko tried calling again, just hoping against hope that her son was safe somewhere, that he's just in an area with no service. That she'll wake up the next morning and he'll be there, excitedly ranting about some new hero or interesting quirk.

She passed out from exhaustion after 6 more hours of worry and unanswered calls. By then, the morning had already come.

Chapter Text

Izuku had to find a way out. Even if he couldn't climb back up, that doesn't mean there's not a way to get there. The person who grew these flowers must have a way. They had to.

After scrutinizing the room, Izuku spotted a branch in the cave. Push on, he told himself. He was going to be a hero. He couldn't let dim tunnels scare him.

He carefully left the flowerbed and went down the tunnel. At the end, embedded in the wall were some stone pillars. This was meant as an entry, a gate of some kind, that much was obvious. They were weathered, but in otherwise decent condition.

Seeing nowhere else to go, Midoriya passed through the old gate and entered a new room. Like the previous one, it was mostly empty except for… a single golden flower.

“Another one? Maybe whoever grew them in the other room is trying to start another garden here? But that wouldn't really make sense considering the level of light, assuming they aren't quirk grown–”

Izuku snapped his jaw shut to stop his mumbling again. If Kacchan were here, he'd probably have yelled at Izuku or called him creepy again.

Brushing off the phantom sensations of burning palms against him, he approached the flower and crouched to take a closer look. Something felt off about it. It was pristine, even healthier than the ones in the first room. As he watched the flower though, it began to shift a little. And suddenly…

“Howdy! I'm Flowey. Flowey the Flower!”

“Aghh!!”

Midoriya fell and scrambled backwards. Understandably so, considering it GREW A FACE AND SPOKE. Was it the work of a quirk? It had to be! Before he could ask, the flower- Flowey- started talking again in a high pitched, happy go-lucky sounding voice.

“Well, aren'tcha gonna introduce yourself? It's rude not to tell someone your name after they told you theirs, you know!”

Midoriya sputtered, “U-um Hi! I'm uh- Izuku Midoriya. Nice to meet you, uh… Flowey?”

Flowey smiled. “‘Uh- Izuku Midoriya’ is a weird name, isn't it?”

Midoriya's face turned red with embarrassment. “N-no, that's not…”

Flowey started giggling. “Heeheehee... You're new to the Underground, aren'tcha? Golly, you must be so confused.”

Izuku merely nodded in agreement.

“Someone ought to teach you how things work around here! I guess little old me will have to do. Ready? Here we go!”

A shift in the air caused Midoriya to shoot to his feet. He felt strange, like there was something shifting inside his body, rapidly being pulled to the surface. He was physically fine- a quick pat down was all he needed to figure that out- so what was it?

Happily, Flowey started explaining Midoriya's internal questions. “See that heart? That's your SOUL, the very culmination of your being!”

Izuku was confused, but quickly understood what Flowey meant. That strange feeling of something was in his chest. Looking down, he saw a ghostly heart in the center of his torso.

It was a vibrant red color and vaguely translucent, almost like it was both there and not there at the same time. It glowed slightly, giving off almost an aura of white surrounding it. Wisps of light would drift off of it, like a slow fire. It was mesmerizing.

“My SOUL…”

“Yep! That's your SOUL! And it's a lot more colorful than I've seen around here!”

That made Izuku a little nervous. “I-Is that a bad thing?”

Flowey paused for a moment, thinking, before brightening up and looking at Midoriya again. “Well, it's colored like that because it's weaker! Your SOUL starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV.”

“LV? Like, Level?”

“Hee hee hee! No, silly! LV stands for LOVE, of course!”

Heh. How ironic. The quirkless kid needs love to get stronger. Izuku felt helplessness and doubt start to encroach his mind at the thought.

Midoriya's thoughts must've been pretty obvious though, because Flowey’s tone suddenly shifted to something kinder, almost pitying.

“You want some LOVE, don't you? Don't worry, I'll share some with you!”

And there's the confusion again. What exactly was Flowey suggesting? Did his quirk have something to do with emotions? But no, he's a Flower so that has to be part of it, right?

With some barely audible pops, 5 spinning white pellets appeared around Flowey. And like a switch flipped, Izuku got excited at the display and interrupted Flowey before he could continue.

“Woah! What are those? Is that part of your quirk? Since you're a flower, are those made of some sort of sunlight? Oh wait, there isn't exactly much light in here, so that might not work. Pollen? Maybe you stored the light and used that to–”

“You want some LOVE or not?”

Izuku physically recoiled a bit. Flowey's voice shifted from that friendly, kind demeanor, to something a lot more forceful and almost violent in no time at all. Then suddenly, it was gone again.

“Ahem. Down here, LOVE is shared through… little white… “friendliness pellets.” Here! Grab as many as you can!”

And without any further warnings, the pellets were sent flying at Izuku. That's when his instincts took over.

‘Crap! They're fast! I need to duck!’

Dropping to the rough stony floor hurt his chin, but he managed to dodge the friendliness pellets.

“You missed.”

“H-huh?”

Izuku shuffled to his knees and looked at Flowey. The flower’s smile was stiff, like it was taking everything he had to keep it there. His eye was twitching very slightly.

“You want some LOVE, don'tcha? Then TOUCH. THE. BULLETS. Friendliness pellets.”

‘Nope. Not touching those.’

6 more pellets popped into existence then flew at Izuku. He launched to his feet and tried to run away, back to the room with the flowerbed, but…

Thunk

He hit a wall. But how? There wasn't a wall there before, and it didn't look like there was. He could still see the old pillars he passed through, just a few feet ahead of him.

And faintly, Izuku could see a glowing white line at his feet. He didn't really notice it before since he was focused on what Flowey was saying, but the glowing line completely boxed Izuku and Flowey in together. And if all of them indicated invisible walls, then…

‘Well shit.’

The pellets hit Izuku, and he felt pain.

Much worse than what Kacchan ever did. Much worse than the times he got shoved and pushed and burned. Than when he was called names or told to jump off a roof. A type of mental and physical pain he was unused to.

He clutched his chest and fell to his knees. Through his blurry eyes, he could see the ghostly heart much dimmer than it was; the light was practically extinguished, cracks visible through the red shape. If it really was the culmination of his being, his soul, like Flowey said, then… what would happen when it was destroyed?

“You thought you were slick? You thought you had a chance down here? Hee hee hee!! You IDIOT!”

Flowey's laughter and suddenly vicious tone rang through Izuku's head like a gong. Somehow, he drummed up enough courage to look up at the Flower, but immediately wished he didn't.

Flowey's face had expanded and contorted. He was smiling, a smile born from the joy of watching someone suffer. His eyes looked more human than they did before, red veins pulsing. It was like something out of a Nightmare. Then, he spoke again.

“Why would anyone pass up an opportunity like this! No one will miss you, Izuku Midoriya! In this world, it's kill or BE killed.

As a circle of pellets surrounded him, tears began to fall from Izuku's face. He couldn't move, the pain was too much. He couldn't save himself.

‘This is it. I'm sorry Mom. I don't think I'll be able to come home.’

Flowey's maniacal laughter echoed around the room as the pellets drew closer. Midoriya let himself cry. No point in trying to hold them back at this point.

The pellets nearly touched his skin, but abruptly stopped.

“Ack!”

Was that… Flowey?

Izuku looked up just in time to see Flowey get launched across the room by a white fireball.

“What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth…”

A new voice. Midoriya tried to find the source, but wasn't able to see past the tears.

“Poor Child,” the voice said. It was kind, almost like his mom's. “Here. Let me help you.”

Izuku felt someone beside him place hands on his back. He started to panic again, but stopped when the pain started to go away. A pleasant heat spread through his body in its stead.

“Do not worry, my child. I am here now.”

Izuku got up and turned to the person who helped him.

She was taller than him by a head or so. She had white fur covering her whole body, along with the head of a goat. Or perhaps, a human with goat-like features? She had a snout, small horns, and long floppy ears, but with distinctly human-like eyes and eyebrows.

She was wearing a long purple dress which went down to her ankles. On her chest was an emblem; two wings surrounding a circle, above three triangles which alternated the direction it was pointing.

She stood with an air of nobility, but also a parental warmth. All in all, she gave a sense of overwhelming care and protectiveness.

She smiled.

“I am Toriel, Caretaker of the Ruins.”

Chapter Text

“I am Toriel, Caretaker of the Ruins.”

As Izuku took in the sight of this goat woman who saved him, his mind finally caught up with the entire situation. Until now, he was just focused on not dying.

He started to tear up again, but held it back. He bowed as low as he could. “Th-thank you so much for saving me, Miss Toriel!”

She blinked, a little surprised at the sudden gratitude.

“There’s no need. I simply couldn't let a vile creature such as that harm you. And please, just Toriel is fine.”

“R-right! Um… if you wouldn't mind… where am I, exactly?”

Toriel's expression softened again. She almost looked sad. “Ah, of course. I can only imagine how confused you must be, dear child. This place you've found yourself in is known to us as the Underground. More specifically, the Ruins.”

“In fact,” she gestures around them at the empty cave. “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.”

The first human? But isn’t she human? Izuku had read articles on towns of heteromorphs who established themselves in hidden areas in order to avoid scrutiny. In some rare cases, they’d actually embrace the scrutiny and say they weren’t human. Could that be what this was? But you’d think that if a town was hidden in a sewer system, it would be discovered eventually. Between cleaners, city inspectors, or even-

“My child, you are mumbling.”

Izuku smacked his hands to his mouth to stop himself. He squeezed his eyes shut, ready for the telltale sound of an explosion before he got burned. Logically, he knew it wouldn't happen. She's a completely different person with (assumptively) a completely different quirk. Still, habits are hard to break.

Instead of the dreaded scent of burning glycerin, warm furry arms wrapped around him, hugging him tightly. He melted into it, if only slightly.

“It's alright, dear child. I did not mean to upset you. I'm more than happy to answer your questions, however… we should probably move to a more comfortable setting.”

Right, they were in the room (if you can even call it that) where the murder flower was. Probably not a good place for a Q&A. He broke off the hug and rubbed the remainder of his tears away.

“R-right!”

She nodded. “Come! I will guide you through the catacombs.”

She began walking towards the opposite side from where he entered, towards a nearly identical gate. It was in much better condition than the first. He followed.

The next room (and it was definitely a room this time) was, in a way, breathtaking. Like an entrance hall to a castle, the room was long, the walls adorned with carvings and pillars all crafted from the same purple stone that the rest of the cave was made of. Above him, he could make out some gaps in the ceiling, and some other structures barely visible through them.

The hall definitely wasn't pristine. The signs of wear showed on practically every surface, and orange, wilting leaves were scattered everywhere. Vines and other plant life grew on the walls and pillars. Still, it was a sight to behold.

As they grew closer to the far end of the room, where stairs went up diagonally to reach a slightly higher level, Izuku saw a brilliantly shining light floating above a leaf pile settled between the stairs. It looked like a star had come from space and chosen a place to stay.

Before he realized it, he was standing in front of the light even though Toriel had moved to the next room. He knew he should follow her, but…

The light, a neon yellow, pulsed in the air. It's like it was calling him. The shadow of the ruins above cast down into the hall, providing a picturesque scene in front of him. The contrast of the light, the leaves, and the shadows surrounding it were just beautiful. He reached out to the floating star and grabbed it.

Whatever he was expecting, it wasn't for words to suddenly appear in his mind. The first simply said “Empty”. It was a mute white. The second was “SAVE”. That was glowing, almost as brilliantly as the floating light.

It was nearly unexplainable, but a feeling suddenly hit him as he “gazed” upon the word in his mind. SAVE.

He was filled with a new sense of vigor, like he was healed by Toriel again. Then, as an unfamiliar confidence settled in his mind, he was reminded of his dreams to be a hero. The times he spent studying and researching everything he could. Of the awe he felt every time he watched that old video of All Might’s debut.

That was the feeling. He'd known it all his life, even if it would get pushed and prodded, abused and ignored by others. Determination. He could ignore death threats. He could ignore the intrusive thoughts if he clung to that feeling.

He straightened himself out. Keep going. Get home, be a hero.

He ran up the stairs and into the open doorway to catch up to Toriel. He barely even noticed the Word “Empty” change.

“Izuku Midoriya: Ruins - Entrance”

The next room was small, with a lighter colored path carved out of the stone at their feet. The path simply went from one end of the room to the other, but it had 2 ominous looking raised bumps on it and 4 bumps surrounding it. Toriel spoke up.

“Allow me to educate you in the operation of the Ruins. See, the Ruins are full of puzzles; ancient fusions between diversions and doorkeys. One must solve them to move from room to room.”

Toriel swiftly moved and stepped on the bumps on the outside of the path. Each gave a satisfying click and stayed down once they were pressed. Then, she went to a switch placed on the wall next to the door- which Izuku noticed had the same symbol as on her dress- and pulled it.

The door slid into the wall, giving way into the next room.

“I've lived here for a long time, therefore I know the workings of these puzzles like the horns on my head. Nevertheless, please adjust yourself to the sight of them.” she swiftly moved into the next room.

Izuku hung back for a moment, marveling at the puzzle he just witnessed. It wasn't complicated by any means, but he had always appreciated puzzles and riddles, even when he was a kid. Before leaving the room, he went to a plaque he noticed on the wall. He read it aloud.

“Only the fearless may proceed. Brave ones, foolish ones. Both walk not the middle road.”

He mulled over the riddle then looked back at the plates in the floor. ‘Ah, that's clever.’ Feeling satisfied, he ran after Toriel again.

She was waiting just past the entrance for him this time. “To make progress here, you will need to trigger several switches. Do not worry, I have labeled the ones that you need to flip.” She looked slightly proud of herself, then rushed off to the end of the room which… wow. This was way different than the others.

Easily twice the size of the entrance hall, the room was separated into three sections. The dividers between each section had flowing water going from one foliage covered wall to the other, and a sturdy looking wooden bridge placed neatly in the center. It was definitely a change from just seeing the carved purple stone of the previous rooms.

The first section which he was in had no switches, but a sign on the path and a plaque on the wall. First, he read the sign.

“To read this, open your eyes!”

He held back a snort and mentally praised the maker of the sign. Next, he walked up to the wall and read the plaque.

“Stay on the path.”

Oh, well that wasn't ominous. Probably another clue though, so he went back to the path, crossing the bridge, and played along. Toriel said she marked the switches, but how noticeable would they be?

Very. The answer is very noticable. Halfway through the second segment, the path splits, heading towards the wall. Right there against the wall where the path leads, a single switch is placed on the wall. Surrounding it are several yellow arrows which point directly at the switch.

Also, writing which says: “Please press this switch -Toriel”

Shrugging, he presses the switch and moves on. The third segment really isn't too different. On the wall are two switches, but the markings make which one to press obvious. Even if the markings weren't there, it still would've been obvious which to press because the path led directly to one of them.

Finishing the puzzle, the door opened and Toriel called out, “Splendid! I am proud of you, young one! Let us move to the next room.” She began to move again, but stopped when Izuku interrupted.

“U-um. Excuse me Mi- Erm, Toriel, I mean.”

“Yes, my child?”

“Sorry, I just wanted to ask um… what your quirk is? I-if you don't want to tell me, that's perfectly fine! I understand that some people find that uncomfortable, or don't want a secret to get out or something, but if you don't mind me knowing-”

“My child.”

Izuku snapped out of his rambling and looked at her. Her eyebrow was quirked up in confusion.

“What is a quirk?”

Huh?

Chapter Text

Hey! Real quick update since I know it's been a while.

Sorry I've been gone for so long! Stuff has been happening, including but not limited to: Getting sick twice, loss of motivation, intense ADHD, and getting slightly addicted to Ultrakill (great game btw please go play it).

Anyways, first and foremost. I am not discontinuing this fic. It will continue to be updated, and I even have a chapter or two ready to go. I have gone back and looked at what I've written so far though and... I'm not impressed.

Very likely, I'll end up either rewriting or revising previous chapters at some point. It'll be obvious when I do, because I'll end up making a new work and releasing the (hopefully) improved chapters there, until it eventually catches up with and surpasses this one.

For now though, I'll keep releasing chapters here.

I think that's about it... Uh, what else?

Oh yeah, expect a new fic to pop up soon. Ultrakill has consumed my gaming experience, and Maurice haunts my dreams.

Okay that's all. Bye!

- Lunatic

Chapter Text

He must've just misheard her, right? That has to be the explanation. She looked like a goat! And she can make fire and heal him!

“S-sorry, could you repeat that?” He asks. He feels bad asking her to repeat herself, but he just needs to make sure he answers her question properly. That's all.

“Ah, yes. I apologize, I must not have spoken up. A bad habit I'm working out of, I'm afraid. I asked you what a ‘quirk’ is.”

Nope. Nopenopenope. This couldn't be happening. Everyone knows what quirks are! Besides, if she really was quirkless, then how does she look like that! It really didn't make any sense. That is, unless she's a quirked animal. They're not unheard of, but they are extremely rare. Maybe an intelligence quirk? But that doesn't make any sense on so many levels! Like, how did she make the fire or heal him, and not know what a quirk was? Not to mention, she mentioned he was the first human to come there in a long time. Is she really not–

“My child, you're rambling again. I'm deeply sorry if I upset you–”

“I'm not upset, just really confused.” Izuku interrupted. Usually, he'd instantly feel remorseful and apologize while crying, but his brain was moving too fast for that. Right now, he just needed to get answers.

May as well start with the thing that's been bothering him since he fell.

“Where exactly is the Underground located? Like, I get that we're literally under the ground, but where are we compared to the surface?”

Toriel looked thoughtful. “Well, it has been a long time, but if I remember correctly, I believe you Humans called it Mount Ebott?”

He ran through his knowledge of geography in Japan. Other countries too, while he was at it, though he wasn't as well versed. He couldn't remember any mountain anywhere named Ebott, so either the mountain was in a different country or it didn't exist. At the very least, he could rule out the idea that he was still in Japan. He'd have a panic attack later.

Then there was that again.

“What do you mean ‘us Humans?’”

She blinked, obviously confused again. “Because you are Human, are you not?”

“Yeah I am, but aren't you?”

Her jaw dropped. Within moments, she started pacing back and forth, muttering to herself in a panic. It was bizarre to watch, since he was usually the one doing that. It kinda reminded him of his mom, actually.

“Perhaps he simply forgot? No, something that important couldn't have been forgotten. Even if time has slowly erased us, a war such as that would be brought up hundreds of years later.” She gasped. “I cannot believe I forgot to check for head injuries! Come, come! I shall get a chair!”

“Wait no, my head isn't…” he started, but Toriel was already off into the next room. He quickly followed behind.

The room was vaguely circular, with a poorly stitched together dummy bolted to the floor near the wall next to the northern door. Toriel ignored the dummy in favor of heading to one of the empty walls, and placing a glowing hand on a patch there. After a second, a portion of that wall popped open and she pulled out a fancy looking table and a couple of chairs, along with a teapot and cups.

With practiced ease, she set up the table and chairs, and started boiling the water in the teapot with some white fire she produced from her hand. As soon as she was done setting up, she rushed over to Izuku who was watching in awe, and dragged him over to a chair.

“Please, sit! I must check you for head injuries!” She said, tone full of worry.

“M-Miss Toriel! I don't have a head injury, really! I mean, i-if I did, wouldn't I have passed out by now?”

She paused.

“I… yes, at the very least, I would've without healing. And I'm a great deal more durable than most humans… plus, I already healed you…” she hummed in thought. “But then why do you have no knowledge of Monsters? I cannot think of another reason why that might be, aside from a head injury.”

“Um…” Izuku nervously interrupted. This whole situation was strange, to say the least. “Maybe… we can do a bit of information sharing? I'm not exactly sure, but it sounds like we might have uh… different stories? Somehow?”

Toriel looked thoughtful, then nodded and sat down. “Tea?”

“Oh! Uh, yes please.”

She carefully poured them both a cup, then took a drink. He did the same, and was pleasantly surprised at the unique flavor. It was earthy, with an odd sweetness to it.

“I suppose I'll start, then. If you really have no knowledge of Monsters, then I'll begin with our most important story.” She took a deep breath (and another drink of tea), then began to speak.

“Long ago, two races ruled over Earth: Humans and Monsters. One day, war broke out between the two races. The humans had attacked us, afraid. Perhaps they thought we might invade their nations. Perhaps they simply couldn't accept us. After a long battle, the humans were victorious. They gathered their best magicians and sealed the remaining monsters underground with a magic spell. After the war, the monsters shaped the underground, going deeper and creating a home for themselves among the rocks and dirt. We were afraid of the humans; our SOULs were simply not powerful enough compared to theirs. Since then, monsters and humans have stayed separated, with only the occasional human falling down.”

She solemnly finished her story, drinking more tea to wash away the memories of that great war, and completely oblivious to the slight mental breakdown the human across from her was having.

Izuku was, in no short terms, absolutely bamboozled. It all made no sense! Something that big would've been talked about! It was absolutely ridiculous, but the look on Toriel's face said she was telling the truth. There was too much pain in those eyes for it to not be true.

So what else could it be?! It's not like he was in another world or anything!

…

Wait.

It didn't make sense, but… that would be expected, right? With quirks, anything was possible. And if these people- Monsters. ‘No, that sounds wrong. I can't call them that!’- could use actual magic, then anything was definitely possible.

Toriel was staring at him and saying something, and he realized he needed to talk now.

“-ay, my child?”

“Um, yeah! I'm fine, sorry! Just processing. Thank you for telling me! I guess it's my turn then…”

“Oh, just a moment!” She interrupted. “Would you like a refill?”

“Hm?” He looked down and saw an empty teacup. Seemed like he drank it all without even noticing. Really good tea. “Yes please!”

A satisfied smile stretched across her face as she refilled their cups and they both drank. “Please, go right ahead.”

“O-oh! Right! Well, over 200 years ago, a glowing baby was born in China! One of our countries. After that, people with strange abilities were born all over the world, without the cause really being clear. There was chaos for a long time, people with powers and people without constantly fighting each other and trying to get rid of the other... A-anyways! After some time passed, about 120 years or so, those strange abilities weren't so strange anymore. It was just… normal. “Hero” became a profession and people could use their abilities for good. Now, 80% of people have these abilities, which we ended up calling ‘quirks’. And heroes roam the streets, helping other people and stopping villains who use their quirks to harm others. I figured that you had a mutant type quirk or something since you look like a goat… not to be rude or anything!”

He was interrupted by Toriel laughing, causing him to go beet red.

“No offense at all, my child! In fact, I basically am a goat!”

“A-anyways, does that seem familiar at all to you? During the war you talked about, were there any people with quirks?”

Hope drained from his body when he looked up to see Toriel sadly shake her head.

“I am sorry. I don't believe there were any of these “quirked” individuals during our war. I do believe I understand now why our stories are different though.”

“Really?!”

“Yes. I believe you are not from the same world as the humans. It wasn't unheard of for random humans or monsters to suddenly appear, especially with a spell gone wrong or a SOUL experiment. It is still exceptionally rare though, so it was not my first thought.”

And there was the confirmation.

He just sat there in silence, contemplating everything.

“We can… discuss this more, back at my house, if you wish?”

“Yes please.”

Once they were done with their drinks and introspection, along with putting away the furniture, Izuku spoke up once again.

“By the way, that tea is really good! What type is it?”

She clapped her hands together happily. “I'm so glad you like it! It's my special blend of snail tea!”

Chapter Text

Hey, long time no see! No, I'm not dead, sorry to say.

Sorry for the long delay on... Everything. A mix of Procrastination, good ol' ADHD, and a busy October rendered me apparently incapable of posting anything. That, and apparently my immune system is made of cardboard, but that's neither here or there.

Anyways, as I mentioned before, I was unhappy with how I was writing Quirkless but Determined. I found it very difficult to even get started on the next chapter, because the pace just felt wrong, and I wasn't sure how to continue, even though I already knew how I wanted the next part of the story to go.

So, like I promised, I started rewriting it. I'll be posting the first chapter of the rewrite after this update, and I have to say I'm actually pretty happy with it! It just about doubles the word count of the original prologue and sets the tone fairly well.

I'm trying to get into a schedule where I post a chapter of Quirkless but Determined every other week, and a chapter of my other fic, "The Machine and the Multiverse", on the alternating weeks. So Quirkless, Machine, Quirkless.

I might even throw in an extra chapter here and there for Quirkless if I finish them early, since they're rewrites of what we already have here.

I won't take down this work, but I will edit it, removing it from the series it's set for, and making the distinction between it and the new one.

Thank you for your patience, and I hope you'll still enjoy Quirkless but Determined. I have many plans for it.

Rewrite found here.