Chapter Text
Humans had lived in harmony for the longest period.
War hadn’t broken out in long while. Peace was with the countries, as well as steady and good leadership. People worked together, finally looking past differences like color of skin or change of language. They were all equal. At least between the poor and middle class.
It wasn’t until the first bomb, that the people of the surface understood why there were bunkers being made underground. The rich had planned it. And when they ran to the doors, pounding, screaming, crying, pleading, they got no answer.
The people of the surface didn’t become people anymore. Some combined with animals, some shed skin and became bones, some changed back to being prehistoric, some were even morphed to be plants; it was almost like organized chaos. Buildings were toppled, lives were lost, yet all these “monsters” still had hope.
The rich ones' underground had developed a rapidly dying out system. Diseases had raked out most of the population due to how tightly packed everything was. Very few survived to raise children that had not succumbed to the sicknesses.
Bunker 16: Opening
201X
The dial was loose. They didn’t know why their hands had latched onto it, but their hand’s did. They had breathed in surprise when the giant dial had twisted under their fingers. They continued turning it until there was a soft click. They took their hand off and gulped. It was now or never.
They pressed their hands onto cool metal and pushed upwards. It took barely any effort for the hatch to swing up and over, almost like it was automated to complete such a task.
A bright light spilled onto their face, making them squint and cover their eyes. A warmth swallowed them up, the light beating down harshly. They stood for a few seconds and got used to the sensation of being warm and the brightness of the light. Then, they hoisted themselves up the last few steps of the ladder and onto soft grains of sand.
They looked down at it, feeling a gust of air rush at them.
I’ve never seen this much sand before in my life. They thought to themselves.
“Howdy!” A cheerful voice chimed from behind them.
They quickly turned around, startled.
There, a small cactus with a bright white flower atop its head, smiled. “I’m Cacti, the Cactus. And you are?”
“Frisk,” they rasped. The hot air had drained them of all water that they had.
“Frisk?” Cacti hummed. “Well, that’s a lovely name!” The cactus grinned wider, causing Frisk to tilt their head. “You must be new to the Overworld, due to you just coming out of a hole! Heh heh...Oh, you must be very confused. Maybe I should teach you the basics. Would you like that?”
Frisk just nodded, knowing that if they spoke that there would be no voice.
“Alright so here in the Overworld, we ‘battle’, for lack of a better word,” Cacti stated. “So, you’ll need to step closer.”
Frisk took a wary step towards the cactus and then the world faded to a dim black. Frisk looked down and their chest was glowing a heavy red in the shape of a heart. They looked up at Cacti.
“Now,” Cacti started. “That right there, is your soul. The very collumination of your being. Look how weak and defenseless it is. If you want to help your soul out, you’ll need to gain some LVs and EXPs. You could think of LVs as Levels, but it is actually referred to as LOVE. And EXP is a fancy acronym for something unimportant. But, LOVE is the main thing here. How we exchange LOVE is through little, white things called....um, ‘friendliness pellets’. Here, I’ll give you some.” Frisk watched a few small white beads appear from behind the cactus. “Now, gather up as many as you can.” The white beads moved towards Frisk. Frisk was still not completely trusting of the cactus, but reached out and touched one.
Suddenly, Frisk was overcome with a huge amount of pain. They gasped, trying to reign back some breath. Frisk grabbed their glowing chest, the pain was unbearable. They blinked back tears and looked up at Cacti.
Cacti’s soft grin had changed to become a harsh and evil smirk. “You idiot .”
Frisk’s eyes widened.
“In this world, it’s kill or be killed.”
Frisk gulped.
“How could anyone pass up an opportunity like this?”
A large ring of human sized white pellets surround Frisk, there was no chance of escape.
“Die.”
The ring began closing in on Frisk, while the cactus manichically laughed. Frisk felt tears come to their eyes again. They gulped, spinning, looking for a way out. Nowhere. Frisk sniffed and croaked out with a dead voice.
“ Help .”
Frisk closed their eyes and let their dying breath out.
“OW!” Cacti’s voice screeched.
“What a terrible creature torturing such a poor, innocent youth!” A muffled, sweet, womanly voice yelped, causing Frisk to open their eyes. They looked around, seeing that the world was no longer dark, but then their eyes locked onto a figure in front of them.
A tall woman with a dark gas mask stood there. It looked as if she had two small horns protruding from her head, as well as two long white ears that hung down. She was decked out in black and purple; both of the colors were whitewashed, either from the sun or the sand, Frisk didn’t know. There was some symbols on her chest that Frisk didn’t really understand, but it didn’t matter. She had a thick cloth under a toolbelt that draped to the left, and under she was wearing a latex suit. On her feet were thick black boots that went up to her knees and had many buckles on them. Her shoulders held a bit of armor and on her right draped a cloth that was thinner than the one wrapped around her waist. Her forearms were protected by shining bits of armor.
“Oh, I must look creepy with the gas mask!” The woman fretted, noticing Frisk’s suspicious stance. She grabbed her mask with gloved fingers and shifted it to the back of her neck. Behind the mask was a white and furry face with soft red eyes. She was a goat . “Please don’t be afraid, my child. Let me introduce myself. I’m Toriel. I have an above ground bunker a few miles away from here. You’re lucky I chose to check this entrance today, or who knows what would have happened!” She offered a hand towards Frisk. “Come along, child. Let’s get you somewhere safe. You look thirsty.”
Frisk debated it for a second. They weren’t all to sure about this goat woman, until they looked into her eyes. The woman’s eyes were filled with kindness and worry. She had just saved them from a harmful flower, so Frisk felt at ease with her. Frisk huffed and grabbed Toriel’s hand.
“Alright, onto my home.”