Author's Note:

This is a full, absolute warning. This story is gonna get into dark territory. Because anyone who knows ANYTHING about Undertale and did any run-through of the game knows that you're playing as the eighth human to fall into where the game takes place. Into the Underground, the world of monsters. Which means seven others fell in...and they're not around anymore.

So yeah. This story has child death. It has violence and heartbreaking themes. I don't intend to shy away from them as I explore WHY a child would ever climb up a mountain nobody ever came back from, to fall down into a world from which there's no escape. What would drive them to do that, what they'd do to try and get home if the chance was there. And what drives people to do desperate things in the name of improving their lives however small.

I want this tale, much like Undertale, to reach people on an emotional level and to connect with others. If it can make you laugh, or cry, if it can fill you with rage and fury or horror, then I'll have done my job. Because people should be emotionally invested in what they write, in what they read, or play, or watch.

Once upon a time, the surface world was ruled by two races. Human and monsters. One day, war broke out between the two races.

How it started, nobody was actually sure. Monsters blamed humans, saying that they'd started it. Humans blamed monsters, saying they were the ones who'd started it. But what the war was started about is almost universal.

Human souls.

Monsters could claim human souls, being magical creatures. Humans, on the other hand, didn't have access to magic with the ease and ability that most monsters had. Having magic was a rare, rare skill for them. And the idea of having their soul used as a power source or weapon by monsters was a terrifying prospect.

So they went to war. It was long and grueling, sickening to behold, the blood flowing freely and the screams of the dying and the wounded forming a cacophony of agony that echoed out through the skies. But after a long battle, the Humans were victorious, and had the monsters surrounded and cornered at a mountain. At first, monsterkind was terrified of the magic that they saw the humans were getting ready to use. Fearful of utter annhilation.

The good news was that, much like in the case of all war, the one making that final, terrible call...was a human being. Someone without a soul might have happily chosen to end it all there. But if there was one thing humans had going for them, it was their Souls, souls far stronger than monsters could ever be.

They decided, instead, to seal the monsters away underground, with a magic spell, heading down into the dark recesses of Mt. Ebott. And many years later, the twenty first century, 201X...

A child fell in through the barrier on the mountain.

Why did they climb it? It seemed foolish. Stupid. After all, people in the village down below knew the legends well. Anyone who climbed the mountain never returned.

But they climbed anyhow. And tripped. Falling down, down, down into the dark recesses of the Underground.

They were the First.

...but they were sure as HELL not going to be the last.

Hope shivered as she looked at herself in the reflection below. The little rain puddle below showed her gaunt face as she stared back, deep blue eyes gazing quietly back. Was that really her? Her skin was barely on her bones, her hair a frazzled mess of black, her clothes torn and muddy. What had once been simple and clean was now an ugly, almost unnatural shade of brown. She held a slender hand up to her cheeks, blinking a little. Was this really her? She hadn't seen a mirror in ages. Mom had never really been able to afford buying one.

"This is really me?" She quietly asked, her voice faintly hoarse and deep, a faint cracking to it that indicated she hadn't eaten in a long time. Her stomach slightly growled as she whimpered and shook her head back and forth. Hope Carver didn't have a lot of time to think about what she looked like. She had to find food and fast. So in desperation, she had gone to check out the only place that people stayed far, far away from. Mount Ebott.

Mount Ebott was an almost beautiful place. It had some fairly steep rolling hills, lined up and down with thick forests and moss on every rock. Everything about it seemed to be big and green and vibrant, save for a slightly ominous blackish/brown hole far above the town she came from. Clouds ambled by the mountain on a soft breeze as delightful golden flowers formed a kind of natural yellow-brick road that led travelers to the mouth of the northern cave at Mt. Ebott's peak, and it was all simple and unspoiled save for a few trinkets here and there.

Most noticably, a small aquamarine ribbon. Hope held it up in her hands, picking it up some distance from a sock and a fallen shoe. Evidently people had a tendency to toss trash and the like they really, REALLY wanted to get rid of into a few of the mountain's caves. Supposedly it was carried down via underground river or the like, out of sight, out of mind, and it was cheaper than going to recycle something.

It was a big deal, recycling. A new kind of person had moved into Simsbury. The urbanite who idealized country life and wanted to see the lovely green around them preserved as much as possible. It wasn't merely about sticking it to the big corporations they felt would rather tear down a forest to make a new golf course. It was about a sense of responsibility they had begun to develop, a feeling of wanting to do better than their parents had. They saw a beauty to suburban/rural life that they wanted preserved, and had gotten to work on making the town as green as possible, from free bicycles to making the work places and shops closer together to more public transit, all to cut down on carbon footprints, reduce traffic and clutter, and help keep the place green and beautiful.

But the problem was that while, for the most part, it made Simsbury feel timeless, a place that appeared to be eternally "small town, USA", it didn't solve everything. And it didn't solve the fact that homelessness was still an issue. The town's budget had been somewhat lessened to do all this, and it had come at a crappy time for Hope Carver and her mother Mary. They'd been able to scape by on the little they got from the state and the fed. But with cuts in the budget, this meant they'd no longer been able to keep up payments. Bit by bit, they'd just kept cutting back on their life. From what they ate to how they lived. Soon they were living out of their own car.

And soon Mary wasn't living. Period.

All she could pass on was a little knife. A toy, practically. Barely sharp. Just something to help Hope find some food. And Hope did NOT want to be taken as a ward of the state. She was just too terrified of being in the system. So here she was, trying to live on her own, hoping to find something on Mt. Ebott. Something left behind in what people brought up the mountain to help her. She quietly held the aquamarine ribbon in her hands, looking down at it before she tied it around a small cut she'd gotten on her arm. She didn't feel beautiful enough to put it around her head. Maybe the white girls in town would have looked good in it, but she didn't feel that way.

No. Hope just felt ugly and sad and hungry.

And she wanted something to eat so, so badly. So she kept climbing, following the trail of golden flowers, making her way higher up Mount Ebott, panting and heaving as she whacked at her stomach. "S-Stop it!" She whined out. "Y-you stupid tummy!" She grunted, breathing heavily as she reached the tippy top of a rise, finding the opening to the northern cave. She peered out, blinking a bit, gazing through the darkness as she held a thin hand up to try and get a closer look at what was inside. Any mushrooms? Tossed away canned goods? Anyth-

Then she smelled it. It smelled so, so good. So very good. A pie. She wasn't sure what type, but she knew the smell. If her mother had been good at one thing, that was baking pies. Hope closed her eyes, and allowed memory to sink into her, and for a moment she could almost see her mother pulling the pie off the little stove they'd had. She could smell the apples in it, and faintly taste the butter in the crust, and she could almost feel her mother's hand on hers as it was raised up. "Come on, have just a little taste, it's not too hot-"

And as she instinctively reached out, she tripped. She was suddenly falling, falling, letting out a terrified yell. She bounced against an incline, coughing and spluttering, agony shooting through her, but mercifully, large patches of flowers stopped her imminent demise. She twisted a bit, flopping against what felt almost like a big, giant, thick mattress, groaning as she looked around, suddenly gasping as the knife embedded inches from her head. She quivered a bit, and Hope finally reached over, picking it up from out of the ground as she stared around her.

She was a good quarter of a mile or so down in the mountain somehow, nothing but an endless abyss of black around her, the glow of the sun and the outside world far, far above her. She peered up, but as she glanced around, she took notice of something off in the distance. Hope blinked slightly, her heart swelling up with a renewed sense of happiness as she smelled that divine scent, and made her way towards what was unmistakably a gigantic purple archway. Was it some old temple or something, ruins from an ancient civilization buried deep underground? She didn't care. She smelled food. She smelled pie.

She made her way through the dark recesses of the underground, past some more golden flowers, through the archway. Unaware that one of the flowers slowly turned and stared off in her direction.

"...huh." It mumbled. "...humans still coming through...?" He murmured. "...I wonder."

...

...

...

...eventually Hope found herself in the enormous ruins of what had clearly been an immense city. Big windows had faded, almost utterly-worn-away glass in them, a large bunch of red leaves from nearby trees littering all around a double stairway leading up further into the ruins. A square ring of leaves had been expertly woven around a symbol that was etched into the faintly purple floor, Hope making her way across it, seeing a sign on a grey placard held above the doorway, squinting her blue eyes to get a good look at what it said.

"Home".

Hope blinked softly, biting her lip as she held the toy knife up, making her way deeper into the ruins, glancing about the room she found herself in. A group of stones were popping up on the floor, more signs on the walls as she looked it over, feeling the texture with her hand. Instructions. Hmm. And a lever nearby.

Wait. Was this a...puzzle? The African American girl blinked, a bit annoyed. But what could she do? She had to go deeper, there was no other way to get to anything else. And going back wasn't an option! So Hope moved herself over the stones, then pulled the lever. Nothing.

So she tried moving over different stones. Nothing again.

But then the second time, it worked. Going in a square, she opened up the doorway, heading into the next room, and a long hallway with little wooden bridges over water. She approached the water, glancing left and right, unsure of what to do. She was so hungry and thirsty and she had no idea if this water was safe to drink, but-

She didn't care. Getting on her chest, she leaned her head down and Hope started gulping down big swallows of water, the coolness refreshing against her parched throat as she let out long gasps, wiping her mouth a bit. She kept drinking, finally having her fill as she rose up, crossing over the bridge, seeing more golden levers built into the walls, and a small row of spikes up ahead.

Could this be another puzzle? Probably something to keep thieves or something away like the ancient egyptians did with pyramids. She approached the first two levers, pulling each and much to her delight, the spikes shot into the ground, Hope happily beaming. "Yes!" She proclaimed, moving forward, into another room. She noticed ivy was growing on the walls, and even more hung in thick patches in the next large hall, and something was waiting there, blocking off the hallway to the next room.

A...frog. She blinked at the big ol' white frog, with what appeared to be...a little face beneath? Was...what in the heck? She blinked, rubbing her eyes, then her stomach growled as she cringed. It was a frog, an animal, and that meant food. She was just so desperate. She inched forward, the frog hopping a bit further down the hallway, past the sign it had been readingas she readied the knife. "Sorry, Mister Frog." She inwardly thought, raising it high. But then she stopped, seeing that a loooooong would-be bridge of spikes lay up ahead and she cringed. Oh no. How was she going to get past this? She looked left and right at the water on either end, biting her lip. She had no idea how deep the water is, and she could barely swim. Mom hadn't ever had the money to get her swimming lessons.

But luckily, the froggy thing just hopped into the water. It's eyes were just above it and she watched it swim to the other end, hopping off onto the wooden planks connecting the spikes to the main hall and she breathed a sigh of relief. Phew. Just small enough to get over. She slid into the water, taking in deep breaths as she swam across, staying quiet as possible as she made her way towards the frog-like thing which kept moving forward, hopping and hopping in a long hall. A singular pillar was at the far end, along with ivy leaves running down different parts of the wall, and Hope readied the little toy knife she had as she kept moving closer to the frog-like thing.

Then she leapt forward, pinning the thing to the ground as it let out a squeaking croak, Hope holding the knife up. "Sorry, Mister Frog." She insisted as best she could, bringing the knife down as hard as possible.

THA-THLUK.

...

...

...

...Hope cringed a bit. She did NOT want to ever try to eat one of those things again. It wasn't just that it had turned into dust shortly after she'd tried a few bites, which had been so darn strange. No, the thing had tasted squishy and rubbery and awful, like eating a cheap costume put over a slab of meat. She cringed as she tossed the remains she hadn't gobbled down to the side, coughing a bit as she wiped her mouth, the young African American girl making her way into the next room. At least now her stomach was somewhat full, and she kept moving forward into the next room, following that same smell that tickled at her nostrils. As she made her way through the purple halls of the ruins, she took notice of very old, worn-down floors and gulped nervously, inching forward, hearing them creak and groan. She wondered if perhaps they'd give way, she could see cracks faintly visible. But...luckily enough, no. She got through. Wiping her brow, she took notice of a rock on a path towards an obvious switch in the next room, and took notice of a nearby sign on one of those familiar grey tablets.

"...three out of four grey rocks recommend you push them?" Hope read aloud. "...who writes this kinda stuff?" She murmured. "They're either really helpful, really strange, or really silly." She said with a shrug. "...or maybe all of that." She admitted, looking the writing over. "I mean, it is kinda scratchy." She said, feeling the texture of the letters with a quiet smile. A smile that she was surprised to find creeping onto her face. For once, she felt like something was funny! She hadn't felt like that in a long time.

Pushing the rock onto the switch, the spikes faded, and soon she was passing over another long stretch of hall with faded, slightly cracked floor. She kept moving forward, but then stopped, blinking in surprise at the odd, almost fairy-like creature that was wafting about in the air, nervously fluttering about. It was off at the far end, reading a sign on the wall. She inched towards it, carefully readying her toy knife, bit by bit getting closer.

"What sort of person puts a sign up that reads not to step on the leaves right above a patch of leaves?" The being said, Hope halting in place, eyes wide as she lowered the knife, mouth gaping in surprise.

"You...TALK?" She gasped out, her blood almost freezing in place as the creature turned around, with tiny little thin arms and legs, face mournful and sad, almost looking like a little floating bag with tiny wings and antannae as it quivered in midair.

"I-I'm sorry, I-did-did you want to read this?" It whimpered. "I'll-I'll just go!" It squeaked out in a high pitched voice, fluttering off through the air as a small, round, cycloptic thing appeared in the hall, giving Hope a dark look with it's singular eye, pounding it's tiny fist into its palm.

"You pickin' on a Whismur, lady?" It growled at her. "I don't like that. I don't like people pickin' on people." It grunted, little stubby horns almost throbbing in fury as it's yellow body bristled with rage, Hope holding the knife up, gritting her teeth.

"S-Stay b-back!" She yelled out. "I'm w-warning you!" She insisted, Loox's hands held up as she suddenly saw something manifest right in front of her chest. She gasped, reeling back as small glowing spheres of yellowish energy just barely missed it, and she panted, scrambling back to her feet, blinking as she looked down at what hovered before her chest. A heart. A little light blue heart that hovered in midair and was soft and warm to the touch. She blinked slowly, just looking at this beautiful little thing...

Before another sphere whacked into it and she went reeling back, feeling as though her entire insides were being punched. She panted and heaved, wheeling around, feeling anger and desperation surge up in her as the cycloptic thing bounced up and down on his tiny feet. "You pay attention to me, bully! I don't care what you do to me but I don't like people pickin' on-"

She tossed the knife at him. And by some stroke of luck, it hit him dead on, making him fall to the floor, quite deceased as she panted and panted, wiping her brow as the little blue heart faded away. What...what was going on? What had been that thing? And that heart?

...still...she wondered if this cyclops tasted any good. She nervously yanked the knife out of his eye, cringing, trying not to look at it and took the knife to one of his arms, sliding it off. She was amazed at how easily it went through, and surprised at the taste. Kind of like lemon-flavored chicken, she had to admit, munching away. Hmm. Not bad at all. She eagerly began munching away on more sliced-off pieces of this monster, happily eating it down to the bone before she noticed it was beginning to dissolve away into white dust just like the frog-thing had. She stepped back as the rest of it faded and she scratched her head in surprise. Was that what happened when a monster died? It turned into dust?

Ah well. She kept moving forward, past a small mouse hole, and through another bunch of rooms. She saw some spiders scurrying into a nearby room, quickly inching away from them into the nearest hall they WEREN'T going towards, and then finding a set of spikes that had shot into the ground, freshly retracted. Hope kept moving forward, into another room with small little crystalline statues, looking them over and seeing her reflection once again. She blinked a bit, seeing some of the dust that had wafted onto her clothes from her latest meal and she cringed, wiping it off her exposed belly, wishing she had a better shirt that wasn't so awful. Or a pair of real pants that wasn't in tatters.

But luckily, she was closer than ever to that wonderful smell. As she made her way into a three-sided hallway, she turned to the left, seeing a tree off in the distance with a somewhat diminished set of red leaves atop its thick black branches. Beyond it, she could see a figure taking something from off a windowsill in a little purple-brick home, Hope approaching it with her knife raised, making her way towards the house and inching towards the smell, hiding behind the door and inching her head in.

The walls were a soft yellow color, with flowers in pots all over, a collection of books in a bookshelf across from a stairway leading down, and well-kept wooden floors. It was warm and cozy inside this home as Hope moved towards the smell of pie, finding herself in a living room with a large table for three. Or rather, for what seemed to be two and a half. Two chairs were clearly for adults, one was obviously for a child. She could see a plushy brown chair with a yellow blanket slung over it by a fireplace that blazed nicely, and she could smell even more clearly that pie.

Something was kind of off about it though. Now that she was closer, that pie almost smelled kind of salty, sort of. What kind of pie-

"Ah, nothing like snail pie." A matronly voice rang out, tender and faintly authoritative with a slight soft musicalness to her voice as the form walked in, pie in her over-mitt-wearing hands. She halted in place, gasping in surprise as Hope stared in pure shock, mouth agape as well. It was a female monster, a faintly goat-like being with little horns and almost priest-like attire. She had on a deep purple dress with a blue chest "crest" that had white and almost religious markings on the front, with white sleeves to match her white-furred body, and a soft pair of blue eyes that looked Hope over in pure shock as Hope finally closed her mouth.

"A...A human?" The goat-like monster muttered, dropping the pie onto the floor as it splattered with a THA-THLULPA, sending pieces of pastries and snails scattering about as Hope immediately cringed and held her knife up in two shaking hands.

"S-Stay back!" Hope practically screamed out. "D-Don't you come no closer!" The knife felt heavy, almost too much to lift as she quivered and quaked on the spot, the goaty monster kneeling down by her spileld pie, sighing.

"Oh, that took hours to get just right." She murmured before rising up. "Please, don't be afraid."

"Don't you come near me!" Hope yelled, racing backwards, barreling towards the exit, panting and heaving. She tore past the tree but tripped over one of it's branches, scufffing herself up further as she saw the figure in the doorway looking on in surprise. "I said stay away!" She screamed, racing towards the left, rushing into another nearby doorway as a frog-like creature wisely hopped away from her...

And she found herself trapped. She was on a large balcony that overlooked even more of the ruins, ruins of what had once been a beautiful city with an immense capitol building, a library far off in the distance, ramparts of a castle that were slightly cracked and crumbling. It would have been impressive and made her feel in awe if not for the very tall goat woman monster standing just a few feet from her. Hope held the toy knife up, quivering, whimpering.

"St-stay back! D-Don't come any closer! Do-don't-"

A gentle pair of arms embracing her. Soft as the wool on a sheep, the female monster nuzzled her cheek with all the tenderness of a lamb at a petting zoo. "I shan't hurt you, little one." She insisted. "My name is Toriel. I'm Caretaker of the Ruins here."

And Hope allowed herself to cry and cry and cry.

...

...

...

...Hope had to get used to the slightly odd cooking style of Toriel. She didn't really like "snail pie", to be honest. Though fried snail actually didn't taste so bad. It had a faint garlicy taste to it as she munched away, with a bit of butter to take away from the slight squishiness that almost made her think back to that frog thing she'd eaten. Munching on the snails in the living room on Toriel's lap, Toriel calmly let Hope eat away as she rubbed her head. "So, little one. Tell me. However did you come down into the Ruins? Why are you here?"

"I was really, really hungry." Hope admitted softly. "I wanted to find something to eat. I knew people tended to throw away stuff on Mt. Ebott, and I wanted to see if there was anything good I could scrounge up, and I fell down here." She said, swallowing down the last of the escargot as Toriel confusedly tilted her head. She was astonished the child was still alive, she was so skinny and gaunt...how was the child not dead of starvation by now?

"What of your mother and father? Shouldn't they have cooked you something?" The goat-like monster lady inquired with a puzzled expression on her soft face as Hope immediately flinched and then Toriel really, truly looked Hope over, seeing how incredibly thin and worn down and gaunt the child was. "...they're...they're not with you anymore, are they?"

Hope tried not to cry again. She dug into her legs to keep the tears back from thinking about the moment her mother had stopped breathing. When Hope had run from the crappy Ford they had and had never gone back. "I never got to know my Dad." She finally managed to mutter out as she shook her head back and forth, scraggly hair flopping about. "And Mom never talked about him. I kept thinking that one day he'd show up and make things better but he never did." Hope said, her voice almost becoming dead and sullen as Toriel gently pulled her into a hug, resting the little black girl's head against her bosom. "Shouldn't he have done that?"

"Sometimes, a parent can't...can't always be there for a child when they need it most." Toriel whispered, and Hope could feel her voice breaking, faintly feel her heart pumping slightly more faster. "Sometimes terrible things happen and they can't stop it."

"...then what are we supposed to do?" Hope asked at last. "...what am I gonna do?"

Toriel just held her in that soft hug. She held her there for what seemed to be a long, long time. Then, at last, she rubbed Hope's head.

"We try to move on, I think." She said. "And we try to do the best we can with those still around us."

She gently kissed Hope's head, lifting her up and putting her on the floor, kneeling down and nuzzling her again with a little kiss on the cheek. "Would you like to get some sleep? You must be very tired."

Hope nodded, Toriel escorting her through a long hallway, across a big carpet of many shades of yellow. She opened up the first door, showing off a soft red room filled with children's toys, bear dolls, a little bureau and closet and a bed. And best of all, all the perfect size for a child. Smiling in delight, Hope looked up at Toriel as she gave her a smile. "Please, stay here for the night. I don't know if you wish to go further, perhaps into the town of Snowdin, tomorrow. But tonight, you could stay here. This was my son's room, but I don't mind you staying here."

Hope smiled warmly up at Toriel, giving her a nod as Toriel flinched a bit, seeing the dust on the child's clothes. "I'll, um...get you some new clothes too." She added nervously, exiting the room as Hope crawled into the bed. Toriel glanced back at the door, biting her lip slightly.

"...she's just scared." She finally decided. "She's surrounded by real monsters and she's scared. Don't judge her, Toriel." Toriel said to herself as she made her way to the storage room at the end of the hall, to get some of Asriel's spare clothes that she'd kept as Hope began to drift off into sleep, the first real sleep she'd had in a long, long time. Toriel opened up the door, carefully tiptoeing across the way with the clothes in hand, putting them down on the bureau for Hope before approaching the child who now lay on her side, softly breathing. She gently stroked her head, kindly looking down at her, softly murmuring.

Rest, my child. Rest with me...

Fill your night with peaceful dreams!

Sleep, my child...safe and free...

And when you're frightened, reach for me!

Sleep well my darling, don't be scared, don't be afraid!

I...promise I'll be here to chase bad...dreams away!

I'd been so lonely, now you're here, here in my home!

And...with you in my arms I know now...I'll not be alone.

For you'll be part...

Of my heart...

So sleep...well, my chiiiiild...

Just sleep...juuuust sleep...

Rest my chiiiild...heeeere wiiiith meeee...

And maaay yooour niiight haaave peeaaacefuuuul dreeaaaams!

Sleeep myyy chiiild! Saaafe and freeee...

And wheeen you're scared, juuuust reeeaaach foooor meee...

...

...

...

...in the morning, Hope was awakened by the soft smell of scones, Toriel having a plate of them with some croissants, a cheery grin on her features as she led Hope to the living room to eat. A big pitcher of cider was on the table, Hope looking it over as she tilted her head in surprise at the label which was scratched-out on the top. "Spider Cider?" She asked.

"Oh, yes. The spiders do love baked goods and the like. Their doughnuts and ciders are their best sellers."

"The spiders in the ruins can...cook?" Hope asked, Toriel beginning to pour some of the cider into a glass for Hope as the young African American girl munched on a croissant. When Toriel had finished pouring and handed her the glass, Hope took a swig. "Hmm. Tastes really sweet."

"Well, they put great care into their work. All of it is made by spiders, for spiders, and with spiders."

Hope did a spit take, spraying the cider across the table, trying to claw off the taste from her tongue. "Oh! Oh! GAHK! GAAUHHHD! AAAHHH! Spiders?! They-they made it from themselves? Like, all the guts and stuff?" She whimpered out. "Ew-ew-ew-ew-ew!"

Toriel deeply blushed. "I apologize. Perhaps I should have told you this sooner." She murmured apologetically as Hope ran for the sink in the kitchen to run her tongue under it. Luckily, the rest of the breakfast passed without concern, and soon Hope was being led down the stairs and through another long purple hallway towards what Toriel described as the exit, Hope now in a nice pair of light blue pants and a white shirt as she finally wrapped the ribbon in her hair and looked up at Toriel as they stood before the large arched doorway leading out.

"How do I look?" She asked as Toriel warmly smiled and adjusted the ribbon eeeeeever-so-slightly.

"There. Now you're perfect." She said sweetly, kneeling down and kissing Hope's head. "It's a one-way trip through this, I've never been able to find any switch that keeps the doors open. Once you leave, it'll slam shut and I've not got the strength to keep it open." The motherly monster sheepishly admitted. "Are you sure you want to go this way?"

"You're really, really nice." Hope said as she smiled warmly back at Toriel. "But I wanna try to get back home. I can't do it going back that way, so...could I do it out there?"

"Yes, there's a pathway back up out there. There's a very nice person who runs a boat that goes by Snowdin, a town not too far out past the tundra outside. If you talk to them, they'll guide you to where the barrier's located. Go on through that, and you'll exit the mountain." Toriel admitted, waving her hand, gesturing with a pointed nail at some far-off point in the distance. "It gets very cold out, so be sure to wear this blanket until you get to town and can afford some better clothes." She said, putting a small bag on Hope's back, and wrapping a little blanket around her. "It's not much to buy some decent clothes there. You should be fine once you get to town. Just don't tell anyone you're human, they don't...like humans much there. Try to keep a low profile as much as possible and just say you're a kid monster from deep in the Ruins." She offered.

"I'll try." Hope said as she gave Toriel a big hug. "Thanks, Ms. Toriel."

"Thank you, child. I think I'll have to keep an eye out for more children like yourself." Toriel admitted sadly. "I was alone for so long and it was...it felt good to finally have company after so long."

"Well, I fell down by a bunch of golden flowers way, way deep in the ruins. That's where the opening to the cave on Mount Ebott goes." Hope offered, Toriel flinching a bit as she cringed, wiping her eyes as she sadly laughed. "Ms. Toriel?"

"Sorry, it's...my son loved golden flowers. And so did Chara."

"Chara?"

"Sh-she was another human who fell down. She really loved golden flowers. Said they made her feel sunny inside." Toriel muttered out, slightly hanging her head. "She and my son were so close. I...it was as if she was the daughter I never had."

"You were a great mom. I can tell." Hope said, giving Toriel another hug. "If I get out, I'll send down pie recipes the next time I climb the mountain, promise!" She cheerily remarked, heading for the doorway, pushing the immense purple doors open. With a loud clanking, they pushed open, Hope cheerily waving goodbye as she raced down the hall towards the cool, soon cold, biting air off in the distance.

As she pushed another set of doors open, Hope breathed in deep, long, tall, dead trees lining a long stone pathway through a snowy woods. She passed by an immense stone, blanket wrapped around her as she hummed a bit, continuing down the path as the wind blew a bit harshly around her.

Seeing a wooden bridge up ahead, Hope moved over it, noticing a lamp nearby, combined with what appeared to be a small little wooden outpost that had snow lining its roof. But before she could move forward past the outpost, a voice rang out, deep, faintly echoing, colder than even the snow lining the path around her.

"...you a human?"

"...hello?" Hope called out, glancing about, looking for the sound of the voice.

"...so you ARE human. well. guess that makes this easy."

And just like that, Hope gasped, seeing something rushing towards her. A bluish-white beam of light that erupted out from behind the outpost. She dove away, the bag slipping off her as she clung tightly to the blanket, trying to make for the woods, only for another beam to blast her off her feet. She let out a pained gasp, flopping around on the ground, cringing as she rose back up to her feet. She panted and heaved, feeling as though her skin was on fire, the voice rising up through the woods again. It seemed to come from everwhere as it softly clucked its tongue.

"my my. surviving a direct hit from that? wow. you are GOOD, kid. real good. somethin' special. I almost not wanna do this. but you got blood on your hands. or should I say...dust? so it's kinda hard for me to feel sorry for you."

Suddenly cold bony bars surrounded her, boxing her in, and a singular blue eye was faintly visible in shadow in the woods, getting closer...closer. A glaring, harsh blue pupil that had no kindness to it, the bones getting closer still, Hope trying to push them away, trying to break out, suddenly noticing that something was hanging right above her, mouth open wide. A horrific-looking, almost demonic, skeletal skull with energy coalescing around its maw as the being with the harsh blue eye spoke again.

"i really wish I could feel sorry for you. i wish I didn't have to do this. but try to understand, kid. you finally appearing after all these years? well..."

It's grin was the work of demons, and Hope quietly whimpered as it's words were the last thing she ever heard before the beam from that skeletal THING above her silenced everything in her world.

"you're giving us all hope."