It wasn't entirely by accident, but I fell.

The climb up the mountain had been long and grueling. The fall was short and easy. It should have been enough to kill me, or at least hurt me, but when I woke up on the soft ground below I didn't even ache.

I had been told Mount Ebott was a dangerous place. People went missing there, not often, but it had happened enough there were stories. I'm not sure if I had climbed the mountain because I believed the stories, or because I didn't believe them. Either way, I hadn't expected to trip on an out of place vine and into a cave at the summit of the mountain.

I had landed on something soft. A patch of small, golden flowers growing in what little sunlight shown through the opening of the cave high above had broken my fall. I didn't recognize the flowers, I had never seen them before, but I knew what they were called. Buttercups.

The cavern around me was spacious, far larger than I thought it should have been. Did anyone else know there was such a large cave down here? The walls were steep. I wasn't going to be climbing back up any time soon.

Crumbling pillars stood throughout the cavern, and some had toppled over. An image was carved onto the pillars, three triangles in a row, the middle one inverted, and above them, a small circle with outstretched wings. The image was repeated on all the pillars like a prayer.

I stood. If I couldn't get out the way I entered, I would have to search for another way home. The cavern had one other exit, and it was flanked on both sides by more pillars. I headed for the exit, but before I reached it a voice called out from behind me.

"Howdy," the cheerful voice said.

I turned around, holding back a cry of surprise. A flower, much larger than the others, had appeared in the middle of the flower patch. It stood in the same spot I had landed on, but I didn't recall seeing it until just now.

"I'm Flowey, Flowey the Flower!" the flower said. "I'm your new Best Friend."

It was clearly the flower speaking. A mouth and a pair of eyes sat in the middle of the flower, surrounded by golden petals. A beaming smile, just as cheerful as the buttercup it adorned, shone at me beneath two eyes filled with joy and wonder.

What a happy flower.

The flower looked up at the hole in the cavern's ceiling, and then back at me.

"Wow, that was quite a fall," he said. "You're lucky you weren't hurt."

I nodded, unsure of how to respond to the talking flower.

"If you came from up there, that must mean you're new to the Underground, right?" Flowey asked.

It was subtle, but I thought I saw the flower straighten, as if trying to make himself look bigger.

"The Underground?" I asked.

"That's right," Flowey replied, "Oh, but it might be tricky for a human here. Why don't I tell you how things work down here?"

Now the flower was giving me advice? Had I hit my head during the fall and not realized it? Was I going to wake up three days from now in the hospital and be told this was nothing but a dream?

"-pretty good," the flower was still talking.

Flowey swayed back and forth as he spoke, his smile never faltering. Maybe he was just happy to have someone to talk to? It wasn't like he could go far as a flower, right?

"Anyway, the key to surviving around here is Love!" Flowey declared with a flourish of his leaves.

"Love?" I asked.

"Sure thing, friend," Flowey said. "Love makes you stronger, if you don't have enough love, a little thing like you might just get eaten."

"Eaten?" I asked. "What does that mean? There's something here than can eat me?"

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Flowey said. "I'll take care of you, I'll give you enough Love so you don't have to worry about anything else."

I shifted my weight and glanced behind me at the cavern's exit. What had I fallen into?

"Hey, pay attention or you'll miss them," Flowey snapped.

I looked back at Flowey, a little surprised at the change in his tone, but he was smiling as bright as ever.

"These are friendliness pellets," Flowey said as he waved a leaf. Brilliant golden petals appeared in the air around Flowey. He continued to explain in a sing-song voice, "You'll need to collect these to increase your love. Make sure not to miss them."

The petals floated towards me as if they were drifting on the wind. It was simple enough to reach out and grab one with my hand.

As I wrapped my fingers around the petal, I felt a shock of pain resonate through my entire body as if I had been struck by lightning. The pain shook my very soul, and I could almost feel it cracking. I fell to my knees, holding my arm to my chest. I could hardly move my fingers, the pain was lingering in my arm, making it numb and impossible to move.

"Hahahahahah, you really are an idiot," Flowey sneered.

The smile on his face had transformed into a gaping maw that split his golden face in half, and his innocent eyes were cold and cruel.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked.

"In this world, it's kill or be killed," Flowey said. "You're just on the wrong side kid."

I staggered to my feet and began to back away from Flowey. His smile sent shivers down my back, but I was still too numb to turn and flee.

"Now, to finish you off," Flowey said.

Golden petals, too numerous to count filled the air around Flowey. They began to drift towards me. They were slow, but there were too many to dodge. I watched the oncoming golden death and bit my lip. I closed my eyes and hunched my shoulders, all the while Flowey's laughter echoed in my ears.

"That is enough," a prideful voice called out.

Flowey's laughter stopped, and I could smell something burning. I peeked at the scene before me. The flower petals were burning, and a tall, white, and vaguely goat-like figure was standing at my side.

Flowey sneered at the intruder.

"What a lucky brat you are," he said to me, and then burrowed into the ground, disappearing as if he had never been there.

"Oh, my child, are you all right?" my rescuer asked, her voice was soft and kind, but Flowey had been the same way.

She knelt down before me. Her face was covered in pristine, white fur, and she had long floppy ears. A pair of small, silver horns emerged from the fur at the top of her head. Her eyes were dark, and though she was smiling at me, I could see a trace of sadness within those eyes.

"What a terrible thing to do to someone so small," she said. "My name is Toriel, little one."

Toriel stood back up. She was wearing a set of purple robes, and the same symbol I had seen on the pillars was emblazoned on the front of them.

"Did you come from above?" Toriel asked, and when I nodded she continued. "Yes, it happens from time to time. Humans come here from the world above. Though it may seem to be too much to accept at the moment, I would like to welcome you to the Underground, my child."