HOME | DD

Description
It was like a shockwave that rattled the Underground before everything was engulfed by a blinding white light. When it faded, there was a sense of...hope…freedom. Could it be…? It was. There was no doubt about it. The barrier had shattered. They were no longer trapped in the world the humans locked them in all those years ago. Ecstatic, the monsters of the Underground made their way to the castle, getting closer and closer to the surface that they desperately wanted to see with their own eyes. They heard stories of the surface from the King and the former Queen. When they got to where the barrier was set, they were almost to tears. Instead of the pulsating white impregnable walls of legend, it was a grand stairway made of ancient stone slabs with a warm, welcoming light of the outside world illuminated the stone walls. The monsters made their way up the steps as fast as they could climb them, the light getting brighter and brighter until they were blinded by the light right when the steps stopped. They blinked to make their eyes adjust to the light…and what they saw took their breath away.

Before them was a vast valley of lush green trees as far as the eye could see. On the horizon to their left was a tall, pointed mountain that seemed to reach for the heavens. Some of the monsters were afraid that its point would pop the beautiful golden sky where light fluffy things floated and wisped across it….clouds. They never had seen clouds before. On the horizon's right were tall buildings of a city. Some of the monster's hearts raced at the site of the skyscrapers. Humans lived there. Not monsters…would it be possible that would be accepting…or will they be sent back to the Underground? They dare not think on the matter of humans any further, for the world around them was just too jaw-dropping to dwell on it. What filled them with such wonder was the thing that was in between the mountain and the city: a large glowing orb of light. It hurt their eyes to look directly at it but they couldn't help it. It was too beautiful to peel their eyes away. They nearly jumped when a cool, gentle breeze hit them. It smelled like salt water.

Some were able to look away from the beauty of the surface to look at the two people standing on the ledge of the dirt path that leads to the woods beneath the cliff. They both turned around and smiled at the sea of monsters that were flooding out of the caves below. One they slowly recognized as the former Queen: Toriel. The small one who was holding her hand took no time to recognize. It was the human that fell down Mount Ebott not so long ago. The child that saved them all…the Angel that the ancient prophesies spoke of. They let go of Toriel's hand and walked up to the sea of monsters, beaming at them. The monsters couldn't help return it and dropped down to their knees to give the child a hug. They saved them. They saved them all. It didn't take long for the child to break away from massive group hug that was forming on them before returning their hand to Toriel's. They motioned the monsters to follow them down the mountain path. And they did. They followed them eagerly, their fears of being accepted by the humans melting away.

But they failed to notice the shadow that followed them from a distance. It had no form. It was pure darkness except the diamond shaped red eyes it had. Its eyes set on the human that lead the pack of monsters before turning its attention to the city that was on the horizon. If it could smile, it would be right now. It melted back into the shadows, following the monsters to its new home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Four years. It had four years since her sibling disappeared. Every day, she dreaded it. They never should have gone to that damn mountain. They should have headed the warnings of those who say ones who visit the mountain never return. She wished it could have been her instead, not her sibling. The police gave up the search a few months ago, two months after the monsters arrived to the city. But she couldn't help but to think that they were out there, somewhere. She hoped that they were alright. Ever since they disappeared, she couldn't focus on anything. She got fired from five different types of jobs thanks to her mind wondering to where her sibling could be. They were so young when they disappeared…if only she paid closer attention to them. Then they would still be here. All it takes a few moments of no supervision to make things go horribly wrong.

She sighed as she lifted her bag back onto her shoulder as walked home from work, the small white box of belongings rattling with each step she took. The company was not impressed by her slow-moving work, her spacing out between shifts, making her miss some. How was she going to pay rent now? She hadn't eaten anything for the past three days so she would be able to pay for rent for once…but she couldn't now. No work equals no money. She should just turn in her keys as soon as she gets to her apartment and find a shelter or something. Under the bridge was a good spot to sleep…

She let out a small grunt when she bumped into something, hard enough to make her drop her box, spilling its contents onto the sidewalk. Not something…someone.

"Are you alright?" A gentle, soothing female voice asked her.

She blew upwards to get her dark brown overgrown bangs out of her face. When she saw what was standing before her, her eyes widened. In front of her was a tall, at least two feet taller than herself, white goat monster wearing a nice purple dress with a small black jacket over it. Her eyes were just as gentle as her voice. She watched the monster crouch down to the ground and pick some of the items off the ground. After a moment of hesitation, she joined the goat-woman picking up her things. Before long all the contents were gathered and they stood back up.

"Thank you…" she mumbled to the monster.

The goat-woman sent her a smile. "You are most welcome, my dear. I am Toriel."

"Veronica." she introduced. She rocked on her tiptoes when the Toriel did not take her eyes off her. "Y-Yes?"

"Pardon for my staring, my dear…but I must say that you look awfully familiar to me…"

"I must have one of those faces…" Veronica stated. "I'm sorry Miss Toriel but I must be going."

"Would you like me to help you carry your things, my dear?" Toriel asked her.

Veronica wanted to say no since they had just met but was unable to. The kind, loving aura that radiated off of Toriel made her feel relaxed and safe, a feeling she hadn't felt since their sibling went missing. The feeling made reminded her of her mother. Before long, Veronica nodded her head. "Sure. I mean, it's only just this box though. It's not that heavy."

"Oh, but you must be tired of carrying it!"

"I can't say no to that…how bout half and half? Seem fair?"

Toriel smiled once more. "It does." She took her share of the load and she was right, the box was lighter already. "I shall follow you."

"It's not too far," Veronica told her. "Just a few more blocks." They made their way down the sidewalk. After a few moments of silence, Veronica inquired, "If you don't mind me asking, how is the city treating you?"

"Oh, I don't mind at all! Well, it is very different than it was the last time I was on the surface," Toriel explained, "But your people were much more welcoming than I expected. There are a few who do not believe that we do not belong here but that is expected. At the moment…it all going well. It will just take some time getting used to but I do believe that in time, I will be happy here."

"Yeah, I know the feeling…change is a lot to get used to." Veronica let out a small chuckle before saying, "I don't even know why I'm even bothering to head back home. As soon as I get there, all I can do is put my key on the desk and leave again."

"Why is that, my dear?"

Veronica hesitated to answer. She wasn't sure if she should tell Toriel about her current situation or not. But the warmth the Toriel's gaze gave her, she couldn't help but tell her, "I just lost my job today. It was hardly enough to pay my rent and the bills but, hey, money is money. Sometimes, I would go weeks with me just munching on some cheese and crackers every couple of days just so I could pay my dues. Without my job, I won't be able to stay there. I'll just sell the stuff we're carrying to a pawn shop then try to find a new job, if I'm lucky."

"Oh…I am sorry to hear that, my dear…" Toriel said with sympathy clearly in her voice. "That must be a hard way to live." There was a short pause before her voice broke the silence once more, "Will you have a place to go?"

Veronica shrugged her shoulders slightly, not risking to drop the items in her arms again. "Depends on how full the shelter will be."

"Shelter?"

"Yeah, where humans go when they no roof to go under. But sometimes, there aren't any beds or space available so they have to turn us away. They end up on like benches and stuff."

"That sounds dreadful! Oh…" Toriel's eyes sparkled as she said, "How about you come with me?"

"G-Go with…? I'm sorry, Miss, b-but we've only just met…" Veronica stuttered.

"I understand but…as you explained, you might not be able to get into this shelter," Toriel reasoned. "You are so kind, my dear, I would hate to see someone like you be turned away!" She continued, "You would not be intruding at all, my dear, if that's what you fear.

Veronica frowned internally at herself when she even considered it and looked at her feet. Yes, Toriel seemed nice, yes, it would be nice to sleep under a roof instead than under a bridge. But she didn't know her. All she was to her was a nice stranger. But then she realized, not since she was much-much younger, she was treated so kindly. Toriel gave a sense of comfort, like a loving mother. She glanced back over to Toriel, who was patiently waiting for a response. Veronica let out a small sigh, "I guess it couldn't hurt to stay with you until I find a job and a place of my own again…" Then Veronica scolded at herself. What was she thinking? This was a stranger! But she could not resist the warmth in Toriel's gentle eyes. They stopped in front of her apartment building.

Toriel gave her a welcoming grin. "Wonderful. I shall wait for you."

Veronica nodded and made her way into the building, seeing that the innkeeper was not at his post, making her relax a little. At least she wouldn't have to confront him. And hopefully she will never cross paths with him again. She'd just get an earful of how much she owes him. Heh. What she owes him isn't worth a penny for this dump. It should be bulldozed. She placed the key on the counter and hurried back out to meet Toriel. "Let's go before the owner realizes that was me turning the key in…you…you don't live anywhere near here, right?"

"Oh, I live in the outskirts of the city, not too far from here. I was just heading to the dry cleaners. I guess my child will have to wait just a little longer for their stuffed animal," Toriel answered.

"What happened to it?"

"Let's just say there was a mishap in the kitchen," Toriel said with a small laugh. She motioned her head towards downtown. "Come, my dear. It will be dark soon."

As Toriel said, her house was not far but far enough from the apartments that Veronica wasn't too worried of bumping into the owner. The house was small and quaint, it's siding a soft inviting yellow with white trim. Two small wooden steps led to a small white porch. The steps creaked under Veronica's feet. The front door was red with a golden knocker. Toriel took the keys out of a plant that was by the door and unlocked the door. "Here we are, my dear!" She let Veronica in first before following behind her and turning on the light. "It seems my child's baby sitter took them out...do not worry, they will be back soon. Feel free to explore!"

Veronica couldn't help but wonder slowly into the house, the wooden floors creaking like the steps outside. The house had an open layout, she was able to see everything from where she stood. Pictures were on the walls, there was a fire place in the living room, a large red chair sitting in front of it with a smaller one right next to it. The bigger one was covered in white fur. That must have been Toriel's chair. Near the living room was the kitchen one side and a long hallway lined with closed white doors.

Veronica turned around when she heard the door open once more, it followed by a booming voice that sounded like a stereotypical villain from old cartoons, "TORIEL! THE GREAT PAPYRUS SAW YOU APPROACH WHILE WE WERE FINISHING OUR WALK!" She walked back to the front of the house to see who it was. She blinked. Twice. At the door way was a…really, really tall skeleton, so tall, its head was a few inches away from touching the top of the doorframe. It had to be around seven feet tall, at least. Veronica would be terrified of the tall skeleton if it wasn't for the clothes it was wearing. It was like a super hero costume almost. It noticed her. "OH HELLO THERE! ARE YOU A FRIEND OF TORIEL!?"

"Uh…"

"MY NAME IS PAPYRUS! IT IS A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU!" Papyrus' eye sockets squinted at her, going into deep thought as he examined her. "HM...WOWIE, YOU SURE LOOK A LOT LIKE THE HUMAN!"

"U-U-Um…I-I am a hu—"

"HEY, HUMAN! THERE IS AN OLDER CLONE OF YOU IN THE HOUSE!"

"Clone…?" When the human Papyrus was calling too came out from behind him, Veronica froze. Her box fell from her arms, clattering onto the hardwood floor.

It was a child, no older than eight and they were around four feet tall. They wore a blue and pink striped shirt and brown shorts and boots. The sleeves on the shirt were too long for them. Their hair was a bob almost, the color a dark brown. The color was the same as Veronica's. Their eyes were the same shape and color as Veronica's as well, large and oval shaped and a reddish mahogany brown. Even their skin tones were the same, a light caramel tone. When the child looked at Veronica, its eyes widened and their jaw dropped a little.

Veronica fell to her knees shakily, not believing her eyes. After all these years…and they still looked like the day they went missing. She managed to say in a wispy, teary voice, "Fr…Frisk…?"