Chapter Text
Darkness, pain, and fear. These were the most prevalent things in your mind. You looked around you, confused and afraid. Where were you?
"H-hello?" you called out into the darkness, your voice quiet and raspy. But nobody came.
You looked around, your hazy mind desperately taking in every detail it could, trying to remember how you got here. You were somewhere very dark. A prison cell it seems? You could make out the details of bars contrasting the small amount of flickering light cast on the wall from somewhere down the hallway. You shifted slightly and groaned in pain. You arms and legs were bound tightly, to the point where your wrists and ankles were so raw that the little movement you were capable of caused pain to shoot up your limbs. The place also reeked of shit and blood. You grimaced slightly when it occurred to you that the smell might actually be emanating from you, given how dirty and disgusting you felt. You still couldn't recall how or why you were imprisoned like this. It felt like the answer was just out of reach in your mind... so close you could almost touch it...
Your thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door slamming open nearby, followed by approaching footsteps. You were soon confronted by an intimidating man wearing heavy-looking armor. He was flanked by several younger men wearing chainmail, one of whom was carrying a torch.
"The time for you to consider the King's incredibly generous offer is up. So, what will it be, heathen? Will you comply willingly, or should I tell the headsman to prepare to send you back to Hell where you belong?" the man asked impatiently.
You hesitated, the details of this deal fluttering on the edge of your consciousness. You didn't want to comply... You felt in your gut that it was wrong, but... the alternative terrified you.
"No... I can't deal with that... Not again..."
Wait... Again? Your head spun at the weird sense of déjà-vu. You curled in on yourself as the earth seemed to shift beneath you, a screeching sound growing louder and louder inside your throbbing skull. You began to thrash...
... And jerked awake as your body hit the floor. You were covered in sweat and tangled up in your sheets. Your alarm continued to screech angrily on the other side of the room, and, not for the first time, you cursed putting it so far away. (But, let's face it, if it was next to your bed then you might never get up on time.) You flailed sleepily about while trying to untangle yourself, settling for dragging the sheets halfway across your room so that you could turn off your obnoxiously loud alarm.
With the alarm off, you leaned against the wall feeling exhausted.
"What was up with that dream?" you wondered. It left you feeling unsettled... You shook it off and went about getting ready for work.
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You worked retail, so your job wasn't exactly glorious. You were still sending out resumes in hopes of landing something better, but in the meantime this kept the bills paid. ... Barely.
At least you got along pretty well with your coworkers.
The week passed along pretty quietly for the most part. It wasn't until the end of the week that the rumor mill, which you were generally oblivious to, finally caught your attention.
"I'm not kidding! It's absolutely true! It's been all over the news all morning!" you overheard Jess saying to Danny as you entered the break room.
"What channel, the Scy-fy channel?" Danny responded sarcastically.
"Ugh, no." Jess said, clearly frustrated, then she spotted you. "_____! You've heard the news, right? Back me up here!"
"Heard what news?" You questioned. You briefly wondered what could have happened to have Jess in such a tizzy. Sure, she could be a bit spastic, but not this much. You silently prayed it wasn't something bad. That was one of the major reasons you didn't like watching the news too much in the first place: the focus on negativity.
"Here! Just look at this!" Jess said, and after looking something up on her phone, she turned it towards both Danny and yourself so you could both see.
You sat down with your lunch, and turned your attention to Jess' phone. The video was apparently a newscast that had happened live this morning.
"Thanks, Mark. I'm reporting live from here in Ebott City on this amazing development; but first a little background for our latest viewers. Behind me stands the eponymous Mount Ebott, for which this city was named. This is a mountain that has been steeped in myth and legends for centuries. According to local legends, long ago, a war that had raged across the area was finally ended upon the slopes of Mount Ebott. Since then, the mountain has remained cursed. It is said that those who climb this peak are swallowed by the mountain, never to return."
You took a bite of your sandwich as the reporter spoke. Ebott City? That wasn't really that far; only a couple hours away by car.
"Cursed mountain, huh? Since when are superstitions cutting-edge news?" you wondered to yourself.
"However, just a few days ago it seems this curse was broken, and the descendents of those long-since defeated people, one of Mount Ebott's most ancient, legendary inhabitants, emerged from its core: monsters."
Danny made a disgruntled noise at that declaration, and you nearly choked on your sandwich. That was not the sort of announcement you had expected.
"Is this some sort of April Fools' Day prank?" You wondered to yourself. But that couldn't be it... It was still mid-March.
"Now, I know most of you are probably thinking that this is some sort of gag, but I can assure you, this report is no joke. Although contact has been limited for the time being, countless eye witnesses, including myself, have confirmed that actual living monsters have emerged."
The view of the mountain was obscured as an, admittedly shoddy, picture of two white, goat-like creatures was superimposed over it. It seemed there were no official pictures, and this was the best they had at the moment. The picture made you tense.
"Their leaders, King Asgore Dreemurr and Queen Toriel Dreemurr, have arranged a press conference this afternoon with their human ambassador, Frisk, to formally introduce monsterkind to humans. Security has been tightened significantly, and the area around the conference itself will be off limits to civilians for the time being. I promise you, though, that we will be right in the thick of it with live coverage once the conference begins, ready to bring you the latest news and get answers to many of the rumors that have been circulating. Back to you, Mark!"
"What?? That's totally fake! Isn't it?" Danny exclaimed, though the serious look on Jess' face seemed to cause him some doubt.
"Don't believe me? Look it up yourself! Every major news source is talking about it!" Jess challenged.
Danny had his phone out within moments and began looking this up himself. You began to quickly wolf down your food as Danny's reactions made it apparent that he was finding no evidence that this was, in fact, a joke.
"Shit... you're right... It's everywhere..." he murmured as his eyes remained glued to his phone.
Having finished your lunch in record time, you pulled out your phone and began to browse the internet. Your facebook feed alone had practically exploded with links to articles and discussions about the emergence of monsters in Ebott and what it might mean for the future.
It seemed everyone was talking about the news, and that meant rampant rumors and speculation. Some were speculating that the disappearances Mount Ebott was known for were actually people being kidnapped and eaten by the monsters. Others pointed out that this probably wasn't the case because, if that were true, why were they suddenly revealing themselves now? Others, still, dug up old stories and myths about Mount Ebott, describing the mountain as their prison, which meant they couldn't have been leaving and kidnapping people. These sources were questionable, though, as they also said it was seven human mages who used their magic to imprison the monsters, and everyone knew humans didn't actually have magic, right?
There were also rumors that their ambassador was actually a little kid, though these rumors weren't taken very seriously. After all, how ridiculous would that be?
Speculation on what they'd be like and how they'd interact with humans was a very popular subject. Some were hopeful that they'd be friendly, using the upcoming press conference as a sign of their intelligence and desire for diplomacy. Others worried that it was a ruse to let them establish a foothold before striking against humanity, after all they'd been imprisoned for a reason, right? Then, there were the people who pointed out that, even if they didn't have good intentions, they'd be hard-pressed to be bigger assholes than humanity.
"Ugh... they haven't even been able to properly introduce themselves yet and there's already websites devoted to driving them back underground..." you muttered to yourself as you browsed yet another link. It didn't surprise you, really. After all, humans had a hard enough time accepting other humans who were different. The idea that monsters, whose very name carried such heavily negative connotations for humanity, would be welcomed with open arms was utterly foolish.
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Your lunch break came to an end far too quickly for your liking, and the coworker covering your break, Kathy, was calling you back to the front end the second your lunch break was over.
"Sorry to rush you," she apologized. "But there's a problem with register 6. Would you take a look at it while I handle these customers?"
"Sure, no problem." You agreed.
You walked over to register 6, where Sean was waiting to explain the situation, an irritated customer standing impatiently at the counter.
"I don't know what it's doing. When I try to use the customer's coupon, it won't go through." he explained anxiously.
You examined the coupon, seeing that it was valid, and then looked at the transaction. Everything SEEMED to be in order... Focusing on the transaction, you tried scanning the coupon. The system beeped, and the coupon was applied without issue.
"There we go. It seems to be working now." You said. "Here, I'll even give you 50% off another item as apologies for the wait, ma'am." you smiled at the customer. Her irritation softened considerably.
"Thank you, dear!" she seemed relieved now, and got out her card to pay.
You walked back over to Kathy, who was just finishing up with her last customer.
"Was it an issue with the coupon again?" she asked.
"Yeah, apparently it wasn't working before, but it went in fine when I tried it." you shrugged.
"I swear, you've got some sort of super power." Kathy chuckled. "That coupon has been giving us trouble all morning, but the moment you try it, it works fine! This happens every time we have a computer issue! You must be the computer whisperer or something!"
You laughed along with her.
"Clearly I should be joining the X-Men!" you declared. "Although, I'd need a better code-name than 'Computer Whisperer', Kathy," you teased.
Thankfully, the rest of the day went smoothly, and all thoughts of cursed mountains and monsters faded to the back of your mind.