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First to go was Keith Kogane. Lance had considered him a rival, someone to compete against. Lance was always just a shadow behind the boy. No matter how hard he tried, he was constantly pushed down by Keith. So when Keith got expelled from the garrison, Lance finally became a fighter pilot. He should've been happy- but this wasn't how Lance wanted it to happen. A month later, Keith Kogane was reported missing.  Safe to say, Lance, and everyone else in the Galaxy Garrison, were shocked. Keith was missing? No way. He's a loner, sure, but how would he just suddenly disappear and never come back-? Then, Takashi Shirogane. Everyone was also shocked at this information. Lances hero, his motivation and inspiration to become an astronaut and to venture out into space just.. disappeared one night? And never came back? "He was probably looking for that Keith kid.." Lance would overhear some kid grumble one day. "He's always favourited him." Next on the list, Sam and Matt Holt. They were tasked with searching for Shiro after the garrison found some leads on his whereabouts, but those two never came back either. Months later, a new cadet entered the picture: Pidge Gunderson. He was placed in Lance and Hunks group, and Lance would grow to become one of his best friends. But then Pidge disappeared, too. Both Lance and Hunk were in tears as they read the note Pidge- Katie Holt, had snuck inside their dorm through the crack in the door, shocked and horrified about what could have happened to them. After, the final remaining member of the Holt family, Colleen Holt, disappeared. "This is all so strange," Hunk mumbled, the two boys inside their dorm. It had been two days since Colleen was announced missing, and the two cadets became determined on finding them all. Even Keith. "They're definitely all connected. All of the disappearances. Last known location for most of them.." The Samoan boy continued to ramble under his breath as he paced back and forth across the room.  "Ebott city," Lance provided, kicking his legs back and forth as he sat on his bed. "They were all last spotted in Ebott city." Hunk sighed. "Why did this have to happen? If not, everyone would be thriving right now. Shiro, Matt, and Sam would have went on the mission to Kerberos, you, Pidge, and I would be finishing up our cadet training, and Keith..! Who knows what he would be doing!" Lance snorted sarcastically. "Who knows, what if there was an evil alien race that suddenly appeared on Kerberos, and they kidnapped Matt, Shiro, and Sam when they went to Ketberos so they were declared dead by the Galaxy Garrison when really they were just kidnapped by an evil alien race but of course they didn't know because they couldn't send any search and rescue ships to investigate so they kinda just said they were all dead but then a year later, uhh, I dunno, Shiro, sure, he comes crashing down back onto earth in some weird alien ship but he has, like, a weird alien built prosthetic arm or something and the garrison are confused about it and worried that its possibly dangerous and because of this they restrain him so they can ask him questions about where everyone went, what happened, and what the hell that prosthetic arm was and why he had it and what abilities he could do with the prosthetic arm but the thing is you, Pidge and I actually witnessed the ship crashing because we tried to sneak out on a bonding night so we could bond as a team but then we saw the crash so we decided to go down to the site so we could investigate so we did and Pidge hacked into the cameras and then we see that Shiro is there so we go to save him because he's being restrained against his will and he looks like he was beaten up by some bitch and he's hurt so we go to rescue him from the garrison but then Keith is there too since he's Shiros favourite so then we put aside our differences and we all rescue Shiro together but we get caught so then we have no other choice but to run from the Garrison and stay at a weird old broken shack Keith has been living in for the past year and sleep at for the night because it's too late to go back both time wise since its like the middle of the night when that happened and also we'd definitely be expelled if we went back, so then the next morning we find out Keith is also a weird conspiracy theorist and Shiro supports his weird conspiracy theories, and Keith says he found a cave and he says he felt something in the cave calling out to him so we go to the cave and inside the cave there are weird markings of a lion robot but then we touch the markings and a hole opens up in the floor and we fall down but then we actually find a cool lion robot, the ones that those markings were portraying, and that they can transform into a bigger robot with other lion robots so we fly the first cool lion robot because it somehow was telepathically telling us to but then evil aliens, the ones who kidnapped the Kerberos guys by the way, appear and start to attack us but then a big portal in the sky randomly appears so we fly into the portal and suddenly we end up on some weird different planet that looks like earth but isnt actually earth and in front of us is a cool large castle and then inside the castle there are two kind aliens and their race went extinct because of the mean evil alien race so then we learn that the cool mega robot is a powerful weapon that can defeat the evil alien race leader but he wants to capture the robot lions and destroy them because it's actually the only thing that can defeat him and the cooler thing is that we were destined to pilot those robots so then we become defenders of the universe and then-"  Lance inhaled sharply. "..Yeah, yeah that's all I have." Hunk stared. "Well thats very.. and oddly, descriptive of you," He chuckled weakly, sitting down beside Lance. "I just wish we could do more about this." Lance nodded slowly. "Me too," He whispered. "If they were all at Ebott city, that means they all found a genuine lead to everyone elses whereabouts. And didn't think to tell anyone else." Hunk furrowed his brows. "If I was Keith Kogane and got expelled from the Galaxy Garrison, and decided to take a trip to Ebott City, where would I go..?" He spoke to himself. "I think theres this cool mountain near there, Mount Ebott." Lance hummed. "People say everyone who climbs the mountain never.. return..." It dawned on both of them. "HOW DID WE NOT THINK OF THAT?!" Hunk screamed, jumping practically 6 feet into the air. "HOW DID NOBODY ELSE THINK OF THAT?!" Lance shot up from his seat. "Hunk, oh, Hunk we actually did something! We did the most obvious thing anyone could have done but nobody actually did because we're all so stupid!" He cried out. "We gotta go!" Hunk stopped to look at Lance. "Wait, hold on, I know were gonna go investigate, but now? Right now? Can't we wait until tomorrow or something?" He asked. "Today is a friday!" Lance protested. "Come on, it'll be just like sneaking out into the city like old times, except we bring a bag with survival tools!" Hunk gulped. "What if we don't come back, either?" He whispered. "What if they're all.. and we.. die, too..?" Lance turned towards his roommate, his best friend since middle school, his platonic soulmate, and cupped his cheeks. "Hunk Garrett, don't you dare ever think that way again." He declared. "They're alive- they have to be alive. We're going to believe that they're alive, and if they're not, then.." Lance trailed off. "Whatever!" He exclaimed. "They're alive, and we're gonna be the ones to find them! Now come on, we've got a mountain to ascend!" ———— 
Dear Galaxy Garrison,
 
       We (Hunk Garrett and Lance McClain, Hunk being the writer of this note) have decided to embark on a journey that we may not come back from! We have found a lead on the whereabouts of Keith and co., so we're going to investigate. I have brought my phone and a camera with me, and I plan to record our journey. All of the logs will immediately upload to my school computer, and I assume you already know the password, but if you don't, here:
 
User: [email protected]

Pass:937592822
 
        Goodbye, (and hopefully, see you later,)

Hunk Garrett
 ———— "Hey, Lance, how do you start a video journal?" "I dunno. Is that red light supposed to be blinking or-?" "Wait- OH WAIT IT'S RECORDING OH NO HOW DO I STOP IT?!" "HUNK! HUNK, Just.. speak, or something?" "OKAY?? *ahem*" "Um? Log number 1, I guess? The date is.. XX/XX/XX, the time being, uh, 10:39 PM, EST. Uh, hello! My name is Hunk Garrett, and this is Lance McClain-" "(That's not what I meant by speaking but okay) Hello! Lance McClain here!" "(Oh) And as of today, we are embarking on a journey!" "(Here lemme take the camera)" "(Ok)" "(Thanks Hunk) Alright, so heres the deal: Hunk and I are both cadets in the Galaxy Garrison. I'm Fighter Class, however, I used to be a Cargo Pilot. After Keith Kogane was expelled, I was able to enter, and Hunk is in Engineering. For flight training, we are placed into groups of three to complete the training together. Thats like, your go- to team, you can't change it. Like, ever. "Hunk and I were one team, and the other member was someone named Pidge Gunderson. However, her real name is actually Katie Holt. Still referring to them as Pidge, though. So. Those two names I've mentioned- Keith and Pidge. Those two people are missing. Along with Takashi Shirogane, Matt Holt, Sam Holt, and Colleen Holt. The entire Holt Family, along with Keith and Shiro." "(My turn) Lance and I are here, creating these logs, because we believe that we have found a lead on their whereabouts. It seems like everyone who went missing after Keith did, too, because their motivation and goal was to find him, and then everyone else who went missing. Shiro went to find Keith, Sam and Matt when to find Shiro, and so on. But, unlike them, we plan to share our findings. "So. Last known location for the Holts, Shiro, and Keith, was Ebott City. A place Ebott is known for is it's mountain, Mount Ebott. Now, hear us out, BUT, legends say that those who enter the mountain never return. So what are we going to do?" "We're going to enter the mountain like the dumb idiots we are!" "On the dot, Lance! We know this is risky, but I know the Garrison will receive these videos-" "(WAIT WHAT?)" "So.. yeah, I guess thats it for the explanation. Wish us luck, Garrison!" "Oh, and when this gets to Iverson, Fuck you, Iverson!" "Woah, okay, Lance. Anyways, currently, we're in the outskirts of Ebott City. We'll book a place to stay for the night, and the next day, early morning, we plan to venture off. Log 1 over, Lance and Hunk, signing off." ———— "Hunk?" Lance whispered, in the dead of night. "Yeah, Lance?" "Cheers to friendship." Hunk chuckled softly. "Cheers to friendship and mystery solving." "And mystery solving?" Lance repeated. "Well, we're solving a missing persons case, as we not?" Hunk pointed out.  Lance grinned. "Huh, yeah." "Cheers."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"1..2.. Mic ok!" "Log 2, entry date XX/XX/XX, 9:30 AM EST. Hunk Garrett and Lance McClain here-" "Hey, Garrison! Fuck you, Iverson!" "-and you guys are going to watch us climb Mount Everest!" "Everest?" "Wait- No- nononono sorry Mount Ebott we're climbing Mount Ebott not Everest I'm so dumb-" "Pfff- It's alright, Hunk. So! We've got all our needed equipment: water, snacks, food, rope, matches and lighters, medkits, other stuff, and knives!" "Oh, and I also have a grappling hook," "Yeah, Hunk took a grappling hook from the weaponry, thats why one is missing if you didn't know. Alright, shall we begin, Hunk?" "Yes, we shall, Lance!" ———— Hunk strapped the (still recording) camera around his neck, letting it dangle on his chest. "How exactly are we going to do this?" He asked.  Lance shrugged. "Well, we've got alot of information from the villagers of this town, but the town closest to the mountain was the most paranoid about our questions," He recalled. "We asked them about the mountain and they were really put on edge about it, especially the kids and young adults." "But there was this one old man- he was really kind, he owned a shop." Hunk mentioned, the two beginning to make their way to the mountain. "He told us about this legend. It's pretty short, but I remember what he said:" 
Long ago, two races ruled over the earth: HUMANS and MONSTERS.
 
One day, A war broke out between these two races.
 
 After a long battle, the humans were victorious. They sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell.” Lance raised an eyebrow. "Woah, was that word for word?" He asked. Hunk nodded in response. "Yeah. Continuing on, it's said that the monsters were sealed under Mount Ebott. So uhh, yeah, Keith was kind of emo, and to be honest, he does seem like the person to impulsively climb a dangerous mountain, so we're going to look into that." Lance grinned, beginning to run ahead of Hunk. "Hey, wait up!" The Samoan called out, running after his friend. The two boys ran across the valley, the villagers looking their way as they laughed and sprinted alongside one another. Back in the garrison, nobody would ever have time to do something like this, not even during a holiday break or the weekends. There was always a shit ton of homework weighing them down- yes, even on breaks. Even on Christmas. But now, Hunk and Lance had all the time in the world. No garrison teachers to yell at them for running around campus, No test results to make them feel insecure, and sure as fuck there was no homework! "Hey, Lance?" Hunk asked, panting as the two began to slow down and start walking again. They were nearing the bottom of Mount Ebott. "Y.. yeah?" Lance replied, in between long and heavy breaths. The two stopped walking and sat down. "The legend that guy told us- it said that humans used a magical barrier to seal the mountain. Like, magic. A spell. Whaddaya think is up with that?" Lance hummed, "I dunno, man." He leaned back at looked up at the clear, blue sky. "It's just a legend. And who knows, anyways? If magic really exists, then why aren't we able to do it?" Hunk nodded in agreement, taking one last deep breath. "We're at the bottom of the mountain, now." He pointed out. Lance followed Hunk's gaze, looking at the slightly inclined base of the mountain. He cuban boy noticed a narrow pathway at the base, like a trail. "We should follow the trail," Lance offered, pointing towards the rocky pathway. Hunk nodded in agreement.  "Yeah, we should." He sighed as he stood up, lending a hand towards Lance to aid him. "Shall we go?" Lance smiled, gladly taking the outstretched hand and standing up. "Let's." ———— The pathway was smooth and a bit rocky for the most part, save for the occasional and sudden steep incline. The two cadets were singing songs as they hiked up the mountain, although both were afraid to look down in fear of seeing how high they climbed (trust me they weren't even 1/3 high.). "Into the thick of it!" The two were currently chanting. At one point, Lance picked up a cool stick and used it as a hiking stick, so now he was waving it in the air as they sang. "We're tramping through the bush!" Hunk called out. Lance grinned, "On and on we push!" He continued. "Into the thick of it!" "But we can't see where we're going..." Hunk began to beatbox. "We've made a stellar start to find the jun- mountains heart!" Lance continued to sing along to Hunk's fire beat. "But all we'll find is nothing if we can't see where we're going!" "Into the thick of it! Into the thick of it! Into the thick of it! But we can't see where we're going..-" "Ugh!" Hunk suddenly yelped, stumbling. "Oh, fuck you, twig!" He called out, looking behind him. Indeed, a single twig was sticking out from a bush. "Did you trip over it?" Lance asked. "And are you okay?" Hunk nodded, chuckling sheepishly. "Yeah, don't worry, I didn't actually fall or anything." He replied, waving it off. "Anyways.."  Hunk began to beatbox again. "The mountains kinda tricky- the path is never straight! And sometimes theres no path at all which makes it hard to navigate..." The two began to switch turns, one beatboxing while the other sang the lyrics. "Although the mountains thick, we're moving through it quick! But that won't do us any good if we're going around in circles.." "Into the thick of it! Into the thick of it! Into the thick of it! We're going round in circles.. ugh!" At the thought, Lance whipped his head back and forth to make sure they weren't following in the Backyardigan's footsteps. He sighed in relief. "These trees look so familiar, we've been here once before!" "You're right, except it wasn't once, it was three times.. or four..." 
"Stuck the thick of it!"
 
"Stuck the thick of it!"
 
"Stuck the thick of it!"
 
"We've gone around in cirrclleeeessss!"
 And so they continued to sing. ———— "Current time, 1:27 PM EST.." Hunk mumbled, ripping open a granola bar. "We've been climbing for like four hours straight, and now we're taking a break." Lance groaned as he stretched in his spot. "We found a small cave to camp st for now, but we'll keep on going after an hour of rest because we deserve it," He explained. "For lunch, we have a hastily packed salad, courtesy of Hunk." "We were short on time, okay?" Hunk protested. "We left- snuck out, in the middle of the night! We were lucky just to enter the kitchen without Officer Wright noticing." Lance sighed, a small smile on his face. "Man, I'm gonna miss Officer Wright," He said. "Yo, if you're watching this, Adam, I promise I'll find Shiro for you." "You're allowed to call him by his first name?" Hunk exclaimed.  Lance just shrugged, "Yeah. He helped me with english and was just a cool guy in general. He always spoke a bit too fondly about Shiro, though. I think they were dating." The cuban looked at the recording camera that was still strapped around Hunks neck. "Adam, please promise me you'll tell me the truth about your relationship status if we come back." Speaking of the camera, Hunk checked the battery. "Oh, hold on, the camera is at low battery." He said. "We'll have to stop recording for now so it can charge." Lance grinned. "Alright then, log 2 over, Hunk and Lance, signing out!" He did a peace sign as Hunk turned off the camera and put it inside his bag. ———— While the camera was charging, Lance and Hunk decided it would be best to continue their journey. They already stumbled on a couple of caves, one being the one they took a break at, so they expected to find more as they continued to climb.  "The more that I think about it, the more I realize this mountain isn't like other ones," Hunk mused, laughing softly at Lance's impulse "I'm not like other girls" joke. "Most mountains aren't supposed to have a path like this unless it's, like, a park or a tour spot, right? It's like this path was made for a reason, but a really weird one because I feel like we've just been circling the mountain like we're walking around the twirly part of a screw and getting higher and higher as we go." Hunk explained. Lance hummed. "I see where you're getting at," He muttered. "Why was this path made, anyway?" Suddenly, a loud, thunderous boom sounded in the air, causing Hunk and Lance to scream and cling onto each other. A second later, a raindrop fell. "Fuck," Lance hissed. "Come on, we gotta get to the nearest cave before the rain becomes stronger!"  Hunk nodded, hastily taking out his umbrella before the two began to run up the mountain, the pathway still guiding them to who knows where. As they ran, the raindrops began to drip down the now dark, grey and cloudy sky, growing even harder and faster (shit fuck uhhh oops) as they continued their adventure.  Finally, the two found a cave- a fairly large one, in fact. It was the largest cave they found. "In here!" Lance called out, ignoring the old 'DO NOT ENTER' sign as he guided himself and his friend into the dark cave. Hunk sighed, sliding down against the wall of the rocky cave. The sound of panting filled the air once more, this time being accompanied with the calming sound of rain plummeting down onto the mountains surface. "It's dark in here," Lance mumbled, taking out a flashlight. His voice bounced across the empty cave, echoing his words. "Think we can record now?" Hunk nodded, taking out his camera. "Yeah, yeah. I think it's good to go." ———— "Log 3, entry date XX/XX/XX, time, 4:03 PM EST. It's currently raining, so we found a cave to stay in. In fact, turns out this mountain is full of caves, both large and small, but the cave we're in right now is the largest we've found so far." "Oh, we're actually really high.." "What?" "Come, I'll show you guys." "Alright.. oh. Yeah. Wow. That's- that's really high up." "Oookkaaay, that's enough for you, Hunk, Buddy, Pal, Bestie, Bro. Sit back down and rest, we deserve it." "Thanks, Lance.." "Hey, you wanna know something weird about the caves we found?" "Yeah?" "They look like they were manually created. But weirdly. It's as if this was a test site for some random gigantic laser, and the laser dug these holes into the face of the mountain when fired. Plus, it's like what you said before about the pathway, it's like we're walking on the thread of a screw." "Exactly! This is all so strange, I'm beginning to think that legend is true.." "Hunk there's literally magic humans don't have magic." "We'll continue our debate on that later. Anyways, this cave is really deep." "Mhmm. Looks like the giant laser did quite a blast on this one. Hey, let's go explore it!" "What-?" "C'mon, I'm sure it's not too deep! It's not like it's a tunnel that runs inside the entire mountain then back out, right? Please?" "*Sigh* Fine, let's go, bring your stuff." "Yeah! Thanks, Hunk!" ———— Lance shone his light on the walls of the cave as he and Hunk walked deeper into the depths of the mountains face. "Hey, there are markings here," He mumbled, walking closer to the wall. Hunk blinked, following Lance's gaze and he brought his camera closer. "Shine a light on it," He instructed. So lance did, revealing a hastily carved mark of what appeared to be two.. sides, fighting. The left side looked like normal people, holding spears and other weapons, whilst the right side was more messy, depicting strangely drawn.. things. In the front lines was a large creature with a head that looked like a goat, raising a pitchfork to the air. Under the picture, at the left hand side, was the roman numeral II. Alongside it, were the following words:  
A WAR BROKE OUT BETWEEN THE TWO RACES.
 "What the.." Hunk mumbled. "This carving looks ancient as hell," Lance turned to look at the opposite wall. "I think there are more carvings," He pointed out. "The number on this one said 2, so then we missed the first one." Hunk nodded, following Lance as he walked towards the opposite side. Surely enough, there was another carving, with a human and the same goat looking creature standing side by side. Under it was the roman numeral for 1, and the words 'HUMANS AND MONSTERS LIVED IN PEACE.' Lance let out a sound of awe. "It's like these carvings are telling a story! Like the legend that man told us about!" He mused, an excited smile on his face. "This is so cool!" Hunk nodded in agreement. "I think it goes left, right, left, right, so the third carving is down here, and so on," He suggested. His guess was correct, seeing as not much further down the left side of the cave was the third carving, marked with III under the picture. 'HUMANS PREVAILED AND ROSE VICTORIOUS. MONSTERS WERE SEALED UNDERGROUND WITH A SPELL.' Were the words under the carving. The picture portrayed a human holding a staff of some sort, pointed at the head of the monsters. The humans were elevated on a hill, indicating that the monsters were beneath them. "Woah.." Hunk mumbled, "So is this all.. true?"  Lance was already shining a light at the fourth carving, back in the right side of the cave. Hunk followed the cuban boy, making sure the camera was capturing all the footage. This carving, with the number IV under, showed 7 hearts. That was it. 'SEVEN HUMAN SOULS ARE NEEDED TO BREAK THE BARRIER.' Were the words under. "7 human souls?" Lance repeated. "What does that mean?"  Hunk gulped at the implications, "I don't think I'm enjoying this anymore."Lance directed his flashlight to where the next carving would be, but instead of a picture, there was a list of names. The two boys walked closer, and their eyes widened in shock when they read the carvings.  
XX/XX/XX: KEITH KOGANE

XX/XX/XX: TAKASHI SHIROGANE

XX/XX/XX: SAM HOLT/ MATT HOLT

XX/XX/XX: PIDGE GUNDE KATIE HOLT

XX/XX/XX: COLLEEN HOLT
 Each name was written in a different handwriting, and right beside the names, there was a date. Pidge's name was crossed out, replaced with her real name beside it. Lance looked down, picking up a small yet sharpened stick, a rusty knife, and a chisel. "They left it here," Lance gasped, "They wrote their names and left these here." Hunk gulped. "They did come here," He uttered. "They did come."  Lance looked at his friend, the two locking eyes as the realization settled in. "Do you know what this means?" "What..?" "Hunk, they were here. They used to be right where we are standing right now. We're even closer now- we have to find them." Hunk nodded, a clear look of determination on his face. "Let's go deeper," He commanded. Lance nodded, and the two took a couple of steps forward before- "WAIT!"  Lance shot his arm out, blocking his friend from walking any further. "Look down," He hissed. And Hunk did, directing the camera towards the ground as he did so and- "Oh.. my god." Hunk sputtered, taking a few steps back. "Oh my shit. Oh shit, oh fuck tit balls I-" Lance turned to look at Hunk. "I don't- I don't know how far down this is. I can't see the bottom,"  Hunk let out a shaky breath. "Are they- are they down there..?" He whispered, looking back at the list of names embedded into the caves wall. Lance gulped. "There's.. really only one way to find out," He replied, a grim look on his face. The two boys stared at each other. What did this mean for them? For Pidge, Shiro, Keith, and everyone else? What did this mean for the Kerberos mission, for the Garrison and the Holt Family? What did any of this mean? Walking over to the list of names, Lance picked up the items left on the floor once again and began to carve his own name. "What are you doing?" Hunk asked softly. Lance narrowed his eyes. "Leaving our mark. Here," He passed the stick, knife and chisel to Hunk, who gladly took it and carved in his own name. 
XX/XX/XX: LANCE MCCLAIN/ HUNK GARRETT
 "Are we actually going to go down there?" Hunk said, beginning to fidget with his fingers. He was nervous, Lance could tell. But it was the same for himself- Hunk noticed Lance fiddling with the strings of his sweater. Lance stared back at his friend. "If we want to find out what happened to them all, then what other choice do we have?" The faint sound of rain plummeting down on the mountains surface filled the air as the two garrison cadets looked at one another. Hunk looked over to the giant hole, then took off his backpack and started rummaging through it. "We'll use rope," Hunk simply stated, taking out a long rope from his bag. "We can climb down with the rope." Lance sat down beside a kneeling Hunk as he held the rope in his hands. "But what if it's not long enough?" "We use it anyway." Lance nodded, standing back up and taking the rope from Hunk's hands. "Then, let's go," He whispered, a nervous smile on his face. "We'll solve this mystery no matter what." And now, the two boys stood at the edge of the hole. "Alright. Garrison, this may or may not be our last entry," Hunk spoke to the camera. "If it is, we hope you'll tell our family that we did a noble thing, and that we love them. Admiral Sanda, go suck ass." "Iverson, fuck you so goddamn much," Lance breathed out one more time, his voice shaky as he peered down the hole. "Adam, you were a great mentor, and I'm so thankful that you stayed by my side. Veronica, I love you, sis. Stay strong." "Log 3, over. Lance and Hunk, signing out." Hunk took the rope and began to climb down, Lance following him soon after. ———— "Four minutes." "What?" "I've been counting. Either my math is wrong and I messed up at one point, or we've been climbing down this hole for four minutes straight." Hunk let out a nervous chuckle at Lance's attempt at humor. "God, I don't know what I'd do without you? Lance," He laughed. "You're an amazing guy in general. You're witty, funny, and confident in ways that I honestly wish I could be, too." Lance laughed back in response. "Aw, thank you, Hunk. I've honestly always seen you as a brother to me, you're so kind and sweet and you give the best hugs ever."  The two began to have an unnecessarily sappy conversation for a few more seconds before- "AUGH!!" "HUNK?!" Lance called out, looking beneath him. They've been climbing for at least 5 minutes now, and even though this rope was so miraculously long, they couldn't see the bottom. And Hunk reached the end of the line. "Hunk, are you okay?!" Lance shouted. "I'm- I'm okay- but we won't be real soon!" Hunk shot back, his breaths beginning to quicken. "The rope is finished. I'm- I'm dangling my legs here, and the bottom still isn't visible." Lance let out a shaky breath. "It's okay. Hunk, It's- It's alright. We can just climb back to the top, okay? It's gonna be alright-"  
rrrrriiiiiiippppp.
 The sound of ripping fibre pierced the air.  
The rope was breaking.
 
Oh, shit.
 "Lance?" Hunk stammered. "L- Lance..?" Lance began to shake, shuddering as he felt sweat trickle down his face. "We gotta let go."  "What-?" "Hunk. Hunk, we need to fall." Hunk gasped at the tone of Lance's voice. Never in his life has he ever heard him sound so grim, so.. lifeless. "Lance.. are- are you sure?" Hunk wasn't okay with letting go this quickly. But they had no choice. The sound of the rope ripping continued, indicating that they didn't have much time left. Lance looked down at Hunk, his smile shaky as he attempted to reassure his best friend. "Y-yeah. Trust me, Hunk. Please.." Hunk could do nothing but nod, putting on his own fake smile to make him feel better. "On three." Hunk murmured, a tear rolling down his cheek. He had to trust Lance, he told himself. They would survive. "One.." "Two.." "Three." Hunk squeezed his eyes shut, and let go of the rope. A second later, Lance followed his actions, and the two cadets fell down into the depths of the mountain.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"Lance?" Adam walked up to the pouting boy in the cafeteria, his head buried in his arms. "Why are you here? It's lights out, y'know, and you know I hate getting you in trouble."
 
Lance huffed as Adam took a seat beside him. "This is unfair," He mumbled, voice muffled.
 
Adam raised an eyebrow. "What's unfair, kiddo?"
 
The cuban boy turned to look at Officer Wright, revealing his sullen face, tear stains on his cheeks. "Life is unfair! The garrison is unfair and I hate Iverson so much and I hate KEITH even more-"
 
Adam swiftly pulled the boy into a hug. "Oh, kiddo," He whispered, "Let it out, alright? You can talk to me."

Lance?

Lance melted into the officers hug, reaching his arms around the others back to return the gesture. "Iversons a bitch," He started. "He's always pushing me around and discouraging me, even if I didn't do bad! And none of the other instructors are saying something about it, they just nod and play along! And KEITH! That bitch and his MULLET!"

Lance, get up!

"No matter what I do, I'm always directly behind him! No matter how hard I try, he's always better! And when I said directly behind, I mean directly behind. He gets the best mark in class, I get second best, he gets the highest score in the simulation, I get the second highest and it's so annoying! Hell, if it weren't for Keith, I would've been in fighter class, but noo, I'm stuck as a cargo pilot! And he doesn't even acknowledge me and I hate it! Nobody ever acknowledges me!"

Lance!

Adam drew circles on Lance's back, allowing him to calm down. "I know it's hard, alright?" He started. "I know you're having a hard time here, but you can't worry about all that too much, okay? Fuck Keith! Pretend he's not there! Or, something? I'm not the best at advice... but don't listen to whatever Iverson says about you, ever. He's wrong, he's stupid, and someone should punch him in the face."

Lance, you gotta wake up! C'mon, Lance!

Lance gave a muffled chuckle while in Adam's chest. "Thanks, I needed that horrible pep talk." He said. Adam laughed. "No problem, bud. Go talk to Hunk or something, I'm sure he's better at this than I am."
 
"Maybe I will."
 
"LANCE!"
 ———— Lance gasped, sitting up straight at the sudden pain on his cheek. "What the hell, Hunk??" He spat, looking at his (really beaten up) friend with an exasperated expression. "Woahh, okay chill-" Hunk said, leaning back and putting his hands up as Lance rubbed his face that Hunk had mercilessly slapped. "You weren't waking up and I didn't know what else to do and I didn't want to wait for you to wake up either because then I would feel lonely and anxious!" Lance sighed. "Fair enough," He replied. The two partners in crime stared at each other wordlessly, both taking in how messed up they looked and trying to assess the situation. Finally, Lance spoke up, his voice hoarse as the realization began to settle in. "We.. survived." Hunk slowly nodded. "..Yeah. We- we survived the fall." Lance let out a breathless laugh. "We're- we're not.. we're not dead," He stated, voice cracking as he ran his hands through his messy hair. "Hunk, we- we did it..!" Hunk nodded again, this time more aggressively. "We're alive," He whispered, grabbing Lance and giving him a hug. "We're here." "Oh my shit," Lance laughed once more as he embraced Hunk back, hands shaky as he wrapped his arms around the samoan boy. "Oh my fucking shit.." Whilst still hugging the other, Hunk looked upwards. He could barely see it, but the hole- the very one they jumped down, was there, only being visible by the dim light from outside the cave, causing the space Lance and Hunk were in to shine softly, like a dimmed spotlight. He could see the rope, too- albeit very faintly. It was, quite literally, hanging by a thread. Hunk gulped at the thought of the rope suddenly breaking instead of the two falling down by their own will. Slowly letting go of the hug, Lance squirmed out of Hunks grasp to look around. Both their bags were still intact, and it looked like what they both landed on was a bed of golden flowers- it likely broke their fall and was the reason they survived. To their right was a pathway, leading to a large arch that Lance assumed would take them to their next destination. Meanwhile, Hunk decided to start rummaging through his bag. "Oh, thank heavens everything's still intact," He murmured. A bright smile appeared on his face as he took out the undamaged camera. "Yo, Lance! Shall we record another log?" Lance looked back and Hunk and immediately nodded, "Hell yeah! Gotta let the Garrison know we're alive." Hunk grinned back, turning on the camera and letting it record. ———— "Log 4, entry date XX/XX/XX, time.. Lance, what's the time?" "Hold on, lemme check.. oh, 7:36 PM." "Time, 7:36 PM EST. Looks like we survived the fall, and we are living for another day! This cool flowerbed broke our fall, so we're thankful to whoever put that down there." "Indeed we are, Hunk, and fuck you, Iverson! I will continue saying that for all the logs we record! Continuing on, Hunk and I are now closer to discovering the whereabouts of Shiro, Keith, and the Holts than ever before! So, lets get a move on, shall we Hunk?" "Alright, Lance!" ———— With the camera once again strapped around Hunk's neck, the two took their bags and stood up. "Oh, I'm so glad we didn't break any bones," Lance mumbled, stretching his arms and legs. "And just so you know, we got a stick for a weapon."  Hunk and Lance walked towards the gateway, their footsteps echoing loudly throughout the single large corridor. As the two boys passed the arch, they were met with a small patch of grass, with a single golden flower in the middle. Now, they would've thought this was perfectly normal, if it weren't for the fucking face the flower had. The two boys could only stare in shock- but they were flabbergasted even MORE when the flower fucking spoke. "Howdy! I'm FLOWEY! Flowey the Flower!" "AYOOO WHAT THE FUCK??!!!" Lance screeched, jumping backwards. "WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!" As Hunk only continued to stare in shock, mouth wide open, the flower- Flowey- chuckled. "Hmm, You guys are new to the underground, aren'tcha?" He asked, his tone playful and preppy. Lance stammered. "I- you- wh- yes???"  Flowey laughed once more. "Golly, you two must be so confused! Someone ought to teach you how things work around here!"  Finally, Hunk spoke up. "Lance are you seeing this shit or am I hallucinating?" He asked, looking at his equally confused friend with a desperate look.  "Nah, I'm seeing this the same way you are bro." Lance replied. "Theres a flower with a face talking to us. You- you are a flower with a face and you are talking to us." Flowey winked playfully. "You bet I am, friend!" He exclaimed. "So, looks like little old me will have to do for that underground tutorial, eh?" Hunk blinked, "Wait, what tutorial?" "Ready?" Flowey cheered. "No?? What tutorial?????" "Here we go!" Suddenly, the world around them flickered to black, and in front of them was not only Flowey, but now there was a small yellow bar transparently floating, seemingly representing a full HP bar in a video game.  And on top of all that, a glowing heart floated in between the two cadets, blue on Lances side, Orange on Hunks, and in the middle, red.

"See that heart? That is your SOUL, the very culmination of your being!" Flowey explained, smiling at the surprised and confused looks of the teens. "Why is it three colours?" Hunk said. "And blue and orange don't make red! BLUE AND ORANGE DON'T MAKE RED????" "Yeah, and it looks really ugly." Lance blurted out, squinting as he examined what appeared to be.. Lance and Hunk's soul. Flowey shrugged with his leaves. "Well, thats just what it looks like when they're intertwined," He provided. "Your individual souls look like this!" The (ugly) heart in front of Hunk and Lance flicked away, now in front of each individual was another heart. Both were red on the outside, and on the inside was a smaller heart- Hunks was orange, and Lance's was blue. "It's still ugly," Lance murmured, raising an eyebrow at Floweys antics. The flower in question laughed, and if his face wasn't so fucking tiny, the boys could've sworn they saw his eye twitch in exasperation. "That's not the point!" He said, forcing the two to drop the subject on the look of their souls, which was now back to being connected as one.  "Now, your soul starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV." Flowey said. Lance and Hunk exchanged looks- what was this, a video game?  "What's LV stand for? Why, LOVE of course!"  Lance blinked. "LOVE?" He repeated. "That doesn't sound very right.." He narrowed his eyes at the flower, who was now confirmed to be extremely annoyed by the two humans, as Lance saw Floweys eye twitch again as he inhaled sharply. "Well, down here, it stands for LOVE." Flowey demanded, his smile now seeming more passive- aggressive. Lance whispered to Hunk, "I don't like this guy. Don't trust him." Hunk nodded as Flowey continued his so called 'tutorial'. "Now, you guys want some LOVE, do you?" Flowey questioned, batting his eyes like a stereotypical popular girl in movies playing innocent. "Don't worry, I'll share some with you!" He winked and stuck his tongue out, and the two cadets stared at one another, the same thought in both their heads: 'What the fuck?' Around the small flower, some white.. circles appeared and spun around him. "Down here, LOVE is shared through.. little white.. Friendliness Pellets."  Hunk narrowed his eyes, 'They look more like bullets to me,' He thought, glancing at Lance. He seemed to have the same thought process, because he had taken a small step back.  "Are you ready?" Flowey called out. "Move around! Get as many as you can!" Lance and Hunk both nodded to each other as the pellets (bullets?) began to slowly advance towards them. They both moved around the pellets, making sure they didn't come into contact with them. Seeing this, Flowey smiled, albeit a little shaky. Was he annoyed? Angered? What exactly was his goal? "Hey, buddy, you missed them. Let's try again, okay?" Once again, the pellets appeared and moved towards Hunk and Lance, who both moved away from the so- called 'LOVE'. It was kinda weird, because Lance and Hunk were moving in complete sync, going in the same direction, doing the same movements to dodge the pellets. Was it because of their.. conjoined soul (which was still a really weird thought by the way)? And none of them tried to go a different direction than the other, they just.. did it without thinking. It was a bit unsettling. Flowey gave up on their facade, and narrowed his eyes. "Is this a joke? Are you braindead?" He hissed. "RUN. INTO. THE. BULLETS FRIENDLINESS PELLETS!" Lance and Hunk spared another glance at each other. 'Looks like we were right,' Lance thought, scowling at the pissed off flower. 'He's trying to kill us.' They dodged the (now confirmed to be) bullets once more, and Flowey inhaled sharply. "You know what's going on here, don't you?" He asked, a evil smile on his face. "You just wanted to see me suffer." Hunk and Lance were back to back as Floweys bullets began to surround them in a circle. There was no chance of escaping- the flower had them trapped. "Oh, shit," Hunk mumbled, hastily grasping Lance's hand.  Flowey laughed as the bullets began to close in. "DIE!" He screamed, and the two cadets shut their eyes- But they never came. Instead, there was a strange noise, and the bullets disappeared. Lance slowly opened their eyes to see a fireball aimed directly at Flowey, who was staring right at it- and then the fireball pretty much whacked Flowey out of the ground and into the unknown. "What the hell?" Lance blurted out. Hunk, too, had his eyes wide open, processing what just happened. Soon enough, a tall creature walked into the scene, and oh my shit it was a goat. The.. goat, had small horns on her head, and was wearing a long, purple robe with the same emblem from the arch on the front. "What a terrible creature, torturing such poor, innocent youth.." She began. Her voice was soft and calming, like a sweet mothers lullaby to a crying child. (Is that- is that what she saw them as?) "Ummm.." Hunk mumbled, not letting go of Lance's hand. In fact, he was holding it so tight, the cuban in question could feel pins and needles in his fingers."Who are you?" The goat lady blinked, then raised her hands, as if to imply her innocence. "Ah, do not be afraid, my children.." She then put her hand on her chest. "I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down, and you two are the first humans to come here in.. a while, I suppose." Lance raised an eyebrow. Is this what this place was called? The Ruins? And what did the goat lady mean by a while? If Lance and Hunks hunches were right, the last person to fall down here was Colleen- and that wasn't even a week ago. "..Nice to meet you too," The cuban greeted, nodding back at Toriel. Hunk followed his friends actions, and Toriel smiled. "It is great to meet you both also," She said. "Now, come! I will guide you through the catacombs." In a flash, the darkness surrounding them turned back into the cave they currently were in, and Toriel motioned for the two boys to follow her. "This way!" Lance and Hunk looked at each other. "Do we trust her?" Lance whispered, the two slowly walking after the goat. Hunk shrugged, fiddling with the straps of the camera. "We have no other leads, and she seems nice.." The samoan replied in the same hushed tone Lance was using. The two nodded to each other, and their movements quickened to keep up with Toriels. They were the the slightest bit doubtful about the ladys intentions, but her voice and want to help seemed genuine, unlike Flowey, who looked suspicious from the start. The three entered another archway, and they were met with a room in multiple shades of purple. In the middle of the room was a square, outlined with red leaves and a circle in the middle. Two stairways leading to the same elevated platform laid in front, and under the stairs were more red leaves, and a shining, yellow star.  Toriel seemed to ignore the weird thing as she walked up the staircase to the right, but Lance snd Hunk felt strangely.. drawn to it. As if it was calling them. And they came. Lance and Hunk looked at each other again before walking towards it, and as Hunk laid his hand on the star, a familiar voice spoke. 
"The shadow of the ruins looms above, filling you with determination."
 Hunk and Lance both began to frantically look around. Who said that? Why did it sound so familiar? Lance closed his eyes, trying to remember who sounded like that.. "KEITH!" Hunk swerved his head to look at Lance. "That was Keiths voice!" He screeched. "I swear, it was!" Hunk nodded. "Nononono, I believe you, it's just that.." Hunk motioned to their surroundings. "Where did it come from?" Lance narrowed his eyes. Hunk was right, nobody except those two and Toriel were there. And speaking of Toriel.. She was unmoving, like a statue. And nothing else was, either, save for Lance, Hunk, and the star. The leaves didn't rustle under their feet- and for that matter, they didn't move at all. It was as if touching that star had frozen time. "Keith?" Lance called out. "Or- disembodied voice? Could you please repeat that?" There was no reply.  Lance shook his fist, "I wanna punch that disembodied Keith sounding voice." Hunk chuckled, and at the same time, a noise emitted from the star. Above it, a small black screen had appeared, like a hologram.     LANCE/HUNK             LV 1                2:09
Ruins- Entrance
 
             SAVE                                  RETURN
 "What... is this?" Hunk mumbled, now staring at the screen in curiosity. "Why is this just like a video game?" Lance frowned. "If we, like, die," He asked, turning to look at his samoan friend. "If we 'save' here, will we respawn, or something?" Hunk only shrugged, his face laced with confusion. "Should we?" After a moment's hesitation, Lance slowly nodded, reaching his hand out to the 'SAVE' option. "I.. guess so," Lance's hand rested on the SAVE, and almost immediately, along with a beep of confirmation, the writing turned a bright yellow, and the words at the bottom changed. 
LANCE/HUNK             LV 1                   2:09

Ruins- Entrance
 
            FILE SAVED.
 “..Huh.”  The words once again changed back to what it was previously, and the two boys looked at each other once more before Lance set his hands on the RETURN option, and just like that, the screen glitched for a second before disappearing, leaving no trace it was ever there, save for the bright yellow star (Save point?) that was still glowing softly. “Well?” A soft voice came from above. Toriel was moving again, like nothing happened. “Are you coming, children?” Hunk hesitated for a split second before nodding. “Yeah,” He said. “Yeah, we’re coming,” As Lance and Hunk hurried up the stairs, the two boys contemplated what happened. It was as if touching the st- the (alleged) save point, had stopped time and allowed them to (allegedly) save their spot in the underground like a video game. And when they pressed the return option, time resumed, like it had never happened. And that voice- the strange disembodied narrator voice, sounded a lot like Keith. The cuban and the samoan didn’t know what it meant, but they both knew that they would figure it out together. They were closer to the six than ever before, and they would find them, no matter how long it would take, no matter how much evil.. monsters they would meet. As they entered the next room, Lance nudged Hunk and grinned, holding out his hand. “Cheers to friendship, mystery solving and underground adventures?” He joked, referencing the words he had spoken at night in the motel. Hunk laughed softly, high- fiving Lance in return. “Cheers to friendship, mystery solving, and underground adventures,” He repeated, nodding to his friend. Lance nodded back and turned to look in front of him, “Then let’s do this.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The next room was small, a set of grey buttons to the right of the floor. There were six of them, in a 3 by 2 format. the two buttons in the middle were slightly below the other four, and the floor under it was lighter than the majority of the rooms tone. Along with this, there was a pathway- one that Lance, Hunk, and Toriel were on, that was the same light tone. The door in front was locked, to the right of it a yellow switch, and to the left was a silver plaque with words on it. "Welcome to your new home, Innocent Ones," Toriel began, the same soft smile from earlier etching her face. "Allow me to educate you in the operation of the RUINS." Lance and Hunk watched with interest as the humanoid goat walked on top of the four buttons with the normal floor tone underneath. As she stepped on each one, it made a loud 'click' noise, and then she turned towards the switch and flicked it. The door in front of them opened silently as Toriel walked back to face the two humans. "The Ruins are full of puzzles," Toriel explained. "Ancient fusions between diversions and doorkeys. One must solve them to move from room to room, so please adjust yourself to the sight of them." The two boys nodded, continuing to silently follow Toriel into the next room. This room was bigger, with a sign in front of them, and multiple small rivers of flowing water. A wooden bridge lay on top of each body of water, and in between were switches. Some were highlighted with yellow writing. "To make progress here, you will need to trigger several switches." Toriel instructed, motioning to the multiple switches across the room. "Do not worry, I have labelled the ones you need to flip." The three walked across the first bridge, and Toriel stopped, allowing the other two to flip the yellow trigger on the wall. Lance took the liberty of walking towards it, flicking the switch lightly. Toriel nodded and smiled at this action, and they walked towards the next set of switches, where Hunk flicked the next labelled switch. The set of spikes blocking their progress collapsed, and Toriel clapped. "Splendid! I am proud of you, little ones, now let us move to the next room." Hunk and Lance looked at eachother, the same look on both their faces. I mean, thanks for the praise and compliments lady, but we're literally both 16, taller than you, and on a mission to find out what happened to our friends. "Uh, thanks?" Hunk muttered awkwardly as the three continued on into the next room.  The next room was mostly empty, however, to the side was a basic training dummy. "As a human living in the underground, monsters may attack you," Toriel began softly. So was that the reason Flowey attacked us? Lance thought, pursing his lips. "You will need to be prepared for this situation. However, worry not! The process is simpler than it seems to be. When you encounter a monster, you will enter a FIGHT." The goat explained, walking up to the dummy and motioning for the cadets to follow. "When you are in a fight, strike up a friendly conversation. Stall for time. I will come to resolve the conflict, so try talking to the dummy." Lance and Hunk nodded, the two walking towards the dummy. Suddenly, the world flickered to black as it did when they met Flowey. This time, along with the soul, a larger screen was floating on top, like the one they'd encountered at the save point. Along with the words on the screen, the disembodied Keith- sounding voice narrated. "You encountered the DUMMY." Looking at one another, Lance muttered, "I swear, we're literally in an RPG right now with Keith as the narrator," And Hunk could only nod, a sheepish smile on his face. Lance sighed. "So, we talk." He recalled the interactions Toriel gave the two boys. Hunk looked back at the lifeless dummy, and slightly waved.  "Uhh, nice weather we're having today..?" The samoan boy began, and Lance vigorously nodded, as if to agree with Hunk's random statement. "You talk to the DUMMY." The voice once again echoed the words that appeared on the screen. "...It doesn't seem much for conversation." Lance inhaled sharply, a passive aggressive smile on his face. "Man," He hissed under his breath, causing Hunk to chuckle. "TORIEL seems happy with you," The voice added. "YOU WON! You earned 0 XP and 0 gold."  Lance frowned. "No money? Aw man," The black and white battle setup once again faded, and the two boys looked towards Toriel, who was beaming. "Ah, very good!" She praised the cadets, clapping lightly. "You are very good." Hunk grinned. "Why, thank you, Toriel," He said, beginning to feel comfortable with their surroundings. It looked like he and Lance would be there for a while, so might as well make the most of it- and explore everything. Into the next room the three went, and the lighter pathway was in a zigzag formation. "There is another puzzle in this room.." Toriel began, a mischievous glint in her eye as she smirked lightly. "I wonder if you can solve it?" Lance and Hunk exchanged looks before continuing to follow their guide through the room, both boys looking down at the pathway they did not exactly follow. After the path stopped, the hallway became narrow, and just as the two were about to enter the next room- Another battle? The battle setup returned to Lance and Hunks eyes as they frantically looked around. "What the-" In front of them was.. a strange looking frog? "FROGGIT attacks you!" The screen read, and the voice repeated. "Woah, okay, you look.." Lance blurted out, stopping when he realized he didn't have a word to describe the frog- Froggit, according to Maybe Not Keith. with. 'How do I not offend them-?' "..coool! Yeah, you look pretty cool," Hunk jumped in, finishing Lance's sentence. Lance grinned and the two bumped fists. "Yeah!" "Froggit didn't understand what you said, but was flattered anyway," The voice informed the two. Lance nodded, proud of his and Hunks work.  However, before the battle could continue any further, Toriel stepped into view, giving Froggit a stern glare. Froggit looked up at the goat and shrinked at her cold stare, and slowly hopped away. Once again, the screen flashed the words, "YOU WON! You earned 0 XP and 0 gold" before the sight of the ruins returned once more. The two passed a silver plaque on the wall that read 'The western room is the eastern room's blueprint.' "Is that why the path looked all wonky?" Hunk mused, before turning back to face whatever was next and- "Oh." "Oh." Lance and Hunk stared in shock and terror at the so called 'puzzle' before them. "This is a literal death trap! How are we supposed to do this??" Lance exclaimed, pointing at the bridge that was made out of ALL SPIKES. Toriel turned towards the teens and chuckled softly, a bashful look on her face. "This is the puzzle, but.." She shook her head. "Here, take my hand for a moment, it is better if we're in a line for this." Gulping, Lance took Toriel's large goat hand (paw? Hoof?) and Hunk took Lance's, the three forming a weird line of sorts. Toriel began to walk over the spikes, however when her feet approached the block of prongs, they lowered into the ground and left a safe area for the three to step on. "Don't look don't look don't look don't look.." Hunk was muttering to himself as the three began to walk over the spikes. He squeezed Lance's hand while they trekked through the 'puzzle', looking up in an attempt to divert his attention from the fact that one misstep and their foot would be impaled and bye bye, ability to walk properly! I mean, it would heal with time of course, but we're not going to think about the possibilities because we're not Slav. But the next thing the two cadets knew, they were passed the bridge of spikes. Lance and Hunk both sighed in relief, legs shaking. "That was by far the scariest thing I have ever seen in my entire life," Lance shuddered, whilst Hunk just took deep breaths to calm himself. Toriel smiled sympathetically, beckoning the two to follow her into the next room. "Puzzles.. may seem a little too dangerous for now," She decided. The three journeyed into the next room, where it was just a long hallway. "You have done excellently thus far, children," Toriel began. "However, I have a difficult request of you." Lance and Hunk looked at one another, eyebrows raised. What did she want them to do? "...I would like you to walk to the end of the room by yourselves." 
Girlie what the fuck?
 "Forgive me for this," Toriel said sheepishly, before running off. Hunk and Lance both shrugged, deciding to take their time in walking. "As you folks can see, we have been tasked to walk to the other side of the room by ourselves, which is really easy and not difficult at all because we're literally 16 and can drive a car." Hunk narrated to the camera. "Toriel seems like a nice woman, but it looks like she's gonna continue to treat us like small children for the rest of our journey with her." Lance nodded in agreement. "Not to mention that she literally calls us the following: 'children, Innocent ones, little ones, and Innocent youth'." He added. Hunk snorted at the word 'innocent'. "And to think we're still pure, happy children.." He sighed dramatically, shaking his head. "We've already seen too much." "And we've tried to be killed by a talking flower!" Lance once again piped up, grinning. "Man, this place is weird." "If theres a talking flower, and a humanoid goat furry, and a.. a frog.. what else do you think there will be?" Hunk asked, smiling mischievously. "Personally, I'm calling it and saying theres gonna be a dinosaur." The cuban beside him thought for a bit, before laughing. "Dinosaurs, definitely," He agreed. "I think... there will be a.. ghost. There is totally going to be a ghost!"  Hunk chuckled, "We'll just have to wait and see. I swear, if our guesses are right.." The rest of the walk wasn't too long. In total, it was only a minute or so, and the two were already nearing the end of the hallway. A single lilac pillar stood to the side, where Toriel stepped out from the behind. "Greetings, my children," She spoke. "Do not worry, I did not leave you- I was merely behind this pillar the whole time!" The goat motioned towards the pillar she stepped out of. "Thank you for trusting me." Hunk shot their guide a thumbs up. "No problem!" He replied happily. "Thank you for guiding us so far." Toriel smiled and nodded. "You are very welcome, although there is no need to thank me. It's just what I've done for the past year." "However, there was an important reason for this exercise," She added, "It was to test your independence. I must attend to some business, and you must stay alone for a while. Please remain here, it's dangerous to explore by yourself." The two boys looked at each other once more. Some alone time, eh? Maybe they could use this time for a snack break, or to check any injuries. Hunk's right shoulder was feeling a little sore, after all, he woke up laying on said side when they fell. Toriel's eyes brightened. "I have an idea! I will give you a CELL PHONE. If you have a need for anything, just call." Lance's eyes widened. A phone? Wait, maybe there was wifi down here, and they could call their families! He took the liberty of taking the phone from Toriel's outstretched hand, not before saying a  quick "Thank you". Toriel nodded again, and turned around. "Be good, alright?" She insisted, before walking away and out of sight.  Lance looked down at the phone. Honestly, he expected either a phone from, maybe the 2010s, or a more futuristic one, even more futuristic than the ones than their modern phones (note that Voltron takes place in the future, and their modern phones are literal glass screens with weird stubs on the corners), but in the end, he wasn't really surprised. It was a really old flip phone, like those 1990s- 2000s Nokias. "So this is what a flip phone looks like," Hunk muttered, examining the device in Lances hand. "Cool! Dibs keeping it-!"  As the samoan attempted to grab the phone, Lance quickly swiped his hand away. "Nuh- uh, not on my watch!" He exclaimed. "You get the camera, I get the phone. Fair? Okay, good." Hunk pouted. "Fine.." He muttered, taking a look at the cameras battery. "Still high, it should be good for a another 2 hours or so," He reported, and Lance shot the boy a thumbs up. The latino flipped open the phone, examining its inside contents and the small screen. "I'm gonna try and call Veronica," He declared.  Hunk raised an eyebrow. "D'you think it'll work?" He asked. Lance shrugged, beginning to press the number pad on the bottom half of the flip phone. "Hopefully it will," He muttered. The boy frowned as he inputted the numbers. "Why are they so hard to press..?" Finally, Lance grinned as he put in the last digit. "Alrighty, let's see if it worked." He pressed the 'call' button, and the two boys waited in anticipation for the results. briiinngg..  They waited. briinnggg.. Another ring. brrriiiinnnnggg.. Lance furrowed his brows. Suddenly, the ringing stopped. And was replaced with a loud, distorted, screeching garbage noise. It was like a weird 8- bit beeping sound, but the file glitched and it started overlapping in the most horrific way possible. Hunk had to cover his ears whilst Lance almost chucked the cellphone across the room. But as soon as it started, it had stopped. It didn't last long at all. But it was fucking terrifying. After a few seconds of tense silence, Hunk spoke the question that was running through both boys minds. "What.. the fresh hell.. was that." Lance shuddered, hand shaking as he put the phone into his pocket. "How about we don't try that ever again." He declared, receiving a nod from his friend. "It was so loud.." The cuban muttered under his breath. He wiped his hand on his pants, as if the phone was dirty with dust. And even though it was not, you get the gesture. Hunk pursed his lips, frowning as he looked down at the camera. "If the call didn't go through, how do we know the videos are?"  Lance blinked. "Then.. they must think we're dead." The taller teen narrowed his eyes. He sighed, fiddling with the straps of the camera. If the Garrison thought they were dead, surely they would come and investigate, right? But sending even more humans down here would be even more problematic. Lance and Hunk have already gone through a bunch of horrific shit. And depending on who they send, the officers might not show mercy on the monsters. The underground really wasn't that bad! Toriel was nice, and some creatures were passive, too. The dummy was cool (So maybe an inanimate object without feelings had grown on Hunk, so what?), and there was a cute spider that waved at them a few seconds ago, with a purple bow laying on its head as it scurried into the next room. Hunk took out two granola bars from his bag, offering one to Lance while he ripped open his own. Lance nodded and accepted the food, sliding down onto the floor and resting his back on the wall. "How long do you think we'll be waiting here for?" He asked, successfully diverting their attention from the previous topic. Hunk shrugged. "I dunno," He replied, taking a bite of the granola bar. "Hopefully not too long." So yeah, they waited. Toriel was sure taking her time with this errand, huh? What was she even doing? Still in a comfortable silence with his friend, Lance looked over to the door leading to the next room. "What if we went ahead?" He suggested quietly, looking over to his roommate. Hunk snapped his head towards Lance. "But she said it was dangerous," He protested, "What if theres something like the last room? With the spikey murder bridge?" "But just waiting here is so boring!" Lance argued. "If we want to find the others and what happened, we have to explore the place! Besides, Toriel might not treat us as kids anymore if we get past all the puzzles, and that's a win for us, isn't it?" Hunk thought about Lance's argument. He did have a point- taking time to explore the area could help them a lot with finding out what happened to Pidge and the others. After a few more seconds of silence, Hunk gave into his friends pleads. "Fine, we'll go and explore," He decided, standing up and dusting himself off. "C'mon, bud, let's go." Lance grinned and shot up from the ground. "Hell yeah!" He cheered, also shaking off the dirt from his pants. "Hunk and Lances journey has officially reopened, and we are now proceeding to the next room!" The two boys high fived each other before continuing on into the depths of the ruins. A few seconds after they stopped to take in what was there, and what puzzle they may have to face, the phone rang, causing Lance to jump slightly and shudder at the sudden noise and vibration in his pocket. Lance fumbled with the phone as he snatched it from his pocket as fast as possible, wasting no time as he flipped the phone open and answered the call. "Hello? This is Toriel," The familiar soft voice greeted the two boys through the phone. "You have not left the room, have you? There are a few puzzles ahead that I have yet to explain." Both boys looked at each other with a panicked expression, before Lance blurted out, "Yup! We're still in here waiting!" Toriel hummed. "Good. It would be dangerous to try to solve them yourselves. Be good alright?" After, a soft click confirmed that Toriel had ended the call. Lance and Hunk both looked at each other, sighing in relief. "She's definitely going to call again later," Hunk said.  The samoan boy looked in front of him, and on the other side of the room, on a small patch of red leaves, was another save point. "Shall we?" He asked. Lance nodded, beginning to walk towards the shining yellow star. "Might as well,"  However, a small frog (another froggit, they assumed,) hopped up towards them. "Oh, hello, little guy!" Hunk smiled at the sight of the cute creature. "Ribbit, ribbit." Lance raised an eyebrow. "Uhh-" "Excuse me, human." The disembodied voice interrupted the conversation. Well, it was more like they butted in to translate, because over the froggits incomprehensible ribbits, Not-Keith spoke, seeming to understand what they had to say and translated it for the humans. "I have some advice about battling monsters. If you ACT a certain way or FIGHT until you almost defeat them, they might not want to battle you anymore. If a monster does not want to fight you, please... use some MERCY, human."  "Ribbit." With that, the frog hopped away, and Hunk stared at the spot where they used to be. "That was.. really deep," He mumbled. "Wise words, mister froggit." Lance nodded in agreement. "Well, shall we save, good Sir Hunkington?" He joked, bowing before his taller friend. Hunk laughed. "Yes, do as you please, Prince Lancelot."  Lance grinned at the joking nickname. "Ooh, prince lancelot?" He repeated, playing with the leaves a bit before reaching out towards the star. "I like it." As Lance touched the star, the black screen popped up once again, and the voice narrated the screens contents. "Playfully crinkling through the leaves fills you with determination." 
LANCE/HUNK             LV 1                      X:XX

Ruins- Entrance
 
             SAVE                                  RETURN
 
————                       ————                         ————
 
LANCE/HUNK             LV 1                      X:XX

Ruins- Leaf Pile
 
            FILE SAVED.
 Lance shot Hunk a smile and a thumbs up when the screen disappeared. "Forward we shall march, my king!" They didn't move forward, actually. To the left of the save point was a small room, and the boys curiosity got the best of them. Who knows? Maybe it was the right way. The room was small, with a single small pillar with a bowl labelled 'take one.' "Ooh, monster candy!" Hunk exclaimed, grabbing one and putting it in his pocket. "Don't mind if I do!" Lance grinned as he took another. "And don't mind if I take some, either!"  "How disgusting." Said Ghost Keith. Lance stuck his tongue out, "I'm taking one more because of you," He reached his hand out and took a candy. "You feel like the scum of the earth." Disembodied Keith Voice narrated.  Lance scoffed. "Rude," He said, "I don't even feel like that. Meanwhile, Hunk grinned sheepishly as he sneakily took another candy- but he accidentally knocked over the bowl in doing so and it fell to the floor, clattering as it hit the ground and all the candy spilled out. Both Lance and Hunk stared at the sad mess they created. "Look at what you've done." "Shut it, Not Keith." (It was faint, but Lance swore he heard a huff. Rude.) "Shh, let's run before anyone finds out," Hunk hissed, grabbing Lances arm and running out of the room. "Nobody needs to know!" The cuban laughed, "Alright, I guess. Now, shall we get on with our journey?" Hunk nodded. "I believe that we shall." The two walked into the next room and continued their journey. Really, if I were motivated enough, I would describe every little thing they did. But that would just get annoying. And I'm not motivated enough to do that. But I'm also not lazy enough to only do a quick montage and call it a day.  The room had two vents, one on each side of what appeared to be a large hole in the floor. Apparently you just had to fall into the hole and climb out on the other side. It wasn't much of a puzzle, in Lance and Hunk's opinion. In the next room, with a rock and a button sitting in front of a line of spikes, Toriel called again. She subtly asked if the two preferred either cinnamon or butterscotch ("For no reason in particular," She described it as, but Hunk had a hunch as to why she asked. And he really liked his hunch). Hunk said he liked both, and Lance decided on cinnamon. She thanked them quickly before ending the call. A second later, Toriel redialed to ask Lance if he didn't like butterscotch, or if he just preferred cinnamon over it. Lance replied with the latter, snd she hung up once more after thanking the two for being patient. They were not patient. Heres a fun fact! Hunk loved puzzles. He loved fidgeting with them, finding out how to solve them and how they worked, it was just fascinating to him. And years of working with them gave him godly skills with any puzzle. (But really they kind of just had to push the rock onto the button with that one. Seeing that it was all they were given in the room, along with a plaque saying that '3 out of 4 rocks recommend that you push them', what else could they do?) The puzzle after that was fun, although Lance fell on his butt way too many times. They had also found a pair of earrings in said room. Lance had put them in his bag, because no, they would not wear them, that's disgusting. Also, now they knew why it was 3 out of 4 rocks! Because in the next room, three more rocks sat in front of buttons, with the same setting as the room before the 'Ass Hole' room. ("Ya- ya get it Hunk? Cause there were holes and I kept falling on my ass-" "Yes, I get it Lance.") One of the rocks were somehow sentient, and spoke (somehow) with a southern accent. He was a stubborn little bitch, Lance called him later on, as they two cadets hat to repeatedly ask the rock to move themselves onto the button. Plus side, that was the only rock they had to push. And after another save point (with a small table and a block of cheese, hence Not Keith saying "Knowing the mouse might one day leave its hole and get the cheese.. It fills you with determination."), the two found themselves with a bit of a predicament. Said predicament being that a ghost was sleeping in front of them and blocking their path and they couldn't jump over.  The two boys waited for a bit, staring at each other awkwardly. "Are they gone yet" The narrator blurted out. "Nope." But heres the thing. The ghost wasn't actually sleeping. They were just saying 'z' put loud repeatedly, pretending to sleep. "Move it with force?" The voice suggested. Hunk shook his head, but Lance shrugged. "I mean, we don't really have a choice," He said, crouching down to level himself with the 'sleeping' ghost. "Hey there, d'you think you could-" However, when Lance poked the ghost, they were thrown into a battle. "LANCE!" Hunk hissed.  Lance threw his arms up. "I was just gonna ask!" He protested, the two turning to look at the now standing (well, floating) ghost. "Here comes Napstablook," The Keith sounding voice said. Hunk narrowed his eyes, picking up the slightest hint of what seemed to be amusement in his voice. But he turned back to look at the ghost (Napstablook was his name, according to Keith Question Mark) and noticed he looked sad. Hunk gave him a soft smile, "Hello." "Heh.." Napstablook let out a weak chuckle as he sent his attack- which was just him crying tears at the duo. Lance was a bit weirded out, but at Hunk's pleading look, He sighed.  "Hey, heres a joke," The cuban started. "Why do ghosts love elevators?" Napstablook cocked his head to the side, and Lance grinned. "Because it lifts their spirits, bah- dum- tss! Napstablook laughed a bit more this time, and instead of an attack, words appeared in front of the two: 'NOT REALLY FEELING UP TO IT RIGHT NOW. SORRY.' Hunk smiled again, "Thats alright." "Napstablook wants to show you something," The narrator pointed out.  "Let me try.." Napstablook spoke quietly. His tears floated upwards onto his head, forming a hat. "I call it 'Dapper Blook,' He explained. "Do you like it?" Lance clapped, "Yeah! That was cool!" He cheered. "Oh, gee.." The familiar sight of the ruins surrounded Lance and Hunk once more as the fight disbanded. Napstablook was still laying down on the pile of leaves.  "I usually come to the ruins because there's nobody around.." He explained. "But today, I met some nice people." A soft smile appeared on his face. "Oh, I'm rambling again... I'll get out of your way." Hunk quickly thanked the ghost before he slowly disappeared.  "Well, now that thats taken care of.." The samoan began, dragging Lance across the small leaf pile, "We.. oh. Straight or left?" He asked.  "Straight," Lance immediately replied. "My spidey senses say so." Hunk snorted, "'Spidey Senses', huh?" He repeated, raising an eyebrow in amusement. "We'll see." Okay, so Lances so called 'Spidey Senses' were both right and wrong. Wrong because it was a dead end. Right because it literally led them to spiders. "OHHHH MY GOD IS THIS A SPIDER BAKE SALE???" Hunk cried out, looking at the small tray of pastries and signs to the side. "Oh, this is so cute!" Lance just blinked and stared. "This day just keeps on getting weirder and weirder," He muttered, letting out a yawn. "I wanna sleep." Hunk scoffed fondly, "Well, I'm gonna buy some of these treats while you rest up." He declared, taking out the gold in his pocket. The two had already encountered some other monsters on the way here, so they had a couple of gold to spare. "Two spider donuts please!" The boy smiled as he set a pile of gold on the floor, and a spider pushed two small boxes of donuts towards him, while another two dragged the money behind the sign. "Thank you!" Hunk opened one of the boxes, and examined the donut inside. The dough was a dark, saturated purple, with a lighter pink icing on the top. Said icing was littered with cute black spider- shaped sprinkles. 'Aw, those are cute sprinkles!' Hunk thought to himself, closing the box and putting it in his back. 'A but big, though..' "Those are real spiders." ...Oh. ——— The next few rooms weren't too bad. There was a hallway with a bunch of Froggits (which the narrator gladly translated), an 'Ass Hole Room: The Sequel' (once again dubbed by Lance, they also had another short run- in with Napstablook in said room), and a room focused on perspective. It was really weird and confusing.  Toriel had also called a couple more times, and they also got into more battles with monsters, in which they had spared them all. Toriel would be proud, Hunk thought, nodding to himself. Eventually, they found themselves out of the puzzle rooms, and were met with a large house. But before that- there was another hallway across from them to explore.  It led to a small balcony, on the side laid a watering can. "Whats this doing here?" Hunk mumbled, crouching down to examine it. Lance followed suit, picking up the can. He held it upside down, surprised when a few drops of water dripped down the head. "Why is there still water in this?" Hunk looked at the bottom of the can, and his face dropped. "Lance.. theres a name." He mumbled, pointing at the can. "Huh-?" Lance turned the watering can over, his eyes resting on a name tag stuck on the bottom. 'Colleen Holt' "I.. oh my god." Lance uttered, his eyes widening. "This was Colleens.." "So they were here." Hunk whispered, furrowing his brows. "Then those earrings were probably hers, too." The cuban shoved the watering can in his bag. "I'd rather not focus on the implications these items are giving." He muttered, standing up. Hunk placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "And we won't. We have another thing to focus on right now, which is getting back to Toriel, isn't it? Come on, let's go, Lance.." ———— "Oh dear, that took longer than I thought it would.." Toriel's worried voice rang throughout the hall was the two teens walked towards a large dead tree in the middle of the room, with more red leaves around it's stump. "Every time this old tree grows any leaves, they fall right off," Ghost Keith had said. Toriel walked out from behind the tree, taking out her phone, but put it back when her eyes widened at the sight of Lance and Hunk at the entrance. "Hi, Toriel!" "Ah- How did you get here, my children?!" Toriel cried out, running towards them. She leaned down, searching for any scratches or wounds on the boys. "Are you hurt?" Lance shook his head. "Nope! We're both perfectly fine in the physical department!" He exclaimed, putting a hand to his chest. Toriel sighed, shaking her head as she stood back up to her full height. "I should not have left you alone for so long," She reprimanded herself. "It was irresponsible to try and surprise you like this- oh." The goat blushed in embarrassment at her words. "Err.. well, I suppose I cannot hide it any longer," She chuckled sheepishly. "Come, small ones!" "Small ones..?" Lance repeated to himself quietly, as Toriel beckoned for the two cadets to follow her into the large house ahead. Before that, though, another save point! "Seeing such a cute, tidy house in the Ruins gives you DETERMINATION." 
LANCE/HUNK             LV 1                      X:XX

Ruins- Mouse Hole
              SAVE                                  RETURN  
LANCE/HUNK             LV 1                      X:XX

Ruins- Home
             FILE SAVED. Lance and Hunk fist bumped each other, a grin on their faces as they stepped inside Toriel’s cozy home. “Cheers to mystery solving and a surprise?” “Cheers to a surprise, haha!”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"Do you smell that?" Toriel asked, a sly grin on her face as the two boys walked inside her house. It was warm and cozy. To the left was a small living room with a rocking chair and a fireplace, and further down was the kitchen. On the right were the bedrooms, and behind Toriel lied the stairs to what the boys presumed was the basement. Hunk sniffed the air, and his eyes brightened at the smell. "Oh my god!" He exclaimed, a large grin on his face. "Is it-" Toriel nodded, chuckling to herself. "Surprise!" She cheered, doing a little jazz hands motion. "It is a Cinnamon- Butterscotch pie! I thought we might celebrate your arrival, and I want you to have a nice time living here," "OH MY GOODNESS THANK YOU SK MUCH????" Hunk squealed, his eyes shining brightly. Lance nodded in agreement, also extremely excited. She had gone out of her way to make this for them? Hell yeah! "Yeah!" Lance chirped. "Thanks alot, Toriel!" He shot her a thumbs up, and Toriel chuckled lightly. "Haha, I knew it was better to hold off on snail pie tonight." Wait, what? "Here, I have another surprise for you," Toriel began. She beckoned the two cadets to follow her as she walked to the rightmost hallway, the one with what the two boys assumed were rooms. "Here it is.." Toriel led Lance and Hunk to the first door. "A room of your own! I hope you like it." "Wait, really?" Lance exclaimed. "You really don't mind us staying here?" Toriel shook her head, a kind smile on her face. "Of course not! This home welcomes you, as do I. Do not be afraid to explore at your leisure." She said, patting Lance's head. Suddenly, her head perked up in the direction of the kitchen.  "Is something burning..?" She muttered to herself. "Um, make yourself at home!" With that, Toriel rushed off to check on the pie. Hunk and Lance looked at eachother, Lance putting a hand on where the goat had pat him. "Man, Toriel is great," Lance started, a grin bubbling up on his face.  Hunk nodded in agreement, soon after beckoning towards the door. "Shall we check it out?" He suggested. Lance nodded, taking the doorknob and swinging the door open. "Yes, we shall!" The room was themed red, two small lamps near the corners of the room casting a calming dim lit glow on its contents. There were two beds, both on the opposite sides, and beside it, laid two separate nightstands where said lamps rested on. In the middle of the wall laid a small closet, a horizontal shelf, and a small treasure box on the floor. Along the sides, multiple plushes were strewn about, and on the right corner there was an open toy box, with a variety of toys inside. Hunk smiled at the cozy, nostalgic feeling the room gave. "Y'know, I'm real tired," He mumbled. "You think it's about time we had a good rest, Lance?" The cuban boy nodded, stretching his arms as he walked over to the leftmost lamp and switched it off. "Yup, I'm taking a nap. You?"  Hunk chuckled, turning off the lamp on his side of the room. "Same thing as you, bud. Lance and Hunk, signing off. G'night." The samoan turned off the camera and set it down on the nightstand to charge. With that, the two boys hopped into their respective beds, and immediately conked out for the time being. ———— Hunk's eyes fluttered open, his nose being met with the soft smell of what he soon recognized was a warm slice of pie sitting on the floor beside his bed. He yawned as he sat up, rubbing his eyes and smiling at the hospitality of Toriel. He looked over to left, where Lance was snoring loudly in a position he couldn't quite see clearly yet.  Right. Hunk quicjly flicked the switch to the lamp and- Lights on. There we go. "...Oh, that's a really uncomfortable position." Hunk mumbled to himself. He cast his gaze to the floor in front of his friends bed, where another plate of pie sat, waiting to be eaten. "You found two plates of Butterscotch- Cinnamon pie. Heals all HP." The narrator provided. Hunk hummed, picking up the plate of pie and setting it down on the nightstand. "I'll eat you later, little guy," He whispered, walking over to Lance. After putting the boys slice in his own nightstand, Hunk gently shook Lance awake. "Wake up, Lance.." Hunk mumbled. "Time to get up." Lance, however, shook Hunk off, turning to face the wall and covering himself with the bedsheet. "Five more minutes.." He grumbled. Hunk sighed. "Really don't want to do this Lance, but it looks like I have no choice."  He quickly flicked the second lamp on, filling the room with more light before grabbing the bedsheets and yanking them off the cuban teenager. "RISE AND SHINE, LANCE! GET UP!" Hunk yelled. "NO MORE SLEEPING." Lance screeched, covering his face in his pillow. "NOOO! PLEASE..!" Hunk shook his head, taking Lance's legs and dragging him out the bed. "Nope! No buts, no pleases! It's time to get up! We have a quest to finish!" After a few more minutes of protesting and begging, Hunk finally got Lance back up on his feet. Due to the amount it heals- they had decided to save the pie for later. The two cadets exited the room, exploring the rest of the hallway before  going to find Toriel, they had encountered a plant, where the two spent a good minute trying to remember the name, before giving up and continuing down the hallway. There was a mirror at the end ("It's you," Ghost Keith had said), and after a bit of snooping around in Toriels room, not only did Lance find a neat pun, but they found the name of the plant- It was a water sausage! ("Also known as cattails. You're an idiot.") Lance and Hunk went to the opposite hallway, leaving the staircase for last. The hallway led to a small living room, with a table, bookshelf, and a fireplace. The fire wasn't burning hot, it was just a nice warm- safe enough to put ones hand in, actually. Beside the fireplace was a large rocking chair, where Toriel sat, reading a book.  The goat looked up, pushing her reading glasses further up her head. "Ah, up already, I see?" Toriel chuckled, placing a bookmark between the pages before setting the book down on her lap.  "Um, I want you to know how glad I am to have someone here. There are so many old books I want to share. I want to show you my favourite bug- hunting spot. I've also prepared a curriculum for your education! This may come s a surprise to you, but I have always wanted to be a teacher." Toriel paused, looking off to the side. "...Actually, perhaps that isn't very surprising." "STILL." She narrowed her eyes for a moment before looking back at the humans. "I am glad to have you living here." Toriel blinked. "Oh- did you want to ask something? What is it?" After a moments hesitation, Lance raised his hand. "When can we go home?" He blurted out. Toriels eyes widened. "Ah- What? This.. is your home now," She replied, hastily looking for a way to switch the topic. "Um, would you like to hear about this book I am reading? It is called '72 Uses For Snails.' How about it?" She didn't want them to leave. "But.. how do we leave the Ruins?" Lance pressed. "We can't stay here forever, Toriel." Toriel laughed nervously. "Uh, how about an exciting snail fact? Did you know that snails.. make terrible shoelaces? Interesting.." Hunk frowned. "Could you please tell us how to exit the Ruins? I'm sorry, but like what Lance said- we can't stay here forever. We came down here for a reason, and staying here won't help us complete our goal.. plus, we have homes and families on the surface to come back to." Toriel sighed, taking off her glasses. "...I have to do something." She said, her tone empty. "Stay here." The goat stood up, placing the book back on the shelf before turning on her heel (hoof? Paw?) and quickly leaving the room. Hunk and Lance exchanged looks with one another and followed. "I'll follow her, you get our stuff," Lance called out, running out of the room. He saw a flash of white and purple down the stairs. "I don't think we'll be coming back up here after this." "Yes sir!" Hunk called out, sending Lance a nod as he jumped over the railing. He could have just walked down those steps.. but that wasn't the thing to worry about. Hunk ran over to their room and gathered their belongings.  Time to turn on the camera. ———— Lance hopped over the railway in a dramatic manner. It would've been even better if there was a hot girl watching him, but there were more important things to focus on. ...Woah, was that character development? The cuban shook his head as he landed with a thump. Not the best landing, but it didn't matter. He pivoted around on his heel, walking into a dark purple hallway. "You wish to know how to return 'home,' do you not?" Toriel asked, her tone low and dangerous. Ooh, shit, they angered her. The goat lady clenched her fists. "Ahead of us lies the end of the Ruins," She explained bluntly. "A one- way exit to the rest of the underground." "I am going to destroy it. No one will ever be able to leave again."  Lance's eyes widened. "What-?!" "Now be a good child and go upstairs." Toriel walked away. "Hold on-!!" Lance hissed, running after her. Not long after, Hunk joined him, handing him his bag. "Thanks, Hunk," Lance said, slipping his bag on. "Let's go, or soon we won't be able to leave this place." "Huh?? Context?" Hunk asked, as the two began to run down the hall after Toriel. "Long story short, Toriel is gonna destroy our only exit." Lance replied. They caught up to Toriel, who once again, had stopped walking. "Every human that falls down here meets the same fate," She spoke harshly. "I have seen it again and again. They come, they leave.. they die." Lance and Hunks eyes widened. They died? "No, you can't be serious-" Hunk stammered, "They can't be dead.." Toriel sighed. "You naïve children.. if you leave the Ruins, they, ASGORE.. will kill you. I am only protecting you, do you understand?"  "...Go to your room." Toriel once again, walked off. The two cadets followed at a slow pace. "Do not try to stop me," Toriel told them. "This is your final warning." They reached the end of the Ruins.  The room was small, with a tall door in front of them, the same symbol on Toriels shirt engraved on the front. Toriel stopped in front of the door. "You want to leave so badly?" She asked. "Hmph. You are just like the others. There is only one solution to this.." "Prove yourself." Toriel turned around on her heel, facing Lance and Hunk. She brought her hands up, balls of fire appearing in them. "Prove to me that you are strong enough to survive." The room slowly faded away to black, and the two humans souls appeared.  They entered a fight. "Toriel blocks the way!" Ghost Keith exclaimed, reading the flavour text on the screen. "Toriel, please, we don't want to fight!" Hunk cried out. Toriel kept silent, a cold expression on her face as she sent a wave of fire at the two boys, who immediately began to dodge. "Crap!" Lance hissed, "What the hell?!" They kept the routine for a couple of turns. Lance and Hunk would attempt to spare Toriel, who in turn, would say nothing and send balls of fire. Hunk was lucky enough to go without a scratch, but Lance unfortunately got hit a few times. Somehow, it didn't do much physical damage or take down too much HP (it only took 3). Plus, it was more like a 'getting hit by a basketball' kind of pain instead of an 'oil flying onto you while frying a sunny side up but it lasts longer' pain. "Im fine," Lance had muttered. "I'll heal up later. Toriel wouldn't kill us. We're kids.." Hunk narrowed his eyes, a concerned look on his face. However, he trusted Lance, and if he said he was okay, he would believe it. "Okay.. that won't stop me from mothering you later." To this, Lance had laughed. Toriel pursed her lips. Finally, she spoke. "what are you doing?"  She send more waves of fire. They had a pattern to them, and the two boys were able to find a safe spot to not get hit. "Attack or run away!" Toriel cried. "What are you proving this way?" Again. "Fight me or leave!" Again. "Stop it." Again. Toriel cast her gaze to the side, "Stop looking at me that way.." Again. "Go away!" ....It looked like Toriel was purposefully avoiding them with her attacks. A somber look crossed her face. Finally, she looked back at them. "I know you want to go home, but.." She sighed. "But please, go upstairs now." Toriel smiled hopefully. "I promise, I will take good care of you here..! I know we do not have much, but.. we can have a good life here." "Why are you making this so difficult?" "Please. Go upstairs." Hunk shook his head. "I'm sorry, Toriel, but we can't stay here forever. There are people back up on the surface who are looking for us, and there are people down here we're looking for ourselves. And if what he find out turns out to be exactly as you say.. we still aren't giving up." Lance nodded in agreement. "We have a family up on the surface to get back to! Friends and family who are worried for us! Staying here will only make things worse. We need to leave. Your kindness is appreciated, but it's time for us to go." Toriel sighed, chuckling weakly. "Haha.. pathetic, is it not?" She whispered. "I cannot save even a single child.. I.. understand." "You would just be unhappy trapped down here," Toriel muttered. "The Ruins are very small once you get used to them. It would not be right for you to continue living in a place like this. My expectations, my loneliness, my fear.. for you, my children, I will put them aside." She put her hands down, and the room reappeared as the deep purple it originally was, the door once again in sight. "If you truly wish to leave the Ruins, I will not stop you." Toriel said, smiling sadly. "However, when you leave.. please do not come back. I hope you understand." The goat brought up her arms, embracing Hunk and Lance in a large, warm hug. She stayed like that for a few seconds, before slowly letting go.  "Goodbye, my children," She began to walk away, stopping for a split second by the doorframe that led back to her house to look back at them with a warm smile before leaving. Hunk and Lance watched her leave, looking at one another after she turned the corner. "...Wow." "She never knew our names." Lance blurted out. "We never told her our names." "Holy SHIT, you're right-" ———— After another good minute or so of contemplation and procession of what just happened, the two opened the door in front of them, leaving the Ruins. It was another dim lit hallway, still purple, but the farther they walked, the lighter it became- but it wasn't a nice, satisfying gradient, it was a sudden change in colour. And Hunk began to rant about it the entire way, with Lance only being able to listen with an exasperated smile on his face. "In conclusion, whoever made the Ruins should regret their actions and fix this as soon as possible. I CANNOT with how disgusting the floor of this hallway looks.." Hunk finally concluded his rant as they neared the end of the hallway. The two walked forwards, grinning to each other. "Well, lets see what the rest of the underground looks like..!" "Oh." It was.. just like the room they crossed paths with when they first fell into the underground. The one with Flowey. Yes, Flowey was there, a sly grin on his face. The boys narrowed their eyes. "Clever." He said, clapping with the two leaves on the opposite sides of his stem. "Veeerrrryyy clever." Lance scoffed. "What is it, shitass?" He hissed. "Woah- jesus, Lance-" Flowey seemed unfazed by the nickname. In fact, his smirk grew wider. "You think you're really smart, don't you? In this world, it's kill or be killed," He lectured, "So you were able to play by your own rules, you spared the life of a single person! Hehehee.. I bet you feel reeaallly great. You didn't kill anybody this time." Hunk pursed his lips, "Where are you going with this?" "But what will you do if you meet a relentless killer?" Flowey continued, completely ignoring Hunk. "You'll die, and you'll die, and you'll die, until you get tired of trying. What will you do then?" He asked, now grinning like a maniac.  "Will you kill out of frustration? Or will you give up entirely on this world.. and let me inherit the power to control it?" "What?! The power to control the world?! What the hell do you mean?!" Lance hissed. Flowey laughed. "I am the prince of this worlds future," He replied. "Don't worry, my little monarchs.. my plan isn't regicide. This will be SO much more interesting." Flowey's face bulged out of it's pistil (Is that what it's called?? I searched it up but im still a bit confused google is very cryptic w/ their answers lmao) and let out a long, sharp, evil laugh that echoed throughout the room before digging back into the ground, leaving no trace of ever being there. Lance narrowed his eyes and huffed angrily. "That fucking bitch.. 'little monarchs?' What the hell?" He complained, crossing his arms. "If we ever cross paths with him again I'm going to stamp his face into the ground." Hunk laughed nervously, patting Lance on the back. "Alllrrigghtt, then let's hope it doesn't come to that," He said, directing him and himself out the archway.  Their eyesight was covered with a bright, white light, and finally, they had exited the Ruins, and their journey was ready to continue, a shit ton of hardships and challenges. But it's better when a friend is by your side, right? (And a.. ghost narrator that sounds suspiciously like someone you know, one can also suppose.)