(Greetings, it is I. The Author.

Things have been pretty hectic lately but I'm back. I posted another page of my Fallen Hero comic on Tumblr the other day because I don't plan to forget that project any time soon. Heck, this might be the first time I've tried to complete a comic! *Hopes and Dreams plays aggressively in the background*

Funny thing that happened today-- after waking up and getting a coffee I remembered some of my fic doodles and thought to myself, "Hey, wouldn't it be funny if -" and then I started writing. :)

I also spent two hours scrolling through Discord to find that one post I made with Izuku art to help remember the lore I had planned for later on and then remade in a doc to use later.

Anyway, new chapter, let's go!)

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The walk was very refreshing.

Despite Asriel's misgivings, Izuku knew better than to walk and read, so he did in fact see the world around him. The four of them wandered through the caverns, over small creeks, and past a few houses. Izuku hadn't expected there to be so many trees Underground, considering the lack of sunlight, but they also didn't really look like a tree was supposed to. They almost reminded him of Bloodgood Bonsai trees but with black bark. What kind of tree had black bark? Sure the red leaves were normal enough, but the wood threw him off. The only black wood he knew was charcoal, and he doubted that these trees were made of charcoal. They wouldn't have leaves if they were.

Maybe his new book would tell him.

Sans stopped the group at the edge of the final house and pointed to a path up ahead. "see that path up there? there's a small pond with a river at the end of it. at the end of the river is a waterfall, which is where the mushrooms are hiding. it's really dark inside so stay close, okay?" we all nodded in understanding. Sans accepted that response and led us further down the path. Thankfully, it wasn't a very long walk, but the pond at the end was beautiful.

Much like Sans said, it was small. It was, maybe, about five meters wide and long, and the shores were very rounded and uneven. Still, the water itself was very blue. Water in the Underground reflected the glowing gems on the cavern ceiling in the same way that oceans reflect the open sky. As such, the water would forever be a bright bioluminescent blue that no one would ever see the bottom of. Izuku wondered if there were shiny gems at the bottom too.

The party traveled down the river and past a small shed nearby. They stopped when they reached a dark cave, the only light in it being the bioluminescence in the ever-flowing water. Sans reached out a bony hand to Asriel, "let's all hold hands so we don't get lost." he said. Asriel took the offered hand and held out his other. Papyrus grabbed it and held his other hand out for Izuku. Izuku took it and held his book closer. Hand in hand, they entered the cave together.

It didn't take long to reach the waterfall. Izuku noticed the area had more flora than we first thought. The vines hanging on the walls became thinner as they continued on and the leaves petered off until they were bare noodles on the floor. Then, as they got closer and the number of vines started to dwindle, he started seeing small blades of grass start sprouting around the water. And when the vines were gone and the grass was thicker, he heard the distant splashing of water hitting the water and the pitter-patter of droplets touching the floor.

They arrived at the end of the tunnel and were greeted by a whole cluster of blue mushrooms all over the room, all glowing with the same bioluminescent blue as the water. Izuku and Asirel alike were enchanted by the sight, unable to decide which area they wanted to explore first. "you like it?" Sans asked. "Like it? I love it! It's so pretty! How have I never seen this place before?!" Asriel squealed with delight. "I concur, this is quite a sight," Izuku agreed. Papyrus grabbed Asriel by the paw and dragged him to a small troop of blue shrooms crawling up a wall.

Izuku found himself a nook with enough mushrooms to act as a small lamp for his reading. He opened the book and began.

. . .

Chapter 1: Starting over

Despair echoed within the darkness of the cave we all stood within. After a long battle, the humans won and claimed their hard-earned victory by sealing us away. Ever since that day, we have faced many trials and suffered even more losses. In fear of further human attacks, we fled deeper into the darkest depths of the mountain, as far away from humanity as possible. But the farther down we went, the less food we had to eat. There wasn't much flora in our stone prison aside from moss and vines, and the number of fauna was even fewer. Many of us died from starvation.

Then one day, a solution to our problem appeared before us in the form of a golden flower.

Normally, the magic we Monsters possess dissipates when we die and rejoin the universe from which we were born. But with the barrier in place, that magic had no way of returning to the cycle as it was meant to, so it reached out to the environment instead. The magic we lost was absorbed by the earth and reborn as a flower. And while it wasn't exactly what we were hoping for, it was certainly a start.

King Asgore called upon the plant monsters such as the Vegetoid and Squashy families to work in agriculture. Unfortunately, the Squashy's did not have enough magic to sustain the environment long enough to produce food and inevitably died as well. Still, their efforts sprouted in the form of fertile soil and thick vines that line the cavern walls to this day. Thankfully, the Vegetoid family filled in the cracks and put all the Squashy's hard work to good use. The first plants, carrots, took to the soil much better than the squash and came in larger amounts. And with all the ambient magic getting heatboxed inside, it was inevitable that they would multiply as fast as they did. No longer would we suffer starvation.

Then, before we knew it, we had slowly rebuilt our civilization from scratch.

We had no way of knowing what the date or time was due to the barrier and lack of sunlight, so we resolved on an agreement. Based on the date and time we were trapped in the barrier, we could use a 24-hour cycle to measure the number of days we've been down here. The last of the Squashy's fell after a month of hard work and had almost reached harvest when they vanquished. The Vegetoids survived the next month and a half it took to grow the carrots they'd been working on. It had been an estimated three months until we finally bore a functioning calendar. And on September 21st, at high noon, the Monsters were gifted a timetable carved onto a stone pillar. We now had a sense of time.

After that, the remaining scientists and medics we had on hand offered to look into creating means of hygiene and medicine. Things like potassium (potash for short) and sodium carbonate (or soda, for short) were important for making things like soap, paper, and glass. We didn't have any trees to burn for potash, but the surplus of vines made for a suitable replacement. We also had a few underground lakes and ponds to scavenge for other resources. There were some water-based Monsters raring to go and look. There were plenty of surprising options found below. Seaweed and other algae were abundant. And there were even a few fish swimming about! But, while tempting, it was decided that we not eat them until their population increased. Until then, we would harvest the grass and algae from the water and live off of it for a while.

With our vine potash and seaweed soda, we started handing out new materials to further our progress. Now it was time for construction. The tents made for a good campsite, but it wouldn't do for a long-term stay, which is definitely what this is. So, homes and farms. When the first few buildings were made, it was frankly quite pitiful how bland they looked, but we did with what we had. The first "house" was a stone igloo-esque construct made from a boulder. The debris was used to make foundations and bricks for more houses, while the original was left to be inhabited by moss. This building would be later known as the Gardening Center, where Monsters came to grow and harvest crops of their own (mostly the Vegetoids).

The bricks turned into houses using mud for mortar and moss for insulation. The houses went from rounded to squared and squared to angled. Everything became more and more sophisticated as time progressed and before we knew it ten years had passed. Food, water, and shelter were acquired. Medicine, science, and community were achieved. Our kingdom, now much smaller than before, is slowly building back into what it once was. We are healing.

And to think it all began with a single golden flower.

. . .

Izuku was fascinated by this information. Monsters certainly had a rough time, huh? From discrimination to war to imprisonment, and then starvation. Still, the ability to achieve all of that progress in just ten years? And the Monsters had been down here for how long again? They must have advanced so much from back then. The change from technically edible vines, carrots, and water plants to the full-course meals they have now is physical evidence of just how far Monsterkind has come from its somber beginnings and how well they've coped with the situation.

Izuku, deciding to take a break from his reading, looked around the cave a bit more. Izuku stood up from his nook, bumping a mushroom in the process. The mushroom wiggled back and forth and began to sing, "Mushroom Dance, Mushroom Dance~ Whatever could it mean?" it sang. There was a pause before the top raised upward to reveal large eyes underneath. Was this mushroom secretly a Monster? "It symbolizes my inner torment, trapped here by my hyphae." the eyes squinted a far-off stare that saw right through him. "My struggle to pull away. My struggle to escape. But alas, to no avail." The hood lowered and left Izuku to ponder the words of the mushroom.

He wondered if this mushroom Monster was stuck here. If so, how could he help them? He tapped the hood of the Monster to get their attention, only for them to begin singing again. "Mushroom Dance, Mushroom Dance~ Whatever could it mean?" they sang, doing their little jiggle. "If only I could see the world above. But even if the barrier was open, how would I leave...?" they spoke, a sadness hanging over their words. The hood lowered once more. It seems they were done talking now. The mushroom was right though. How would they leave if they were stuck in this spot? Would they have to live in a pot or vase? Could they be carted around everywhere? Or would they simply stay in their birthplace? Perhaps he should bring it up with Mother.

Izuku tapped a different mushroom to see if this one had a different answer. It did not jiggle or dance, merely giving under the weight of his finger with a small squeak. Izuku thought it was very cute. He decided to leave the mushrooms and explore a bit. Asriel and Papyrus were still playing near the water and Sans was explaining what everything was. Izuku walked over to join them, listening in to the tail end of the conversation. "-and that one is called a water sausage. unfortunately, they are not real sausages and thus cannot be eaten, so please don't try." he told them. Izuku hummed in acknowledgment. He had read about them in the books kept in their library. Gardening wasn't the only thing Father studied. Understanding how botany worked was useful in deciding how to go about keeping his kingdom well-fed and cared for. 

They also had a few water sausages in thin orange vases scattered about their home. The sausages were very soft and fun to play with, but very fragile so he had to be careful not to break them. Their fluffy insides were, however, very good for making all sorts of medicines and foods, and their stalks made some very elastic and soft fabric that was often used in bags, baskets, rugs, and rope. Lots of rope. Another thing was insulation. The fuzzy part made for very fluffy pillows and plushies. There was nothing softer than a cattail pillow to lay your head on late at night.

"Actually, Sans, they kind of are. The inside of the tail itself is inedible, but everything else is fair game. The roots, stalks, flowers, seeds, and leaves are all edible but are mostly used in medicine or crafts. You can eat them, for sure, though I doubt they'll taste very good," Izuku told him. Sans huffed a chuckle, "oh yeah? where'd ya learn that one?" he asked. Izuku smirked, "Father's botany and gardening books. We have some water sausages of our own around the house. And there are quite a number of things to pay attention to if we want the kingdom to be as prosperous as possible."

Asriel may come to rule the kingdom himself someday, but Izuku would remain his most trusted advisor. It was only natural to know these things. Besides, he liked learning all these cool facts. Knowing more about the little things helped him understand the biology and even psychology of certain Monsters. Like how the Vegetoid family enjoys making vegan dishes and selling them for cheap, running a food pantry, or even handing them out to hungry passerbys. They are very adamant on people "eating their greens", while being a sentient vegetables themselves. Is it an understanding of how important they are, or suppressed guilt for letting so many people go hungry?

Asriel was the type to listen and account for others, so he would undoubtedly take their worries into consideration and fix the problem before it could get out of hand. Izuku had first-hand experience at just how far his brother would go, so he was familiar with the kindness the prince readily offered. All Izuku had to do was work as hard as could to keep up. And when it came time for him to try and help, he'd work from the shadows while Asriel stood proud in the spotlight. Until then, Izuku would become a great scholar with a mind sharper than any blade.

Sans nodded in understanding, "guess that makes sense. i think it's about time to start heading back, though. you guys ready?" The children all voiced their agreement and held hands as they walked back out of the cave and into the tunnel. As they were walking back through town, though, Izuku paid a bit more attention to the buildings around them. One of the things he noticed was that the houses with hedges lining their properties were actually stone walls covered in moss that had grown to the point that they looked like hedges. At the vary least, he could rest assured knowing that the air was plenty clean and circulated.

And, he guessed, the mushrooms were cute too.

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(Hello everyone!

I hath returned with a new chapter. I know you've all waited a long time and I thank you for your patience. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

I would also like to announce that my previous work got a spanish translation on Youtube for anyone who'd like to listen to it.

The link to it will be in the book's description.

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you in the next chapter!)