—Your POV—

Light streamed through the blinds. Your whole body has a dull hum about it, covering the throbs of pain that your mind is not privy to. Hushed murmurs echo outside your room. Your eyelids flutter at the daylight dancing across your face. 

You're awake.

It's not like in the movies, the way you come around. You blink once or twice, taking in the thin, yet soft mattress underneath you and the cheap ceiling overhead, little flecks of drywall peeling away. The blankets on your body are worn and torn. You barely keep yourself from nodding right back off. 

Where are you?

Slowly coming to, sitting up and rubbing your bleary eyes. Your clothes are... not in the best shape. Oh well, poor shirt and pants, you'll probably get more out of your—

Realization slams you like a bus. 

WHERE ARE YOU?

"H-Hello!?" You call, immediately going for communication. You don't see anyone, but you do hear the murmurs quiet to a stop when you speak. "Hey! Can you hear me?" 

Then they pick back up a lot, and you spot the door by across the room. The handle jiggles wildly and you brace for impact, grabbing a pillow just in case. You don't know what to expect. 

Whatever you did, it was not what happened. 

A stout, bruised dog monster came hobbling in, panting. It took one look at you, small eyes growing large as it barked, and several others followed. 

"Th-The human's awake?" 

"I hope they finally stopped snoring!" 

"I wanna... I kinda want to meet them..."

Several little snippets of conversation flow in as you watch several entities enter. A blue toadish monster with a long white beard, a little human with yellow streaks in their hair, a cat monster missing an eye and an ear, a battered robot with red accents all over. 

They eye you and you eye them back, looking each and every one up and down. They don't look too mean, persay, but you do have some kind of opinion on their appearance for sure...

Well, you wouldn't really call the people in front of you... presentable. Most of them were dirty, battered, missing a piece, or all of the above. The first one to speak is a particular roughed up looking goat monster... she reminds you faintly of Toriel. 

"Hello, Child." She folds her hands kindly at her waist, trying to look polite as she kneels in front of your bed. "I am... Toria." She looks a little unsure saying it, but you don't blame her, grip loosening on the pillow. "You fell here a few days ago... after a fight between the twins." 

"Where's here?" You're quick to ask, having confirmed every other suspicion crawling in your brain. Some of your last memories are being shaken, dropped, caught, tossed, and finally, the screaming of two very pissed, very vengeful skeleton twins. 

Yeah, that checks out for sure. 

"We are..." She bites her lip, looking regretful. "Refugees. The Omega Timeline is a very... very strict place... quite particular about its inhabitants." The rest of the group all share their thoughts on that with hushed mutters. Doesn't sound like they enjoy the place too much. "Yet... most of us have nowhere else to call 'Home.'" 

You nod... huh... similar to you, oddly enough. Couldn't exactly just waltz up into the place without being prosecuted... and Nightmare... who knows where he was now? His castle is kind of the only 'Home' you can return to. 

She moves to sit beside you on the bed, and you let her. The others, monsters, humans, and everything in between remain, a spectacle of broken pieces to a messy puzzle. You feel bad for them. At least you had Nightmare... not the best host, but it beats staying under a breaking roof. 

"As you are aware... The war between those apple brothers has been going on for a while." She fiddles with her thumbs, eyes downcast and misty. "One destroys everything in his wake without a care..." She actually grits her teeth at this, hands locking with a new kind of rage. "And the other... he's trying so hard to fix things." 

Well... you weren't exactly sure where she was going with this but... you couldn't help but feel a bit sympathetic. It happened to you too... the nights you'd cry yourself to sleep thinking about the world you left behind against your will. Even today a small, traitorous part of you wishes you could've been destroyed along with it. 

"Where do you stand, Child?" She settled a paw on your back, you looked into her soft red eyes. "You do not have to answer that... it was a very controversial question." That only made the answer more obvious. "Most of us here have many stories about ourselves. You should ask around." 

And with that, she rose, rejoining the group as she gave you a kind smile. "There are no restrictions here. Do what you please. This room is yours. You may rest in it whenever you like." 

"Thanks..." You reply, not really knowing what else to say. You wanted to think more than anything right now. 

"If you need me, come to the room at the end of this hallway." 

You managed a stiff nod before the lot filed out, leaving you alone again. Well... this was a lot to take in. 

You check your surroundings again. It's just you, your scratchy sheets, your thin bed... heh, reminds you of when you stayed at Larry's place. 

Better not dwell on that. May as well get the day started right.

You have a lot to learn, apparently. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Shorter than usual, but I thought the pacing was really good and didn't wanna rush it or make it too drawn out so... 

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!

- De Moogus