Undertale fanfic : Stories From the Surface (34)

Chapter 34 : In The Cave




Queen Lorena had been keeping the humans in her home for a couple days now, and most of her people had already come see them. They were all very curious and excited to see humans up close for the first time. Few were those old enough to remember the war…
The visitors were free to explore the castle but were advised not to leave it, to make it easier to keep an eye on them.
Hernandez was currently reading a book in the queen’s living room. Or rather, she was trying to read while Bubbles kept asking her question after question about the Outside. Lorena was tending to the fireplace on the other side of the room and pretending she wasn’t listening in and just as curious as her daughter. The human patiently answered every question.
“Is it true that humans are mostly water?” the young elemental asked.
“Well, yes”, Hernandez confirmed. “The exact percentage is different for everyone, but-”
“Awesome!”
“…Over half our bodies is water.”
“What’s the other half? Mama says it’s not magic, but that sounds weird.”
“She’s right though. But biology isn’t my specialty so… I probably won’t be able to give you the most accurate answer, you know? I mean, us humans have a lot of stuff going on. I’m not sure where to start.”
The human did her best to recall what she knew, then closed the book and set it on the table.
“Ok, my turn to ask something”, she said. “Other monster settlements we know about had a Barrier around them, right? That we put there so no-one could get out? Was there ever anything like that here?”
Lorena finally turned to her guest and explained :
“We are the children of those who fled the war. Humans did not imprison us here : we came here to hide from them. As soon as they attacked, my parents took me and everyone they knew into the mountains. Not all of us made it.”
“…Are you saying you were there?” Hernandez asked.
“My species can live a very long time. I am old enough to have seen the Cave population be replaced by an entirely new set of people several times over.”
The human struggled to find something to say ; after a moment of silence she finally settled on : “wait. Holy sh- holy cow. I’ve been going over your books for information when I could have just asked you directly! You’ve lived through the history I’ve been trying to study! This is- Can I interview you? I’ll go get something to write with and-”
“Maybe later”, Lorena interrupted. “I have some business to attend to. Bubbles, do you want to come see Mama work?”
The water elemental nodded enthusiastically and followed her mother out the room, waving the human goodbye.

The next day, Lorena sat at her living room table to be interviewed by Hernandez. Most of the latter’s teammates were there too, taking notes. Bubbles was moving all around the room, going from person to person and trying to read above their shoulders.
“No, I do not remember why they attacked”, the queen stated. “My mother said they feared us. My father said they feared what we could become. I was but a child. I couldn’t understand why humans did what they did.”
One of the guards, a calico cat monster, flung the door open.
“Your majesty! They’re here!”
“…I beg your pardon?” Lorena replied.
“You were waiting for someone, right? Well he’s here, and he’s not alone! They’re waiting near the exit.”
She stood up immediately ; the guard moved aside to let her pass. She rushed through the stone-carved city and the exit tunnel. Monsters parted to let her pass, wondering what was up with her.
Right there, between the first sentry station and the outside world stood two boss monsters and a young human.
“Howdy!” one of them said.
“Greetings”, the other added.
The human waved and smiled.
Lorena remained frozen for a few moments before collecting herself.
“Oh, I am deeply sorry, I haven’t met any fellow boss monsters in so long I forgot my manners! I am queen Lorena Cholymn. Welcome to our Cave. Please follow me.”