Please give me writing advice ;-;
Link to next part here: https://forum.arcaneodyssey.dev/t/part-2-of-my-little-ut-aa-crossover/
Aaron Gates’ Story
Prologue
In the far past
A man walks across a once-grand field. Now, it is burnt, and strewn with bodies of the fallen. And on much higher ground, for this is a mountain, a large figure looms, surrounded by a cloak of brilliant fire.
An army marches up another mountain, towards a group of figures. The largest figure, holding a trident in his hand, stares at the approaching army. Grim-faced, he summons a fireball and fires it down the mountain.
A Boy’s Story
In the present
A young boy, perhaps ten years old, sits by the vast ocean and stares, utterly fascinated, at the book he is reading. He doesn’t know why, but this book, about a legend from his world and what might have inspired it, has always drawn him towards it. He turns the page and marvels at the illustration of Arthur, the Cursebeard, marching towards the god Prometheus; and next to it, the illustration of the monster king, Asgore Dreemurr, fighting a losing war against the human army.
“I wish Asgore’s world was real… their magic is so different from ours. I bet all of us would learn new things if we met!” As he thought about this, something occurred to him. “What if it is real? Maybe the legend is from someone who found a different world…but is that even possible…?”
Sighing, he looked up and realized how dark it had become. Hurriedly, he jumped up and ran back up the seaside path towards his home—a massive structure, one of the largest in all the Fifth Sea, and constructed for his father, Clark Gates, a Shadow Magic user and an admiral in the Arcane Government. This was where he, Aaron Gates, Fire Magic user-in-training and wannabe A.G. Admiral, lived with his parents—Clark Gates and Madison Gates, a Fire Magic user like her son.
Once he was home, he remembered what he had been wondering and brought it up over dinner.
“Mom? Dad? I’d been thinking…”
“About?” This was his father.
“That story about Asgore, the one I’m always reading… Could it be real? Could there be a wizard out there who’s strong enough to discover other worlds?”
“I…uh…don’t know. I guess it could be possible, but I can’t even think of a magic that could let you do that.”
“Gravity Magic, maybe? It can affect the world in ways other magics can’t; maybe if the user is strong enough, you could use it in strange ways.” This was his mother now, chipping in.
“So it is possible, huh…”
“Hold on, neither I nor Madison said that—we just said it might be—“
But Aaron had already made up his mind.
The next morning, as he prepared for school, he was still wondering about the possibilities of other worlds and travelling to them. The whole school day, he couldn’t focus, distracted by his thoughts. And when he got home, when he was training his magic with his mother, he did far worse than usual, and Madison could easily guess why.
She discussed it with him and Clark later, suggesting that every weekend, Aaron could think about magic and Asgore’s world, but he had to focus on weekdays. A bit deflated, but knowing he didn’t really have a choice, he agreed.
And so it went, for a few years.
Darkness Rising
Five years later
Arcane Government Headquarters
“Grand Admiral! Grand Admiral Valencia!”
“What is it, Argestes?”
“The Cursebeard has fallen to the Dark Wizard’s hands… There’s no one now who stands even the slightest chance.”
Valencia sighed. “That fool…I warned him he would lose, and I warned him of the consequences…He always was arrogant, wasn’t he.”
“That’s not the reason I’m here.”
“What? Then… what could possibly be more important?”
Argestes looked very worried. “It’s only a matter of time until he attacks the Arcane Government and crushes it once and for all.”
“…Very well. Gather our most powerful men—men that will at least stand a chance against the Dark Wizard’s power. We have to stop this before it starts.”
“Understood.”
Gates family home
“Well, this storm is getting big for a “bit of wind,” Aaron, who had much improved his magic over the past years, even awakening his Second and Third Minds—Earth and Wind—commented dryly.
“It is. And that worries me—usually, we don’t get storms this big.” Clark grimaced. “And there goes the electricity…”
Madison and Aaron summoned little balls of fire to serve as lights. Suddenly, almost the exact moment they did that, someone banged on the door.
“Wonder who that could be… And in this storm too…” Clark looked puzzled.
He went over to the door and opened it to reveal the storm-battered figure of the Master of Winds, Admiral Argestes. “Admiral Gates.”
“Admiral Argestes? What-”
“There’s to be an emergency meeting. The Cursebeard has fallen, and we have reason to believe the next target will be the Arcane Government.”
Madison cut in. “The Cursebeard? Dead? Then that means Durza now has—?”
“I’m afraid so, Madison.”
Aaron suddenly thought of a conversation he had had with his parents years ago, about the possibilities of Gravity Magic being used for interdimensional travel. And he came to another realization—Argestes was the Master of Winds, but he also had Gravity Magic in his arsenal. Maybe…
He was snapped out of his reverie by the urgent tone of his parents’ voices.
“Argestes, is there somewhere safe Aaron can go?”
“Nothing I can think of. Anything that’s secure now will be wiped out by the Dark Wizard.”
“There has to be something! If he dies…”
“There’s…one thing, that I’ve done only once before, something I discovered by accident…”
Aaron almost gasped. Maybe Argestes was the person who’d discovered Asgore’s world?
“What is it? Will it keep Aaron safe?”
“It…will…I suppose. But if I die, you’d never be able to see him again—I’m the only person who can do this.”
“Admiral, what is it?”
“It’s teleportation, or a form of it at least. It utilizes Gravity Magic to-”
Aaron suddenly cut in. “To travel to other worlds? Like a world where there are humans and monsters and different kinds of magic? The world of that legend about Asgore?”
Argestes laughed. “Well, it would appear that someone’s been reading the stories I wrote!”
“Wait. That’s real? Not just something in a ten-year-old’s imagination?” Clark was shocked.
“That’s correct.”
“And that’s your plan to keep Aaron safe? Send him to another dimension where no one knows him?” Madison asked sharply.
“Don’t worry, Madison, the people—monsters—there are very kind. I’m sure they’d take care of him until all this is over.”
“But…you said something about us never seeing him again?”
“If I die. Madison, it’s the best shot you and Clark have at keeping your son safe.”
“We’ll have to think about it.”
“You don’t have time! The Dark Wizard could attack at any moment.”
“All right. We’ll do it…but…can’t you go with him? That way…”
Argestes frowned. “No. I’m too valuable here.”
“Fine. Hurry up and do it before I regret this, Admiral!” Clark looked a bit sad, but he wiped that expression away quickly.
Argestes nodded. He held a hand out in Aaron’s direction, and a massive magic circle appeared. Aaron felt as if he was being torn apart and pushed together at the same time, and then he felt nothing. His parents saw a throbbing ball of energy that slowly vanished. Argestes, spent, sank to his knees.
But Aaron saw none of this. He was in a different dimension, or at least heading to one, and all he saw was blackness.
The Underground
Aaron
Then, suddenly, the blackness gave way to a landscape much like his home, except it was one massive landmass instead of islands. He realized he was on a mountain and there was an opening beneath him—a moment before he toppled into it.
Darkness Rising (cont.)
Back home
“Argestes! Are you all right? And is our son all right?” Madison rushed over to help him up.
“A bit tired, but yes. And yes, if everything went well then he is all right. Also, thank you.”
Madison and Clark both let out a breath they hadn’t realized they were holding.
“So now, we need to worry about the Dark Wizard…”
The Underground (cont.)
Aaron
He screamed as he plunged into the void. Frantically, he tried to summon the winds to stop his fall. But he hadn’t had much practice with Wind Magic, and he only got a brief gale. But that was enough to keep him from being hurt too badly. As it was, he landed awkwardly and immediately felt a sharp pain run through his leg. Grimacing, he summoned a fireball and looked at his surroundings.
He was in a small chamber with a door that looked as if it was naturally formed except for the crest above it—the royal crest, he knew.
He limped towards it, every step causing him pain until he remembered that he could use Wind Magic to fly. He tried, and managed to hover for a moment before the exertion became too much and he landed on his injured foot. He let out a brief yell as another, sharper jolt of pain went through his leg and his fireball flickered out. He managed to relight that, at least, and limped his way towards what looked to be the exit to this next chamber.
As he walked through the next door, he was surprised by a spacious room with torches lit. He put out his fireball and wondered if he might have enough energy to hover now. He found out he did not—the hard and painful way.
He proceeded through the next few rooms until he came to a bridge over the water—except the bridge was made of spikes. The last few spikes, he’d destroyed with fireballs, but this would be hard, and he didn’t really have that much energy left. Somehow, he managed it, and then limped through.
After a while, he came to another challenge: the ground was cracked, and when he touched a part, it crumbled away, revealing a flower bed that was probably meant to break the fall of a person who didn’t have a bad leg. But he got past that, too, by getting down on his hands and knees and feeling before him for unstable sections of ground.
Finally, he came to a clearing with a door, again with the royal crest. He pushed it open, and was plunged into darkness. Creating a fireball, he looked around to see a room much like the one he had fallen into, except this one had another door directly in front of him, the grandest one yet.
He pushed it open and walked forwards, and immediately his leg sank through something. He realized that it was snowing, and likely had been for a while. But now he could also see lights in the distance, and he fervently hoped that it was a village or town.
Keep walking , he kept telling himself. Almost there . After the longest walk of his life, he almost stumbled into a sign: “Welcome to Snowdin.” He limped forwards, into town, and proceeded to collapse onto the ground.
Darkness Rising (cont.)
Back home
Arcane Government Headquarters
“Where is the Dark Wizard now? Graves, your scouts, have they said anything?” Valencia spoke mainly to Graves, the Highland Bandit Leader turned A.G. Commodore, but to the room as a whole as well.
“They haven’t, but if the Cursebeard was defeated only hours ago it would make sense that Durza is resting, maybe still in the Seventh Sea, recovering from the battle.”
“That’s true, but does anything about Durza ever make sense?” This was Grand Captain Morgan, a skilled Wind Magic user training under Argestes.
“True, and besides he’d think that he wouldn’t even need to rest before crushing us.” Admiral Gates was now speaking.
“Right. So we must hurry, as if Durza were going to attack tomorrow, even if he isn’t.” Valencia sighed. She’d always known this would happen someday—for a man who thought nothing of destroying the world to destroy one person, rampaging through the seas, it was inevitable that he would face off against the Arcane Government, and the Grand Table, at some point.
LOVE
Aaron
Aaron woke up in a comfortable bed, and for a moment, he thought he was still at home, until his ankle throbbed and he remembered the events of—what? The previous day? Where was he, anyway? The last thing he remembered was passing out at the town entrance. He slid out of bed and discovered that his ankle pain was now only a dull throb even when he put weight on it. He sighed with relief and opened the door.
He walked the short distance to the stairs and went down, not sure what to expect. A voice greeted him.
“I see you’re awake… You must have been exhausted, huh? It’s been a full day and a half since I found you.”
He’d read about monsters in books, but he didn’t think anything could fully prepare you to see a talking, clothed rabbit standing on their hind legs. Not to mention that it was taller than him.
“Um… hi.?”
“I’m Liz. The owner of this inn. Not used to seeing monsters, I take it?”
“Yeah. I’ve read books about the underground and stuff, but…”
“Mm? You have? Well then, you should be at least a bit less shocked than Chara was! I remember her just fainting away when she saw Sans for the first time.”
“Well, I know that monsters can look different, and I’ve seen some drawings of the king, but that’s about it. So I’ll probably be just about as—waaait.”
“Yes?”
“Did you just say that there are other humans down here?”
“One other human, and yes, Chara is human.”
Aaron was shocked. He hadn’t expected that there would be other humans here, especially after what he’d read.
“I thought there was some kind of big war…?”
“Yes, there was, but that was hundreds of years ago. Only the king and queen were even alive to see it. Don’t worry, no one here holds grudges for that long!” Liz laughed.
Aaron exhaled.
“So, uh, can you show me around or something?” And immediately realizing how rude that sounded: “Sorry if that was a bit rude of me.”
“Don’t worry, it’s fine! I can imagine how awkward you must feel right now. I’d be happy to show you around here, help you get to know everyone.”
“Thanks.”
Over the next hour or so, he got to know the people in Snowdin, most of whom were very kind. But…
“Liz!”
“Huh? Who—?”
Facing him was someone that looked almost human at first glance, but upon closer inspection looked to be a skeleton. A skeleton with a blue jacket, black shorts, blue shoes, and a menacing look in his eye.
“Oh! That’s Sans! He’s—”
Sans cut her off. “Get the Guard! Hurry!”
“What? Sans, what did he—?”
“Just go!”
Liz ran off, looking puzzled.
Lazarus
Back home
Arcane Government Base
“We can’t take Durza on by ourselves, that’s clear enough.” Valencia said.
Commodore Kinsley spoke up, with one word. “Willpower”
“Willpower…oh. Him…” Valencia considered the proposal. It wasn’t too ridiculous of an idea to contact Freedrock, one of the Eleven Unknowns, but in practice it would be nearly impossible, not in the least because of the fact that they had no idea where to find him.
Still, it was worth a shot.
“Kinsley, send your scouts out. Try to find Freedrock, contact him, and ask him to meet with me.”
“Very well.”
