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Never for the life of you could you remember the word for that feeling. That feeling of realizing just how alive you were. Realizing just how alive everything is, the voices of people around you, how alive they are. Animals, how real their fur felt, how you could feel them breathing.It was that feeling you were feeling currently as you fell to your death.Yes, you die. Oh, you’re probably thinking, 'But you can’t just kill me!' Well dear reader, watch me.Your body hit the ground, sending the air in your lungs out and leaving your spine to break. The back of your skull had hit the ground at such an angle that it shattered, drilling bits of bone through the noodle-like mess that was your brain. Blood began to soak the ground, just as the bag you were carrying fell to the ground a few feet away from you.There. You see? You’re dead now. So why are you still reading this?Oh, because you came for a romance story. Well, buddy, that romance is going to have to wait.Let us take a moment to recap on what happened before you fell to your death.Your name is ____, a college dropout that worked at a diner and sold paintings online as a hobby. There was nothing special about you, you were an average bystander, at most a background character in a game. You didn’t have any unique powers, your parents weren’t horrible, and you didn’t exactly have friends in real life. One thing your father taught you was that friends would only begin to depend on you, and in high school, you realized that when one of your ‘friends’ at the time begged for you to drive them over to their drug dealer’s home. You refused.It was best to not have friends around, they would only get you into trouble. Now that wasn’t to say you were completely friendless. No, you had your online friends, and they were all that you needed to keep you sane, from a distance anyway. That, and your various arts. Digital, traditional, musical, even the occasional odd art that was dying.You, yes we’re getting back on topic now, also tended to get out of the house on the occasion. Perhaps it was either because you were dealing with a lot of stress at the time. Maybe you had a burnout and needed some time to refresh and become inspired by your surroundings once more. In this case, it was the latter of the two possibilities.A sigh passed your lips as you threw your arms above your head, stretching your sore muscles and cursing as a large yawn escaped your lips. When your arms fell, you nearly dropped your bag, making it to where you had to toss it back onto your shoulder. It wasn’t heavy, all that was inside was a sketchbook, some pencils, led, a jacket, and your ukulele. You always brought your ukulele with you when you made your occasional trek up the mountain. Playing a simple pattern of major notes made you smile, while a slightly more complex pattern of major and minor notes always brought you down into your feels. In a good way that is.It was always quiet whenever you walked up the mountain, like someone had taken all of the wildlife from it. At first, you found it strange, but once you had come and gone a few times, the lack of noise was something normal. Now all the sound that was left was your feet as you walked, and the wind. The wind seemed to make the trees whisper to one another, perhaps secrets they’ve learned of people. A chuckle left your lips, maybe you really were just as crazy as people thought you were huh? Oh well, no one's opinion mattered to you except your own at this point.A chillier breeze hit you, causing goosebumps to rise on your forearms. You rubbed them, a small frown forming now, looks like you were getting pretty high up the mountain now. Come to think of it, none of this area looked familiar to you. You paused, something didn’t seem right. Something like a twig snapping made you whip your head around, just in time to see something brown whizz by a few feet away. What the hell was that?Every part of you was saying not to get closer, that it was time to go home, that you had to leave. You stepped forward, just a few feet, only to stop as you saw what looked like a kid, probably ten years old, maybe eleven, standing in front of a cave. They went inside, you tried to call out to them but your legs worked before your mouth could.Stepping inside the cave, you watched as the kid started to go deeper and deeper into it.This was a bad idea.You followed them.This was a horrible idea.They stopped.You were regretting this.You stopped, and they turned around to face you. They looked pale, despite their honeyed skin, like they haven’t slept in days. Before you knew what was happening, before it could even process in your mind, the child ran past you before you felt something shove you forward.You didn’t hit the ground as quickly as you thought you would.………
“Come on now, ____, pull yourself together! STAY DETERMINED!”
………Your eyes shot open, jaws unhinging themselves as you’ve sucked in a large breath of air. What- What just happened?Above you, a large hole with light pouring into it met your eyes.Did… Did you die?You sat up, sucking in another breath at the stabbing pain in your back. Turning your head to look at where you had fell, a pool of blood stained crushed yellow flowers. Buttercups. You recognized those flowers anywhere. But where were you exactly? Looking away from the bloody flowers, you took a moment to look at your surroundings.From what the light touched, you were in what’s looked to be a large pit. The pit had to be miles down, from how far the hole seemed. Another thing was the large pillars that stood tall from all four corners of this 'room'. Buttercups littered the ground, and it would be a funny thought to think that they had broken your fall. There was no way you could’ve survived that. Right?Those thoughts were silenced when your sight landed on your bag. Your eyes widened, scrambling over to it despite the strong pain in your back, head, and legs. Quickly unzipping it, you pulled out the case where your ukulele resided, unclamping the latches and opening it up. It looked fine, but you pulled it out anyways, plucking the strings and heaving a huge sigh of relief when the strings sounded just as tuned as they did this morning. Thank whatever god was out there for that. You would off yourself if you didn’t at least have some sort of music.Without checking to make sure your other belongings were okay (the rest was just art supplies and a jacket, no biggie), you put the ukulele back in its case before putting it back in your bag. Now, let’s recap on what happened before this mess.You we’re hiking up the mountain since it was one of your days off work. That day you had gone up the mountain more than usual, and then you saw something move a few feet away. When you went to investigate, you saw a kid go inside a cave just up ahead. You followed… they pushed you into the hole…How the HELL were you ALIVE?!?!Turning your face towards the hole above you, you blinked a few times up at it. There was no way you could’ve survived that. Not even with a stroke of luck. But you couldn’t stay down here forever. As you made a move to stand, you gasped, biting down on your lip as pain traveled up your leg. Staring down at your foot, you crouched down for a moment, pulling up your pants leg a bit, you cringed seeing how purple your ankle looked. Maybe it was twisted? No, then it would look weird. Broken would be the better word.”Shit…” Muttering those words, you looked around, there had to be something that you could use to fix this, right? And it was as if a saint had come down and graced you at that moment as you saw a fairly long stick just a couple of feet away. It looked like you could break it in half with enough effort, but just sturdy enough to hold you up for a good bit. Putting your bag on, you crawled over to the stick, looking it over before picking it up.With a grunt and a hiss of pain, you carefully stood up, using the stick you found as a major support as you put all of your weight onto your good foot. You took a step forward, the stick bending just slightly with your weight on it, then another, and another. Good, looks like this stick might actually get you on your way. There wasn’t any time to wait for your foot to heal, you didn’t have anything to make a splint, much less any food or water to survive down here with.With your stick in hand, you wobbled away from the patch of flowers you landed in. Looking ahead, you scrunch your eyebrows together as you squint. With there being just enough light, you could sort of make out what looked to be a small trail that led deeper into darkness. Shit, what you wouldn’t give to have a flashlight right now. Taking a deep breath, you began to make your way down the trail, using your only available hand to put your weight on the cave wall.Ahead of you, you could sort of make out what looked like an… entrance? What was an entrance doing down here? It was to the left of you, on the wall, and there were two columns on either side of it. You paused in it for a moment to catch your breath, using this stick wasn’t really showing your stamina mercy. In front of you, there was a patch of light on a small bed of grass, maybe you could rest there?Putting most of your weight onto the stick once again, trying to keep a tight grip on it as you pulled yourself away from the entrance to keep moving forward towards the patch of sunlight. You could feel your arms starting to shake at the strain you were putting on them, the rough bark of the stick starting to blister your hands. “Fuck…” you muttered, finally letting yourself sink to the floor in front of the grassy patch. However, as you were rubbing the bits of wood off of your palms, you hardly noticed when a flower popped up from the ground.“Howdy!” A voice exclaimed, you screamed. Snapping your head up, your eyes widened seeing a large, yellow flower grinning down at you. Yes grinning! The thing had a fucking FACE!!! WHAT THE FUCK?!“I’m Flowey! Flowey the Flower!” You didn’t like the way this thing… Flowey was looking at you. It’s eyes were like holes in it's face. “Um… nice to meet you, Flowey…?” God fucking shit, you had to be dreaming. Fuck you HOPED you were dreaming! Because there was no way in HELL that flowers had faces, OR COULD TALK!!! “You’re new to the Underground, aren’tcha? Golly! You must be so confused!”Yeah, no shit you were confused. This thing didn’t even care to ask who you were. Rude.”…Quite.” You responded, taking your stick and keeping a tight grip on it. Staring at Flowey with wary eyes, you felt your stomach churn as the flower smiled wider. “Someone ought to teach you how things work around here! I guess little ol’ me will have to do! Ready? Here we go!”Flowey didn’t even give you a moment to respond before you felt a strong tug in your chest. Letting out a pained cry, you watched as a heart-shaped object was pulled out of your chest. You stared at it with wide eyes, fear beginning to sink in at the feeling of emptiness in you. Were you always this exhausted? “See that heart? That’s your SOUL! The very culmination of your being!”Finally taking a look at the heart in front of you, your eyes felt like they were about to pop out of their sockets. It was about as big as your hand almost, maybe a bit smaller, it was also red. Pretty, no doubt, but something in your gut told you that it definitely didn’t need to be out of your body.“Your SOUL starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV. What’s LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course!” You didn’t like where this was going. “You want some LOVE, don’t you? Don’t worry, I’ll share some with you!” You DEFINITELY didn’t like where this was going.Suddenly, about five weird looking white orbs started spinning around Flowey.“Down here, LOVE is shared through… little white… ‘friendliness pellets.’ Are you ready? Move around! Get as many as you can!” When you saw them moving towards the heart, your SOUL, you flipped. “OH FUCK THAT!!!” You screamed, flinging yourself backwards, hands going in the air, and in turn, the SOUL did as well. The pellets were dodged, and once you sat up, you turned your attention back to Flowey. He had a look of surprise on his face, though it shifted back into a more strained grin.”H-Hey there buddy, you missed them!” Another circle of pellets formed a ring around him, “Come on! Catch them!” The pellets were flung forward, your hand reached out for the SOUL, but it moved forwards away from your grasp. Thankfully it moved out of the way of the pellets too, the things hitting the ground just in front of you. The look on Flowey’s face made your stomach sink. He looked angry, and you could tell then that his true colors were showing.”You IDIOT!!! RUN. INTO. THE. BULLETS!!!” Another ring of the bullets was flung at your SOUL, this time much faster, and you jerked your hand away from them as quick as you could. When the bullets didn’t hit their target, they disappeared, and you began to shake seeing the look on Flowey’s face now.His face seemed contorted, a disfigured smile on his face, his eyes bigger with two white pinpricks for what you guessed were supposed to be pupils. “You… You just want to see me suffer, don’t you?” The FUCK was this dude talking about? He clearly wanted YOU to suffer! However, your anger was short-lived as horror struck you. A large ring of pellets formed around your SOUL, essentially trapping it. You tried to get it to move away and out of the circle. It only went up and down. What the HELL?!”DIE.”His laughter was horrifying, and tears formed in your eyes as you watched the ring get smaller… and smaller…Flowey’s laugh was deafening. You felt sick. Your SOUL trembled.The ring disappeared, making your eyes widen while Flowey’s face returned to normal, though clearly confused. However, it didn’t last long as a ball of flames was sent his way, sending Flowey flying elsewhere. You were shocked, it was hard to think straight, and it barely processed in your mind when a goat person walked into the room. Were they a goat? They kinda looked like one? But they had hands.”What a miserable creature! Torturing such a poor, innocent youth!” From her tone, you could tell that she was a woman. She turned to you, and you flinched when she took a step forward. She stopped, “Ah, do not be afraid, my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins! I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come here in a long time.”As she spoke, the corners of your vision started to blur, black spots slowly taking over your vision. God wait no, don’t pass out! What if she does something? What if she tries to kill you like Flowey did?! You blinked, trying to force back whatever was trying to make you sleep. You couldn’t sleep now. Not yet. Your body fell back onto the ground, eyes rolling to the back of your head. “My …ld? M… ild!”………………………A muffled moan passed your lips as you tried to open your eyes. Fuck, was it always this hard to get up? Lifting one of your hands up to your face to rub away the sleepy feeling in it, you paused. You extended your hand to where you could look at it, bandages covered the palm and didn’t stop until they reached the start of your wrist. Lifting up your other hand, it was in the same condition. Quickly sitting up, you pulled the bed covers off of you, seeing your injured foot wrapped in bandages as well. What…?You then turned your attention to the room you were in. It was a small room with another bed on the opposite side of the one you sat in, many children’s toys were neatly sorted around the room as well. Drawings hung up around the room, adding to its child-like charm, though you frowned. Where were you?Just as you were about to try standing up, your head snapped over to the door, hearing the all too familiar click of someone twisting the knob. Your eyes widened seeing the same lady from before you passed out. What did she say her name was again? Toriel? She seemed just as surprised as you, though she smiled kindly, “Ah, my child! I’m so relieved to see that you’re awake! You’ve been resting for quite a while.” She stepped into the room, and you eyed not only her but the plate of what looked to be pie in her hands.Toriel smiled seeing you eye the pie before holding it out to you. “Please, eat. You must be starving.” For a moment, you stared at the pie, unsure about taking it, but the growl that came from your stomach made you rethink. Slowly taking the pie, you set it in your lap before looking back up at Toriel, “…Thank you, Ms. Toriel… but… why are you treating me so kindly? You don’t know me…”The goat woman’s eyes widened slightly before she gave a small chuckle. “Because child, here in the Underground, there may be monsters who wish to block your way and take your soul. But, if you simply talk to them, you may find that they are kind-hearted and only wish for someone to treat them just as kind.” She motioned a hand towards the bed, “May I?” You nodded, moving over so that she could sit down.”There are many things that I will have to teach you, my child, but all in due time. Just know that you’re safe here. You don’t have to worry about being hurt here as long as I am with you.” Toriel turned to look at you with a small smile. The motherly aura that surrounded her made you give a small smile in return. If this was a dream, you hoped that you wouldn’t wake up in this moment. “Oh! Where are my manners? I never asked you for your name!” This made you perk up as well, that’s right! You never did introduce yourself in the time that you woke up to now. “My name is ____, it’s… very nice to meet you, Ms. Toriel.” Toriel chuckled, “It’s a pleasure to meet your acquaintance as well, ____.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
You weren’t too sure as to how long you’ve been down here. The days were blurred since most of what you have been doing is eating, sleeping, and drawing. At some points, you even played a bit of your ukulele, after tuning it of course. However, you were practically bedridden. Toriel didn’t let you get up unless it was to bathe, where she would help you walk and even change your bandages once you were dry. Your clothes, unfortunately, had to be tossed out. The blood refused to come out. Bathing the first time in the Underground though, Toriel did force you to let her look at your back, where the blood was most prominent, but she was surprised when all that was there were some nasty bruises. Both of you chalked it up to the fall. That was some time ago though, and the bruises were healing up well. Your foot, though, was a bit of a different story. Thankfully, the foot itself wasn’t broken, but it was badly sprained, making it very hard to move your foot for a while. However, it was getting better, and you didn’t have to hold onto Toriel for dear life at this point to walk, her help was greatly appreciated though. A knock on the bedroom door made you snap out of your thoughts and you looked up just in time to see Toriel walk in, carrying a plate of food in her hands. “Ah! I see you’re awake, have you been drawing again?” Smiling, you nodded to the goat woman, “Yes ma’am, I’ve been drawing flowers from back home. I have a bit of a garden going on back at my house, and I can’t wait to get back to it.” With your attention to the book in your lap, you didn’t notice the sour expression on Toriel’s face. She forced a smile, sitting down on the bed and avoiding accidentally sitting on your legs. “I’m sure they’re very lovely. Oh! That reminds me, I have some old crayons if you would be interested in using those?” Toriel looked at you with a curious expression and you let out a light chuckle, “If you would be willing to let me! It’s been a very long time since I last used crayons. The last time I remember using them is when I was a really small kid!” Something you ended up doing was talking about yourself like you were old when that really wasn’t the case at all. You were only in your early twenties, a fresh drop out of college, disowned by the family. Yep, life was great. Toriel’s smile wasn’t so strained anymore, “Alright then, my child, if you need me, just call.” That’s right, you forgot that Toriel gave you a phone since you had left yours at home with the intention of only being out for an hour. Watching as she stood up and left, you knew she would be out for a bit, perhaps to get groceries? Maybe you could finally get up and work to walk around the house. Anything to finally get your foot back in shape. As you set your feet down on the floor, you hissed in pain as your sprained ankle pulsed. That wasn’t a good thing, but surely if you got to walking around on your own, the pain would lessen? Sucking in a breath, you bit down on the inside of your cheek as you stood up, finally putting your full weight onto your feet. It hurt, it hurt quite a bit, and you had to force yourself not to cry out in pain. Step. Hop. Step. Hop. Thankfully your assumption was correct, as you continued this way of moving, your foot began to hurt less. That didn’t mean that it still didn’t hurt or that your walk looked a little wonky. It would take a bit more time before you could walk like you used to. After a few more steps around the room, however, you made your way to the door and placed a hand on it. Slowly turning the knob, sweat began to form on your head as it clicked loudly from age. The door was no better, it creaked just as loudly as the floor beneath you as you walked out into the butterscotch colored hall. Toriel must not have been in, she most definitely would have heard your roaming by now. If she was out, however, maybe you could get a better look around the house, there was more to see on the other side of the house, just past the stairs. Oh man, the stairs. There was something about the stairs that caught your eye whenever you saw them. Which has only been a few times, once when you ventured out of the room by crawling, and the second time is when you were trying to sneak out to see the rest of the house. Toriel caught up to you pretty quick whenever you went out like that. Now that she was out, for the time being, you had the house to yourself, and that meant she couldn’t stop you from hurting your body for the sake of exploration. However, as you crept past the stairs and into the living room, it didn’t take you very long to see that this home truly was very small, almost like an apartment. The living room only had a table and three chairs, a bigger lounge chair, chimney, and bookshelf. To the far corner there was an entrance that led into the kitchen, and looking inside the fridge there were only snails and a bar of chocolate, how odd; everything else in the kitchen was rather clean, save for the fur in the drain. You didn’t see the point though in checking the rooms that were next to yours, it would be rude to snoop. Once you had looked around though, you felt it was time to creep into the downstairs area. The steps were steep and made of stone, but they were carefully carved so that the steps were flat. Age was beginning to catch up with them however as cracks lined some of them. It would only be a matter of time before they began to chip. Once there were no more steps however, you were met with purple walls that made up a long hall. With each step, you had a feeling in your gut that told you that you weren’t supposed to be here. That now wasn’t the time to be here. You persisted though, now taking note of the decrease in temperature and clinging onto your sweater for warmth. Persistence is what got you to the end, and now a large door stood in your path. It was so cold, like there was supposed to be a fiery warmth here but instead, there was only the cold that hung close. Reaching out, you began to push on the door, doing your best to open it. But it was made of stone and you found yourself almost slipping until you finally made enough room for yourself. It was only now that you realized that your breath was showing as you walked deeper into this dimly lit corridor. And similar to when you arrived, there was a patch of grass bathed in light, leaving the rest of the room in almost complete darkness. A part of your mind was begging you to turn back. None of this seemed right, but what if this was a way for you to get home? You were better, surely Toriel would want you to return to the place where you belong? It would be so rude to leave without saying goodbye though, wouldn’t it? Turning your heel, you began to walk away. “knock knock.” …What? Turning back around, you stared at the door where you guessed the cold was coming from. There was silence from the other side, you were sure that someone had said something? “who’s there?” “ah.” “ah who?” “heheh, gesundheit.” Taking a few steps closer to the door, you stared at it in bewilderment. Someone was just on the other side! And they were doing knock-knock jokes! Finally, in front of the door, you sat down, staring at it as if you could look through the thing. “knock-knock-“ “Who’s there?” Silence met your ears, oh no, did you scare them? You hoped not, they seemed really nice, maybe even friendship material. “Um-?” “old lady?” “…Old lady who?” There was silence again, it hung in the air for a second. “heheh, i didn’t know you could yodel.” You giggled, now leaning the side of your body against the door. “Knock knock!” There was shuffling from the other side, “who’s there?” You let out a giggle, “A broken pencil.” “a broken pencil who?” “Never mind, it’s pointless !” There was a surprised laugh from the other side like they didn’t expect the joke to be any good. You were surprised too, you didn’t think it was going to be that funny. The two of you went on like this, telling jokes, for a few more minutes. A thought popped into your mind, “Oh no! I gotta hurry and get back! I don’t wanna get in trouble for snooping around!” You scrambled to stand up, wincing when your ankle gave you a clear reminder to take it easy. “Um, I never got your name?” Silence was your answer, “Huh… Guess they left.” Brushing off your backside and legs, you did your best to hurry back, struggling to pull the door shut.- • - Sitting at the table, you quietly ate your soup as Toriel sat across from you doing the same. “So, Ms. Toriel, I think my ankle is doing pretty well now.” Pausing just as she was about to take another spoonful of soup, Toriel put it back in her bowl. “Is that so? Then I’m sure that we’ll be able to go through the ruins together then! There’s plenty of things to do here, I’m sure you’ll love it.” Her words stung you. You needed to get home, no doubt your disappearance got to your parents somehow. Not to mention your boss was probably wondering where the hell you were. But… would anyone actually miss you? Yeah, your boss was pretty cool, but she could always find another worker. And now that you thought about it, no, your parents wouldn’t know anything about your disappearance. They made sure to cut off all forms of contact, blocking you from all social platforms and changing their emails. It hurt when they did that. But oh well, if they didn’t want you in their life, then so be it. But there were friends in your life who you were definitely sure would miss you greatly. Your boss, though strict, was a very kind and generous woman who didn’t tolerate anyone’s bullshit. Becca, a complete idiot for a coworker, but she was one of the closest people you could consider a best friend. Not to mention, you were sure there were plenty of people here you had yet to meet. Like the person behind the door. As tempting as it was to ask about it, you were sure that Toriel would be quite upset at you if you brought up the door, let alone the person behind it. It would mean that you didn’t stay put, and really the last thing you wanted was for her to berate you for something so much as exploring where you didn’t need to. “How long have I been down here?” Toriel thought for a moment, “Oh, I’d say you’ve been down here for almost a week now, child.” Almost a week? Man, your plants were probably gonna be dead by the time you got home. And after all the effort you put in to keep them alive as long as you did. Taking another spoonful of soup, you then grabbed your grilled cheese (cut into fours), and dipped it into the soup. Taking a bite of it, the food itself was quick to dissolve in your mouth, leaving you warm and filled with determination. “Ms. Toriel… is there any chance of me going home?” The clink of a spoon hitting porcelain brought your attention to the monster in front of you, who had a mix of emotions flittering over her face. Some you recognized, such as shock, and hurt. And some that you didn’t recognize. “Are you okay, Ms. Toriel? I-I’m sorry, I just- there are people that I have waiting for me and-“ “No.” “...No?” “No, there’s not a single chance of you getting home.” Staring at Toriel, you could feel your bottom lip tremble. God damn it, don’t start crying now, you big baby. Biting your lip you looked down at your soup, now not feeling very hungry anymore. Toriel took notice of the silence, now beginning to regret not putting her own emotions aside, but now it was too late to go back. “...I have to do something. Stay here.” Standing up from her chair, Toriel made her way out of the living room, and you watched in confusion as she went down the stairs. Oh no, did she figure out that you went in there? Hopefully, that wasn’t the case but still, who knew with Toriel. You sure didn’t. With only a minor stinging in your ankle, you stood up, beginning to follow after the goat woman, worry in your soul over what she was doing, and worry over her. Sure, perhaps she was overbearing but Toriel seemed to mean well, you hoped. So far monsters weren’t so bad, well, aside from that flower that tried to kill you, but Toriel has been nothing but kind to you! If you two could just talk this out then maybe she could understand your point of view. It was tense when you stepped down the stairs this time, the feeling that you shouldn’t be here had dissipated. Your teeth chattered lightly, the silence making so the pounding of your heart was louder. This didn’t feel right, you felt like you were supposed to be here, and yet something felt so wrong about this. Like you couldn’t go just yet, that there were still things that needed to be done. Oh. That’s right, you forgot your bag. Shit. Pressing forwards, the sounds of your shoes hitting the floor of the hall echoed around you. The walls were empty and you couldn’t see ahead of you other than more of the purple hall. Biting your lip, you wrung your hands together, the sound of your own breathing making goosebumps form on your arms. Your breathing became shaky, all you could see was the purple walls of the purple hall of the purple basement. This didn’t feel right at all. Why did you follow her? Finally coming to a stop, your attention was caught by the sight of Toriel standing in front of the large purple door that you had snuck out of earlier. The door you went past and made jokes through the second door with the funny man behind it. The goat woman turned her head to you, the dimness of the room casting a long shadow over her face. Chills ran down your spine as her amber eyes met yours, causing your breath to become stuck in your throat. ”You wish to know how to return “home”, do you not?”
“Wh-?”
“Ahead of us lies the end of the Ruins. A one-way exit to the rest of the underground. I am going to destroy it.”
”Wait-!”
“No one will ever be able to leave again. Now be a good child and go upstairs.”
Gritting your teeth together, you took a step forwards.
“Every human that falls down here meets the same fate. I have seen it again and again. They come, they leave... they die... You naive child... if you leave the Ruins... They... ASGORE... Will kill you. I am only protecting you, do you understand? ...Go to your room.” ”Toriel...”
”Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning.”
“Toriel, please, listen!”
“...You want to leave so badly…? Hmph. You are just like the others.”
Turning her body to you, Toriel gave you a glare, and suddenly you felt sick.
“There is only one solution to this. Prove yourself…”
What?
“Prove to me you are strong enough to survive.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"Prove to me." "Prove to me that you are strong enough to survive." Staring in stunned silence, you tried to wrap your head around what Toriel said. Before you could, however, the pulling sensation was back. Just like with Flowey, Toriel had pulled your SOUL into battle. Or at least, that's what it looked like. Four choices were laid out in front of you as Toriel stood blocking the door; FIGHT, ACT, ITEM, MERCY. What did these have to do with anything? Looking up at Toriel, she seemed to be waiting for your actions, it reminded you of an RPG you would find on Steam. Reverting your attention to the options in front of you, you clicked MERCY. * SPARE
Well, guess you have to SPARE. You chose that since it was literally the only option.
"..."
...Figures, now what? From above, fireballs began to rain down towards your SOUL, making you squeak in surprise as you tried to move it away from the balls of death. Each one that hit your heart made your whole body feel like it was on fire (no pun intended), you weren't quick enough, each hit felt worse than the last. Sweat dripped down your face, you felt like you were melting. A strangled scream left your lips as you fell to your knees, reaching out with grasping hands at Toriel.
Your SOUL split in two, the last thing you saw before things went black being Toriel's horrified expression as your SOUL shattered to pieces. ... ... "You can't give up now... ____, STAY DETERMINED..."
...Who was that?
... "Prove to me." ...What? "Prove to me that you are strong enough to survive."
Blinking in confusion, your body shook as you tried to wrap your head around what just happened. What even HAPPENED? Taking a shaky breath, your hand hovered over the ACT button, tentatively pressing it as more options popped up. * Check* Talk
… Let’s talk.
*… You couldn’t think of any conversation topics.
Okay, wow, THAT was bullshit.
“ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?!” Toriel looked at you shocked, and the scene around you turned back to normal as your soul floated back to you once more. Honestly though, you weren’t paying attention to it as you started to pace from side to side. “JUST MY SHITTY LUCK TO BE PUSHED DOWN THAT STUPID HOLE! JUST MY LUCK THAT SOME PSYCHOPATH OF A KID THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA TO SEND ME STRAIGHT TO HELL I GUESS! AND HOW THE FUCK DID I NOT DIE?! THAT WAS A LONG AS SHIT DROP! I THOUGHT I WOULD’VE BROKE MY WHOLE BODY!” Letting out an exhausted sigh, you rubbed your face. Toriel’s lips were pursed together, unsure of what to say, but just as she opened her mouth to do so, you began to scream again. “I GET ATTACKED BY A FLOWER, A FUCKING FLOWER!!! GOD DAMN IT- AND THEN YOU SAVE ME?! YOU NURSED ME BACK TO HEALTH, AND I WOULD TELL YOU HOW MUCH I APPRECIATED YOU! AND THAT I WAS SO FUCKING GRATEFUL TO YOU FOR PUTTING THE TIME INTO CARING FOR ME! I WOULD TELL YOU ABOUT MY GARDEN, ABOUT MY CHILDHOOD, AND ABOUT HOW I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK HOME!” “My child-“ “AND WHAT’S UP WITH THAT?! DON’T ‘MY CHILD’ ME! I ALREADY HAD ONE MOM WHO TOLD ME I COULDN’T DO THINGS FOR MYSELF, I DON’T NEED ANOTHER! I’M NOT A CHILD, I’M IN MY TWENTIES, A FUCKING ADULT!” Burying your face into your hands, you couldn’t stop it as you choked up a sob. Without thinking you slipped your hands up into your hair, gripping tightly at it as you clenched your jaw. You hated crying, god damn it you hated crying, especially in front of people. Looking at you nervously, Toriel took a small step forward, seeing your lack of reaction, she came over and carefully wrapped her arms around you. Sobbing louder, you clung onto Toriel, arms wrapping around her in a tight hold. “I just want to go home…” “I know… I know…” “Why…? Why can’t I just go home…?” “...Tell you what-“ Toriel gently pried herself from your grip, wiping away some of the tears that still flowed. Patting the top of your head and fixing your hair, she continued. “I will take you through the Ruins. The Underground is full of puzzles, and you will surely have monsters who wish to block your way… Come, m-... ____, let me show you how the Underground works. That way you’re prepared for the journey home.” Placing her hand on your back, Toriel gently guided you back down the hall the two of you had come from earlier. Neither of you any wiser of the golden flower watching you both leave. “...This isn’t how this game works, you idiot…!” He hissed, petals receding on themselves as the flower dug himself back into the ground. - • - The amount of puzzles in the ruins was honestly concerning. Why did there have to be so many? Of course, it’s not that you didn’t like puzzles, but they were all really easy! Like, stupidly easy. That’s why it was kind of annoying that there were so many. At least there were monsters though that kept you on your toes. Moldsmals, Vegetoids, Migosps, Looxs, a few Froggits (one of which Toriel spooked away), and the occasional Whimsun would come and block your way. This would throw you into a fight, and every time you acted accordingly and spared them. They weren’t so bad, and when the fight was over they would wish you a good day. Well, except the Whimsuns, they were far too spooked to really want to talk. Rubbing the back of your neck, you sipped on a spider cider as you made your way out of the bake sale room. Laying on the ground in a pile of leaves in front of you was a ghost, they seemed to be wearing headphones and kept repeating the letter ‘z’ over and over. Huh.
“Uh… Hi there.”
“Z, z, z, z, z-”
“...Are you fake sleeping to avoid conversation?”
“Oh… darn… was it that obvious…?”
“Eh, kind of. If you don’t wanna talk though, that’s alright. I know it can be tough to interact with others, but you got it!”
“Oh… mmm… not really…”
“Well, I think you’re doing great. You’re interacting with me, and that’s a start!”
“Ah… that’s… true…”
“Yeah! See? You’re getting the hang of it.”
Taking another sip of your spider cider, you hummed in content.
“My name is ____, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Uh… my name… is Napstablook… it’s… nice to meet you, ____…”
Grinning at Napstablook, you sit down beside the ghost while letting out a sigh of relief. Man, your feet were killing you from all the walking, and you thought the hike up this mountain was hard. “So, Napstablook, do you live here in the Ruins?” Turning your head to them, you could see that Napstablook seemed a bit nervous, “Um… No… I live in Waterfall… in my Pathetic House…” Giving them a curious look, you laughed a bit, “Hey now, be easy on your house! I’m sure it’s not as pathetic as you say it is! I think my house is kinda pathetic, but I try to make it comfortable for myself since I live alone.”
Looking over Napstablook once again you took note of the headphones. How weird. They don’t even have ears.
“What kind of music do you like?”
“Uh… I like electronic… pop is nice too…”
“Ooh! Nice choices!! I like a bit of electronic and pop too, but I also like a lot of other genres too. R&B, Rock, and some good Synth music. I like to dabble in making my own music here and there too.”
“You… like to make music?”
“Yeah! It’s really fun! I don’t normally get to do it as much as I like since I’m either doing a painting commission, gardening, or working. But when I get the chance to sit down and let my musical side flow, I like to make simple little tunes. Sometimes I might add some lyrics here and there.” Napstablook listened carefully as you carried on talking about music, floating close to you now as they loomed over you a bit. They never really talked to people who liked music, but then again they never really talked to people in general. After all, who would want to talk to them? They would just get in the way… You were talking to them though, even though you could have told them to move out of your way, or ignore them like others did. How strange of a human you are. The two of you continued talking, music being the main topic. But with a little more encouragement from you, Napstablook let you listen to the music they were listening to, and even showed you their ‘Dapper Blook’ look. Smiling at Napstablook, you stretched your sore limbs, “Well, Napstablook, I’ll see you around alright? I gotta get back to Toriel’s place before she ends up calling me a bunch of times.” “Alright… If you’re ever in the neighborhood… maybe we could hang out at my place… you don’t have to… if you don’t want…” “If I am in the neighborhood, I’ll be sure to come by and see you again! See you Napstablook!”
Waving as a farewell, you pulled out the phone that Toriel had given you, dialing up her number and holding it up to your ear as it rang.
“Hello, this is Toriel!” “Hi, Tori, I’m making my way back now.” “Oh! Alright, ____, I’m going to be out for a bit. You make yourself comfortable, there’s snail pie in the fridge if you want a snack,” you grimaced at the mention of snail pie, “I shall return in a few hours, don’t get yourself into too much trouble, alright?” “You got it Tori, thank you. I’ll see you when you get home.” With the two of you saying your goodbyes, you hummed as you made your way back to the Ruin Home. Two weeks, you have been here for two weeks in total at this point. Two weeks in the Ruins, two weeks with Toriel, and two weeks away from your own home. Man, your boss was gonna kill you when you got back. Chuckling softly as you entered the little Ruin Home, you closed the door behind you with a sigh. Honestly, at this point, it looked like home was just a distant thought. Stairs greeted you once you finally looked up. …Eh, fuck it. Going downstairs, you hummed a soft tune you couldn’t remember hearing. This was probably a lost cause, but anything was better than sitting around the place bored out of your mind. Using what strength you had, you pushed the heavy stone door, chilly air greeting you and blowing against your body as you crept forwards to the second door. Sitting down in front of it, you set your bag down beside you as you leaned against the door. It was cold, and it sent shivers and goosebumps crawling all over your body. Knocking gently on the door, you exclaimed, “Knock knock!” … … … Huh. Guess the door guy wasn’t here today- “who’s there?” “...Spell.” “spell who?” You chuckled, “Okay, W-H-O!” A deep laugh came from the other side of the door, and you smiled, a warm feeling bubbling up in your chest. “knock knock.” “Who’s there?” “wa.” “Wa who?” “hehe. what are you so excited about?” Giggling, you picked up your bag, unzipping it and pulling out your sketchbook. Swapping jokes with one another as you began to do little doodles while writing down the jokes you found clever down in the sketch book alongside them. “So, Funny Man, if you don’t mind me asking, what’s the rest of the Underground like? I’m not sure when I’ll be leaving this place any time soon…” There was silence behind the door for a few moments, and for a second you started thinking that maybe the stranger had left. When the voice returned though, you jumped slightly from being spooked. “well, there’s snowdin, it’s a pretty cool town if you ask me.” The person chuckled, and you laughed a bit at the pun. From how cold the door was, you didn’t doubt that this Snowdin place was probably covered in snow. Flipping to an empty page in your sketchbook, you doodled little snow people, along with yourself wearing a scarf and beanie. It would be nice to have something warm for the cold. “there’s also waterfall, might wanna watch your step there, or you’ll end up fallin’ again.” This pun made you chuckle, but more so in confusion. Did you ever mention that you were human to this guy? …You weren’t sure, you didn’t think you did though. Jotting down that information, you sketched a small waterfall with tall trees and big rocks, humming a distant tune that you weren’t sure where you heard before. “and then you got hotland, the core of the underground.” Okay there was definitely a pun in that, and you weren’t sure if it was because the place was probably hot or that he was making a joke about the place being the core of the Underground. Either way you smiled at the pun, doodling a little volcano before continuing with the conversation. This guy was a little odd, and he definitely was a master with puns, but he seemed pretty cool. - • - Stifling a yawn, you rubbed at your eyes while putting your sketchbook and Copics away in your bag. Looking up, Toriel sat in her chair, silently reading a book as the fireplace burned brightly, the fire warming the living room you both sat in. Putting your bag over your shoulder, you stood up from the table, pushing the chair in before stepping to the doorframe. “Good night Toriel. I’ll see you in the morning.” You mumbled, Toriel following with her own good night to you as she watched you walk back to your room. It has been both a short and long two weeks. With a sigh, Toriel stood up from her chair, putting the book she was reading away on the shelf. She wasn’t sure what to do with herself now, and sleep didn’t seem too grand of an option for her. Picking up the fire poker, she gently prodded at the burning logs, turning them and being careful not to get any ash on the floor. You have been here for two weeks. You were deeply unhappy being here. Pursing her lips together, Toriel brushed back the fur on her head with a small frustrated whine. She knew she couldn’t keep this human here forever, even though she knew it would be dangerous of her to let them go. But she knew that you had a home, and a family to go back to, there were people there waiting for you. Tears formed in her eyes though at the thought of you having your soul torn away from you. Yes, monsters would be free, but at the cost of so many lives being taken so soon. How cruel of fate to put her in this situation. On one hand, she wanted to protect this human, let them live their life even though it would be dull. Yet on the other, she knew that they would be deeply unhappy here, and that it would be the right thing to let them go. Drying her tears, Toriel made her way out of the living room, allowing the fire she made to burn out as she climbed downstairs. It was moments like these that made the halls feel so much longer. The moments when you need comfort the most. Brushing her hand over the wall of the hallway, she turned once again, now facing the door that led to the exit. The creaking and shudder of the door when she opened it always unsettled her, but it was never aided when cold air would send chills down her spine. Letting out a breath she was holding, Toriel walked to the exit door, placing a hand on it before sitting down on her knees. Two knocks from her to the door, “...My friend, are you there…?” Silence returned her knocking, and Toriel sighed deeply before rubbing the side of her face. Figures that he wasn’t here, it was late after all, and he has fallen asleep in the past interactions they have had. “knock-knock.” Jolting in surprise, Toriel blinked at the door before a small smile formed. “Who’s there?” “rattling.” “Rattling who?” “what’s rattling in your skull, huh?” With a halfhearted chuckle, Toriel leaned forwards before resting her head on the door, the chill of it being calming in this moment. “I’m afraid I’m worried about the next human, my friend. The humans before were all so young, with lives they had only yet to live. I’ve done my best to protect them all before, but they never see reason to stay…” “...well, humans do have a lot of determination. so i guess they just really want to go home.” “...I know, but even when I tell the humans that if they leave they’ll die… They still wish to carry on in some wishful hope that they will be able to get home…” With a small sob, Toriel was slightly spooked, not realizing that she was crying again. “I just… I just want them to be able to live their lives, my friend. Don’t they deserve that much…? Humans… they do not live forever like Boss Monsters, not even as long as regular Monsters… Can our kind truly not wait some time longer…?” Silence met her ears, and Toriel let out a sigh as she rubbed at the tears. “I’m terribly sorry, my friend. You must think me weak and traitorous to put a human’s life above my own kind’s freedom…” “nah, i don’t think any of that. you’re a kind soul, lady, i get why you’ve been looking out for the little humans.” Smiling a bit, the goat woman sat there silent for a moment, letting her mind wander and allowing her thoughts to swirl. Then a thought hit her. “...My friend. May I ask something of you…?” The person on the other side of the door was quiet, until Toriel heard a soft shuffle before the voice returned. “sure, lady, lay it on me.” Taking a deep breath, the woman clasped her hands together tightly as she continued. “I need you to promise me. Promise me that when the next human that comes through this door you will keep an eye on them. Please, I beg of you, my friend. They are the last soul we need, but please, for as long as you are able, please keep them alive and well. I worry terribly of what fate they will meet, but I put my full trust in you to watch over them when I cannot.” From the other side of the door, a short man with the hood of his jacket up stared at the door leading into the Ruins. These doors have been locked for years the only ones able to pass through being inside, tucked away from the rest of the Underground. He stood there silent, knowing that the woman behind the door was awaiting his reply. But, how many times could he continue to do this…? Making a promise that could mean so little in the end depending on the choices of someone else. “...I’m sorry I shouldn’t have put that on you so sudden-“ “i promise.” “What?” The kid was late this timeline. He didn’t even know who the voice was that he was speaking to earlier. Something was different this time, and this time, he promised himself that he would keep a sharper eye on the human. “i promise, lady, i’ll keep an eye-socket out for the human.”