Mother's Patience.
An Undertale one-shot
By Archaon
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The former queen of the monsters had never before run so fast. There was nothing but urgency in her mind, but had she had time for thought, she would have been cursing herself.
She had let the child leave.
At the time, after a demonstration of the small human's power, she had convinced herself it would be alright. She had somehow fooled herself that no one would have to die. Utterly hopeful, utterly naïve.
It took her entirely too long to recognize her folly, her blindness.
Toriel did not bother to wait for one of the Hotland elevators. Instead, she gathered her formidable magic and leaped, landing close to the Memorial Resort unharmed. The same could not be said for the now cratered pavement.
Rushing inside, she only spared a moment to acknowledge the solemn statue adorning the foyer fountain. The visage of her first child.
Passing through the Core proper proved easy. None of the other monsters dared to try and stop her. About half of them recognized her as the queen and the other half were too intimidated by the scorching hot aura around her.
As she neared her old home, the New Home royal residence, she almost felt filled with Determination.
Almost, but not quite.
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Asgore was hyperventilating, not from exhaustion, but rather soul-crushing shame. His trident lashed out once more and the small human girl he had been fighting stayed completely still.
Once more, his weapon passed right through her, not even affecting the cute, vibrant ribbon on her hair.
"I can tell you don't want this either," she said calmly, eyeing him with pity. The plastic knife in her trembling grip was still unused. "It doesn't have to be that way."
The monster king shook his head. "And yet, it does," he muttered, surprised his voice was steady. "I have no choice but to follow the path I have forced myself into."
He tried another attack, a merciless barrage of fireballs. The girl waited it out, gulping as the lethal projectiles passed right through her body. As long as she remained still, as long as she remained Patient, she knew nothing could harm her. She had regretted having to leave Toriel behind, of course. The gentle mother had tried to stop her with cautionary words and tales of dread, but the young human had patiently explained why she couldn't have stayed.
She had steadily made her way through the underworld, never hurting the monsters that attacked and rarely getting hurt in the process. As long as she remained calm, as long as she could suppress the instinct to flee, to flinch away from danger, nothing could touch her.
For the first time, though, she was reaching her limit. Asgore hadn't managed to hurt her yet, but despite the panic he had displayed when he first saw her, despite his potential for kindness that had been evident in both his subjects' words and his own demeanor, he was relentless.
Standing still for long periods of time took its toll even under normal circumstances. With the added burden of mortal combat, she could feel her own body shutting down. She involuntary twitched as the next fireball reached her and while most of the spell's potency was wasted, she still suffered a small but painful burn on her arm.
Asgore did hesitate when he saw the teary sobs. He almost aborted his next attack, almost stopped his trident. But it was too late and nobody came in time.
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Toriel burst into the Barrier chamber, only to behold a scene out of her worst nightmares. She and Asgore had killed before, of course. Though young, they had been alive during the monster-human war. Even though somehow no human soul had been taken, plenty of warriors had died on both sides.
But to see her husband holding his weapon and skewering a child, to see the pool of blood extending around her savaged body. It was too much.
Asgore hadn't been injured in the battle. The human had never attacked, opting to wait him out instead. Toriel's torrent of flame had none of that gentleness. The fiery stream knocked the larger boss monster off his feet and smashed him on and almost through a nearby stone wall. A small part of her, a wounded part, still loved him, which was the only reason he survived the hit.
Toriel ignored him and kneeled next to the dying girl. She gathered her power once more and channeled it into the strongest healing spell she could cast.
"Mother," she whispered weakly. "Why did you…come? I wanted to spare you this…"
The queen was openly crying at that point. "What have I done? How could I leave you alone…?"
The glowing, blood-red trident was still embedded in her body. Its own magic was blocking Toriel's healing spells, though both females knew that removing it would kill the human at once. One of the tips had pierced her heart and only her stillness, her Patience was keeping her alive.
"I am sorry, I am sorry…" chanted the queen softly, gently running a quivering finger on the girl's face.
Amazingly, the girl moved her own arm, cupping the monster's much larger hand with her own. "In my journey I have seen the suffering, the hopelessness." She hesitated a bit. "Mother, you can stop this, you have to," she pleaded.
Toriel's eyes went wide. "I…I…"
The human girl, though still in pain, smiled. "Let me help you, mother. For the sake… of monsters…and humans…stay Patient!"
A light blue soul was offered and accepted.
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Asgore regained consciousness, only to open his eyes to a formidable sight. He recognized her at once, of course, but she also seemed so different. She was taller, towering over him, with three sets of twisting horns that added to that height. Her normally snow-white fur was tinted light blue and seemed to glow with unsuppressed power. Instead of red, her eyes had turned a piercing amethyst and black swirls of power adorned her neck and arms.
"Tori…?" he half-asked, half-stated.
"Shut up, Dreemurr, just… shut up! If you did not mean so much to our people, I would dust you where you stand," she growled harshly. Satisfied he had been rendered speechless, she approached, grabbed him by the neck and lifted him to eye level. "I am going to fix this my way, since you are even more useless than normal." He did a token effort to escape, but otherwise looked at her meekly. "I will be gone for a while. If I return and find out you have killed any more children, I will find a way to preserve your head and mount it on a spike!"
She tossed him away and faced the Barrier, hesitating a bit. "I will do this right," she whispered. "That, I promise."
Toriel was filled with Patience and Determination.
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"She…she's here, my lord!"
The human king raised a brow at his stammering servant, though he did not admonish him. He knew from reports that his guest was an intimidating individual. "Well, show her in then!" he ordered. "And prepare the table, with a seat of the appropriate size. Serve our best tea. I have a feeling this will go well."
The servant bowed and rushed away. He wasn't sure what his liege was thinking, but he also wasn't one to doubt him.
Two minutes later, a tall figure entered the opulent throne room and the human king stood and bowed slightly. "Welcome, lady Toriel. Your reputation precedes you."
The boss monster returned the bow, a smile on her face. "I feel welcomed, King Orion. To be honest, I was expecting spears instead of red carpets. I'm pleasantly surprised."
The human chuckled. "This might be the first time we meet, but I have kept an eye on you, lady Toriel. You've had ten long years to cause problems. Instead, you've healed, you've protected and, frankly, most people that know you adore you."
The boss monster blushed a bit, as the king left the room and beckoned her. "I will admit I expected a hostile welcome when I first came to the surface."
They both sat on a large wooden table with gold ornaments. Perfectly prepared hot tea was waiting for them. "Ah yes. The Barrier war. You must have been young when it happened. For us, it's been more than twenty generations." He carefully sipped his drink. "Our history says you attacked first. I bet yours says the opposite." He eyed her squarely. "I don't care either way. I prefer to make my own judgments."
Toriel smiled, also taking a sip. She was still amazed at how much better the beverage was when it was produced under natural sunlight. "I am here to ask for a boon of sorts." At his raised brow, she went on. "The land around Mountain Ebott."
Orion lowered his cup and closed his eyes for a moment. "I see. You want to free your people. Make sure they can return to the surface and find a home instead of waiting armies."
The queen thoughtfully munched on a cookie, saying nothing and patiently waiting for his response, only offering a nod in return.
"Mountain Ebott is actually a no man's land," he replied at length. "I can't offer you something that isn't mine."
Toriel sighed. "I have shown the world that monsters can be a force of good, that we are not the boogiemen of legends." Her eyes hardened as her light blue fur bristled with controlled power. "We both know there will be problems. Some of your people will be hostile; some of mine vengeful. Neither of us can fully control that, but I wish for a formal agreement, a mutual effort from both our sides."
The king nodded slowly. "I see. This has been your plan all along. Gain enough goodwill to protect your people." His smile widened. "I don't see why not. The trade alone will be profitable for my kingdom. Even tourism will be boosted. Also…" he eyed his guest carefully. "…I am a strong wizard myself and I know great power when I see it. I bet you could raze this whole city in minutes if you wanted to."
"Six human souls, inside me at all times," she replied plainly. "Soon to be seven."
Orion raised a brow. "To break the Barrier, I presume. I really hope they are the souls of the bandits you occasionally take care of."
Toriel chuckled kindly. "No, I have killed my share of criminals, but I'd never try to absorb their souls. I would need to be on guard every second, to stop them from turning on me. No, every soul inside me has been offered freely. If I had just wanted to free my people and restart the war, I could have done it in hours."
The king laughed. "Indeed you could. I applaud your patience. I think we can close a deal here, lady Toriel."
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Toriel cast another healing spell, though she knew it was futile. At that point, her painkiller spells were far more useful to the figure lying on the bed before her.
"Don't wear yourself out, darling. It won't be long now…"
The boss monster eyed the venerable human kindly. "Do not worry, Clarisse. I could keep going for months. Just try to…"
Clarisse moved her wrinkled arm with great effort and cupped the much larger boss monster's hand with her own. The intense feeling of déjà vu left her speechless.
"Toriel, dear, you have done much for me and my family. You saved my granddaughter from those robbers, you healed my son-in-law when he broke his legs and now… you're making my passing… comfortable." She paused and took a wheezing breath. "I'm not ready to vanish from this world yet. When the time comes… I'll be glad… to live through you…"
The old woman said nothing more. For the next two hours, she kept her eyes closed, listening to Toriel's hum, a gentle lullaby from ages past. When she died, her orange soul practically leaped towards the queen. "Thank you Clarisse," she muttered, answering a voice only she could hear now. Wiping her teary eyes, she stood up, leaving behind the empty husk that used to be a good friend. "Seven," she went on. "It is finally time."
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The queen of monsters eyed the stars intently. During the past decade, she would try and go star-gazing every night for at least a few minutes. The sight never failed to awe her. The only difference this time was that she wasn't alone. Thousands of monsters of all shapes and sizes were around her, their eyes captive, turned to the clear skies.
It had been laughably easy to break the Barrier. She had been prepared to struggle and try multiple times before managing the feat in question. Instead, the old magic construct had seemingly yielded to her will, shattering to dust, never to be seen again.
She was feeling almost serene, when a voice addressed her. "Tori… I…"
The queen sighed in exasperation as tension returned to her body tenfold. "What do you want Dreemurr," he demanded.
Asgore seemed to shrink under her glare. "I… just wanted to thank you. My plan wasn't exactly well thought, but…"
Toriel laughed bitterly. "Do not think I have forgotten your crimes. You would restart the war to drown your sorrow." Her hands clenched, black claws digging painfully in furred flesh. "The child you killed is still part of me. She is the one that inspired me to do this." She eyed him almost cruelly. "So in a way, your plan DID work. Just with less child murder than you intended."
The king could hardly bare to look at her. "I have to know, Tori… Now that we are here, can we at least... be friends again? I…"
She snorted in derision. "We have much more pressing matters, you pathetic creature. You think it is over? The true difficulty begins now. What will happen if monsters and humans start fighting again? How will the world accept us? How can we keep our people safe? Indeed, there is no time for your whimsies right now."
Asgore blinked, a tiny smile on his face. "Was that a… 'maybe later'?"
Toriel felt an intense desire… to light him on fire.
The End.
A/N: Just a small plot bunny I wanted to get rid of. In the pacifist ending, Toriel said to Asgore he could have 'taken six souls from the humans'. 'Taken' doesn't necessarily mean kill.
I realize I'm showing Asgore in a negative light here. I've tried to like him, mainly because of how unlucky he's been, but then I considered this: During the whole game, all paths, he never took a single 'correct' decision. Forget 'good', 'evil', 'right' or 'wrong'. Nothing he did even mattered. Even in the genocide route, where everyone else showed their strength of character, Asgore did nothing.
I'll probably go back to writing my other UT story now. Hope you enjoyed!