They All Leave
Author Note: Greetings. I am Catchy. =)
(Pardon the exceptionally ridiculous introduction. I have begun re watching Jacksepticeye's Undertale episodes and that was the first thing that came to mind. Anyway.)
I have been having a lot of fun writing my story Not One, but Seven , which chronicles Asgore's accounts of the seven human children that fell and died pre-Frisk. Last night, I was inspired to write another story from Toriel's point of view. This fic goes hand in hand with it, but it is not neccecary to I hope you all enjoy, and please remember to review!
As inspired by Randomcat1832, this for my own reference: 193rd story, 2nd Undertale.
Some monsters were born with maternal instincts than others. Some wanted to be self sufficient and live alone while others wanted nothing more than to reproduce and raise a family together. Though she wanted the latter, Toriel completed both of these things several times in her life.
She, of course, never meant to do more than one. But she supposed it was simply her load to bear as a capable mother and didn't resist it further.
It all began and ended with her husband. When she met Asgore, he was tending to the garden in the park and offering hot tea he'd made before arriving to the public. She decided to accept his offer and they talked for hours, eventually parting with each other's phone numbers and plans to see each other again later in the week. They continued this for nearly a year before finally getting married, and she decided on that day she couldn't be happier if she tried.
Even after the war was over and they were banished underneath the surface to watch over what was left of their kind, she was still undeniably content in her marriage, and the thought of leaving him never crossed her mind. If anything, the circumstances brought them closer.
The next happiest day of her life was the day their son, their beautiful little Asriel, was brought into the world. She'd been extremely careful with her pregnancy, constantly talking and dreaming about what he'd be like once he was born. She'd been documenting it religiously as well, her heart growing all the fonder for her husband.
Asriel was just as beautiful as she'd dreamed, and they raised him with compassion and positive reinforcement to create an endearing child that was adored by the entirety of the Underground. As he got older, she began letting him wander their home alone. She knew he'd be pacifistic toward anybody who may have a problem, and he'd never given her reason to believe he couldn't resolve any issue he encountered with words or kind gestures.
She was less surprised than her husband when he carried in an injured human child and insisted they take of them.
Chara was a very intense child. They walked with a sense of pride about them, their dark red eyes always gleaming and reflecting some kind of emotion. They were not afraid of much, of this she was certain. But they were very much afraid of what they did fear, and she took great care in making them feel safe and protected with the rest of her little family. Her Gorey was busy with kingly obligations and her Asriel was too young and restless to always cater to his friend's- practically his sibling's- many issues, so she was there when nobody would or could be.
"My child?" She ventured softly as she stood outside of their bedroom.
They offered no response and their door did not open, so she carefully opened it and peeked inside. As she expected, Chara had their knees up to their chest and had their arms around their legs, hiding their face.
"Go away," they mumbled unhappily. "I don't want to talk. I'm not hungry."
"That is alright," she replied patiently. "May I merely sit with you instead? I have some reading to do and do not want to be alone."
"...Fine."
"We could also go to the fireplace instead?" She offered cautiously. "It is very cold in here, don't you think?"
Now they looked up, and she saw the whites of their eyes were pink and swollen. "How would you know? You have fur."
She gave them a small smile. "You're very funny, my child. But if I'm cold, then surely you're more so?"
Chara hesitated visibly once more before slowly holding their legs over the edge of the bed, as if to get up. They then cringed again and looked to her with a deep sadness in their eyes, one that said they would, but something inside them made them unable to do so. The goat mother knew then this little creature had experienced great suffering with the humans, and the extent of the damage could not be healed so easily.
"Would you be alright if I held your hand?" She suggested. "That way we both know we're not alone on this journey."
"B...But we're just going to the living room," they muttered, the self hatred evident in their voice. "It shouldn't be such a big deal."
"But it is to you, and that's alright," Toriel insisted kindly. "Nobody should ever feel alone, especially not in their family. I will guide you to a place that's safe and warm."
She extended her paw and her adopted child carefully accepted it, slowly getting to their feet and following her. They did this activity more often the longer Chara lived with them, especially after Asgore fell terribly ill from an accident in their cooking with Asriel. To their father and brother, they merely laughed it off and insisted they go away from the house to play for the days after.
But Toriel saw them when the other half of their family was asleep, when they sat in front of the fireplace and stared into the flames. They obviously had a lot on their mind, and they often wore an admittedly disturbing smile on their face when they did this. She took to draping a blanket around them and feeding them either chocolate or butterscotch pie, and in response, they typically hugged and thanked her when they finally emerged from their troubled state.
Perhaps her Chara was a bit strange and her family was non conventional. But it was hers, and she was determined to keep them together and happy. Then Chara got sick and things began to unravel too quickly for her to roll up the pieces.
...
"Mom."
"Y-yes, my child?"
She was sat on the edge of Chara's bed, her paw softly rubbing circles into her child's stomach. She knew they'd been in such pain ever since growing so terminally ill, so she was doing her best to alleviate it now. Her sweet little Asriel had naturally never left their sibling's side, and now they were curled up next to them in fatigued, restless sleep.
"Would you resent me if I left?" They asked wearily.
"Left?" She had a terrible feeling she already knew they meant, but she had to clarify for the sake of her heart. "Where would you go?"
"I...I mean giving up, Mom," they muttered. "If I died."
A surge of pain went through her heart and tears threatened in her eyes, but she willed them down for now. She had to be strong for her children if this was among on their last moment's. She couldn't let them see how much it hurt, and how lonely and destroyed she'd be without them. They needed to know they were loved regardless of what happened.
"No, my child. You've been so ill," she managed in a soft, even voice. "I do not want you to die, but...But if you decide to let go, I will understand. So will your brother and father."
"How can you be so sure?" They opened their eyes briefly now, their irises shiny with tears and pain. "How do you know?"
"Because I know them," she said gently. "And we all know you. We know you've lived much life in your short time. We know you're kind and we know you love us, and you wouldn't give up that determination to live if there was any other way. We know you'll live on spirit, even when you're no longer physically here with us."
A faint smile graced Chara's lips before pain contorted their pale face once more, and they closed their eyes once more. "Can you bring me more water?"
"Of course."
As she retrieved the glass of liquid, she could no longer hold back the sob building in the back of her throat. She couldn't bear the thought of living without one of her babies, but there was no other way if they felt it was time for them to pass on. She'd feel worse if they felt like they had to hold on for their sake when they were in so much agony, so she couldn't regret what she'd just told them other than the terrible loneliness that would come without them.
In all honesty, she wasn't positive Asgore or Asriel would share the same sentiment immediately, but eventually she had to believe they would. At the very least, Chara had to believe they would.
...
"You can't give up just yet! You are the fate between humans and monsters. Chara...Stay determined..."
Her husband had become desperate since their child fell into a comatose state two days prior. He was pleading with their unconscious state now, the tears slowly gliding down his face as he leaned over them. She sat on the other edge of the bed, one paw resting on Asriel's back as he continued to stay beside his best friend.
"They wanted to see the flowers above ground, Mom," her son finally said. "I think I should take them across the barrier to see them."
She dreaded telling her surviving child that their sibling was likely never going to wake up, and that the flowers would likely have to be their final resting place. Before she could try and manage an explanation, he reached forward and took their limp hand in his own.
"I...I don't feel a heartbeat," he said in a wavering voice. "I...I think they're gone."
Almost as if on cue, a small heart-shaped SOUL lifted out of their chest, glowing a passionate red color. She let out a heartbroken cry immediately and her husband pulled her to his chest, his own tears dampening her fur. Out of instinct, she pulled both of her children into the hug at once, all three of their family cradling Chara's lifeless body one more time as they cried together.
...
She was unable to show Asriel the same composure when he died in their arms. She was hysterical as she tried to comfort him, and wept as they tried to talk about the time they'd had together as a family. Once he'd stopped breathing and succumbed to his injuries, she carried her two children alone and buried them together in the Ruins, right underneath where Chara had first fallen.
Asgore had since stopped trying to constantly comfort her and now absorbed himself in his work, so she was left to continue her motherly duties with no child to mother. She couldn't bear the thought of replacing her babies, but the loneliness was numbing and pushed her to unhealthy methods of coping until she finally developed a new idea that helped her stop drinking and binge eating.
Chara was likely on the first of many human children to fall. Surely there would be more in a matter of time, and she could take care of them once they did.
Asgore had declared a war on humanity, and talked of destroyed any humans that fell down. But she could not, she would not, allow that. If that meant losing what was left of her family and starting again, she decided she no longer minded.