Before us lies a long corridor. After just a few steps echoing through this endless sea of velvet, Toriel's walking begins to slowly crawl down until it reaches a full stop. Looking away from the child, she lets loose a quiet, near inaudible, sigh as her head hangs ever so slightly downward.
No "Ah, very good! You are very good?" No "Puzzles seem a little too dangerous for now?" You're slipping, Tori. And wasn't that handholding a little tighter than normal?
After a brief moment of silent thought, she turns back to the child, finally prepared to be the bearer of bad news.
You have done excellently thus far, my child. However... I have a difficult request to ask of you.
...
There we go! Looks like everything's all right and back on track again. No more time for distractions. Gotta be strong, Tori. Gotta be strong.
I would like you to walk to the end of the room by yourself. Forgive me for this.
With those words, Toriel runs off, leaving the child to walk across the long sea of endless purple alone. Once Toriel has walked off, the child's face cringes a little bit. Is it heartbreak from being alone again? Disgust at being told to do such a simple and seemingly useless task? Or terror that something else might attack, like Flowey did mere minutes ago?
At first, the child slowly inches forward. Occasionally turning their head back to steal a glimpse towards the spike room. After pressing further on, that walk approaches a more normal pace with fewer glances behind. Eventually, they break into a brisk walk until they finally approach a pillar.
At this point, the child starts taking on a much more confident demeanor. Chest held out, head up high, and a huge smirk on their face. They seem really proud of something. This easily amused child will soon be meeting Toriel again, once they pass the pillar. After all, she's still hiding behind there, her eyes peeking out on the eastern side of the pillar. Ready to surprise her guest by coming out when they pass the pillar.
Huh? What's this? The human isn't passing the pillar? With a smug little pose, they strut behind the pillar's west side and start tugging on Toriel's muu-muu from behind. Toriel slowly turns around, slightly blushing and barely holding back laughter when she realizes what just happened.
With a pleading look in their eyes, "Mommy?" comes out from the the cute kid's mouth. While the tugging had briefly affected her, with this latest act, Toriel fully loses her composure. Her face turns visibly red and she's unable to hold her laughter back any longer. What starts off as a simple tee-hee turns into a full on snorting fit.
Maybe such a scene would feel awkward to outsiders, but there's a huge grin on her face. For us, even just a silly little respite from worrying too much is of immeasurable value. Once Toriel regains her composure, she puts on her usual warm smile and gentle voice.
Huh? Did you just call me... "Mom?" Well... I suppose... Would that make you happy? To call me... "Mother?" Well then, call me whatever you like!
Toriel takes a quick glance to where she keeps her spare cellphone. But, as she begins to reach for the phone, she catches a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye. The human is pointing upwards. Subtly, she shakes her head and decides to break from her long practiced tradition. She returns her gaze back to the child. Instead of picking up the phone, she picks up the human, placing them atop her shoulders.
And that is how the human gained a guided tour of the Ruins from the best seat in the house. But, unknown to Toriel, the human takes one last look towards the entrance of the large corridor. Giving both a smile and a wave to all those who helped pave the way into making this journey what it has been so far. To the silent dummies and the puzzles. And also to the golden flowers, both of the homicidal type and of the pleasant, fall-cushioning variety.
That is how the two of us traveled. Human and monster together once again. It's kind of funny, isn't it? No matter how much time passes, some things never really change, do they? Whether it be the surface world and the monster world. Or the Prophecy and the Delta Rune.
Once again, humanity towered over monsterkind. But, this time something seems different. Before, it was a unilateral decision was based on fear. But this time, the decision is mutual. Where once there was fear, now there is trust. Where once we were divided by the pain of LOVE, now we are united by the comfort of love.
With the human happily riding atop her shoulders, Toriel prepares to return Home. She heads towards the next room, ready to turn to her right upon reaching the leaf pile. But on the way, she hears the child's tummy rumbling. It seems a diversion would be in order. The two head to the left instead, discovering a bowl of candy with a sign. Toriel and the child both read the sign together.
Take One.
At this point, the child is far too high up to reach the bowl. So Toriel sets the child back down to the ground. The human greedily shoves their hand into the bowl and comes out with three pieces of the candy. Immediately, the child opens the first candy and shoves it in their mouth.
My child, you are breaking my heart. You should to leave some for everyone to share. Be good, alright?
Though slightly muffled due to the candy in their mouth, the child still manages an enthusiastic "Nope!" with cute eyes and a grin full of mischief across their face. Toriel truly wished the child to resolve this situation of their own volition. But that plan isn't working out so well, is it? So, she went to Plan B. She gives the child what we call "The Stare." Hey, what's that look for? Being awful at naming things runs in the family, okay?
Anyways, that look? "The Stare?" It is said to make even kings cower and feel like the scum of the earth. Needless to say, this poor child never stood a chance against such power. Letting out a nervous laugh, the human regretfully returns the remaining two pieces back to the bowl, then silently hangs their head low in shame. The two return to the previous room with the leaf pile. No being carried by Toriel. No holding of hands. Just silence and a slow march back to the leaf piles, as the human reflects upon the importance of proper manners.
By the time the child approaches the nearest leaf pile, Toriel is already several feet behind. At first the child slowly picks up a leaf and carefully starts playing with it in their hand. Lightly pulling and pushing at it. Cautiously closing their hand with a single leaf inside. Over time, the child gradually becomes more excited and begins to playfully crinkling through the leaves. Filled with determination, Toriel's newest little monarch runs energetically all over the room, jumping into and rolling about each and every pile of leaves. Their clothes are going to be an indescribable mess after all of this, aren't they? But, for some reason, Toriel simply stands at the wall to the north of the first leaf pile, attempting to hide a smile. She looks quite happy with this turn of events, even if she doesn't want to acknowledge her pleasure.
After several minutes, the child finally returns to Toriel, no longer skulking about from the candy incident. Toriel seems a bit relieved. Again, she picks up the child, setting them upon her shoulders. A few leaves fall from the child's cloths and get caught both in Toriel's fur and her clothing. But she doesn't react to this in the slightest. It seems the guided tour of the Ruins is finally back in session. Finally, it's time for some peace and quiet, right? Not long after thinking those thoughts, the child's voice shatters that brief silence.
"Under the hills and through the Ruins, to Toriel's house we go. Goat Mom knows the way, to carry the kid, atop her white and fluffy fu~ur." It seems Toriel is also familiar with human Christmas carols, as she smiles and begins humming the rest of the song. She doesn't know what new lyrics the human was planning to give the rest of the song, but clearly she knows the melody from somewhere before. It seems even her footsteps are following the beat of the song now.
But then, she suddenly cuts off her humming and slows down her walk. Shortly after, Toriel tries to gently shush the child. It seems she has something she needs to say. The child's surprise is audible. But upon a closer look, the reason for this sudden change in Toriel's behavior becomes perfectly clear. For, in front of the two travelers, lies the next puzzle. Honestly, even calling this next obstacle a "puzzle" might even be a bit generous.
I have another request to make of you, my child.. Please, little one, could you be brave and hang on tight?
The child has a puzzled look on their face, but does as they are instructed anyways. Once they get a good grip, they give her a little tug. Toriel gives a quick glance behind her, as if to acknowledge the child's confirmation, and then proceeds to step forward onto the cracked floor. As she anticipated, their combined weights are simply too much for the weakened support to hold, and both fall down to the floor below. The human let's out a glee-filled "Wheee!," as if their fall down to the basement was merely just a trip down a playground slide.
Toriel falls feet first onto a pile of leaves. She is unhurt, but seems a bit winded from the fall. She takes a few moments to catch her breath. Perhaps the extra strain from carrying the child is too much for her. Or perhaps her muu-muu just isn't as well-suited for Ruins expeditions as her typical attire? Yet, after all this, the human child is still as energetic as ever, impatiently motioning forward.
*Sigh* You wish to go that badly, do you not? Very well . If you truly wish to go, I will not stop you. But, please, try not to get into trouble. Be good, alright?
She sets the human back down to the ground. The child nods, tapping one shoe atop the leaf pile they are standing upon, before running off at full speed. Normally, this would be like asking for a messy disaster to happen. But, let's face facts here. The force of Toriel's fall already displaced most of the leaves from the neatly arranged piles underneath the cracked floor, so there isn't too much else that can be done to make it any sloppier. Outside of leaving some socks out here, of course. But really, who would do a thing like that? And, anyways, Toriel already knows what's coming up next. There's no immediate dangers nearby, and she will be able to catch up quickly. She takes this time to dust herself off, wiping away many of the leaves that got stuck both to her fur and her clothing.
Author's Notes [March 11, 2016]
I apologize for the long delay. At first, I planned to have Chapter 4 last until Home's save point. But I realized that would be too long for a single chapter. So, I'm splitting it into multiple chapters. On the plus side, this means I have a head start on Chapter 5, so it should come out much faster than Chapter 4.
While I have fallen behind where I expected to be, I believe I will still finish the Ruins portion of the story this month.
CURRENT PLANS: Get to start of HOME by March 20, but hopefully sooner. Finish the Ruins arc by March 31.
Ruins until Home: Probably either 1-2 long chapters or 2-3 medium length chapters.
Home: Probably 2 medium length chapters.
Conclusion to Ruins arc: Probably 3-4 mostly short-to-medium length chapters.
