*(i hope you don't mind the creative liberty i took with toriel. I had to give her SOMETHING to defend herself with. You'll see soon.)

Chapter 9: Caretaker of the ruins

I open my eyes to the subtle darkness of the room. Standing up, i notice the slice of pie on the , same as always... I take it and put it in my inventory. I could use that later, if i need it. Well, i have to leave eventually, so i best go talk to Toriel. I exit the room and make my way over to the living room. Toriel is reading the same book she always does. Well here goes nothing.

"Good morning, i hope you slept well, my child. I just wanted to let you know how happy i am to have you here. I wanted to show you my favorite bug hunting spot. And I have planned a curriculum for your education. This may come as a surprise, but i have always wanted to become a teacher. Then again, i suppose that isn't that surprising. Still. I am happy to have you here. Well, is there something you wanted, my child?" let's not stall this any longer than i need to. Lets just get straight to the point.

"When can i leave the ruins?"

"Erm, what do you mean? This is your home now."

"I need to leave the ruins. Can you show me?"

"Stay here, i need to take care of something." toriel stands up and walks away. I know exactly where this is going, but i don't know what will change. I follow her into the downstairs hallway. "You wish to know how to return 'home' do you not? Up ahead is the exit to the ruins, a one way entrance to the rest of the underground. I am going to destroy it. Be a good child and go back upstairs." she keeps walking, and i follow her.

"Every monster 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 turn you into dust. I am only protecting you, do you understand?... go to your room." we both keep walking down the hallway. We stop at a corner.

"Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning." this is the last step before i have to fight her… i think i am ready.

"You really want to return to the surface that badly? Humph, you're persistent. There is only one way to settle this. Prove yourself. Prove to me you are strong enough to survive!" Toriel reaches into her robe and pulls out a small, plastic knife… a toy knife...

*Toriel blocks the way!

*spare

"..." toriel swings a vertical slash at me, i know she means no harm, but i can't let that hit me. I side step out of the way of it.

*spare

"..." she swings at me again. I try to sidestep, but the horizontal slash has it connect with my side.

*HP 16/20

I'm fine, but that really hurt.

*spare

"...?" she swings at me twice. I jump out of the way of the first attack, but get hit by the second.

*HP 12/20

Ugh, i can't let myself get hit by attacks like these. If i do, i'm going to pay for it later.

*spare

"What are you doing?" she swings once horizontally and once vertically. Both hit me.

*HP 06/20

I don't need to heal, toriel never actually kills me anyway… i hope.

*spare

"Fight, or run away!" she swings at me once more. I think i'm starting to understand why most monsters don't dodge attacks, it takes a lot more energy than it does to simply move my soul out of the way. Maybe with practice, i will be able to dodge physical attacks easier, but not yet.

*HP 02/20

I can't let this happen in all the rest of the fights. Otherwise, i'll find out much too quickly what it feels like to get dusted.

*spare

"Stop it!" she swings again, but purposefully doesn't let the knife come anywhere near me. She missed on purpose.

*spare

"I know you want to go home…" she stops attacking.

*spare

"But you have to understand, i'm doing this to protect you."

*spare

"I know we don't have much…"

*spare

"But we can have a really good life here."

*spare

"Please, go back upstairs"

*spare

"..."

"No, i understand, you would just be unhappy here. The ruins really are quite small once you get to know them. And in the end, i would just be trapping you here."

*Battle end

"If you want to leave the ruins, i will not stop you. But when you do leave, do not come back. I hope you understand. Good luck, my child." toriel walks up to me and gives me a loving hug, before standing up and walking back down the hallway. Before she leaves, though, she takes one last look at me, before turning back and leaving. Only one way to go now. Onward to snowdin.

End of chapter 9

*(i hope you guys forgive me for this chapter. I basically just copied the cannon fight. Well, i hope you guys enjoyed! Please tell me if you have any questions or if you spot a potential plot hole. See ya!)