Frisk's eyes snapped open, feeling the golden flowers she had fallen on the first time and, with every RESET, had grown accustomed to their feel. She let out a small sigh and got up as she thought back to previous "runs" that she RESET from.
First time through, she was so devastated by the loss of Tenebris' life that she forgot she could RESET and Chara took advantage of her weakness to possess her, force the RESET, and began the genocide with her body. In that run, both Tenebris AND Selendis died, though Tenebris somehow managed to get a second wind and come back with Selendis' soul in tow.
Frisk let out a small whimper as she was nearing tears; not only did she allow the monsters of the underground to die by her hands, but also the people she was closest to. She blamed herself for everything that happened and, while RESETTING technically put everything right, she had to live with the fact that she didn't try hard enough to fight back against Chara's possession. The guilt had begun crushing her; she couldn't ever forgive herself for what happened.
Right before she could start crying, she heard a soft, yet familiar, breathing noise from beside her. Looking over, she was greeted with a sight she'd never thought she'd see: Both Tenebris and Selendis were on the flower bed with her, still unconscious. This initially baffled her; for some odd reason, whatever allowed her determination to RESET chose this point as the furthest back she can go. This meant that both the older humans wouldn't be there with her until later.
At the moment, though, Frisk didn't care. The fact that she was able to see both of them alive and well was all she needed. She started shaking them. "Tenny! Selly! Please wake up!"
Selendis was the first one to wake up. "Mh… Frisk?" She suddenly embraced her sister. "Frisk! I'm so happy you're okay! When I got the distinct feeling that you went to Mt. Ebott, I thought you… I thought you…"
That took Frisk by surprise. First time around, it took the both of them a few days before they came underground. When Chara started the genocide, Frisk figured that both of them would be safe from her rampage, only to become distraught when she saw Selendis arrive far earlier than before and without Tenebris to protect her; he appeared later with Undyne and got killed for the first time there. Was Chara's RESET so forced that some of the memories leaked through?
Shaking the thoughts from her head, Frisk returned her sister's embrace. "I'm okay, Selly. I'm… just glad you're safe and sound as well. I'm sorry I worried you so much." Selendis frowned at those words. She was saying them like she saw Selendis die.
She was jarred out of that thought when Tenebris said, "Somebody catch the license plate number of that bus?" Both sisters looked at him as he sat up, looking dazed. Though she couldn't see it properly, Frisk could tell something was off about his right eye. He was also missing the eye patch covering his shadowy left eye.
Selendis let out a sigh. "I take it you got my voice message right after I left it, huh?"
"Way to leave me in the dust like that, Selendis. Guess it worked out in the end. I only have… one problem." He turns to face the sisters and both of them saw his right eye had a scar and was milky white. "Why can't I see out of my right eye? I could have sworn it was fine before jumping down that hole." The sight and those words filled Frisk with both nausea and guilt when she remembered that it was her who sliced out his eye. It didn't help her guilt when he said, "Must have had bad luck on the way down."
Selendis sighed. "I don't think you have THAT rotten of luck, plus your eye would be bleeding profusely if it hit a rock on the way down. Your eye looks like it has already healed and I don't think we were unconscious for that long."
Tenebris hummed for a bit. "Guess it's one of the mysteries of the universe now." Noticing the look on Frisk's face, he gives her a concerned look. "What's wrong, kid?"
"Ah! Uh… i-it's just… how will this affect you? What if it becomes worse than what it is now?"
Now it was Tenebris' turn to frown; he's never heard Frisk so worried before. So… guilt ridden and the look on her face wasn't helping much. Deciding he'll try and find out at a later point, he shakes his head before giving her a comforting hug. "I'm sure it'll be fine, Frisk. Cheer up! this isn't the determined kid I know and love!" He started tickling her, prompting mad giggles out of her and an amused smile out of Selendis.
Frisk was starting to feel a bit better. Last time she felt Tenebris hug her or touch her, he felt cold because he was already dead, just inhabiting his deceased body. Feeling that he was once again warm and full of life filled her with determination. "Alright, Tenny, stop! Besides, don't you think we should find a way out of here?"
"Fair enough. I just wanted to cheer you up."
Selendis frowned when she looked at Tenebris' left eye. He noticed and was about to speak when she cut him off. "If you're worried about what I think of your other eye, don't be. For some odd reason, I'm already aware and accustomed to it." Frisk averted her eyes for a second. How many memories leaked through the boundaries of the RESETS?
Tenebris frowned with a contemplative look. "Somehow I feel that's the case as well. Urgh, let's not worry about it for now when getting back home is more important." That got a nod out of the sisters.
Moving to the next room, the trio saw Flowey in the center of the room. Frisk figured Flowey would remember what he said before she RESET, but was caught off guard when he said, "Really, Chara? And you even brought "friends"? Well, do what you will. I'll be waiting for you." With that, he vanished underground.
That baffled both Frisk and Selendis for different reasons, but Tenebris was frowning again. "Chara… Chara… where have I heard that name before? I feel like I should know this person, but it just doesn't come to me."
Before Frisk could comment on his words, she was interrupted when Toriel arrived. "My goodness! Are you three alright?" The three humans looked at Toriel, the older humans and the monster felt as though they've already met. Toriel ignored it and she continued, "You must all be so lost and confused. Ah, do not be afraid, my children. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I pass through here every day to see if anyone has fallen down. Not only are you the first humans to fall down here in a long time, but you're the first to arrive in a group."
That got a confused look from Tenebris. Just how long has it been since the last human fell down here? For that matter, how did she know they were humans if that was truly the case? He put the questions aside for later. "My name is Tenebris, Miss Toriel. The two girls are Frisk and Selendis." The two sisters nodded respectively.
"Just Toriel is fine, Tenebris, and well met all of you. Since there is no easy way out, I can take care of you. Come, I'll guide you through the catacombs." With that, she turns and leaves the room."
Selendis waited a bit before whispering, "Why does she seem so familiar to me? I swear I've never met her before."
Frisk silently gulped as Tenebris shook his head. "Just another mystery to throw onto the pile, but that same familiarity tells me she's trustworthy. Let's just follow her for now." Tenebris hung back a little to frown to himself again. It felt like there were massive, gaping holes in his memories and it was starting to get on his nerves. He liked having certainty in his memories and it wasn't coming to him this time around.
As they followed Toriel, the shadows of the Ruins loomed over them. It should have been intimidating, but the trio felt it was more comforting than scary. Frisk was filled with determination when she realized she can become so with her surroundings, rather than with Chara's determination coming from seemingly nowhere.
Climbing the stairs and into the next room, Toriel addressed them. "Welcome to your new home, innocent ones. Permit me to educate you all in the operation of the Ruins." Selendis frowned at the Ruins being called their "new home", but Tenebris was trying to hide his immense guilt and horror at being called "innocent". He wasn't innocent… not by a long shot.
Toriel missed their looks and pressed four of the six switches on the floor before pulling a lever. "The Ruins are full of puzzles, ancient fusions between diversions and keystones. One must solve them to move around, so please acquaint yourselves to the sight of them." She continues to the next room.
Selendis raised an eyebrow. "And suddenly that familiarity I've been feeling is gone. We've seen the room before, but it feels like that's the first time we've… seen this puzzle solved."
Frisk pretended to feel the same way as she shrugged. "Or perhaps we've never seen the puzzle before? It's starting to get confusing…"
Tenebris let out a sigh as he desperately tried to repress memories of his past. "Familiarity or no, I doubt Toriel has any ill intentions. Though now I'm curious as to why she mentioned "our new home" …"
"I've been wondering that too. Is there truly no way to get out?" Selendis looked at the door. "Guess we shouldn't keep Toriel waiting for too long."
Sure enough, Toriel was waiting in the next room. "Ah, are you three done discussing something?"
Frisk nodded. "Yeah. Sorry we held you up."
"It's fine, my child. Moving on, you need to trigger several switches in order to proceed. Don't worry, though, for I have labeled the ones you need to flip." This helped Tenebris fight the depression threatening to return as he rolled his eyes. She took the fun out of solving a dungeon puzzle; he wanted to know how video game adventurers felt when they had to solve a puzzle to move on.
Said "puzzle" was merely a switch, followed by a pair of switches with two of the three being marked. Frisk flipped the first one, but Tenebris went for the unmarked one. "Ah, what are you doing, Tenebris? That isn't the switch you should be pressing!"
Opting to be the rebellious one of the humans, Tenebris merely grinned at her. "Renegade for life!" He tried to pull the switch, but it was stuck, causing him to start pouting. "What? This one doesn't even- fine, be that way! It's not like I WANTED to pull you anyways!" The girls had a laugh over how pouty Tenebris sounded as he flipped the marked switch.
Toirel managed to stop giggling. "What's wrong, Tenebris? Did that stuck lever "flip your switch"?"
Selendis went from giggling to groaning as Frisk burst into more giggles and Tenebris started chuckling. "No bad puns, please!"
Tenebris elbowed her. "Come on, Selendis. I saw a smile out of you."
"I didn't mean to smile!" Everyone else started laughing as it was Selendis' turn to start pouting.
Toriel shook her head. "Don't worry, Selendis. I'll… try to limit my bad humor in your presence. Regardless, the next room awaits." As everyone entered a room with a dummy, Toriel gave the room a curious look. "Strange, I feel as though this room holds more significance and it should have."
Both Tenebris and Selendis felt the same way as Frisk connected the dots. This was more than likely where Toriel first met Selendis and Tenebris when they arrived a few days after she did. Frisk remembered something telling her that she should live with Toriel until something significant happened. She wondered if there was ever a RESET that happened that managed to wipe even her memories.
Toriel shook her head. "Regardless, there is something I should warn you about here and now. As humans living in the underground, other monsters may attack you. As such, you need to be prepared for this when the situation arises." Seeing the looks on the older humans faces, she quickly added, "Don't worry as the process is simple. Encountering monsters will draw you into what's called a "Fight". When this happens, try striking up a friendly conversation. Stall for time and I'll end the confrontation. Now try talking to the dummy."
While the whole "Fight" thing wasn't new to them and of the three humans, the older ones felt that this was the first time it was explained to them in this manner. However, Tenebris had a flat look on his face when Toriel mentioned talking to the dummy. Who, in their right mind, would talk to an inanimate object?
Frisk approached the dummy and entered said "Fight". Everyone's souls appeared despite Frisk being the one to initiate the instance, somewhat confusing Toriel. "I… suppose all three of you will be in a "Fight" at the same time. Whether it'll be convenient or inconvenient will be determined by… oh my goodness…"
She was staring at Tenebris, horrified. When the sisters turned to look, Selendis and especially Frisk were also horrified. Frisk still had her red soul of determination and Selendis with her green soul of kindness.
Tenebris' soul was still a dark purple but it was split into four segments, all of them being held together by strands of darkness, and all four segments were cracked. When Tenebris got a look at it, an incredible sense of unease filled him. He never noticed it before, but now he did feel… damaged and hollow, as well as realizing why his memories felt like gaping holes.
Tenebris suddenly heard Frisk whimper. "T-Tenny… are you o-okay?"
"Yeah, I think I'll live. Maybe this is why I earned a random scar and a blind right eye. Can the state of someone's soul affect their physical state?"
Toriel thought for a moment. "I didn't think so, but perhaps there are exceptions. Your soul does have an unnaturally high amount of magic imbued into it, so anything could be possible."
Selendis continued looking at Tenebris' soul until she firmly stated, "As soon as we get to Toriel's place, we're getting that looked at in greater detail! I don't want any one of us becoming soulless and/or dead down here."
Frisk blanched at those words, though this was missed as Tenebris held up his hands. "Alright alright, though somehow I doubt it'll be that easy to fix. For now, let's just focus on getting through the Ruins. There's still the matter of… of… where did it go?"
Everyone else looked as sure enough, the dummy was gone, having left because of the trio's aimless shenanigans. This got a rather baffled look out of everyone and made them briefly forget about Tenebris' soul, including Toriel before she said, "Let's move on to the next room!" As everyone moved on, with Toriel commenting on the next puzzle's difficulty, Tenebris started feeling a minor pain in his abdomen, like he had been slashed once but has mostly recovered, and wondered if that too was a side effect of his soul's state.
When a Froggit suddenly jumped the humans, it got a squeak of surprise from Selendis, which caught Toriel's attention. Frisk quickly complimented it and it was flattered, though Toriel glared it away before it could do anything. Selendis shuddered a bit when it reminded her of how her mother used to glare.
Toriel stopped right before what looked like a veritable field of spikes. "This is the puzzle, but…" Turning to the humans, she held out a hand. "let's all hold hands through this so that nobody takes a wrong step." Tenebris eyed the field with slight skepticism, but took her hand regardless. Selendis took his free hand, enticing a small blush from him, and Frisk took Selendis'. With that, Toriel led them through the field, with the seemingly correct path having its spikes retract when approached.
As the group of four crossed the spikes, Frisk's guilt over everything started coming back again, especially concerning Tenebris. She remembered the "first" time down in the underground, he had bemoaned his status as the universe's chew toy. He wasn't far from the mark; of the two times he's been down here before, he's died both times. Though he may not remember any of his suffering, Frisk felt it was only fair that she should spend more time with Tenebris in the near future.
Toriel commented on the puzzle being a bit too dangerous at the time before letting go of Tenebris' hand and moving on. The trio of humans let go as well, though Selendis secretly wished, for some odd reason to her, that she could hold on for a bit longer. What broke her out of that train of thought was when Toriel asked them to walk to the other end of the room without her before quickly taking off.
Tenebris let out a loud groan of irritation, clearly sick of both the literal and figurative hand-holding. "Does she not think we can handle ourselves? I sort of get it with someone as young as Frisk, but us older teenagers as well?"
Selendis hummed a bit. "Perhaps it's something to do with her past? I wouldn't be surprised if she had lost a child, or children, from carelessness or something of that nature."
"Sure, but smothering us in… affection like that is not a viable alternative. Ugh… I don't know. No offence, but the female psyche is too complicated for me to read into ninety percent of the time."
Selendis was initially and slightly offended but saw an opportunity to tease him as well. "I would ask what that has to do with this situation but... aw, what's wrong, Tenebris? Too simple minded for something as complicated as us girls?"
Frisk howled in laughter as he started sputtering, red in the face from embarrassment. "Y-y-you know t-that's not what I… oh forget it. I'm not going to even try and argue my case."
If Toriel heard that exchange, she didn't show it when the trio got to the end of the hall and she came out from behind a solitary pillar. After commenting that it was to test their independence, which earned an eye roll from Tenebris, she then requested them to wait at that location until she comes back and gave them a cell phone before leaving the room. Frisk already knew about the whole exchange, but it was new to the older humans.
A little while has passed until Tenebris huffed in irritation. "If she expects us to just sit with nothing to do for a long time, she's nuts."
Frisk gave him a curious look. "You never were that patient, were you? I find it weird how you have patience for some things, like dealing with most kids, yet have none for other things."
"Different tolerance levels I suppose. I dislike waiting around in one spot with absolutely nothing to do; if I had games or anime, it would be a different story. Besides, who doesn't have the patience when dealing with an adorable little sister figure like you?"
Tenebris ruffles Frisk's hair and entices a giggle out of her and a smile out of Selendis. The exchange warmed Selendis' heart, which further steeled her resolve to find out what happened to his soul. "Still, why would Toriel ask us to wait here? It might not be to her, but most of the puzzles down here are fairly harmless by many standards."
Frisk sighed and shook her head, feigning ignorance. "I don't know. I actually have to agree with Tenny and I don't want to stay here for too long. Besides, I get the feeling that we will be waiting a LONG time for her to come back."
Selendis chewed on her cheek for a bit before sighing, wondering if some of Tenebris' impatience somehow rubbed off onto her sister. "Alright, but I doubt Toriel would be happy with this. Don't blame me if we make an enemy from this."
"Selly, don't worry about it! She doesn't seem like the kind of person to react that adversely to something like that." Frisk pats her sister on the arm reassuringly, enticing a sigh and a reluctant nod out of her.
Not even three steps into the next room, Toriel calls and asks if the three have left the room yet before explaining that there are some puzzle she has yet to explain. After she hung up, Tenebris looked at the phone with a flat look. "Toriel just so happens to call us right then? Either it's a massive coincidence, or just plain dumb luck." Frisk suddenly found the walls interesting, trying to hide that she knew it would happen.
Selendis sighed again. "Are you two sure you want to continue on regardless?"
Frisk turned and nodded. "I say it's just a coincidence, so I feel we should be fine."
"Alright, if you say so. Just keep my warning in mind." Tenebris shrugged in response.
There was a Froggit sitting beside a door that asked them to be merciful to a monster if they showed an unwillingness to fight. The older humans felt like they already heard that once, while it was the third time Frisk was hearing it, though the guilt of not following it the second time though started returning. After that, they found a bowl of monster candy and took one for each of them, though Tenebris gave up his to Frisk when he was told what flavor it was; he dislikes distinct, non-licorice flavors, which the sisters found rather oddly specific.
In a room with a single rock, the phone rings again. "Hello, this is Toriel. For… no reason in particular, which do the three of you prefer? Cinnamon or butterscotch?" The older humans raised an eyebrow at that question. It was a very specific thing to ask out of the blue and they couldn't help but wonder if she was planning something. What caught them and even Frisk off guard was when she said, "Wait… don't tell me. Tenebris likes cinnamon and you girls like butterscotch?"
Frisk almost did a double take. Toriel somehow managed to remember her preference last run, so she wasn't surprised for herself despite Chara being in control last time. The fact that she also remembered her sister's and Tenebris' preferences as well actually baffled her.
Tenebris sputtered in confusion for a bit before saying, "Uh… yeah, I do like cinnamon."
Selendis shook her head in confusion. "And… you're right about me and Frisk."
That got a giggle out of Toriel. "I had a feeling. When humans fall down here, strangely I… often feel like I already know them. I'll be honest with you three, when I first saw you back at the entrance of the Ruins, I felt… like I was seeing old friends for the first time in a long while." The older humans looked at each other and Frisk, wondering if they should say they feel the same way. Toriel continued without waiting for a response, "Strange, isn't it? Well… thank you for your selections." With that, she hung up.
Tenebris let out a sigh. "Things just keep getting weirder and weirder as we progress through this place. We should not be familiar with this place, nor should we be familiar with Toriel and vice versa. It's… starting to creep me out now."
Selendis curled the corner of her mouth. "Try not to think about it too hard, okay? I'd like for us to come out of this still sane."
"That's asking for a lot, especially if the rest of the underground does this to us."
Frisk tried to get their attention. "Selly! Tenny! Please don't worry about it! I'm sure we'll get through all of this just fine."
Selendis breathed a little bit before giving a small smile. "Yeah, you're right. Agonizing over it will just bring unneeded stress, so we should just be thankful that this familiarity will help us in the long run. Heck, if there are other monsters that share this familiarity, it'll make our lives much easier."
Tenebris nodded, but mentally frowned at himself. He wanted to be grateful for the familiarity and the knowledge on how to regulate his magic, but the memories he knows he's missing feel like they have a few important pieces of the puzzle. Like the reason why he, deep down, is glad Selendis is alive again and why… he was happy Frisk was "free".
And why he wanted to know and learn more about this Chara.
