So what happens when you give me about a cup of soda, boredom, in need of ideas and introduce me to wonderful world of Undertale Au's one of which happens to be Altertale? You get me trying to make a neat idea after so long of not writing in general.
Hope you enjoy it and maybe if enough people like it i might make more oneshots around this idea i had. ^-^
It seemed to be just another timeline awaiting its inevitable fate.
Frisk was no fool when it came to these runs, they all seemed to have their own selective terms for a reason. It was the only way to keep track of how many runs there were in their mind.
Neutral involved killing 1 or more monsters, whilst sparing the rest. Pacifist involved sparing everyone without harming a single soul. Genocides very name did not anything more said about it.
If there was a god they would cast judgement on them now, how many timelines did they reset? They honestly have lost count.
"Hey there"
Frisks inner monologue had been rudely cut short as she looked up from the ground. Only now realizing that he had been twirling the knife in their hand idly; remembering the dust that was spread upon it and leaking onto the ground unlike her clothes. It was a shame it was on the purple shirts yellow line, seemed to show off the dust like a ghoulish badge of honor; though it didn't help her body was literally coated in the stuff from hair all the way down to her shoes.
"You seem to be lost in thought" There was a pause as she looked at him, the human blinking at the goat having forgotten for a few minutes that this wasn't the same woman she called her adoptive mother.
So why was Frisk even opening their mouth?
"More then you would think" Toriel couldn't help but blink at that, She was surprised to hear the child talk back to her for once. Letting out a sigh she let her furry digits out her pockets. Toriels difference in clothing was a far cry from how she was normally, instead of a giant purple robe that had a strange symbol on the front. Her clothing looked remarkably like sans-
"Guess something's got your goat then" Again Frisk's thoughts and observations were cut off by Toriel. Though they were surprised eyes turned blank white, almost as if the goat monster's eyes were just a pure void of nothing in them.
"Would make a joke, but i don't got a funny bone in me" Frisk responded with a half-hearted chuckle. Noting her jacket while similar to san's jacket with the fluffy neck, she seemed to be wearing a robe all the way down to her ankles. And unlike the 'goatmom' he knew, she seemed to be around sans and frisk's height.
"Well if you take a picture, i wont give a goat" Toriel chuckled somehow able to find humor in this mess that they are in. One that Frisk had caused.
Suddenly they saw 4 familiar item boxes popping right into existence in front of their face. From left to right, 'Fight' 'Item' 'Act' 'Mercy' all of them glowing yet looking painfully dull.
"So human..." Frisk sighed softly, here it comes. "If your getting cold feet, now would be the time to leave otherwise"
Frisk didn't even get a chance to blink before they felt the heat right behind them, the crackling and snapping of fire making them flinch and quickly turn around. They almost wish they hadn't, if only to not see that look upon Toriels face.
The line was left unfinished as Toriel threw fireball after fireball directly at Frisk. The scorching hot flames incinerating him on contact...
Toriel was not happy.
No that was merely an understatement, in truth she was downright furious. Even that wasn't enough to describe her anger towards the child.
Mad cannot describe the things that she saw today. She knows that the human had done this before, and she can remember bits and pieces of other timelines, while not the complete story it was enough for her to guesswork on all of them. But she can already guess how many times the human had chosen this dark route, frankly she knew that it was more then enough if her memories were even slightly correct.
She knows about her best friend Sans. That hooded black robed skeleton, whom always made her laugh with those jokes that are as terrible as hers. Along with the monsters in the ruins before him being turned into dust.
Shes definitely aware of the fate of Asgore, her dork of a brother always wearing that horrendously fake armor and trying to cheer others up. Even inspiring children to want to try and join the royal guard like Asgore wishes too in the future.
Shes aware of everything the child has done, to all of the monsters in the entire underground, to say that she was not happy would not be the wisest of words to say. She was downright furious at this human, even more so when putting int the perspective that this human seemed to be different then before; and how she was simply played for a fool.
And finally, of course she was aware about the resets. A curse of knowledge if she could ever call it one. Too know that she could not do anything, no matter how hard she kicks and screams as everything once again repeats itself.
At first she was confused, at why the human had reset upon seeing her. She knew she wasn't the most attractive of monsters, or maybe she had merely scared them that badly? Either way it mattered very little in the long term; as usual the human managed to get through the underground without harming anyone. And just reset to go along this dark path, truly a sad thing who has nothing better to do.
Oh, looks like they managed to dodge a few of those fireballs that kept slamming into their sides. Better get back into character Toriel.
"Now that i think about it, Hell seems to be too good for you" Toriel taunted, expecting an attack almost instantly. To her surprise the human hesitated to do anything, truth is the human themselves were a very puzzling individual. She knew that they could be a friend, or an enemy depending on the timeline.
Of course her hopes had been risen again, only for the human to hesitantly press the act button to mere 'Check' her info. Like always the human had paused to read her info, not there was much to read anyways.
Toriel Dreemur.
ATTK 1. DEF 1. HP 1.
Can only handle a damage of 1
Can only deal 1 damage
Knows whats best for you, and its HELL.
Can't block or dodge forever, keep attacking!
Yeah that seems about right. She does know what was best for the child, and if this child was truly irredeemable then it would be fitting to send them right where they belong. Though she has a feeling the child would come out on top eventually, or will they quit? At this point the results the same anyways just another reset among resets in an endless loop where there is no escape.
Once again the child was hesitating. Their hand was hovering over the attack button yes, but its their eyes, they were wandering towards the spare button and staring. For a full 30 seconds they stared. Toriel was getting confused by the strangeness of this human now, but that quickly stopped when the human had punched the damn fight button. Toriel was so caught off guard by this action that she had almost got clipped by the edge of their attack missing by mere centimeters.
"What did you think that your the only one who can dodge?" Toriel taunted them, noticing that they were not looking at the monster as best as they can. Frisk hair seemed to be almost covering their eyes as they stared down at the goat's legs.
It took until Toriel's next attack came, where she was simply creating 6 fireballs and having them all launch themselves at frisk. Not the most effective of attacks, but enough to test their dodging ability to confirm their suspicions. As she had suspected, the human had hardly moved just moving the bare minimum amount to not get hit by the attacks. But that movement also got them clipped by the edges of her fire, singing them lightly as Frisk had dodged.
Again it was their turn, and once more they had chosen attack after a few moments of hesitation.
What was going on here?
Don't look at her Frisk, that isn't Toriel.
They kept repeating those words again and again like a mantra in their head.
But repeating things can only get yourself so far. Repeating the same words, the same actions can only do so much for you, Frisks knows this much already. Still they try and repeat themselves, hoping that they could believe in them truly and fullheartedly accept that this was not Toriel in front of them.
'But it is Toriel, just not the same one' That voice in their head spoke to them once more.
Frisk shook their head snapping out of it as Toriel gave them a look. No doubt she was trying to keep herself on script judging by the tone of her voice, and the attacks that kept coming seemed to be growing less creative and more lazy. Almost like she was trying to test the child, for what they did not know.
They repeated the same patterns again and again. Sometimes they were hit enough where they felt the heart shaped soul of their shatter. Once again sending them into the void, with only the continue screen keeping them company. Of course Frisk would opt to continue, no matter how much they want to reset, there was just simply no point in trying to reset now.
Once again they found themselves within the same hall, moonlight seeping into the corridor giving a nice hue to the room. Toriel looking off to the side as if she could see the moon itself, before turning her head to the child. Both of them stared at each other, Toriel obviously inspecting Frisk for something; only earning a glare from the 8th fallen human.
"You can turn back anytime human"
"And you can leave this hall anytime"
Toriel sighed at the remark. "How many times i killed you?"
Frisk paused at the question "Does it matter?"
"So long as your willing to talk"
Toriel glared at Frisk, her hands glowing a fiery orange. The glows warmth enveloping the room, Frisk refused to say a word at her. Hesitantly bringing the knife back up clearly ready to stab at her once again, Toriel didnt seemed to be amused by this.
"That offer still stands human" Toriel started, pausing for a moment as she seemed to look right through the human, as if she was staring at their very soul. Just like she did..
"There's no going back" Frisk muttered under their breath, eyes again looking at the ground. They could feel their teeth grinding, hand clenching at that knife while the other's nails dug deep into their closed fist.
"You can go back. You can still make things right, not just for us monsters kiddo, but for yourself as well"
Silence took over between he two of them.
Finally, with a frenzied yell Frisk charged at Toriel with speed neither knew they had. Toriel couldn't help but let out a yelp in surprise as she was barely able to dodge that knife from hitting her. Frisk didnt stop however, they just kept swinging that knife around hazardously not aiming to hit a target specifically.
The sound of metal hitting tile range within Frisk's ears as well as their heart beating like a drum in sync with those hits. Toriel's expression never seemed to show any kind of malice, nor worry but rather just a stoic look upon their face as she easily dodged the flurry of attacks. Only needing to take a few steps back to dodge, Frisk was momentarily glad about this up until the point she had jumped away more then 10 feet away from them as they had tripped and fell to the ground. Their face met with the cold tile floor, before they tried to get up; only to collapse gasping for air.
Footsteps rang out in the hallway, out of the corner of their vision Toriel was seen, standing above them. Almost towering above them. Thought that might be because of where they both were. Frisk could hardly feel her oppenents furry hand taking the knife out of thier own, and tossing it backwards. Where it had landed with a loud clang sliding across the floor and stopping.
"How long you going to keep doing this child?"
Frisk had no answer to the question, they didn't know what to say, what could they say?
Toriel sat down, paws on her knees as she looked over the child. She was supposed to be killing them right about now, and yet here she was. Curious about the anomalies behavior rather then trying to eliminate them like the norm. Though if the goat woman had to say anything, in her defense she was bored as hell enough to try just about anything.
That being said, she did not expect for her turn to have a part where she would actually try and check the humans stats. Nor did she expect to fell, heaven forbid, pity for the child.
Frisk Dreemurr
Lv 19
Killed 100
EXP till 20 199/200
ATTK 1 DEF 1 HP 90
Time has taken its toll. Their determination is close to breaking.
Those stats told her more then what she was expecting to find, yes she knew their 'love' would be high enough admitingly. But she was confused on why the human stats had her last name. Did Asriel make another child before he-
No. That is impossible, the old yet kind goat was long gone at this point. Trapped within the void, Toriel was aware of the possibility; but it seemed to unlikely for him to create a human child with that ungodly amount of determination. Not without a way to 'detain' the human should they have proven to be a threat at least, unless she was the way?
"So kiddo...why do you have my last name?"
"Not...yours.." wait what-
Toriel was confused for a moment, before stopping her train of thoughts quickly enough to catch the fist from the fallen child. She was stronger then one would think despite her 1 stats, a punch this weak wouldn't hurt her after all, especially not from a child already about ready to faint from mental and physical exhaustion.
"Kid...look.." Toriel started trying to think of the right words to say, she swore she could hear that same hopeful music, almost...motherly somber in her ears as she tried to speak. "I don't know whats going on here, but you clearly do so...child. For your sake at least, start talking" she couldn't explain it but talking to the kid in an almost reprimanding tone almost felt...natural.
"Shut up."
Toriels eyebrow raised for a moment, her hand with the fist caught in it warming up just incase.
"Just please...shut the fuck up for once. Your not..." the human stopped themselves while they were shaking heavily, she was normally a read the audience type of girl. But the human was clearly trying not to be read by the goat lady, not that she could blame them. Toriel could easily tell, and frankly anyone could tell that whatever was eating at the human was something close to their very soul.
"Frisk. You got to tell me, no one else is here, nor are they going to listen. Not after what you did here." She spoke matter of factly, she could feel Frisks fist trying to squeeze itself harder, the gat was slightly worried it would soon start to bleed if their fist squeezed any harder if she was to be honest.
"I... I can't...your not...they, their not...i can't.."
Drip
..What the hell?
Toriel's eyes widened as she saw fresh lines sliding right down the human child's face, and onto the floor just barely missing her feet. Toriel knew something was up, but she wasn't expecting for the anomilie to end upp looking so pathetic due to a fight with her.
But they are a child.
A child who, for whatever reason is scared to tell them the truth. What reason do they have for wanting to scared seemed to be a good enough reason to drive them down this horrible route.
"I..i can't.. i can't do this anymore"
"Kid, I'm confused now. Mind if you explain to me?" Toriel said in her normal relaxed tone of voice she used when trying to joke around. Calming the heat in her hands to a more comfortable level, Frisk still refused to look up at them tears running out of their eyes still, body still shaking.
"I-i ca-can't im too-" Frisk tried to complete their sentence before Toriel brought a hand beneath their chin and caused them to look up towards her. Both of them looking eye to eye, Toriel giving sympathetic smile to the human.
"Kiddo, we ended up having to fight each other, and i killed you. I get that your scared, but..if you didn't stop you would have won and we both know that" Toriel explained to Frisk who's eyes looked downwards trying not to look at her eyes. "But this fight might not have happened, if you didn't bottle up all the hurt you got. Take it from me, bottling things up really hurts more...though i don't think getting all that 'LOVE' helped either" she added that last bit chuckling awkwardly, it was true though. Love is like a drug, and is a hell of a drug too; but a dangerous one all the same.
Frisk gulped softly, the human still looking down at her robe. Toriel didnt mind, the two of them had all the time in the world that they needed. If it meant waiting for just a bit longer, she could handle waiting if it means a possible end to this madness.
"H-ho-how much do you remember?"
"Everything" it was true, remembering everything was a pain at times though.
"..w-what would you say if your life could have been drastically different?"
"Is that the reason your last names Dreemurr?" She smiled at the small jump.
"How did you-?!"
"I checked ya out"
"...oh..."
"But anyways" Toriel lifted her hand from under the humans chin, to move the hair out of their eyes and letting her hand rest upon Frisk's cheek, her thumb trying to wipe away the slowly flowing tears. "How different was i?"
Frisk seemed to pause for a few moments after that question "you were my mom. Adopted mom"
Ok...what the fuck.
"Wow that's...uh...wow" Toriel didn't have a comeback for that, she paused for a few moments. Her? A mother, a part of her is happy that in one timeline she had a kid, even adopted. But she also admits that if she had a kid now, she might not be the best kind of mother. Nah, seems more like she be the cool big sister. And that was pushing it, being the cool sibling was Asgores job.
"I take it your parents weren't uh.."
"Never had any" Shit, better try and change the topic quickly!
"Uh i know i shouldn't be asking this but..who was-"
"Asgore" Ok WHAT- "You weren't siblings" oh thank god- "I think. I never bothered asking, just assumed your weren't" Huh, okay, so she might have been into incest in that timeline. Or might not be, assuming that Toriel was anything like her.
"So...what happened?" Frisk looked away again, no doubt there was more then a bit of guilt in their very soul.
"I...I tried, so hard not to kill anyone. I even talked down King Asgore and" their eyes looked back at Toriels "I even managed, to calm down the spirit of your son Asriel...we uh, well, he. Broke the barrier. We got to the surface. But he..didn't want to say anything to his parents before he fell down again.."
Damn. That's, a hell of a pill to swallow. "I would say your lying but uh, something tells me with all this timey wimey nonsense your not kidding" Frisk nodded, her fist falling down from Toriels hand limply, the goat having forgotten she was holding the human's hand momentarily.
"I..I didn't mean for all this too...I just- I wanted to go back to my last Save, just a few minutes before the barrier, try and talk to him.. but i..." Toriel finally got it, she can finally have the bigger picture now.
"I didn't mean too please believe me i didn't.. I just.." Frisk suddenly launched herself into the goat lady's chest, taken by surprise Toriel looked down at her chest. Sighing sadly as she wrapped her arms around the now crying child who sobbed openly and loudly into her chest, tears now openly falling more then before.
"Hey its alright, you didn't mean to do this. You still don't completely understand the power you got" Toriel soothed gently a clawed hand rubbing at Frisk's head as they sobbed into her friend. This poor kids been through so much hell and back, having to go through all of that just for it to mean nothing, Toriel could honestly relate. It was one of the many reasons why she was so lazy after all, why even bother with anything if it will all mean nothing in the long run? On top of that the kids probably died so many times she assumes the kids going to need one hell of a pherapist. Both of them do if shes honest, she'll make note of this for later.
"I did and now i don't know how else to fix this" She whimpered out between breaths as she was crying. Toriel could understand her reasoning to an extent, she couldnt fix this timeline so the kid just decided to go nuclear. More then a bit extreme, but she could at least understand the 'why' now.
"Then don't" Frisk looked up to the goat in confusion "Don't try and fix things, you screwed up yeah. But...we are still here, different then who we were. But we are still able to be your friends, we're just different then before" Toriel smiled warmly at them, ignoring the dust on their clothes.
"B-but i changed everyone's live!"
"Yup"
"I essentially changed history by mistake"
"Yup"
"Is..that all your going to..?"
"Yup"
"How can you be so...forgiving?"
"Yup"
Frisk simply looked up at the goat monster. Whom only grinned at them in a joking manner and shrugged her shoulders a little her eyes softening at the confused look on the child.
"You can't fix everything Frisk, even with that power of yours. Sometimes, you gotta let things go" Frisk blinked a few times, and Toriel simply used her thumb to dry the kids tears. "Plus side, now you talked to me about this..you finally let this all off your chest"
Frisk nodded slowly, though she did feel Frisk pressing themselves against Toriel's chest more. "Right now though Frisk, The best thing you can do is reset, i know your scared but something tells me it won't break anything this time. When you reset this time, I'll be waiting for ya in the next timeline" Frisk looked up again, a very tired expression on their face; no doubt they were exhausted in both senses from all the things that happened to them.
"Toriel?"
"Hmm?"
"I know this a bad time but uh...do...you think uh.."
"Don''t be shy now Frisk, lets not keep anymore secrets between us alright?"
Frisk nodded again "Well its just...the Toriel i knew adopted me and um.." Oh, right. That's still a surprise to her.
"Not gonna sugar coat it, I can't say for certain if i want to or not. Hard to say in this timeline, given the resets n all, but in the next one i think it could happen...Or at least, i can be your Goat-Sis" Toriel chuckled before adding in her realization "And Asgore would be your Goat-Bro" Frisk smiled at that resisting the urge to close their eyes and simply just leaning against her.
"Yeah..i would..like that"
"Kid?"
"'S fine..just..sleepy"
"...I can't blame you" Toriel sighed, so many realizations having occurred throughout the meeting in this hallways. All the hell this kids gone through, and the pain n dust spread because of this kids suffering. And yet, she cannot blame them after realizing just how much suffering they went through was the result of a power they truly did not understand the full grasp off. Fuck this timeline bullshit, she wish it never was a thing; maybe just maybe she would be more motivated to do..anything really. Heck, she might have been the kids bodyguard in another time if that was the case. But now's not the time to dwell on such topics.
"Tori?" Oh god shes been given a nickname, this kiddos too much.
"Sup kiddo?"
"Mind we uh, hug often? Your uh..really" Frisk yawned softly closing their eyes "comfortable" Toriel couldnt resist blushing at that, it was most likely the heat from her body making her comfortably warm against the human. But the compliment still hit home for her.
It was then in that moment as she picked up the child whom had fallen asleep against her. Staring at the dust as it slide effortlessly off and onto the floor below. Toriel had made a decision that she would be there for the child, and try and be the best version of herself she can be.
Toriel knew that the lazy goat would have more then a few hardships coming her way, but the way things are now she is more then willing to help this kid this time around. And hopefully, the goat-lady can be the parent or sibling figure, or perhaps both; that the child needs. The kid might be the anomaly yes, but they were still a kid given way to much power that they hardly understood. Perhaps, with her knowledge of timelines and what little she knows about determination, Toriel can help them understand so they do not cause a mess like this purely by mistake ever again?
Toriel couldn't help but smile. For now though, both she and the kid need rest. A shortcut is desperately needed, and the goat lady doesn't want to have anyone disturb the two of them before this timelines reset.
With a snap of her fingers, she and the child, no Frisk. Had vanished, leaving behind a empty hallway and a knife on the ground.