Undertale 2: Forgiven
Chapter One
(Notice: Every human depicted or described in this story is not a fictional character. The humans in this story are all 100% real.)
His stroll to the top of the mountain was a quiet one...
He let out a long sigh. His steps were heavy up the beaten path leading to the summit. Hands in his coat and eyes looking down at his shoes, it was obvious to any observer that he had something on his mind. His frown was deep. He looked unhappy. About what though, he wouldn't say...
He reached the top of the mountain. He hopped in a half-circle, walking backwards, looking out at the forest below. It was a beautiful scene. The sun was low in the sky; orange and purple-ish streaks of light filled the top half of this beautiful landscape. He took it in with a sigh, his deep brown eyes sparkling, reflecting the scenery back onto itself.
His foot caught on a jagged rock, and he fell...
Darkness.
He groaned in pain, clutching his right leg. The scenery was gone now. It was replaced by dark cave walls. He laid on his side of a patch of golden flowers, breathing in shaky, unsteady volumes. "I will not go into shock. I will not go into shock." He repeated to himself firmly. He breathed out slowly, then pushed himself up onto his feet.
He took in his surroundings. Around him: dark walls. Below him: a bed of golden flowers. Above him: the sunset sky above. He called for help a few times, with no answer in return. In front of him: another cave opening, and the frame of a large door. He made his way towards it, limping slowly on his right leg.
A yellow flower popped out of the ground in front of him. He flinched in surprise; it had risen to meet him. It even had a welcoming smile on its face. "Hi there!" It said cheerfully. A talking flower? He knelt down in front of it as the flower continued.
"I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower!" He said cheefully. "Uh...hi there...Flowey. I'm Alex." The human introduced himself. "Deelighted to meet ya! I'm guessin' you're new here to the Underground, ain't ya?" Flowey asked with a bit of a sly grin. Alex nodded. "Yeah. I fell down this hole. Pretty sure my leg's messed up." Alex summarized briefly. He sighed.
"Well golly, sounds like you're in a real pickle" Flowey said, his smile sinking into a frown of concern. "I can help you out with your leg though!" Flowey offered. Alex, only half attention to Flowey, stood up carefully, pulling out an iPhone from his pocket. "Ugh. No service, of course. My friggin carrier sucks, man." He complained to Flowey, whose eyebrow was raised in mild frustration.
"Hey. I said I can help you with your leg, buddy." Flowey repeated himself. Alex pocketed his phone. "Sorry. You say you can help my leg?" Flowey nodded with a smile. "Yes I can. You want my help, right?" Flowey asked, grinning slyly again, almost playfully. Alex nodded. "I'd appreciate that very much." "Well alright then!"
Alex's surroundings grew darker, almost to a point of appearing black and white. Flowey smiled again, as if this were all completely normal to him. A light gray heart appeared over the left side of Alex's chest, over his shirt and coat like a virtual projection. Alex's eyebrows furrowed, and he stared down at the heart in confusion.
"What's going on, Flowey?" Flowey simply smiled at Alex. "Relax buddy. That's your SOUL right there. It represents you and all that you are. When you engage with someone the way we are right now, it'll appear. Now, to heal your leg up, I'm gonna give you a lil' somethin' very common down here in the Underground: friendship pellets! These will heal ya right up! Just run into them. Kay? Kay!"
Little cylindrical pellets appeared from behind Flowey, and he shot them in Alex's direction. Closer they came. Alex felt a cold shiver down his spine. He felt uncomfortable. The pellets came closer. Alex got shaky. Something felt wrong. Something felt off.
Alex hopped out of the way of the pellets.
Flowey's frown of concern returned. "Heya buddy heheh, ya missed them. Something wrong? Heheh..." Alex's eyes scanned the cave in rapid glances. "I'mma have to back out of this, Flowey. Something doesn't feel right." Alex said. Flowey raised an eyebrow, but chuckled again awkwardly. "Come on, buddy, don't'cha trust me?" Flowey insisted. "It's not a matter of trust, it just feels weird." Alex answered.
"That's okay, buddy. Why don't we just try again?" Flowey said slowly. He fired more pellets at Alex. He hopped out of the way again.
Flowey's expression darkened. His face turned much uglier and much more sinister. "You're playing me, aren't you? You know exactly what's going on here, don't'cha? You just wanted to see me suffer..." Pellets appeared all around Alex, surrounding him. "'Oh, I don't know where I am. I'm hurt. I don't want your bullets, Flowey. They're weird, keheheh.' Die!" Flowey screeched. The bullets closed in on Alex.
And then suddenly they disappeared. A ball of fire hit Flowey, and he disappeared under the ground with a quick screech of pain. Alex's SOUL disappeared, and his surroundings normalized. In front of him, he noticed what looked to be a goat in a purple dress/robe of sorts with long white sleeves. The goat shook its head at where Flowey had been.
"Shame on that creature, tormenting someone unable to defend himself." She scolded in a calm, almost motherly, soothing voice. The goat lady turned to Alex, studying him.
Alex looked to be a late teen, or perhaps in his early twenties. He had on a blue shirt, a green militaru style jacket with an attached hoodie, black jeans, and black running shoes. He didn't look like someone who frequented trips up the mountain. He had short black hair, lightly tanned skin, and shimmering deep brown eyes.
Though Alex could only see discomfort and uncertainty in her eyes, deep inside she was making a decision: would she help this human, or leave him to fend for himself? Her first judgment was to leave him, and understandably so, considering her last encounter with a human. However, the way those brown eyes kept piercing through her, she knew the human needed help, and it would pain her conscience far more to leave him for dead...
She forced a kind smile. "Are you alright?" He nodded slowly. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine... I'm sorry, I can't help but notice that you're a goat, and that was a talking flower earlier." She chuckled politely. "Yes." She eyed his bent right leg. "Are you hurt?" "Yeah. I messed up my right leg when I fell." She walked to him, holding out her palms to his leg. An aura emitted from her palms and entered his leg.
Good as new, Alex moved is leg around. "And now it feels fine." He said, shaking his head quickly. "Thank you." He said. She smiled. "You're welcome. What is your name, child?" She asked habitually, biting her tongue back after asking the question. "I'm Alex, ma'am. And you are?" "I am Toriel. I watch over these Ruins, and occasionally check for fallen humans...
"...against my better judgement." She added softly.
"Well. it was a good thing you showed up here when you did. Getting killed by a flower would have been embarrassing. Alex said with a small smile. Toriel chuckled lightly. "Come child, I will lead you through the Ruins."
As the pair came closer to Toriel's home, after she had navigated them through puzzles and the maze-like structure of the Ruins, Toriel began to ask Alex a few questions.
"How'd you come to fall down here?" "I was walking up the mountain and my foot caught on a rock or something, and I fell backwards." Alex described. "What were you doing coming up the mountain?" "I was just strolling. I needed to clear my head." "And what are you gonna do now?"
Before Alex could answer, they reached her home. Inside, Alex was hit with a sweet but unfamiliar smell, and it welcomed him graciously. "Make yourself at home. There's a room down the hall, second door on the left, that you can rest in." Toriel offered with a gesture of her hand. Alex nodded and went to the room, tossing his jacket aside and napping on the bed in the room...
4 Hours Later...
Alex woke up with a start. He'd had a bad dream. He got up and exited the room, walking down the hall to the living room. Toriel was sitting by her fireplace, reading a book filled with, apparently, random snail facts. She lifted her head and smiled pleasantly as Alex entered the living room. He returned the smile, which put her slightly more at ease.
"Did you rest well, Alex?" "Yeah. Thanks." "I have some pie ready. I took out of the oven just a little while ago. Butterscotch pie. Would you like a piece?" She offered him. "I suppose. I've never had pie before." Alex answered. "Never had pie?" Toriel closed her book, led Alex into the kitchen, and sat him down at the kitchen table, serving a slice of her Butterscotch pie. Alex took a bite and nodded approvingly.
"This is good. Really sweet, but also really good." Alex reviewed. Toriel nodded, sitting across the table from him. She watched him at silently, her expression slowly sinking. He finished his slice of pie, all the while aware of the fact that Toriel was watching him. Alex pushed the empty plate and fork away from him once he was done. Finally, Toriel mustered up the courage to ask the question she'd had on her mind.
"When are you gonna be leaving?" Toriel asked suddenly.
Alex tapped his fingers on the table. "As soon as possible. I appreciate your honesty, truly, but I can't stay here." "I know. Part of me had hoped you would, but I'm sure you have something, or someone, to get back to." Toriel presumed. Alex nodded. "Yes. Someone very special is probably worried sick about me right now." Alex said. Toriel nodded. "I understand...
"Hover, I still have to strongly urge you against leaving the Ruins. Others have fallen before you. and they all were killed...except one." "One survived?" "His name was Frisk. He came, he fell, just like the others. But...well, a lot of people...actually, everyone died during his quest back to the surface...including me." Toriel admitted.
Alex's eyes widened. "I don't know how we're all alive again, but I assume it has everything to do with you falling down here. A lot of monsters probably still harbor resent against humans; they likely well remember Frisk's actions. The ones that aren't afraid of you will likelier still want to kill you." Toriel finished.
Alex shook his head sadly, but repeated again without hesitation: "I can't stay here." Toriel nodded, and agreed to the exit out of the Ruins. Alex's guilt gnawed at him. He even considered offering to stay little longer, but he knew that he couldn't. They reached the door. Toriel gave him her cell phone. He put it in his pocket.
"Thank you again for your help. Considering everything that you told me, it musn't have been an easy decision to make." Toriel turned to Alex, blocking the door. She folded her arms. "If you're going to kill me, now's your time to do it." She said. Alex flinched in surprise. "What? No, I don't wanna kill you! I don't wanna kill anyone!" Alex exclaimed defensively.
"Frisk said the same thing, and that didn't stop him from piercing through me." Toriel said firmly, looking down at Alex's chest.
His SOUL did not appear.
Alex walked to Toriel, and held his arms out to her. She stepped into them, and the two shared a final hug goodbye. "I won't fight you. And don't apologize either." Alex said. Toriel remained silent, letting go of him after awhile. Alex walked to the door. "Good luck, Alex." She said finally. "I don't believe in luck, but I'll be careful. I'll be sure to call you and let you know when I've made it." Alex promised with a confident smile. He disappeared behind the other side of the door. It closed behind him.
"Goodbye... Alex."
Alex stepped out into another dark cave opening. A door stood on the other side of it. Between him and the door, in the center of the room, Flowey was waiting for him.
"You're an idiot. You know that? No, you think you're SO clever, getting her on your side. I see your plan. You want everybody on your side, so they can cheer for you like you're 'something special'. You're just gonna make me suffer more through this whole thing, aren't 'cha? I see right through ya, Alex. You're just gonna make everyone suffer more. I hope you're ready to have that on your conscience."
And, just like that, Flowey was gone again. Alex's eyebrows furrowed, but he continued to the door. He opened it, ad stepped out into the blinding white light on the other side...