Chapter VII: The First Declaration
It had only been a few minutes since Ralsei's manic episode, but the group was still affected by it, along with the menacing change in scenery. Although Eric had been irritated by the journey for the most part, he was now desperately wishing for the liveliness of the town to come back- just something to comfort him for now.
"So..." Euchre began, speaking softly and calmly to Ralsei, who was lying in the snow still. "Are you... okay to still lead? We can take time to recuperate, if you-"
"This entire town was slaughtered by a child." Ralsei spoke suddenly, his words upsetting Euchre.
"What? A child?"
"A human child. A girl." Ralsei whispered, pointing across the street. Everyone's eyes followed-
"WHAT?!"
"No, that can't be-!"
"That's..."
(Queue 'The Past' by Eternal Fear)
The landscape began to shift and distort; They were no longer in Snowdin Town, but instead by a flowing river, with twinkling stars overhead at night. If it weren't for the grim atmosphere, Eric likely would have questioned where the stars came from in a cave underground.
"I do not live in this place." Ralsei spoke once more, his voice hollow. "But another world, similar to this one... and in both worlds, the same monster brought ruin, chaos, death."
Ralsei pointed once more outwards, towards Frisk, who was now walking down a narrow path and lining up lily pads on the water. Her face was filled with excitement, curiosity, ambition... innocence.
"That girl... she came to the Underground by accident... and with her she brought DETERMINATION."
When Ralsei said that word, everyone in the group felt a jolt in the air; Almost as if the word were imbued with some unnatural, divine power.
"This world has many mysteries." Ralsei mumbled. "So I'll tell you the ones you must know. That is, about SAVING, LOADING and RESETTING."
Once again, those particular words seemed to emanate with an otherworldly energy- it was abundantly felt by everyone present.
"So, this world also carries magical properties, then?" Euchre surmised, trying to make sense of Ralsei's words.
"I don't want to delve into any of this more than I have to." Ralsei said harshly, gritting his fangs. "Just listen."
Euchre felt slighted, but kept silent nonetheless. Ralsei looked to Frisk once more, who was now on a call with Papyrus.
"That girl... her first time here, she brought joy and happiness to all of the Underground. She was kind, caring, loving... she made friends with monsters, even ones that were out for her life... she died many, many times so that she would not have to kill any of us."
Tears began to pool and spill from his eyes, as another haunting memory seemed to take hold of his mind; His face scrunched up in deep frustration.
"And then... and then..."
He broke down sobbing once more, comforted closely by Natani and Flora. After a minute or so, he regained his composure.
"She... RESET the world... for no good reason... Gaster was the only one to know, initially... but he was stuck in his own time and space... he could only watch as Frisk completely changed... she began... murdering monsters, even ones that didn't fight back..."
He tried his best to stifle the constant stream of tears from pouring down his cheeks, and his words were constantly interspersed with wailing and crying.
"She didn't stop... not at the Ruins, not at Snowdin, not at the Waterfalls, or the Hotlands, or the Surface..."
He lifted his tear-stricken face, staring Eric directly in the eyes, much to his shock and discomfort. Madness was brimming on the edges of his irises...
"She broke the barrier... and she wreaked havoc on all of humanity on the surface... She cut people down, left and right... burned down buildings, recruited thugs and killers to help her orchestrate more violence and death... it was... evil."
Trace looked from Ralsei to Frisk, who sat at the edge of the pond, staring with contemplating into the blue.
This little girl? This was the one responsible for all the death and destruction that Ralsei claimed?
...
...
...
No. He just couldn't wrap his head around it. How could anything like that happen? How could she be capable of such terror?
There was more to this than what met the eye. He had to get to the bottom of it!
"Ralsei."
Ralsei momentarily stopped speaking, looking up at Trace, who had garnered his attention.
"I don't know much about your world, or this one. And I have no clue how things got this bad."
He knelt in front of Ralsei, who looked to him with such desperation and blind hope that Trace felt himself on the verge of breaking down into tears. He swallowed his sadness and continued to speak.
"But I swear to you, by everything I stand for, that I will help you bring your world and this one back to normal! I will do whatever I can to make that happen!"
Ralsei's face tightened once more, tears spilling out more prolifically than before.
"...You will...?"
"YES!"
(Queue 'Determination' by Toby Fox)
That single word resonated throughout the cave, striking all those present in the hearts with an unprecedented, fiery passion. Ralsei's eyes widened in awe and shock at Trace's declaration.
"You... Trace... I..."
Ralsei could no longer take it, and began sobbing louder than ever before, crying his heart out as Trace laid one hand assuringly on Ralsei's shoulder.
"PLEEEEEEEAAAASEEE! SAVE THEM! SAVE MY FRIENDS! SAVE THESE SOULS! THEY DON'T DESERVE THIS FATE!"
He cried, and cried, and cried more.
"I'VE SPENT SO LONG TRYING TO FIND SOMEONE TO HELP! I AM SO SCARED! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! I DON'T WANT TO LOSE EVERYONE I LOVE! I WANT TO LIVE! I WANT TO SEE MY FRIENDS AGAIN! I WANT TO SEE MY WORLD AGAIN!"
He fell upon Trace, wrapping his arms tightly around him as he continued sobbing.
(Queue 'Heartache' by Toby Fox)
"SAVE US, TRACE!" He cried one last time.
Trace grit his teeth with such ferocity he thought he would chip a tooth.
"I will." He said simply.
"So will I!" declared Flora, who knelt next to Trace and Ralsei. "I will do whatever I can to help you and everyone else in this world!"
"As will I!" Evals declared proudly, much to Mike's shock.
"The hell?! You can't just sign up for something like-!"
However, as his eyes glanced over Ralsei, he grunted loudly in frustrated exasperation.
"DAMN IT! Fine, I guess... I can help, too." He said begrudgingly.
"So will I." Said Euchre, stepping forward. "As a Master Templar, it is my duty to find otherworldly threats that could endanger my own world and put a stop to them!"
"Yeppers." Sirus said smoothly. "So I'm gonna tag along, as well."
"Me, too!" Natani exclaimed. "How can I call myself righteous when I see people suffering like this? We can stop her, together!"
Everyone's eyes suddenly darted to Brahn, who was staring sharply at Frisk, who was still sitting by the pond.
"...Yeah. I'll contribute." He said simply, much to Ralsei's surprise.
"I... thought you..." Ralsei muttered.
Brahn sighed in resignation, looking at his daughter.
"Yeah, I don't want to be here in the first place." He asserted. "But... this is what must be done, it would seem."
Ralsei bit his lip so hard it began to bleed.
"Thank you... thank you so much..."
He bowed his head and body, prostrating himself before the group.
"I won't ever be able to repay you for this kindness..." He cried out. "But..."
He wiped his tears from his reddened face, staring at them all with newfound, grim determination deadset in his eyes.
"I will do what I can to help you! In any way!"
The group nodded, and a renewed energy passed around the air. Ralsei finally got up, standing on two legs, and composed himself. He breathed in deeply, then exhaled.
"Now, I will tell you the full story."