(06)
Toriel and the Undead stood staring for some time, neither quite daring to break the gaze. While they were looking, both were making observations about the other they hadn't quite felt necessary to, at least earlier anyways.
Her sheer patience and kindness, it made everyone in his past seem distant and sour.
His staggering strength, she knew no monster in these caverns could slow him, not even the whole of the Royal Guard.
The way the light shone down upon her as if in purity, the appearance of her deep red eyes and purple-blue robes, her unblemished ivory horns and pure-white fur. She looked like an endearing and angelic guardian with only the best of intentions.
The way the dark shrouded him in mystery, the appearance of his silvery-steel armor and weapons, his intense physical presence and confident posture. This was a warrior who had his mettle tested, time and time again.
The way she saved him and welcomed him into her very home. From what she had told him, he doubted any other monster would have the selflessness to take in someone like him if they all wanted his soul for their own purposes.
The way he took a pause and held back even though he had the capability to end everyone now that he had his blade back. From what he had told her, she doubted that any other human would have the heart to not abuse their power.
Both fully realized they were in the presence of a unique individual from the other's world. Both became self-conscious quickly and finally looked away, Toriel's face and very fur warmed in embarrassment, and the Undead drew his hood back over his face, opting to pick up his fallen shield and stuff it back into his box.
After doing so, the Undead absent-mindedly adjusted his armor's equipment belt to better accommodate the replaced sword, before he broke the silence. "…Anyways, I thank you for guiding me through the Ruins, Toriel. I feel like I may have overstayed my welcome in your home and I will most likely move on deeper into the Underground. I am an explorer, after all."
Toriel still looked back into the dark, at nothing in general. "...The way through the Ruins is actually through my home. And you have not overstayed your welcome at all, it is my job to look after fallen humans, no matter how long it takes."
The undead made a gesture towards the arch. "Ah. Shall we be going back then?"
"Yes, let us return." Toriel followed this up by letting the human take the lead through the Ruin's entry areas. When they made it to the first button puzzle, Toriel signaled to the man to wait. She reset the puzzle then input the one combo she had never used on it.
The permanent failure-state combo, which would lock the Ruins for good once a switch on the other side was flipped.
After she and the Undead were through, Toriel flipped the switch and the door shut for the final time. As they made their way through the Ruins and back to her house, she reset all the traps like this, using failure combos and hidden switches that would prevent anyone from coming through here. The Undead was none the wiser, he only assumed she was resetting the traps and puzzles.
The monsters in the area got the idea though and made for their own exits from the ruins. Froggits swam under the spike bridge into a broken grate, Loox found an exit only their special eyes let them see, and the Napstablook just lay on the ground near the spider bake sale. He was an incorporeal ghost, after all.
Halfway through, a group of the monsters made to approach the duo, but Toriel gave them an "I'm not in the mood" glare, and they too made swift egress.
After they left, she turned to the human. "I need to tell you something. Not all monsters are highly... intelligent... but they are still a part of our people. Most are just troubled teenagers or are simpler of mind. If they attack you, please, do not hurt them. I doubt the weaker ones could even put a scratch on your soul anyways, now that it is most likely acclimated to being damaged directly. But if you must defend yourself, try to do so with your words or intimidation. And with your power and armament, I doubt any normal monster would willingly pick a fight with you in the first place. Please... be kind to them, for me?"
The human was silent for a few seconds as he fiddled with his claymore's pommel tassel. "...It goes counter to what I have learned the past hundreds of years, but if they are just innocents I promise I will do my best not hurt them, as you ask."
She gave the human a smile, even though he wasn't looking. He was proving himself to be a good individual so far. "Thank you, it means a lot to me. Most monsters assume humans are terrible people because of the war… and now that they really are, I hope you can show them there is at least one good human amongst us."
Even though he knew he had done terrible things in the past, the Undead knew he actually had a chance to make a good impression with the people of this land, and he would do his best to not let it go to waste.
And being called "good" by Toriel brought that warmth back to him. He rather enjoyed that feeling.
After the near run-in with the group of monsters, they had returned to making their way through the Ruins. As they went, the undead felt he needed to ask Toriel a few questions he had cooking up since their conversation at her table.
"Toriel, if I may ask a question, you mentioned your ex-husband, the king. What is he like?"
From her body language towards that question, the undead could tell she felt strongly a certain way about him. "He is a bit of a fool in a few ways. His 'great plan' for some time now has been to use seven human souls to break the barrier that seals us here so our kind can return to the surface, and then he will declare war on humanity. Obviously, that plan is not going to work now. He is also rather… soft… for a king."
"Why did you leave him?"
Toriel tensed up even more at that. "...That is not something I wish to speak about."
The undead felt terrible now, had he pressed into sensitive territory? "I… apologize if I have offended you, Toriel. I will not ask too much about your personal life then."
She loosened up at the apology. "No, it is just… I… something happened, that is all. I have no issues telling you about myself, but that topic is too painful." She noticed the next archway led to her home. "We are here."
Once the two were inside the darkened building, Toriel beckoned to the stairs just in front of the door, leading down to the "basement." The undead went down the stairs first, the wood straining under his weight, and Toriel followed, the wood barely making a creak.
The two were now in a long hallway and the Undead turned to Toriel looking for confirmation to head onward, to which she gave a nod. They continued on for some time, the long hallway echoing with the Undead's clanking and rattling armor, easily drowning out Toriel's padding footsteps.
Finally, they came to the exit of the Ruins, a pair of double doors large enough for even the Undead to comfortably pass through. He stood before them, and Toriel stood behind him at the end of the hallway. He pressed his hands to the stone doors and looked up, seeing the same rune on them as the one featured on Toriel's robe. With a push, they opened easily thanks to his strength. A gust of freezing wind rushed into the corridor, and the undead's cloak fluttered. Toriel shielded herself from the cold by crossing her arms.
The Undead turned and gave Toriel a final look, and then he made to step out into the cold ahead.
"...Wait."
The Undead looked back at her and saw that she was walking from the hall's end towards him. "I am going with you."
"Why?"
She gave him a look that showed some of her inner sadness. "I do not have a reason to be alone out here anymore, and humankind is lost. After I thought about it, I must make sure Asgore does not try to break or cross the barrier, now that I have sealed the Ruins as tight as I could have. The traps are now set to never be solved, the doors will never be opened. We need to make sure what is above never makes it down here for everyone's safety."
At this, the Undead nodded. "That would be best. I am unsure if the corruptions above can spread to monsterkind, but I do not want to see chances taken, nor do I want to see what the other undead, demons, or whatever else is above are willing to do." He looked out towards the dim, snowy subterranean forest ahead. "It would appear I have a new goal then."
He made to start walking when Toriel interrupted him. "...You would not happen to have a spare cloak in your box, would you?" She lit a few magical fires around herself to keep herself warm while she magically shut and re-sealed the Ruins exit behind themselves, and the Undead unhooked his box, opened it up, and rooted around for a spare set of clothes for her.
He grabbed the first fitting thing his hand brushed against, which happened to be a particular garb that he had found in a Greatbeast-hunting undead's base. Thankfully (and almost as if by some miracle, considering the brutal work the hunters of Greatbeasts are known for) it was free of any blood. It was large and made of good material, and would easily keep the cold at bay. He took the coat from his box, which he then shut and reattached to his belt.
Once he handed it to Toriel, she slipped the black clothing over her blue robe, fastened the front, and pulled the hood over her head, accidentally poking through it with her horns. She looked apologetically at him, a slight smile cracking at the ridiculousness of it. He gave a smile back, and told her: "Do not worry about it."
Yet another first for him, a smile…
With the cold dealt with, the duo began to walk into the woods ahead, staying on the path. As they walked, the Undead took to distractedly looking around the trees, accidentally snapping a branch under his heavy boot, the snap echoing for what seemed like forever.
'I swear, something is following us. I know when suspicion is due, and it is definitely due now…'
He let Toriel walk closer before he tried to speak to her quietly. "I believe we are either being watched or followed. Keep moving, but stay vigilant, if you see something, tell me." She looked worried but nodded anyway.
The two continued to forge ahead, the feeling of being followed increasing. They saw a small footbridge with a poorly designed gate ahead. As they were about to cross it, a sound from behind them caught the Undead's attention.
Footsteps.
With agility not befitting someone in full-plate armor, the Undead put himself between Toriel and the noise, drew his claymore, and was in a prepared stance in seconds. The thing he had drawn his sword on stood before him, and it was a…
Short skeleton with a strange blue coat? The Undead had dealt with reanimated skeletons before, most were not pleasant in the slightest. 'Bone wheels…'
The skeleton pulled his boney hands from his pockets and held them up, a sign of surrender. "whoa there buddy, put the big sword away, just seeing who you are, since you guys just came from the ruins…" The white dotlike "eyes" in his sockets were focused on the point of the blade, unwaveringly hung in the cold air before him. A sudden gasp of realization from behind the blade's wielder caught his attention.
Toriel pushed the Undead's blade away from the skeleton and stood in front of him, looking at the skeleton. "I know your voice, you are my friend from this side of the door!" She was obviously very excited to see the skeleton, but…
The Undead sheathed his blade and questioningly looked at them. "You two… know each other?"
The skeleton suddenly figured out what was happening. "yeah, you're the lady from the other side. how ya doing?" He had relaxed quite visibly and his hands were already back in his pockets before he pulled them out again and held one out for Toriel to shake. She unflinchingly did so, and then a sudden "Pffffffffft" sounded out.
"heheh, the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick, it's always funny. i'm sans, sans the skeleton."
Toriel was laughing in hilarity at the prank and kept shaking his hand. "I am Toriel, it is a pleasure to finally meet you!" Once the introductions were done, she finally let go of his hand and stepped back, the further confused undead and skeleton now face to face again.
"so, this guy must be a human huh? and a friend of yours? he should really watch where he points that thing. actually kinda funny, since i'm supposed to be on the lookout for humans."
At this, the Undead's eyes narrowed. 'One of the king's men...?' In response, the skeleton further elaborated, not seeming intimidated at all. "you know… since i don't actually care about capturing anybody. but my brother papyrus is a whole other story."
The Undead looked to Toriel. "I am still in the dark here, how do you two know each other?"
Toriel was still cheery from finally meeting her friend. "We have been talking through the Ruins' door for a while now. We like to share jokes quite often."
Understanding, the Undead relaxed a bit. "Ah, well a friend of Toriel's should be a friend of mine. I apologize for drawing my blade on you, Sans. You see, it is not often that someone sneaking up behind me unannounced ever goes in my favor."
Somehow, the skeleton managed to wink at him. "nah, i get it. i'll make sure to tone down the pranks and stuff like that near ya, you seem like a jumpy guy. put 'er there." He held out his hand for the Undead to shake, which he heartily did for the shorter skeleton. True to his word, no hand-borne pranks were issued. After the shake, the skeleton's hands went right back into his pockets.
"I would tell you my name, but I do not remember it, no disrespect intended friend."
"what, got amnesia or something like that?"
"...It is a bit more complex than amnesia."
Sans merely shrugged at the elaboration. "eh, sounds like a personal issue. anyways, what brings you two out here?"
Toriel was the one to answer him. "Well, the human here is an adventurer, and I am on my way to see the king on a matter of dire importance, so we have decided to travel as a pair."
As she said that, Sans' eye sockets seemed to narrow in amusement, causing Toriel to go red. "N-not that kind of pair, Sans!"
"heheheh, don't worry about it tori, i get it." The Undead swore he saw even more amusement on the skeleton's "face," which caused Toriel to huff and pull her cloak tighter.
Sans shrugged once more before continuing. "anywho, i gotta get back to my post. papyrus usually comes around at this time, and he really doesn't like it when i'm not there. we should mess with him, come on." He walked around the duo and over the bridge, Toriel following in front of the Undead, him being last.
He actually had some trouble fitting through the odd gate-thing over the bridge.
They came to an expanse in the path, featuring two statues and a wooden guard post.
Suddenly, sans spoke out. "quick, behind those conveniently-shaped statues."
Sans stood there innocently while Toriel and the Undead got behind two statues pointlessly standing in the middle of the expansion. Toriel's was a large monster-queen chess piece made of white alabaster, while the undead's was a monster-knight made of black stone.
A tall skeleton rushed into the expanse, sporting what looked like armor and a small red cape.
Sans greeted him lazily with a quick "sup, bro?"
"YOU KNOW WHAT "SUP", BROTHER. IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES. YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!"
"staring at these statues. they're really cool. do you wanna look?"
The tall skeleton man, presumably "Papyrus," started stomping his red-booted feet. "NO! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!? I WANT TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!"
Papyrus then stood at just the right angle with the wind to make his cape flutter, then struck a heroic pose.
"THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT… RECOGNITION… I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK, TO, BE MY, "FRIEND?" I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING."
"hmm. maybe these statues will help you."
The undead started to get uncomfortable behind his masonry. 'What is Sans doing?!'
"SANS! YOU ARE NOT HELPING! YOU LAZYBONES! ALL YOU DO IS SIT AROUND AND BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!"
"hey, take it easy. i've gotten a ton of work done today. a skele-ton." A barely held-in snicker came from behind the queen statue.
"SANS!"
"come on. you're smiling."
"I AM AND I HATE IT. SIGH… WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME HAVE TO DO SO MUCH TO GET RECOGNITION…"
"wow, sounds like you're really working yourself… down to the bone." Hardly suppressed laughing uttered out from behind the queen statue...
"UGH! I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES… AS FOR YOUR WORK? PUT A LITTLE MORE… BACKBONE INTO IT! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH!" Papyrus started back down the path he came from, but turned back around and gave one final "HEH!" before walking off.
Sans looked to the statues. "ok, you two can come out now." The two finally stepped out from behind the statues, letting their cloaks free. They had been holding them to stop them from catching the wind and giving them away.
"you guys oughta get going. he might come back. And if he does… you'll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes."
Toriel actually looked like she would have enjoyed that, but she resisted taking him up on that offer. "Thank you, Sans. We must be going now, though."
Just as they were about the leave, Sans called out to them.
"actually, hey… hate to bother ya, but can you two do me a favor? i was thinking… my brother's been kind of down lately, he's never seen a human before. and seeing the big guy here might just make my bro's day. don't worry, he's not dangerous, even if he tries to be."
The duo looked between themselves before they silently decided it would be fine.
"A favor for a friend is fine by me." The Undead decided Sans was an amiable enough fellow, if a bit odd. He had never seen his style of clothing before, and both his and his brother's speech were… quite fonted, to say the least.
"thanks a million. i'll be up ahead." With that, the skeleton walked down the path towards the Ruins.
The Undead stared after Sans as he walked away. "...Did he not say "up ahead?"
Toriel also looked slightly confused at Sans' self-contradiction before putting it out of her mind. "Oh well. Let us keep moving." The undead silently agreed by continuing on the path forward, cueing Toriel to follow behind.
The Undead got an idea. Toriel likes jokes… "So… that Sans fellow is rather… humerus, is he not?"
Thereafter, the woods filled with Toriel's delighted laughter, and the Undead made his first joke in centuries.
(06)
