Silence and snow was all that graced the dense forest that hugged the outer walls of the Ruins. To the monsters that lived in the village nearby, this silence was a peaceful change after the bad snow storm that happened a week before. But to a lone figure at the nearest sentry station to the Ruins proper the silence always brought a feeling of remembrance. Whether this remembrance was caused by dread or anticipation, the figure couldn't really say. What the figure could say is that he was supposed to hear a grinding noise about that time. Followed by small crunches of snow.
The figure was so intent on hearing this he didn't notice footsteps coming from the other direction. Until a taller figure tried to get his attention.
"Sans?" A tall skeleton dressed in a makeshift uniform with an orange cape asked observing the figure before turning cross. "Sans! Wake up!"
The figure gave a grunt of surprise as the hood of his blue jacket slid off his head revealing an equally bleached white skull. The figure looked up to his new visitor with a grin. "sup' bro?"
"You know what's up Brother! You were napping again!" The tall man scolded.
"what? no way. i was just listening," The figure defended while getting to his feet.
"Listening nothing, you didn't recalibrate any of your puzzles for 8 days, and now I find you just "listening" away next to your craft project?" The tall man complained peering at the oddly-human-child shaped ceramic lamp next to his brother. "What am I going to do with you?"
"hey take it easy Papyrus, you don't need to bring the lamp into this," Sans replied. "it's not even relevant now."
"It's relevant because it shows you would rather boondoggle than be on the lookout for humans!" Papyrus stomped his foot in frustration. "What does it say about me, The Great Papyrus, if my brother just allows a human to just waltz right through his sentry station?"
"that you like sultry dancing?" Sans asked.
Badum-tish
"Nyeh heh," Papyrus started to giggle but caught himself. "No! It means it'll take longer for me to catch that human! I want this to be a team effort, and it would be really helpful for me if you could stop being so lazy all the time!"
"oh come on, i'm not lazy all the time," Sans winked. "like take today for instance, i actually gotten a ton of work done today."
"Really," Papyrus narrowed his eye sockets.
"yeah, a skele-ton."
Badum-tish
"Heh-heh," Papyrus chuckled again but he also caught himself- again. "Sans!"
"you're laughing," Sans pointed out.
"I am and I don't know why!" Papyrus exclaimed exasperated.
"i think I may know," Sans added.
Papyrus sighed. "Why?"
"that despite what you say, you actually think my jokes are humerus."
Badum-tish
"Nyeh heh heh!" Papyrus's eyes widened in realization. "That sound! Sans! What is that?!"
"you figured it out," Sans smiled. "i installed a new feature to my station. that sound makes things sound more funnier than usual. you wanna try it out?"
Papyrus just sighed. "Why does someone as great as me have to do so much just to get some recognition?" Without missing a beat he glanced at the wooden stand and continued. "I will tend to my puzzles. And as for your work, try to put a little more "backbone" into it!"
Badum-tish
"Nyeh heh heh heheh!" Papyrus allowed himself to laugh as he started walking away. Adding another "heh!" before he left Sans's sight.
The jacketed skeleton's grin slowly faltered as he was left alone again.
Something's wrong here. He thought to himself. He tried to focus on anything that seemed out of place but was met with the same silence as before. Temporal stability at 89%, Anomaly rating holding at 35% from this morning, a little ominous but not a predictor of future events.
Sans turned back to the purple lamp and lightly readjusted the shade. I guess this must be a fluid Timeline then. He resolved getting up. He sauntered over to his sentry stand and after fidgeting through the condiments and assorted knickknacks he kept inside he pulled out a joke book. With a few page flips he pulled out a programming book from inside that book. He sat down on his stool and started combing through his new find for more ways to "enrich" his station with.
Don't worry about it kid, take all the time you need. i wanted to brush up on my improv skills anyway.
Ruins – Boss pt.1
After minutes of traversal through the plaza, the moth's mad dash with Toriel in tow was finally halted by the sight of a froggit just staring into the Perspective Puzzle. "Vi?! What are you still doing out here?!"
"(I can't continue past the spikes,)" Vi answered curtly. "(I just bounce right off.)"
The moth was about to ask for clarification but the frog's reason shined brightly as if it wanted to be known itself.
"Huh?" Toriel asked intrigued as she joined the moth in observing the green semi-translucent wall barring the way into the next room. "Where did this come from?"
"(Wish I could tell you,)" croaked the froggit to Toriel's left.
"Ho-jo?" the moth read the wall. "What does that mean?"
Toriel pondered for a moment then gave out what she knew. "It's been a very long time since I last saw this word so I'm not really sure it still applies, but back on the surface the humans that did the jobs no one else wanted to do were usually referred to as this."
"(Why would a title be on a barrier though?)" Vi asked looking at the goatwoman.
A small flash of violet light shined on the other side of the wall. Being in her nature to be attracted to bright light, Claire noticed it immediately.
"Look out!" Claire screamed fleeing out of the doorway.
Toriel jumped back as a silver throwing knife struck the barrier with enough force to lodge itself in. Energy crackled in Toriel's hands as she lifted them into a stance. She saw who threw the projectile. The tall girl in question wandered closer to the barrier. Her glowing eyes scanning the intruding field with a few shallow huffs.
A Hackwitch, Toriel thought with disdain. Never thought I would live long enough to see one of those horrid things again.
"Is this- that puppet you were talking about?" Toriel asked sternly as the purple-haired girl ripped out the knife and dismissed it. Seemly no longer interested, the girl then turned away from the monsters and started off on her way.
"I thought- s-she was just a regular human at first," Claire stammered. "It was Ed who said she was possessed. I can see why he would think that now."
The mention of Ed made Toriel's anxiety reach a fever pitch. She forced her eyes shut and shook. "Ed's this friend you're talking about."
Feeling the temperature around them rise Vi took the initiative and groveled at the caretaker's feet. "(We're sorry!)"
Toriel responded by aiming her hand at the frog and summoning a roaring ball of fire. "You left- my child- with that demon?"
"Ed wanted to help the girl," Claire answered for the frog at gunpoint.
"Wh-what?" Toriel replied incredulously.
"Ed believes the girl's possessed by this- group called the Shadow Beasts, he wanted to help free the girl from their possession." The moth clarified. "We agreed to help him out too, but the BNC went out before we got here. After that we made an offer to involve you, and I guess Ed panicked and- before we can do anything he jumped over the spikes to face her himself."
It was there that Toriel made a horrible realization.
The Hackwitch was splotches of red on her clothes.
And Humans are the only ones who can bleed red.
"N-no," Toriel trembled as she felt the gravity of the situation threaten to pull her down to her knees. The fireball was dissipated but the heat continued to rise as the caretaker held a fist to her chest in a desperate attempt to stave off the now torrential guilt that now tore at her soul like a wild animal. "No, no, no, he can't be."
"Ms. Toriel?" The moth asked concerned. "Are you Ok?"
Vi felt the air around him and started shaking in fear. "(H-hey Claire, maybe we shouldn't be standing so close to her right now.)"
The caretaker forced her eyes closed and lowered her head. The heat around her fluctuated wildly as she fought her desire to wail. Her memories, her fears, her failures everything started warping together as the thought of what the demon did to Ed threatened to tear apart what little control she still had over her fire magic. In this storm she contemplated an idea from far back if Ed's condition was too bad. One that needed something a little more than what she had.
But to do so, she first had to break a vow she made to herself and to her children.
"Vincent, how long has Ed been in there?" Toriel finally spoke. Vi felt the ice down to his bones.
Vi stood at attention. "(10 minutes, Ms. Toriel.)"
10 minutes... Toriel wiped away the tears that managed to sneak out and tried to steady her breathing enough for more of her magic to come back under her control.
To do this, she remembered the good times she had with all the previous children she cared for. After a few moments she was able to focus her energy into the palm of her hand. Those memories unfortunately made her heart ache at what she needed to do. So after stifling a small sob, she gulped and made a silent request to her children.
Asriel,
Chara,
Midori,
Tayo,
Suzuki,
Anko,
Yumi,
Benjiro
Please- look away. I don't want you to see this.
She opened her eyes again and with reinvigorated resolve she began an incantation.
Verbrenne die Verzweiflung in unseren Herzen zu Asche. Mit der Flamme, die die Hoffnungen und Träume aller Monsterkinds erfüllt. Versengen! Bergentrückung!
Toriel's summon was punctuated by a brilliant flash of light. When it dissipated the froggit and whimsun gasped in astonishment at what materialized in the caretaker's hand.
In her hand was a large crimson spear with three-prongs jutting out the end. The prongs were connected at the pole by a flower-shaped welding point. The trident crackled with a powerful surge of heat as it finished materializing. Toriel hung her head, unwilling to even look over the weapon she summoned.
"M-Ms. Toriel, what- what is that?" Claire asked her dots turning into stars.
Toriel allowed a few tears to fall and get burned into steam by the trident. "A weapon of a murderer, now being held by a hypocrite." She answered solemnly as she held out the weapon and removed her hand from it. The trident hovered where it was released. She then gave the weapon a command.
Break it.
Toriel pointed at the barrier and the trident obliged by speeding off towards it.
The prongs of the trident pierced the barrier and with the sound of shattered glass the wall exploded into dazzling green shards before vanishing into thin air. The trident continued its trajectory and collided with the wall at the end of the room beyond.
"(So strong,)" Vi commented his eyes shining in inspiration.
"Th- that was amazing Ms. Toriel!" Claire cheered.
The goatwoman ignored the praise and walked into the perspective puzzle, calling the trident back to her hand as she went around the corner.
"We should follow her," Claire offered.
Vi turned to the moth. "(Took the words right out of my mouth.)" He hopped after the caretaker with an eagerness that he haven't felt before.
Before Claire could follow, her antennae twitched. "Huh?" The moth turned to the entrance of the puzzle and found a small human child with slightly long brown hair eavesdropping behind a corner.
They looked terrified.
…
Walking through the dust filled rooms, Toriel gripped Bergentrückung so hard that she felt it pulse energy like a heartbeat. The lack of air current caused the smell of the Hackwitch's rot and the fallen to surround her like a blanket. The sight of red splashed in the connector between the blue and yellow rooms made her take pause. Against her desires she forced herself to follow the blood trail to the needles dug in the wall. She saw the trail stop at a curve near a hovering needle. Although better than finding a body, her conclusions about Ed's fate didn't give her any solace.
He's under the puzzle. Toriel forced her eyes closed as water started forming again. She struggled to remain her steady breathing as she felt the heat of the trident intensify. E-even in the Ruins, I- can't protect one child. But with a subdued growl and an arch of fire briefly wrapping around her, she swallowed her guilt and sorrow like bitter pills. No! I can fix this! I have time! She wiped her eyes and returned to her task. D-don't worry Ed. Goatmom will make this feel like it never happened. She walked through the rest of the puzzle and made it to a fork in the road decorated with red leaves in the middle.
It was here that the caretaker saw a glimpse of purple hair in the room across from her as the Hackwitch went north into the overlook.
The room was a rather large commons area that overlooked the rest of the Ruins. More importantly the numerous clusters of dilapidated structures that were once thought of as the last bastion of Monsterkind. Now with the exception of the bubbling streams and nominal activity on the streets below, the crumbling city had a deep peaceful silence. It was in this silence that the Hackwitch noticed Toriel enter after her. Swiveling on her heel the girl faced the caretaker and tossed the same silver knife. However Toriel was prepared and swatted it away with her trident.
"That's not going to work on me," Toriel said stoically. The girl tested this by forming black needles in both her palms. The goatwoman saw this and held out her left hand. "Ember Wave." As the girl shot out her projectiles, small orange wisps materialized around Toriel and fired back. The two projectiles collided in small puffs of violet fog. To the girl's surprise, some embers sneaked through the line. The girl was forced to increase her distance from the mage in order to stall for time. The embers were stopped and the clash ended in a stalemate.
Toriel saw something white behind her and made another command. "True Flame Veil." The white thing hopped backwards as blue flames closed off the only opening to the overlook.
"(Hey! What gives?!)" Vi croaked angrily as he regained his footing.
"Don't interfere," Toriel commanded with a glare at the frog's direction. A glint of light in her peripheral called her back to attention as she awkwardly ducked away from a needle aimed at her head. It only lightly grazed her left shoulder and was blown into smoke by the flame torrent she summoned.
Toriel's health: 435/440
Toxicity: 5%
"Persistent," Toriel grumbled ignoring the slight pain the needle left behind. She revved up a ball of red flame in response. "Helix Volley." She shut her palm and two grapefruit-sized orbs started revolving around her fist. With a flash the orbs started sending out a stream of small red embers closely packed together. At the speed the embers were going the Hackwitch didn't have time to retaliate. She jumped left but didn't account for the stream scattering wisps at the end of the helix. Some of the embers touched the girl on her thigh before the jump. The stream zeroed in, connected to the embers, and sat her ablaze before she was able to land. The Hackwitch writhed on the ground and screamed like a mountain lion as the flames bit into her skin. Minutes later the spell ended with the girl slightly burnt and her attitude fouled.
? health: 310/350
Toriel met the crispy girl's ire with a challenge. "I have been around for more than 3 thousand years. If you have a form stronger than this, use it and quit wasting my time."
The Hackwitch returned to her feet and glared at the mage. Then with a wave of her fingers she materialized another blade, a rather unassuming pocket knife. However judging by the look in the girl's eyes, Toriel knew from experience the girl had no intention of chucking it at her. She was proven right when the girl gave a grin and stabbed herself with the pocket knife over the black stain in her gut. As bellows of white smoke funneled out of the wound, vibrant black runes of nondescript symbols and characters spiraled out from the knife across the girl's hunched over body. The glow of her eyes darkened as well and after a few moments her glow disappeared leaving behind white sclera with pinpoint violet irises. Her left arm started sprouting larger needles that pierced through the sleeves of her clothes and the holder of the knife started transforming into a carved wooden handle.
With a growl the Hackwitch pulled the knife out of her gut in a flash of violet energy and white smoke. When the light faded and Toriel opened her eyes, she found that the girl's pocket knife had grown to an impressive 40 cm convex bladed machete, the metal had a sky blue hue and was tampered with some of the runes that appeared during the transformation. The girl's clothing had changed as well. In the uniform's place was an indigo robe with blue floral patterns stitched with black thread. The robe came with a wide sash that wrapped around the girl's waist, and long sleeves that were able to cover the girl's hands. Or rather her right hand on the handle and a bundle of quill-like protrusions that took the place of her left hand.
Vi was ecstatic by what he was witnessing. Oh, I'm so glad I decided to go outside today.
The Caretaker of the Ruins readied herself as the girl moved her quills behind her back and pointed the tip of the blade at her soul. Then with a sprint the Hackwitch's celeste steel collided with Toriel's weapon magic causing a loud clang that echoed through the Ruins like a toll of a clock tower.
The true FIGHT has begun.
Toriel's health: 435/440
Toxicity: 10%
? health: 620/700