Author's note: Sorry how long it took life has completely gotten in the way. Man, how well planned is this story? You'll have to see just know this story is trying to be as typo-free as possible. So please if you notice any mistakes, please let me know, it's beyond greatly appreciated. This chapter has been split up for the benefit of not overwhelming everyone.
"Wait a second! Hold on a minute! Hold the phone a second there Toriel! What! Are, you telling me, why would he?! That your king is killing humans? Why? For what reason?! What does he gain from killing us?" My mind felt like I was in the middle of a bad nightmare, one that I can't wake up from. I was babbling out loud, bordering on incoherent rambling, my thoughts were incomprehensible even to me, and I can feel all the fear rising to the surface and taking me over.
"Much less kill the ones who fall down here?" I could feel myself fight back the urge to sob uncontrollably. My nerves feel on edge and frayed. I take a sip of tea, and it had a floral taste strange but sweet taste to it. I could feel myself becoming hysterical if I kept talking a thousand thoughts half forming and disappearing in the blink of an eye, buzzing around my head. The what and how am I supposed to make it out of here is the burning question, am I trapped here forever now!?
"My dear Frisk, I honestly can't tell you, why he's doing this. All I can do is give the information I do know; if I have to guess it's based on the past, he has with humanity, but I have no concrete proof of that being case."
"All I know is now a crazy monster king is gunning to kill me. With his own hands or whatever the king has! It's not like I know what kind of monster he is! What can I do now?! How is this fair?!" I felt myself collapsing my fears raised to a fevered pitch.
"It's not Frisk, but for that, I'm so sorry, the source doctor drew has no reason to lie to anyone much less me. He knows my position and what my family does were the only one who guards the ruins. Nobody else or any other family can live here; other than us," she made a sigh sitting down so she could speak to me at eye level, I was sitting at her dining table staring at the teapot and pie on the table.
"You almost died when you fell, and the man prior was even more badly hurt than you were. He had to be rushed to the capital for treatment against my better judgment. He like all the others was never seen again ... But their property the things on their person always seem to end up with the general public. It always seemed off and wrong, but I ignored it. Maybe the humans didn't want the items anymore, but now I know that was the case.
"Why not help the other people before me? Hasn't there been six others? Why am I getting different treatment?" They say never to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I remember the history lesson about the Trojan horse. Caution keeps you alive more than being blissfully ignorant.
"Because before I assumed the king found a peaceful way to get humans to the surface. He reassured the royal guards and has been adamant about the sentries of only capturing people only. He's told the populace there was a way to break the barrier, but it will take time. But I heard the doctor drew talking at the hospital; he is killing them for their souls. I won't let you die by Sans hands not if I can stop it. But for that work you have to trust me."
"Can you trust this doctor?" Seems like a long shot to listen to the rumor while not hearing it directly from him.
"I've known him a long time, and he's the epitome of a professional particular stalwart doctor, I doubt he would he outright lie to me or anyone," Toriel took a general sigh her face looked weary and very upset.
"Though we need help from my family. But they're at the training camp with the rest of the guard, and I feel it's too dangerous to leave you on your own, to go out of the ruins on your own. To make matters more stressful and complicated, there is a sentry's station just outside my door. If any of the guards see you, they will take you the castle upon the first whiff of since your human. Plus, you have no idea what way to go to get passed the barrier. While my family can protect you, and keep an eye out for you; they can't go with you every step of the way with you. If they do, it will bring more attention to you. We don't want you to risk yourself unnecessarily." I was listening carefully, but the thoughts were buzzing around, my head. I felt at a few points that I want to speak up, but my nerves were rising.
"I need to be able to leave here undetected," I was trying to be brave, trying to detach myself from my fear of imminent death. With a rush of hope, Frisk felt the determination to escape the underground.
"That's my thoughts exactly, so, you not only need a disguise which will take a while to create because I have to tailor it to your body type. I'm going to make some phone calls to my family make sure they know what they have to do. I also need to get you some money to get to the barrier and supplies to survive through the other parts of out the underground. It won't be easy to help you, but you can't stay down here. I have to work double time this week. Meaning I will be leaving before you wake most mornings. We need to get you out of here before the king even realizes you were down here in the first place."
"Why do you need to go that early in the morning?" While I'm not a child, this is still not my home and being left alone all day was nerve-wracking. Honestly, Toriel hasn't explained her house rules, and I don't want to step on any toes.
"well, Snowdin is a bit of away from here. It serves as the central meeting place for all the monsters at this part of the underground. It's the perfect place to put the elementary school there are quite a few monsters now a lot more than there used to be. It's usually the duty of the royal guard walk these kids to the school, and there is a bit too many for it to be just one teacher to lead the kids to school." But it's my day off so let's get you a monster disguise. You'd like and not throw off or knock off. We will deal with planning together after I find something of my daughters for you to hide in. She's also a human like you!"
"Wait a second?! What, how, what!" I felt my mind short circuit, and I could think of the words to say or ask. She just said this is the same daughter that was in the royal guard! So how can she be human and be undetected amongst the monsters for so long?
"My daughter Chara fell when she was very young no older than five human years as she recalls. She came to us crying and uninjured from the fall. Asriel found her and brought her to us. Carried her bridle style to our home one of the cutest things I've ever seen," she smiles wistfully remembering it the moment vividly.
"It was just after the war ended and our banishment truly began. The ruins had already started to be empty and primary settlements had been starting outside of our walls, and Asgore was tasked with guarding the entrance of the underground. He had taken his lunch break at the time. In the end, we kept her because we grew too attached to her to let her go back to the surface. The tensions were so high at the time about humans; we were worried that she would be killed before we could even talk to the king."
If the legends are true, she's probably not too far off humans massacred monsters. So why would they show mercy? Right after a cruel and fierce war, there is no way they could look past their rage to see an innocent child. My thoughts were so focused on imagining a young Chara but how is she still alive? She has been down for almost five thousand years! She should have been dead ages upon ages ago. Toriel was looking at my face with a wistful smile letting me absorb this full story revelation of there being another human in the underground.
"So, she stayed, and we gave her a monster designed backstory. At the time, we said she was a lost monster, who lost her family in the war. There were enough orphans that one could be lost during the move to the settlements outside of the ruin. We claimed she was one of the monster humans like face. Then she was in disguise so long it felt too strange to admit the truth; we had a human child living with us. Chara loved living with us, and we didn't have the heart to give her back either. We should've told the king years ago, but now I'm glad we didn't. That way disguising her or you for that matter wouldn't be an easy thing to do. I will do the same though for you I have to give you a backstory that will have to be bit different. You are a young woman, and we need a story to reflect that. While at the same time making sure no one takes too much notice of who you are. In the underground, most monsters know each other in one and another. They're so many of us now but the way we are; we can't help but get to know one another."
"How are you going to hide me?" I was sincerely curious, and I was little more relaxed if another human, hell another woman has down been here the whole time undetected; maybe I have a chance of getting out of here alive after all.
"Well, the way we hide my daughter is with her hooded robe. Theirs few monsters who are known for wearing them regularly, their very self-conscious of their bodies and wear them at all times, only revealing what they look like too very close family, even my closest friends won't show me their hair after thousands of years of knowing them. So, it's the perfect disguise for a human to take." Toriel walks out of the room going to a hall closet to pulls out the fabric spool, a stepping stool, a floor length mirror, a pin cushion, a sewing machine, and a measuring tape. How did she carry all of that without breaking anything? She set it out in the center of the room the teapot and pie.
"Now remember your Frisk DoomFlowers you're from the murky mire and you were homeschooled by your parents now that you're an adult. You are exploring the rest of the underground. Anyone who knows the DoomFlowers knows they rarely leave Murky Mire, much less their home, but they somehow manage the distribution system at least the one for Murky Mire and Cherry Berry Meadows I know them well enough, they were the ones who gave me Chara's originals hooded robe. They didn't know her secret obviously, but we were taking in a child just like them. I believe their thought process was we might as well equip them correctly." Toriel had a far off look, but her smile was brilliant which made me hopeful.
"Toriel, for what you're doing for me? Thank you, you don't have to help me hide much less protect me to getting to the surface."
"Frisk! The first thing you need to learn monster much less me, in general, is that I would never let come to harm to a monster or human not if I can stop it. Now get up on the stool, I need to get a few of Chara's hooded robes. I believe it might be a bit on the small side. You are bit taller side, then she is." I finally look myself in the mirror to see what I'm going to be wearing in my trek through the underground. It's was an aquamarine hooded robe with a purple striped hood while the entire thing was the vibrant aquamarine blue. It was nearly long enough, my ankles were visible, and it was way too form-fitting when from Toriel description of the type monster I'm disguised as the cloak should leave me formless.
"See this why I bought extra fabric," Toriel said with a smile.
She took out the tape measure and got to work with making the robe wider and longer. On her the five different robes of varying colors. She, from what I could see was pulling the fabric from a table I hadn't noticed before. Try to match the color of the robe I'm wearing. Hoping she has something that matched what she needed, but then I noticed something she was doing something with her hands and my curiosity got the best of me.
"Why are your hands glowing?" The hands had a fiery indigo and lavender tint that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.
"Well like Chara's robe, I need to enchant yours as to throw off suspicion, the only thing I can't really do, is mask your scent magically. Humans have a very distinct smell that most monsters can recognize. Trying to hide it with magic will make you stand out more like Chara on her first day of school in the underground, I tried just that and ended up having questions from students and parents."
"What kind of enchantments are you placing on the robe?"
"Temperature regulation would the first though be warned it takes a minute or two adjust to a new environment. Magical protection if you end up in a fight with a monster the magic won't hurt you as much allow you to heal and raise your defense and speed once per turn." She said her voice tinged with worry.
"That sounds extensive and complicated." My head was finally truly wrapping around what I've fallen into. The rush was swirling around my heart both sadness joy excitement of adventure but the crippling of fear of dying before getting home.
"It's very straightforward and basic magic for me don't worry about I did it for Chara and I have no issue doing the same for you. Toriel smile seemed genuinely to me I felt myself relax and let my burdens go."
"I have a lot of questions Toriel about everything."
"That's why I want you to stay the week it's not something's could explain in one afternoon."
Toriel and I went on to have an almost companionable silence as she finished the robe, which she said need a traditionalist charm. So that I can be as formless and most of my body is covered with my face completely uncovered. But the features like hair were masked from view.
"There you go! You look the part."
"Really?" The robe was formless if I didn't know I was a woman, I wouldn't think I was or any gender for that matter.
"Really," Toriel said with a gentle smile that reaches her soft navy eyes that remind of the deep sea.
I smiled again. All I could feel was safe at the moment, and that made me feel better, like I'm at my own home, with my parents, I could the feel the warmth and kindness in Toriel voice. Consoling me and trying to help me adjust to all of this rush of information.
"Okay let's start with what you need to know. The bare basics of the underground is a vast and complicated place it can be like a labyrinth, that you or anyone can easily get lost in if you are not careful. The underground is ever expanding in size as more monster children are born, more homes and towns need to be built to make room for them. Beyond the door of my home, is a forest path that splits off into three towns. There is the evergreen city, Snowdin, and berry cherry meadows. If you go straight with no turning, you will hit Snowdin. When you're in the forest, you will see a castle ruin and start walking west; you will hit the meadows if you get near Snowdin and see an ice slide you will end up in Evergreen town. For your safety go straight, there are many royal guards this particular path as many issues and incidents."
"Don't worry I'll go over a map with you. I'll make sure you know everything you need to know so you can see for yourself."
"Now the house rules to go over while you stay at my home I'm correct in thinking humans have a similar custom in their home yes?"
"Yeah, we still have house rules on the surfaces they change with time, but each home has its own rules."
"Well, my rules are quite simple my home is your home. Try not to track filth into the house and please pitch in if you want to. There are entertainment and connection to the outside for you to see while you're down here. That reminds me to follow me upstairs it's going to be a while before my family is done with training for the day and we might well watch something to pass the time.
I follow silently thinking about everything I've been told. Grateful I decided to listen to stories if I had just run out of here like I originally planned to. If this is the only place in the underground with the connection, I doubt would be able to contact Stephanie about this little development. Maybe she can look through the old lore and see if she can find me a way out of here. I have to believe if the myth is real so are the wizards that trapped them here.
The living room was a lot comfier than I expected it would be with squashy sofa and armchairs and TV. It was a big box set that I used to see a lot when I was a little kid. It wasn't on, but the living room was covered in pictures on the wall. The room was vivid array colors showing the tapestry of her life with her of her husband, her son, and child in a robe with prominent pink cheek, glowing red eye and one the was a solid green. All I could see was the rounded face, but the entire body was formless as my robes had made me seem. Her hand was wrapped around a goat boy who could only be Toriel, son, Asriel hugging Chara back. Family pictures are covering the walls showing Chara and Asriel growing older together. Pictures of Asriel is growing blonde hair like his dad, but I could see him and Chara going through phases noting the Mohawk with blue dyed tips and the nose piercing and goth makeup on Chara. I could feel Toriel's love for her family in this room probably makes her family absence more noticeable. Being there a lot clearer I may not know her well, but I should remember her kids are leaving the nest I should take her mind off it. Let her live a little while I'm here and not have her noticing that they're not here.
"As I was saying, this is the only place in all of the underground connected to the world above. Past my doors, the connection to the above ground is near impossible by ordinary means that is. Dr. Alphys is working on it, but at the moment she's working with no way to be able to withstand the cold outside. Snowdin isn't the best place for the royal scientist." Toriel was chortling not making fun Toriel doesn't seem to have an evil or malicious bone in her body. So it has to be a fund for a reason.
"Wait what kind of monster the good doctor is?" Now I'm curious about the monsters they can't vary that much right?
"She's a lizard-like monster, a dinosaur if you know what those are. While monsters aren't exactly like the animals, we sometimes out forms look like an animal. I've eaten goat even though it's the form my physical body is. How many goats on the surface have sharp teeth to eat with?" She grinned her canines were prominent and glinting. She turned on the TV as she was flipping through the channels I noticed the regular channels I would usually watch on my own like the occasional news channel the occasional bad reality TV show or ghost hunting show than to see different monster created channels and syndicated TV shows that they only have access too.
"None," I was awestruck but not shocked they had to be a reason they call themselves monsters. She didn't introduce herself as a goat person she called herself a monster.
"Monsters, you see aren't at all like animals, but we have the unfortunate issue of some of us at least having the features. There are lizard monsters who need the sun or warmth and the fur-covered monsters who can't handle the heat."
"That makes sense you all vary, but that makes it difficult to move towns huh?"
Yeah, that's why we didn't leave the ruins. We were offered a house in the capital. It's still there, and we use it when I visit friends, but we declined actually living there. While we loved the capital but Asgore, and I can't stay there. It is just too warm for us personally. It's good to visit not to live at least not for us at least.
The show was done, and that moment I could hear a ding in the distance; Toriel jumped up and went downstairs honestly, I was still disoriented of the information too much in one day. I need let myself slow down and understand what's happening here. If the guards realize I'm human, they won't stop till I'm gift wrapped and hand delivered to their king where only will both and dispose of me. And the only person who would know would be Toriel and their family.
"Well, that was one of my colleagues at the door they want to hold curriculum overview meeting after classes end. Our superintendent is coming as is all the teachers from the high school and the middle school, so I need to make you ready to be seen by tomorrow. Hiding you would be suspicious, so you need to put on one of the robes early."
"Wait they're coming here?!" That's going to be a lot of monsters
"Don't worry Frisk you'll be fine most of them are old friends, but I would advise you not to take Matilda's joking about eating you to heart. Spider monsters have a morbid sense of humor."
"Wait, she's a spider monster? That's awesome!" Okay, she wasn't joking about monsters being varied what others will I meet before I get to surface again?
"Wait you're not afraid?" Toriel face was slightly shocked must be a lot of monsters are nervous about the spiders like the surface. Something never changes.
"Me? No, I never feared spiders and bugs or anything like that."
"That's one less worry I feared you would be terrified of my colleagues, not all of are nice looking as I am."
"I can handle it. That I can assure if you want I can put out some snacks out if you like?"
"Yes, thank you, I imagine I will take apart from teaching my classes to be a gracious hostess if you can be helpful I would dearly appreciate it."
We started watching the movie on screen apparently this was another Mettaton movie since he was the on the open credits and starring him. Toriel looked excited, so I might as well watch along. I noticed it was genre mash-up of old-school beach movie and sci-fi, horror, thriller movie. The acting was on point, but the premise was a bit out there. It starts with a beach party which looks great like something right out of the fifties or sixties beach dance movies. Though in a surprise aliens show up to abduct the monsters, and Mettaton heel turns the lead spaceship out of the atmosphere. When they come back, they have dance battle for the fate of monster kind. It was incredible, but it was definitely a b movie plot. The plot was all over the place, but it was fun to watch like a roller coaster. I couldn't predict the direction of the film. Which made it more enjoyable to watch. With the D.J who looked very similar to Mettaton seem to stand out amongst the background actors for out of nowhere moments of levity and laugh out loud scene. Maybe they were brothers or something. He had an elegant hairstyle like the kind of guy I would usually date. He was pretty impressive, and apparently, he did the musical score for the movie.
"What did you think of the film Frisk?"
"It was out there that's not at all what I expected, but it was good."
"It's not as good as the mermaid ninja Mettaton movie in my opinion, but it was good enough to keep my attention. I believe my family is finally done with they're training for the day and should be going to dinner at the moment. Let me give them ten minutes to finish eating."
"Toriel can I ask something?" Another movie was starting it starring Mettaton and Glyde who picture of who this monster who looks like a winged snake to an extent for a monster without any legs he stood pompously and bold look in his eyes.
"Ask away Frisk there's not much I won't tell you, dear,"
"Why did most of your family join this royal guard, to begin with?
"To be honest with you I think all of them felt the urge to protect the underground. When they created the barrier to trap us here, the wizards had placed secondary enchantment within the spell."
"What was the enchantment?" It can't be that bad that they need an army regularly …
"Well, imagine randomly without warning you were attacked, or vines could shoot out of the ground and snap you like a twig or statues appearing from nowhere and would drop you from a considerable height. The enchantments the Wizards placed was to ensure we couldn't coexist here if ever so often we would be killed at the beginning if it wasn't for our guard, we wouldn't have made it. It's why they're always recruiting; they need more people manning the towns in case of attacks."
That sounds horrible you may not be at war above, but you still feel the effect of the war actions, how can you stand it, living fear of an attack every day?
"Well, thankfully that's why the guard i. While I have enough training to maybe hold one attack off for few minutes, delay others to get safety; the guards are better trained and equipped to end then and there. I may be a boss monster, but I'm not a warrior with the stamina to end to an attack where it begins. My son and my husband are boss monsters, and that's their advantage and strength. I feel my safest when they are patrolling the underground."
We said our good nights after Toriel finally made the call to her family and explained the plan she had in mind to help me get back to the surface undetected.
Final note: I'm sorry for the long wait between chapters. My life got incredibly stressful, and I'm pushing through it. There is more to come the next chapter should be up this Saturday so keep your eyes peeled for that.