The next few hours are a blur.
You keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. For Toriel to turn on you and set you ablaze, or throw you headfirst into one of the traps or barriers around the underground. She says they're for entertainment, a way for monsters to play. She says monsters love puzzles. But you can't see how spikes that may or may not kill you at any given moment are any kind of fun.
To her credit, she never takes the opportunity. Perhaps, then, she is not altogether cruel. But even though you can't recall why you aren't here, it doesn't allow you to forget that wherever you came from, you were not wanted. Whether you were thrown down here or driven to fall by yourself, it doesn't change the fact that you were not wanted. And if you were not wanted there, certainly you could not be wanted here.
Right?
This world has been corrupted. What did they mean by that, exactly?
Of course, their is no answer. Your hallucinations are hardly a guiding light, but you're desperate.
Eventually, the two of you arrive at an old house, noticeably better kept than the rest of the Ruins. You get a few more dizzy spells, here and there, but somehow, Toriel always manages you to keep you from the brink.
"Now that we're good and safe, I should let you rest. But first...what is your name?"
"My name is Chara," you say, then panic. "Wait! You're not a...a fae or anything right?"
"A what?!"
"A...a kind of monster that steals names. You're not after my name, right?" Toriel pauses, then laughs. There's no cruelty in it, and equal parts relief and humiliation come crashing down at once.
"I think not. You are suited to yours, and me to mine. I just wish to know what to call you. I could just call you 'human,' but that seems a bit rude, don't you think?"
"But you already knew my name."
"Hm?"
"When I fell, I heard you yell. You shouted my name, didn't you?"
"No?" they answer, and the confusion in their voice sounds genuine. "I don't recall saying anything. Perhaps you were hearing things. You dropped so hard it was like watching someone flick a switch, it would not surprise me."
"Oh," you say with a frown. "Sorry, I just-"
"Do not be sorry. You are hurt, and still very tired, I think. I have a spare room you could rest in, if you like."
It's odd. You believe Toriel, but you don't. You trust her, but you don't. Even as she opens the door to her spare room, you expect it to be some horrible dungeon with chains on the wall and skeletons in the corner, but you're not the least bit surprised when it's not. It's just an ordinary children's bedroom full of old toys and mismatched shoes. There are two beds here, one against either wall, with the doorway in the middle. Toriel ushers you inside, has you pick a bed, and even takes off your shoes and tucks you in. The feeling is eerily familiar, and you can't help but wonder how many times she's done this with other kids that come through here. The pile of shoes in the corner are all wildly different styles and sizes, surely-
Oh. Oh.
"Are you going to eat me?!" You blurt out. "Is that why you brought me here?!"
"What? No, of course not, monsters do not...oh. I see." She mutters, tracing your gaze to the pile of shoes next to the other bed. "I am sorry; the other children all had similar questions. I should have known that was why."
"So, are you? Because if I'm gonna die, I don't want to wait around and-"
"Hush, my child. Of course not. Those, are..." Toriel sighed. "This world is much larger than what you have seen. An entire kingdom of Monsterkind lives under this mountain, sealed long ago in a great war. Those shoes belong to children that have...well, moved on."
"Died."
"...yes. Much of my kind seeks revenge for their imprisonment here, misguided as that is."
"So...I'm to be executed."
"I'll turn this mountain into a crater before I let that happen." The fire in her eyes frightens you, and for a moment the friendly goat you have been following this whole time looks truly monstrous. Orangs light flickers in their pupils as smoke leaks from her nostrils and cinders fall from her fingers. You reach out idly to catch one, but it zips away before you can touch it. "I'm sorry. That silly little pile of shoes has you scared stiff and me losing my temper. Think nothing of it, for now. The day will come when we will discuss your options here. For now, you need to rest."
"Will I wake up?"
"Of course you will. Now, forgive me for this."
Green flame wraps itself around her paws again, and with a gentle tap to your forehead, the world spins out before folding into blackness. A gentle humming is the last thing you hear, before it, too, fades.