LOUDERTALE
Arc 1 : Ruins
Part 7 : Gates of Hope, Roots of Fear
Author's note : (*On a stage*) Hey guys, it's me, Superdimentio77 !
(*Passionate cheers from audience*)
That's right, and I'm back with an early chapter of LOUDERTALE !
(*Even more passionate cheers)
But, um, the chapter's a bit shorter than the last ones.
(*Silence*)
And it... also doesn't feature the Skelebros right away.
(*Ducks under lectern to escape intense booing, followed by a tidal wave of bones, hot-dogs, and plates of spaghetti*)
Hey, I told you I wanted to end the Ruins Arc before ! Gotta give Toriel a proper good-bye, because as you can probably guess, she won't reappear for quite some time. But next stop, everyone's favourite duo ! I swear it ! Also, I would like to thank everybody for your kind reviews, and announce that as for now, I WON'T do any interludes. I just don't think they'll be necessary in the long run, and I'd like to stay focused on the sibs and their monster pals.
But enough waiting ! I've got a pie in the oven, and I can't let that meddlesome canine take it from me ! So enjoy !
Neither of the Undertale or Loud House franchises or characters are mine. I'm but a mere peasant taking the scraps, and having way too much free time to put them together into something decent enough to read.
After a copious meal made of surprisingly tasty slug petits fours and an escargot brioche, Toriel and the kids spent the next two hours to have as much fun as they could, to build as much fond memories as they could. Toriel got to participate in many activities, one dedicated to each of the Louds during the first hour :
-Tea ceremony and iddle chit-chat with Lori. ("My face on a pizza, can you imagine ? So romantic, my Boo-boo bear..." fawned Lori dreamingly.)
-Sewing session with Leni, with not a single finger prick and eleven fuzzy scarves sewed in a matter of minutes.
-Karaoke with Luna. ("We could live together, walking on, walking on the moon !" smoothly sang rocker and caretaker.)
-Comedy act with Luan. ("That's what I'm asking, who's on first base !" yelled Lincoln to Luan, as Toriel drowned in hysterical giggles),
-Small baseball game with Lynn, which had to be delayed at first, because of Toriel going on a second round of incessant snorting and laughing.
-Comic tales from Lincoln. ("And that's when Muscle Fish realised that the Sea Witch was none other than his long-lost mother !" taled Lincoln, his audience gasping in shock.)
-Chilling but moving poetry with Lucy ("The revery alone will do, if the bees are few." finished the young goth with an unusual shaking fist of passion. Toriel felt like life made a little more sense somehow.)
-Feeding Diego and piggyback rides with Lana. The little dirt monkey had to admit, Toriel's bursts of speed were something to behold. Best ride ever, though.
-Tea party with Princess Lola. For some reason, Toriel seemed a little pale when referred to as 'Queen Toriel'.
-Debates over magic and its science with Lisa ("So you're telling me that instead of falling down the esophagus, Monster Food is absorbed by it, and redistributed through the entire body ? But how could sheer matter ever accomplish such an impossible... *Pause* Never mind, I believe I have answered my own question.")
-And block-building with Lily, who'd quickly become Lilyzilla afterwards, taking down entire structures in the most destructive and adorable way possible.
During the second hour, the fun was decided to be more collective, and after many ideas including American Football, quiz, mud-wrestling, and picking up trash ("Not this kind of collect, Leni."), it was decided to be a board game, or rather a card one, with Toriel owning a certain colorful human deck of cards that the Louds found in a little shop accumulating a weird amount of human junk. It was a game of Ein!, but the monsters called it Colours, Numbers, and other weird signs : The Game !. Added to it were mysterious pink cards with a square-shaped robot in different, sometimes rather suggestive poses. Go figure.
Thirty games, twelve instant victories, seven wrathful breakdowns, and one attempt to burn the deck later ("Go back to the hell from whence you came." chanted Lucy through grinded teeth, seconds away from throwing it into the chimney fire before being intercepted by her roommate and her brother.), Toriel left for a little time to gather the necessary supplies for the kids' depart. She apologised for it, but they seemed strangely eager into seeing her go for a little while, and kept winking so much at eachother, Toriel feared they were getting pink eye. But she eventually brushed it off, and went to collect the many essentials.
What did the Louds do in the meantime ? Toriel would know very soon.
At last, Toriel and the Louds were back in the room of their battle. Sulphurous strikes still marked the walls, but they paid it no mind. It was in the past. But before the future could litterally open up for the children, Toriel made one last checkup through the backpacks she had offered them with ten of the kids standing before her, and Lily taking a little rest on top of her head, looking adorable as always.
"Very well, let us check that everything is right." stated Toriel in a tone that reminded their parents' before going on their annual trip to the Scratchy Bottom Campgrounds, which became mandatory since the dreary Summer of 2009, when four precious cans of insecticide had been forgotten. "Water ?"
"Check !" said Lincoln, showing a flask full of water as example.
"Toilet set ?"
"Check !" said Lynn, sorting hers while not forgetting to show that Lana had hers, despite how grumpy the little blonde looked about it, and how it had mysteriously disappeared for a time, to miraculously reappear under the pile of leaves before Toriel's house. What a coincidence, had been Lana's argument.
"Diapers ?"
"White as ever, but destined to be stained by the duties of nature and society." enunciated ever-inspired Lucy.
"Gold ?"
"Check." uttered Lori, bag of gold in her hand. Toriel had lent 100G to the children, just in case the money collected from future encounters turned out to be not enough. A glitter-loving eye was focused on this little full purse, practically drooling at it. "Also, phone here. Double-check."
"Pie ?"
"Wouldn't dream to go without it !" smirked Luna with the entire pie in her hand, carefully wrapped in a piece of cloth.
"Why do you get to keep all the yummy pie ?" complained Leni with a pout.
"It's because of the item equivalence, my child." explained Toriel once more to the confused blonde. "Each of those backpacks can contain up to eight items, no matter the size unless it goes well over the physical capacity of the bag. Keeping the pie whole means only taking one place, as if I had given you each a slice, it would've taken one spot in each of your backpacks."
Leni waited for the little Geo in her head to make the wheel spin fast enough, then reached a conclusion. "I don't get it, but I'll just accept it as it is." grinned the fashionista.
"Smartest move, Leni." praised Lisa with a nod. "But Goat Mom, I must ask, how are those bags capable of creating some sort of hammerspace ? What material confer such a power on those average-looking back transporters ?"
"Well, um..." hesitated Toriel. She knew Lisa would not appreciate her answer, but had to do so, agitating her fingers with a few sparkles escaping it. "Magic ?"
Lisa had to take a long breather through her nose to quell her rising frustration. She then adressed a fed-up look at the ceiling, and uttered her now redundant "Sure, why not ?".
Toriel carressed the child prodigy's head apologetically. "Alright, and finally-"
"We got our normal clothes !" cut in Luan jovially. Indeed, the Louds' usual clothes rested inside their backpacks, and the kids now sported winter outfits oddly resembling the ones they owned back at the surface. In fact, except for Lisa's yellow-lensed glasses being absent and the presence of Toriel's winged symbol on each of the outfits' back, those looked like a perfect copy, down to Luan's flower-shaped earmuffs and Lucy's cape. Huh ? What do you mean, a lazy option ? I only intend to keep the show's integrity, nothing more. "All folded to take only one spot in the bag. Yep, that's certainly a wrap, hahaha !"
"How's about you keep your 'A-game' until we're out ?" stated Lucy dully, to which Luan responded with a tongue showing.
Toriel stiffled a chuckle and nodded. "Good, good. And I trust you didn't forget your souvenirs ?"
The Louds collectively took out said items. Lori had a cookbook with Toriel's favourite recipes, Leni had a hand-mirror with angel wings on the side, Luna had her trusty harmonica, Luan had a golden squirt flower, Lynn had her new football, Lincoln had a drawing where he and Goat Mom had drawn if they were superheroes (Toriel's main power : Pierokynesis), Lucy had the mysterious authorless poem book, Lana had a sweater knitted by Toriel (Perfect for cold nights and to keep lizards warm), Lola had a mini-version of Toriel's robes, and Lisa had a small encyclopedia named 'Monsters : How freaky can they get ?'. Here again, the author was not mentionned anywhere...
"Very good. Now..." Toriel reached out for Lily, carefully plucking her off her head. Lily began to whimper and toss, not at all willing to leave her warm fluffy matress. In her arms, Toriel delicately called to her. "Lily, dear ? It's time to wake up now."
Lily slowly obeyed, blinking herself awake. Confused at first, she rejoiced when she saw Toriel smiling down on her. "Hehehe, Goa' Ma'." giggled Lily, reaching for Toriel's ear.
Toriel positively beamed at this, and tried her upmost to keep the melancholia out of it. She let the toddler do as she pleased for a few seconds, then gently removed her ear from Lily's maw. The toddler complained at first, but fell silent once she was delivered into Leni's arms, and two items were presented to her, both very familiar to the baby. A squeaky hammer, and a smooth little purple blanket.
"Yes Lily, you get to bring those with you." soothed Toriel as she handed them to the ecstatic infant. "If anything scares you, or you feel sad, press one of those against your little heart, and it'll be like I'm here with you. Does that make you happy, sweetie ?"
"Blankie ! Tap-tap !" cooed Lily excitedly. She put the hammer inside her parka's pocket, and tucked the blanket inside her clothing itself. To constantly keep it against her, and feel reassuring memories of Toriel in it. But there was a little more to that, as both of the child items glowed a cyan hue, that made Lily's SOUL come out, followed by her brother's, then her sisters', basically repeating the processes of both of Lori's equipping. The tickling, yet comfortable feeling traversed the Louds' diminutive being sources, making them feel a little safer, and Toriel could only observe the processus with a curious gaze.
The SOULs soon returned to their owners', and Lincoln's narrative instinct took over once again, his eyes lightening up with crimson hue, and his voice gaining an almost ghastly underlining.
*"You've equipped the Squeaky Mallet. ATK increases by 2. Violence could not be delivered more adorably."
*"You've equipped Blankie 2.0. Team DEF has increased by 3. The warmth of a mother in a single piece of cloth. Not to be underestimated."
As humans acknowledged the change with content shrugs and "Nice !", Toriel's face gained shock. For a mere moment, she could've sworn that the boy had sounded like...
The Caretaker patted a paw against her forehead. It seemed that this battle had taken much more out of her than she had imagined. This simply could not be the case.
...Could it ?
Toriel decided to brush the thought aside in favour of giving Lily one last kiss on the forehead, that she accepted with delight. "Be nice, my little Lily, alright ?"
"Poo-poo." answered Lily with a small nod, acknowledging Goat Mom's question.
Toriel then took a step back, and offered a sad smile to the children in front of her. Those children that had opened up her world in more way than one, and had offered her seven of the best days of her long, long life.
"All is in order, I see." began Toriel. "Well then. I believe... this is good-bye. Or rather, a farewell. Children, I must ask of you this last request. Once you go beyond those doors... please, do not come back here." A chorus of "Why ?!" was about to be raised, but they quickly understood what their tearing-up Guardian meant. "I know it might seem unfair, but... I simply don't think I'll be able to let you go a second time. I hope you understand..."
The kids looked at eachother, and a small smile slowly drew itself on their faces. Lincoln shook his head, "We do. To be honest, we don't know if we'd be able to say good-bye a second time either."
"But still, we'll keep it a good-bye. Who knows what the future's got in store for the lot of us ?" winked Luna.
"Life's got a lot of dirt paths, and... um..." Lana thoughtfully scratched her head. "I kinda forgot what comes next. Only the dirt path stuck to me."
"Maybe if it should've been about ink, it would've stained in your head longer !" chortled Luan.
Lucy's natural frown deepened a little. "Now even ink will remind me of those terrible puns. Sigh, I only had so little, and yet gradually, it's taken away."
Luan squeaked with joy, only picking up one part of Lucy's rant. "You guys remember my puns ?!"
Lily answered her big sis' question by putting her hands against her ears, and blowing her trademark raspberry. Amused by the scene, Toriel pursued. "Your differences only strengthen your bond, it seems. I trust that you'll know how to make good use of that strength. And know that I'll be praying for your success every step of the way. It will be quite the adventure, but I'm positive that you'll managed to make it through." Toriel's encouragements warmed the children's SOULs, filling them with that will to never give up once again. "Well, now I suppose is the time to-"
"Wait !" Leni raised her hand. "Like, we haven't given you your surprise yet !"
Toriel blinked, and the kids groaned in aggravation. "Well, her timing was only off by about 4.17 seconds." amended Lisa with a sigh. With that said, the Louds immediately gained their grins back.
"SURPRISE !" they all shouted, and reached inside their bags for their gifts to give.
Toriel softly gasped. She felt a bit guilty to not have expected it from them, but here she was. "Children, whenever did you get the time to craft those ?" she tentatively asked with a swelling heart.
"You seriously think we were twiddling our thumbs the whole time you were gone ? Well, maybe Lincoln could have. You should see him on lazy Sundays, reading nerdy comics in his room, almost as naked as a worm." jabbed Lynn with a chuckle.
Lincoln's face went deadpan, and shot back. "Suuuuure, because no one ever taught me the joy of hanging on your bed for an hour with nothing but your underwear on. Must've seen it on TV."
A pink hue appeared along Lynn's freckled cheeks, as she got a few mocking giggles. "I was like eight ! On a hot day of July ! How was I supposed to know it'd stick to him for the rest of his life ?"
"Well, you do know how to leave an impression. Physical, most of the time." advised Lori with a small smirk.
"Ah, touché."
"Alright, enough jabbering about gross sticky underwear !" interrupted Lola. "We've got gifts to serve out !"
"We go first !" loudly said Luna, the 'Rule of Dibs' securing her and Lucy's turn. Both cool and pale-coloured sisters approached their Guardian, who didn't seem quite sure what to expect, and delicately took the stack of papers from the small Goth's hands. "It's a little song we concocted for ya. Only took twenty minutes to write it, but the Great Voice of Rock'n'Roll spoke to me, and we got one heck of a conversation poured on paper !"
"And I added depth to it, as well as a few paragraphs to go with the character. Don't worry though, I tried keeping my usual state of mind in check. Some passages will be no more bittersweet than liquorice." quipped Lucy with a nod. She couldn't retain a small lip smacking at the mention of her favourite sweet. Or rather her favourite sour.
Toriel analysed the cover. 'Ballad of a Lovely Guardian', with the 'v' glossing over a nefarious 'n'. Around the title were music notes, a few of them with bat wings, and three doodles on the bottom, of both the song's artists, and its inspiration. And right above them, an alternate title, 'Home : Always sweeter with Goat Mom.'
Toriel could feel the thought and heart put into it, and its fuzzy feeling wormed its way into her SOUL. But this was far from being over.
"Our turn !" Lana spoke up, exchanging a fist-bump with Lynn. The handygirl pushed on her tiptoes to put her present into Toriel's large paw. "We remembered the Trophy Case we own back home, and thought you could use one yourself. The Froggits were nice enough to give us some extra Gold they had, we used the clamp and chimney fire to melt it, and then the kitchen gloves to shape it ! Lynn was surprisingly helpful there."
The athlete shrugged pridefully. "I get trophies all the time, so I know how they look. And hey, those hours of intense boredom known as 'Art class' had to come useful at some point. But anyway, I hope that trophy will do as much good to you as mines did to me."
'Monster Mom #1 : Toriel Goatmom'. That was what the small golden trophy's base described. Atop of it, was a reendition of the Underground's now iconic Winged Dot symbol, with two 'L's placed on the dot's front. On its back, was a thumbs up. On fire. Which instantly made it even cooler. Toriel carressed the piece with a gentle paw and glimmering eyes.
"A great gift for sure." praised Lola with a voice that announced gloating from a mile away. "Almost as good as me and Leni's masterpiece. Behold !"
Getting her cue, Leni proudly presented their gift. A very fashionable one of course, but one that also held heart. The extra-extra-large piece of clothing was none other than a sweater, its blue wool looking fluffy as a sheep without a single wild fabric string peeking out. On it, amongst waves of glitter, stood the words 'Miss Goat Mom', with hearts and pie sewings around it.
"Do you like it ? After what I said back then, I realised how mean it was to you. So here's your sweater, as promised !" beamed Leni radiantly. "It'll keep you comfy during cold days, or if your heating thingy doesn't work anymore. Or just for fun, it totes goes with everything ! Except burgundy, just not possible."
"I helped with the wool, morale, making sure that everything is spelled right, that the letters are in the right direction, and, naturally, added all the glitter I could find !" proudly declared the Loud beauty queen, but not in her usual 'Contest' way. More in a 'Ball of innocence' kind of way.
Toriel was at a loss of words here. The whole thing simply looked and felt lovely, with the palette of colours reflecting the eleven Human SOULs in the title's spelling, and the white hearts mirroring her own. But before she could weigh in her emotive opinion, 'Loud-mas' resumed with greater intensity.
"This one results of a triumvirate effort." announced Lisa, as she, along with Lincoln and Luan, delivered their piece, in the form of a small red book. "We thought of trying to remind you the good times we spent together through a collection of images. We managed to acquire a book, but had to improvise when we remembered that we had not taken true photos with you. So, we got inventive. With the help of the wide memory storing permitted by my cortex..."
"And my drawing skills, we recreated the best of the best." said Lincoln, shaking his right sore hand. Fourty pictures in a matter of minutes came with a steep price, but an endearing one as well.
"And I added funny titles, so you'll fully get the picture !" guffawed the comedienne. She opened the book to show an example.
On the left page, was a picture of Toriel sitting in her chair, visibly giving Lily a rodeo lap while holding a book, no doubt adding action to the tale. Around her, sat the Louds, and all had ranging expressions, most of them being shock. A set of face shared by the counter herself, as she saw the result of her knee getting too much invested in the story, with Lily bouncing her way to the ceiling, looking like she hadn't a care in the world.
The picture was entitled : 'A kneet little story, soaring high !'
On the right page, was a drawing of Karaoke Night, with what was probably the funniest moment of the evening. The kids had dressed Toriel as a rapper, with Lana's cap in reverse, sunglasses, even a golden chain with the words 'Hot Mama' embed in the middle. And through Luna's harmonica and Lucy's metronome-precise finger snapping, Toriel delivered the hardest, yet most polite of slams, reducing all humans surrounding her into tears of hilarity. Some even came close to pee themselves, and none of them were Lily.
The picture was entitled : 'Goat Mom's got the bleat !'
Toriel giggled at both of the memories, and made a mental note to check all of those drawings as soon as she could. This would certainly be a nice re-reading for every night she'd feel loneliness make its dreary comeback.
"And now, the last one." announced Lori with a small excited grin.
"Dabla gah !" clapped Lily with joyous fervour.
"'Saved the best for last !'" chimed in Luan, dependable translator.
Lori carefully plucked the small item from her bag. The socle fit just right in her hand. "This was Lily's idea. She wanted to make the best thing she could think of about you. And since her answer to that was 'everything', this was the result. Lily made the modelling all by herself, and all I had to do was to colour it, and glue it to the base." She deposed the gift in Toriel's hand with a fond smile. "Hope you like it."
The gift was indeed a little statuette of Toriel, but not exactly a perfect likeness of her. While the base was great, and the colours were on point, including a flawless representation of Toriel's robe symbol, the form was, for the lack of a better word, quite clunky-shaped. The Goat Mom was short and stout, hanging her slightly twested arms on the sides like she was immitating an airplane, one of her hands were bigger than the others, her horns looked like two white sugared almonds, and her comically bulging eyes were facing two different directions.
In Toriel's tearing eyes though ? It was one of the most beautiful things she had ever witnessed. This thoughtful gift, added to the just-as-amazing other four, filled Toriel with so much joy, the poor woman was barely holding herself together from another dam breaking. But knowing that it would not make this good-bye any easier if she began to cry like a baby, in front of a baby moreover, Toriel held it back, quickly getting rid of any stray tear trying to come out.
"I... I cannot be thankful enough. I did not think I could be even more grateful to have rescued such kind hearts. You, more than anyone, deserve to find your way back home." pledged Toriel passionately.
The Louds felt proud of themselves at the moment. Operation 'Give-Toriel-a-super-nice-gift-before-we-go-so-she-can-remember-us-forever-and-also-think-of-a-shorter-name-for-this-operation' had been a rousing success. Feeling fully at peace, they could now-
"Wait." cut in Lori, her tone calm and controlled. "Before we go, there's something I'd like to say to you, Toriel."
Putting all her wonderful gifts on the side, Toriel held all ears to catch what the eldest Loud sister, and her most faithful student, had to say. "Yes my child ? What is it that- oh !"
The reason for Toriel's soft gasp was her surprise when Lori closed the gap in the blink of an eye, and tackled Toriel in a tight hug. The blonde left sniffles as she rubbed her face into her silky, delicate robes.
"Thank you." whispered Lori, her murmur holding a powerful honesty like no other. "Thank you for everything. I *hic*, I'll make you proud, I promise. We'll never forget you, Goat Mom."
They said that example should be given by the eldest sibling, and that's exactly what happened there, as all the Louds jumped on the occasion to engulf their adored Goat Guardian into a circling, constricting, but ultimately warm and loveful group hug. The smaller ones were even given a boost by the oldest to be able hug Toriel's head, and tell her how much they loved her.
This warm cluster of love and fondness, the energy of eleven youths flowing inside her like a soothing ode of positivity and wonder... Gosh. Of all the things Toriel was gonna miss about those kids, this would get the first spot with the most absolute certainty.
Not able to keep the tears from flowing this time around, Toriel managed to squeeze out of her throat, "You'll be good, won't you ? My sweet children."
"WE WILL, GOAT MOM." answered said group in perfect unison through their own sets of tears, enjoying every extra second of hugging Toriel's soft and welcoming coat.
But as much as they all wanted this moment to last an eternity, they knew that it wasn't how this worked. With both reclutance and acceptance, monster and humans broke the hug. None of them dared to drop the smile carressing their cheeks. With a wave of her hand, Toriel opened the doorway, revealing a corridor stretching towards a dark entrance. And with another wave of her hand, she sent them on their way.
"Fare... no, good-bye children."
"BYE !" the kids waved back from the other side, as the doors slowly closed on their own.
And in a clattering Boom, it was over. Seven wonderful days filled with mirth and laughter, had simply ended. Once again, the Motherly Monster was left all by herself inside her home, dust books and dustier memories as only companions. But something quite unexpected happened to Toriel here. Instead of this separation leaving her even more distraught than the six ones before, she instead felt hopeful about it. There wasn't an ounce in regret she could feel in the decision she had just made. The mere fact of thinking what would have happened if she had carried her threat all the way, and to see hate passing through those children's faces. It only served to convince Toriel that while this hadn't been the easiest choice, it had certainly been the best.
Toriel collected each of the gifts at her feet, and went back upstairs. As she scaled the steps, she listened carefully at the lack of noise echoing around the house, prompting a... nostalgic sigh out of her. They'd said that they'd never forget her, a promise shared not only by the previous six humans, but by her as well, in a way. Those gifts were the last to enter in her possession, but they certainly weren't the first.
She then walked along the corridor, gave a wistful eye towards the red room now shrouded into obscurity, and entered her own room. The odd placement of her diary on her small desk indicated that Lori had indeed taken a peek inside it. But the page being shown also indicated that she hadn't seen the most... secretive parts of her story. It... was better this way.
But though Lori and Lily had searched her room, a thin veil of dust revealed that they hadn't found a certain element of the light blue room, the most prized moreover. Taking a firm grip on the mirror above her dresser, Toriel removed it from the wall, revealing a perfectly cubic hole behind it. And in that secret shelf, there they stood. The six previous gifts... and two extra.
First, was a little golden flower. But contrary to the ones in the little field at the start of the Ruins, a place Toriel would regularly go to check on signs of a falling human, and tend... something else, this flower had a mysterious blue bud. Being her favourite colour, the kind little girl had picked it up for her Caretaker, even though it had taken her fifteen minutes to get the strong stern to crack. And after all those years, the flower was still there, as if waiting patiently for a visit.
Next to it, was a small Champion belt. That tyke, whose energy had no boundaries, had apparently won it in a Junior Wrestling Contest, not the most official though. But a victory was a victory, he'd concluded with a puffed chest. Still, he'd wanted her to have it, saying that he'd win hundreds like that, and when he'd become a champ, he'd come back to collect it as his ultimate prize. Years had passed, and the rust on the belt had not dimmed its valiant glimmering by an inch.
Delicately put under the belt, was a pink ribbon band, flowing majestically even as it rested on the shelf. On its silky band, was an autograph, one that the rather eccentric dancer had described as 'the first in a long line, and would soon be worth this house's weight in gold'. But though she'd tried to pass it as such, a kind message on the other side of the ribbon only showed the integrity behind all those strass and glitter.
The next gift rested soberly against the wall. At first glance, it looked like to be but a simple pen, and in a way, it was true. The pen wasn't armed with a digital picking lock, a super strong laser shooting from its tip, or a Wi-fi routeur installed in it. But one noteworthy thing its bespectacled owner had added was a special ink that, if you ever almost ran out of, could only be mixed with water to resplendish the pen's capacity to its maximum. It had taken a lot of tries and failures to manage such a breakthrough, but the child behind it had certainly been not known to be running low on perseverance.
Amongst the biggest items in there, only second to another one, was a chef's hat. Puffy on top, and straight but soft as it went down to the bottom, where stood the name of its friendly, hard-working, and... late owner. Toriel could still remember it perched atop his head, as he would be behind the stove, concocting delicious meals, and would tip his hat every time he would taste Toriel's scrumptious pies. And most of all, she could still remember the smile resplendishing of kindness, as he would hand the hat to her as a way to remember him by.
And last of the pack of six, small but certainly not shy, was a golden star badge. The teen didn't care how old-fashionned or flashy the star could look upon first encounter, she'd harbour it with pride and solace. It had apparently been given to her by a friend to complete her outfit designed to show her will to continue her father's work as a rigourous, but just officer of the law. But even though dear to her, the lass felt more than obliged to give it to Toriel for what she had done, dubbing her 'Constable Toriel, Ruins' section'. She had chuckled back then, but the woman felt proud of the made-up title.
Already those gifts oozed of happy and cherished memories, with Toriel still feeling a mere fragment of their aura and personality in them. But although those gifts held a dear place in her heart, her pick had to go to the two extras standing in the back. The Goat Guardian gave them a little sweep with her paw to get any speck of dust off them.
On the left, resided a drawing. It represented four people : A daddy, a mommy, and two children, all happily holding hands under the sun, with a colourful house surrounded with flowers in the background. On the top of the drawing, was a title, 'Our Future Home !'. The artist's signature next to it was enough for Toriel's eyes to well up.
On the right, rested a folded sweater. The dark pink article of clothing looked a bit scrambled, with some stitches being crossed and hairs pointing out. But none of that had fazed Toriel a bit when she had received it. She even said that it gave it its charm ! The sweetest part though, had to go to the letters stitched on it. 'Miss Queen Mom'. So many memories of that day, so many tears...
Toriel quickly wiped her sleeve against her eyes, and proceeded to add the new arrivals to her collection, while making sure that none of the articles got overshadowed by the others. It was almost like a puzzle game, and the irony of it forced a chuckle out of the monster. She took extra time to rearrange all of them in such a manner that they...
*Ting*
Her progress ceased when her finger brushed against something. The ninth item. One that she had made sure would stay out of sight, as the mere fact of saying brought an acidful memory to Toriel. But despite how much it irritated her, Toriel simply could not see herself throwing it away. As much as this single memory held a deadly sting, the meaning of so many years ago behind it, as well as the flow of memories poured in it simply had too much importance in Toriel's eyes and SOUL.
Hence why thechipped teacupstill held its place in the collection.
Looking at all those items, and especially the last one, the Goat Monster was reminded of the choice that those children would have to do. And though she thought that she had erased any trace of sympathy for that man, she couldn't help but hope that they would find a third option on their way. Toriel could be angry, spiteful towards somebody.
"Hohoho ! And here I thought nothing could be quite as charming as your face, but I must say your laugh is just on par. What do you say we carry on this conversation in front of a warm cup of tea, hm ?"
But hating someone ? In spite of everything, she simply could not.
And in a clattering Boom, it was over. It was the last time they'd get to see their guardian for a long time, at least. The Loud Kids certainly seemed afflicted by this, with sadness appearing on each and every face. But as they moved forward, and as the purple walls became clearer and clearer, so did their demanours.
"Man, I'm gonna miss her..." uttered Lana, her words mirroring what was on everyone's minds.
"We all are. But the best choice is not always the easiest. And I think we did choose the best option." spoke Lori truthfully, flickering a tear away while keeping a fond smile. Said smile quickly spreaded out.
"And hey ! At least we left with smiles on our faces, that's gotta count for something !" quipped Luan.
"Sigh, I think I must be losing my touch. Because I actually enjoyed this happy good-bye." pouted Lucy, not too keen in admitting all those emotions to run boss inside her dark little heart. Her real one, not the yellow parasite.
"Well, think of it as a bittersweet ending, and keep your mind on the bitter part." offered Lincoln as conslation.
"Hmm, that works, I guess..."
"Man, can you guys believe we're finally going to see the rest of the Underground ?" whistled Lynn thoughtfully, a rare sight to behold. "Who knows what weird stuff or people we're going to meet ? I wonder if they've picked up on sports, or even invented their own !"
"While I'm normally not too interested in those practices, knowing more about their ways to entertain could help me depict Monster's culture in a better light." lisped Lisa to add in her two cents. "Those Monsters also don't seem to be ignorant in terms of science. With the addition of this 'Magic', the possibilities could be pushed to their limits, possibly even realising scientists' wildest dreams !" she exclaimed giddly. "After all, if we can harbour a power that allows us to cheat Space and Time, surely a new way of energy is not too much to ask for."
"I wonder what kind of fashion monsters have." chirped Leni with curious glee. "Like, there's gotta be more than Toriel who needs clothes all the time. I wonder if they've got sandals or something, or even shoes. And if not, I get to be the first to make some ! Yay, Leni Pignon will finally be real !"
"Well I can't wait to go to the King's Castle ! A true fairy-tale castle to stroll in, as the princess that I am ! And where there's King, Gold and jewels ain't too far away ! With maybe some hunky guards in armour to protect their princess..." giggled Lola dreamingly, imagining herself be sweeped off her feet to be kissed by the Captain of the Guard, who had a face not unlike a certain british college student...
"Yeah, but this the Monster Kingdom. The guards will probably have Fish faces or something !" guffawed Lana. Immediately, the dreamy face of Lola's daydream legionary morphed into the one of an old mackerel, with his big green lips sucking on Lola's own face.
The princess immediately shrieked in disgust, and adressed a scornful stare at her twin. "Can't my hunky daydreaming be spared of your grossness ?!" she berated heatedly. The action however only got the messier twin to start chuckling, which infectedly passed on to the other siblings. The round of laughter got so intense, even Lola eventually joined in.
The Louds took a moment to regain their breath as they reached the end of the hallway. Wiping a tear away, Luna spoke up mirthfully. "Y'know what sibs ? Whatever comes our way, we'll just be moving with the flow, like we did before. Every little thing will be alright, as long as we never get to meet-"
"Well well well, aren't we looking all proud and sunny ?"
Speak of the devil, and he might show his roots.
The Louds' hearts would have jumped out of their throats if they hadn't frozen over what they had just heard. Pangs of cold fear suddenly assaulted them, as none of their brains needed a second thought to recognize this dreary, smug voice that had been invading their nightmares and anxious head-whips when something would seem moving just out of their vision.
The kids slowly turned to look straight ahead, and felt something very... déjà-vu-ish with this room. A dark room all over, with a grand archwayed exit and a single patch of grass enlightened by a weird light. And in the middle of that patch, a single flower flashing its smile at them.
Only this time, there was no charrade to be played by the evil plant.
"Howdy fellas ! Looking swell, I see. Alive too, very good..." smugly began the flower with what could be best described as a thorny grin.
The Loud band immediately tightened its formation, not leaving their enemy out of their sights for a second. Some didn't bother to hide their fear for him, while the boldest and most protective put on tight scowls only betrayed by a smidge of anxiety. The situation was not looking good, but they certainly would not curl into balls and wait for the Flower Monster to pick up their SOULs like in a Supermarket Alley.
"What are you doing here ? Tired of stalking us already ?" spat Lynn with unhidden venom in every word she spoke. Her roommate's slightly trembling hand in her own only furthered her spite towards the yellow little demon.
"Aw, is that how I'm received ? Can't a good friend pop up for a visit ?" chuckled Flowey mockingly.
"F-Friend ?! HA ! You're the furtherest thing we know that c-can be considered as a friend ! Lincoln's dirty underwear sounds a thousand times better than you !" threw in Lola with a mix of anger and shaking knees.
Flowey only chuckled more at this. "Golly, those flapping little jaws sure are something to behold." His grin then stretched across both ends of his face, two vines grew in front of him, his eyes grew empty, and his voice gained a demonic undertone. "They'd look even more stunning with some shades of red, don't you think ? And maybe a few new holes as well !"
Lola squeaked in terror, and went back to hide behind Luna. The teen immediately dropped to hug the shaking six year-old, and gave the cackling monster a most coldest glare. Luna was pretty open-minded, but to take glee in frightening small children was one of the things that could set her anger levels off the musicboard in a matter of seconds, especially if said children were her siblings.
"Why are you really here, Flowey ?" asked Lori with surprising calm, staying focused on her promise while still trying to understand why the Monster would pop up at this precise instant, while there had been way better occasions for him to attack earlier in the week. And it's not like he was catching them off-guard anymore... or was he ?
"I'm telling you, just popping in for a check-up on you guys. Oh, and to congratulate you as well !" chirped Flowey, bouncing on his stern.
"Truly ?" deadpanned Lisa skeptically.
"Why yes ! Down here, the way to go is KILL or BE KILLED. But you decided those weren't your rules, so you made up your own. And that allowed you to spare the life of one nice little old hag." sniggered the Flower with a flare of malice in the last word.
Likewise, a flare of irritation splashed across the siblings' expressions, not taking in too kindly the insult thrown against Toriel's good name. Lana even began to growl and show teeth like a dobermann seeing an intruder in their garden, but Luan kept her on leash. Even though nothing would make her happier than see her little sister gnaw rabbidly on him like a chew toy smeared in meat sauce. It helped that she had actually done it before to visualize the action.
Flowey pursued with ill will lacing his voice. "Well... that's not exactly true. You've been in more than one Fight, and despite everything, you didn't kill anybody. You always managed to find the flaw to exploit in order to settle things peacefully. So, kudos Louds, you've managed to surprise me."
The kids couldn't help but feel a little smug over hearing the object of their infuriation admitting that he was wrong. "Yep, not killing someone is a thing. This light above you tells it all, since you must finally feel a little brighter." rubbed in Luan. She didn't use mean humour often, but it sure felt good when used against the right person.
"No really, you deserve a bravo for your success here..." Flowey kept going rather sweetly... but it didn't last. With a faint malevolent chuckle, that only grew by the second, Flowey's face and voice were back to threateningly malicious levels. "Hehehe... boy, you really expected me to say that, didn't you ? To blindly commend you like she did ? Oh, but you can't fool this flower. You think I don't know what you did ? Or rather, hehehe, what she did ?" sniggered the small devil while pointing a vine in Lori's direction.
The blonde took an uncertain step back, not liking where this was going. Then, to her horror and in a round of pops and cracks, Flowey's face morphed into an exact replicate of Toriel, that spoke with the exact same voice, down to the perfect pitch and intonation. And what it spoke striked Lori right through her SOUL.
"You murdered her~"
And to render the scene even more nightmarish, Flowey's Toriel face kind of melted into a sick and deformed grinning caricature of her, and its voice mixed both Goat Mom's and Flowey's high-pitched demonic one.
"And then you went back, because you felt bad about it."
A choked gasp escaped Lori's throat and dreaded guilt invaded her features, which only amused Flowey even further, who put on back his sharp and malevolent grin.
"Boy, now you can believe me when I say you've surprised me back there ! Such anger, such will to harm and destroy... To be quite honest, I didn't think you had it in you, big gal ! Did you feel it ? That rush of power going through your veins ? I bet you did, and it must've felt so good, even for just an instant. Hee hee hee..." Flowey's pinprick-sized red pupils appeared, looking straight into Lori's own. "Looks like we've got some things in common, you and me."
Lori almost retched what little she had inside her stomach upon hearing Flowey's last sentence. Fresh memories came rushing back in a torrent fashion, hitting Lori's mind where it still ached. The rush of anger and frustration delivered through her frantic hits. The peak of wrath when hearing Toriel was disappointed in her. The solemn pain in Toriel's gentle broken smile, right before she crumbled into dust. And those visions reflecting her own self-loathing, before being replaced by the person she had now become congratulating her for this horrendous action.
Lori tried to banish the thought, but the facts still stood. For a mere moment, she had indeed taken pleasure into killing someone. Flowey was right ! Lori's thoughts kept spiralling out of control, with the never-quelling panic drilling its way into her small cyan heart. Her confession towards both Lily and her siblings had managed to heal up the fresh scars quite nicely, but those could never totally disappear, and the eldest Loud could feel them open again. The poor girl began to feel numb all over again, feeling as if she was drowning deeper and deeper...
But in her moment of weakness, somebody came. Ten somebodies to be exact.
Lori was shaken right out of her reverie by the feeling of Leni and Lynn firmly gripping her hands. Her vision slowly came back to see both blonde and brunette, along with one baby Lily smiling at her. Their grins oozed with forgiveness and understanding, sparking another set of recent memories inside Lori's brain. And the others weren't going to let this fire die out.
"Buzz off ! Lori isn't anything like you !" almost exploded Lincoln defensively, with a red flare appearing in his eyes... that destabilised Flowey for a second.
"You are nothing but a sad spirit that enjoys planting the seeds of doubt and fear into whomever he encounters. That's something even I find disgusting." rebuked Lucy angrily. "Lincoln is right, don't think for a second you have anything in common with the power and love Lori has and gives."
"Guys..." murmured Lori, touched by those arguments in her favour.
"Lori's done goofed, it's a fact. But it's one that doesn't matter anymore !" argued Lana vehemently, shaking her small but hard fist along with her twin.
"Yeah ! Goat Mom's alright, and she clearly regretted her act, which is clearly more than we can say for you, seeing how peppy you were in trying to murder us !" added Lola.
"If you think you can try to knock our leader over without us saying anything, you're even more full of manure than we thought you were, dude." growled Luna, once again assuming her 'sister wolf' mode.
"Yeah, only Louds mess with Louds. Wanna know what we do to bullies in the family ?" Lynn cracked her knuckles with a dangerous grin. "You might not have a butt to kick, but don't worry. With a family as big as ours, creativity just comes naturally."
Jeers and protective threats continued to rise up, all before Lori's beffudled eyes. But... why was she ?! Her look steeled itself back together, and the doors of her SOUL cut the flow of negativity entirely. Why was she surprised at her siblings taking the stand for her, when they had litteraly done it three hours ago ?! And why, after all those sweet things that were said, was she doubting herself again ?!
Enough sobbing like a baby. Lori Loud wasn't made of that stuff.
"No. My siblings are right, I'm not like you." stated Lori with a strength that brought grins to her sisters and brother. "I may've done something of your caliber of bad, but everything else completely changes the stor. From the reasons I did it, to what I did afterwards. I was lucky to be given a second chance, and to gain one of the most valuable lessons that will probably follow me my whole life. So I litteraly refuse to let one pathetic little psycho rob it from me ! So if you haven't anything nice, relevant, or even smart to say, know that we've got a busy schedule that certainly does not involve you, and get LOST !"
The Louds' voices assembled in a single war-cheer, feeling themselves being filled with a power that only echoed more through their numbers. A feeling of invelnurability, of will above everything, of... well, you're starting to get it by now, aren't ya ?
When the general giddyness managed to calm down a little, Lisa felt the need to spite their tormentor a bit. She wasn't a strong believer in karma, but now felt to be the perfect moment to give some. "Well, as you can see, 'friend', we have no care for your threats and defamations. So please, I know that your diet does include dirt and animal feces, but there is no need to share it with us so much."
Leni grabbed the glove thrown by Lisa to add some spikes on it. "Ya, like, just go be cute and quiet dancing into the sun with the other flowers. At least you'll have something going on in your life."
"OOOOH SNAP ! Double burn from Leni AND Lisa ! Don't bother getting the pad, because this one's here to stay !" whooped Luan, prompting all the humans to laugh and exchange high-fives. Lily even chimmed in with a big raspberry for the flower, which immediately rallied all her older siblings into a concerto of noisy spit-spraying, and made them laugh even more. There simply could not be any more levity inside the Louds' minds at the moment.
The same certainly couldn't be said for the fuming little plant. To simply shake off his threats like mere mosquittos were one thing. But how DARED they laugh at him ?! Did they know not who he was ?! Were they completely ignorant to the kind of acts he had committed here underground ?!
Oh, wait... they were. The realisation made Flowey's frown disolve, and his mind pause in thought. They had no clear idea of who he was, what he had done, and the mechanics of what they had stolen from him...
A malicious smirk grew right back on Flowey's face. 'Better get them up to speed right away then...' he cackled internally.
Flowey cleared his... throat, to get the kids' attention, and started his little smug speech. "Yes yes, that's all good and fine. Managed to get a lonely woman you love from the dead, all thanks to one neat little power. Oh yes, it sure is something. THAT ability you kids got."
Slight confusion foggily appeared amongst the Loud kids. "That ability ?" Lincoln cocked an eyebrow.
Flowey's smirk became even bigger in the inside. "Indeed. That power. The power to go back whenever you please, solely through your determination. The power to mold the world as you please, to know and control every bit of it. The power of SAVE, LOAD, and RESET." The flower's grin and eyes widened with a certain fanaticism. "The trinity that allows you to play GOD."
"Hold on there, play GOD ?" halted Lynn with incredulity. "I mean, it's a neat power, I'm the first to admit that. But seriously, egomaniac much ?"
"Hehehe, on the contrary, Lynn." purred Flowey, sending a chill down the brunette's spine, especially by the mere fact that he knew her name, basically confirming that he had indeed been stalking them for quite some time. "The possibilities that this power holds can be endless. And trust me, I should know. Hmm, I can read from your faces that you must be asking yourself : 'What is he talking about ?'"
"Like, what are you talking about ?" parroted Leni. Poor girl was already losing the thread of the conversation.
"Well, here's a small clue. Don't you find it weird that I know what Lori did to that old lady, while she herself doesn't ?" Surprised and confused looks on the Louds' faces indicated that Flowey had hit the bull's-eye. "Simple answer. That neat little ability you share ? It used to be mine !"
The children gasped at the revelation, half-surprised at the fact that someone else knew of this power, and half-anxious of what that could imply. They hadn't seen much of Flowey yet, but to imagine a sadist run rampant with the power of turning back the clock was a thought that nobody was comfortable with.
Still, Lincoln managed to pick up one little detail in Flowey's way to say it. "Wait, what do you mean by 'had' ? You don't have it anymore ?"
Flowey faux-sighed. "Alas, no. It seems that your grouped Determination was enough to override mine. Heh, when I first learned that you had stolen this power from me, I was a tad... angry at y'all." said the monster with a dangerous gleam in his stare that got the Louds' stances to become even more rigid. "But that's all in the past ! Now I'm rather curious of what newcomers could do with this power ! Do you see all the possibilities offered to you here, hmm ?"
"...Getting to taste the best cupcake of all times twice ?" tried Lana from the top of her messy blonde head.
"Shortening by great lengths the time used in failed experiments to directly get to the solution ?" wisely added Lisa.
"Always having the reply that smacks down them haters from Eyetube comments ?" Luan grinned rather thoughtfully. Jesting was fun, but the comedienne drew the line when it came to plain and stupid cyber bullying. What kind of modem were they setting up for the kids ?
"Yes, absolutely, bingo, and yet so much more !" expressed Flowey with dreamy glee. "Winning competitions becomes a sitch, enigmas and puzzles are now the basic equivalent of fitting a key through a doorhole."
"Again, sounds neat, but it kinda takes the fun out of the stuff. What's the point of winning if there's no challenge to begin with ?" grumbled Lynn.
Flowey scratched his chin with a leaf he had just grown. "Ah, good point. But as I said, possibilities can go so much further than that. Case in point : The answer to the biggest question of all time ?"
"What is love ?" chuckled Luna wistfully.
"Is eternal oblivion what truly waits us beyond the grave ? Just kidding, we all know it's coming." dryly quipped Lucy, getting the twins to take the teeniest step back from their ebony-haired big sis.
"Why is the line you take in supermarkets always the slowest ?" proposed Lori. The Louds immediately approved of the question with things like "Oh, that's a good one !" and "One heck of a mystery !", and even Lisa nodding her head.
Flowey sweatdropped, and his smile faltered. What was up with those questions ?! How random could those young idiots get ?! One thing was for sure, it reminded him of a VERY annoying someone, and that was enough to push Flowey to wrap up this thing as fast as possible.
"Well, no... The question I'm actually talking about is the big "WHAT IF ?" !" exposed Flowey with recovered passion. "When you remember something, pleasant or not, don't you ever wonder, 'What if I had done things differently ? What if I said that instead of this ? What if I had done this rather than that ?'"
Lola sighed rather crossly. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Flowey. If only I had seen this rotten plank, I'd have a 'Miss Cute and Sparkly' Golden Trophy in my closet instead of a Silver one. Stupid thing only reminds me of Lindsey's stupid smug smile when she took my precious prize from my mitts."
"I warned them though, but they never listen to the girl with the hammer." Lana shook her head.
"A fine example right there." commended Flowey with a big smile still. "But not what I had in mind. It's not about having a goal, it's about the many, many different reactions you'll get, all by a simple action on your part. Understand what makes every little thing budge, react, change, and then use those informations in the way that you, and only you, desire."
The Louds blinked in perplexed unison. Lincoln raised a finger, "Um, sounds really... complicated ?"
Flowey's cheeky smile seemed at its peak. The fun part started now ! "Don't be so close-minded about it, I can assure you it's a wonderful experience ! Why, for example, you could decide to make all monsters your friends ! You talk with them, share moments with them, then head back to live those fun times again ! Even better, you can use the things you've learned from them to become even greatest friends ! It can go to the point where you know them even better than they know themselves ! And if there's an accident anywhere, you can make sure that they are prevented, and that everyone keeps going in the most joyous and fun atmosphere ! Harmony everywhere you go, and it's all thanks to you."
For the first time since the beginning of this discussion, good-natured smiles appeared amongst the Louds. Only Lucy kept a rather divided frown, there was only so much joy and harmony that the little goth could stomach.
"That sounds so sweet !" happily chirped Leni.
"A little corny too, but hey, if it means more weird monsters become our friends, why not ?" approved the small messy tomboy.
"Yes, how wonderful !" acquiesced Flowey, internally very proud of his acting skills here. Seriously, he didn't even rehearse that one ! If not for his plans and... condition, maybe he could've become an actor, certainly more talented than the pompous tincan those morons kept sucking up to. Oops, losing track, back in character. "And by the simple push of a button in your mind, you can do it all over again ! But..." Flowey's voice became 'pensive'. "That would certainly become a little boring after a while, wouldn't it ? Being nice to everyone in so many ways, but ultimately getting the same result, can get a little dull, don't you think ?"
"Like that guy who ate so many brownies, day after day, to the point where he couldn't even look at them afterwards. True story, dudes." counted Luna with a serious nod.
"B'ownie ?" Lily suddenly came to, having spent the last few minutes in her own little Lily world, and the mention of the delicious pastry immediately bringing her back to Earth.
"Yes, pretty much. But what are you to do then ? Being nice just doesn't get anything from you anymore. If it ever did at all..." Flowey murmured the last part to himself. "There simply must be something else you can do with that neat power. What if instead of being nice... you went the other way ?" Flowey slowly turned towards the Louds, his smile still in place as he lightly angled it to the side.
"What if instead of helping them... you hurt them ?"
"Uuuum..." hesitated the eleven youth warily. They weren't sure they liked where this little explanation was heading.
"I mean, it doesn't really hurt to try, right ?" pursued Flowey as diligently as ever. "After all, with the simple push of a button, it's gone, as if it had never happened ! So you just do it, an innocent little jab to see how the monster reacts. Then, you must wonder this : 'What'd happen if I did this to another monster ?'. Then eventually... 'What if I hurt them some more ?'" A shading veil started to appear in front of Flowey's face, his smile slowly gaining a worrying edge. "So you... experience around the pain of those monsters. What do they say after each pellet thrown at them ? Will it impact them forever ? And how many can they endure ? Oh, that's a real nice question, yes. But maybe then you can push the test a little further..." A small chilling chuckle escaped Flowey's beaming face through its shadows.
"After all, turning back the clock does mean you can bring them back to life, wouldn't you agree ?"
No answer. The Louds' mouths were either busy with chattering teeth, or starting to open in a tight grimace. All eyes were progressively widening in the sheer horror that was starting to bubble down their throats.
Their first thought was right. They really didn't like where this was going.
"So, the murder test begins." continued Flowey, unperturbed. But his even tone progressively changed through the story, distorting and gaining a hungry edge to it at each sentence that passed. "At first, it's only a tiny little Whimsun, and taken down in a quick and painless strike. There is something new to it, you can feel it. It's almost intoxicating, that novelty. You then decide to do it again. And again. And again. But there again, hehe, you notice that there are so many ways you can make those powerless monsters die in different ways as well. You can make it fast, make it slow. Do it from behind a bush, or after a long and hazardeous battle, or even right at the end of an innocent conversation. Just like that, without them even sensing the danger being there. You can kill many in rapid succession, or you can make it last. You can make sure to be as creative as possible, something I've learned you are quite good at. You can tear them apart, limb from limb, molecule by molecule. Make them CuRsE yOuR nAmE, bEg YoUr NaMe, ScReAm At ThE tOp Of ThEiR lUnGs To SiMpLy GeT tHe PAIN TO JUST STOP, NOT EVEN HAVING A CLUE THAT YOU'VE DONE IT THREE TIMES ALREADY !" finally roared Flowey with the gusto of a true madplant. His face had become a nightmare to behold, with a smile that had somehow grown past the borders of his cheeks, wide eyes gleaming with pure madness, and a drooling tongue to signal his thirst for even MORE.
Then, with a small throat clearing, Flowey went back to his simple little grin. "And with the push of a button, everything's fixed and clean, leaving you free field to do it again. Or not, if you feel bored." shrugged the monster, as if Mass Genocide was simply not a big deal to him. Which might've been on point...
Horrified was proving to bean extremely weak term to describe how the Louds were feeling towards the petaled maniac at the moment. Even Leni had understood why Flowey knew so much about the dark facet of this power, and while Lily couldn't get most of it, the poor tot was still shaking with fear because of how scary the meanie plant sounded, looked, and even felt. Lucy was even looking paler than usual, and Lynn actually felt her knees tremble, not even bothering to save face. But nobody blamed her for that. The mere fact of imagining Flowey tearing apart innocent monsters, some of them probably children, just for his fun, was enough for them to feel physically ill.
"Oh... Oh dude, you're sick ! You're actually sick !" bellowed Luna while holding her stomach, not feeling too keen on releasing what little she had left in her insides.
"Yeah, how could you be so, so... I don't even have a joke for that ! And I thought April Fools Me was bad !" whimpered Luan with tears in her eyes, all thoughts of comedy leaving her being.
"Y-You monster." whispered Lucy with a wavering tone. "I've read of demons and their carnages, and I was actually curious of the subject. But to hear that someone could actually go with it, you've changed my mind about them. To do such things, and counting them with a smile. Are you one of them ? A vile, soulless being that only finds entertainment in the suffering of others ?"
Flowey's floral body almost jolted, and his face seemed to freeze, leaving him with widened eyes and his mouth petrified in a tight line. "...Soulless ? You called me... soulless ?... … Heh. Hehehe. Heeheeheeheeheeheeheehee ! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ! BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !"
The eleven siblings could only watch in silent terror their tormentor lose himself into a horrifyingly demented cackle. If they had any doubts about Flowey being a dangerous threat for their survival, none was subsisting now. The constant twitching in his body didn't help either. And Lincoln thought that weird purple mask from one of Lori's old games was the scariest thing ever...
After a little while, which had seemed to last forever, Flowey managed to calm down. He was now down to an exhausted chuckling, and was busy wiping a tear of hilarity away. "Hehe, hehe, wooh. You may be idiots, but I'm actually glad that old hag stopped me from ending you back then. Your stupidity can be sooooo funny at times." The true monster raised an eyebrow at the lack of incessant chatting those humans were known for. "Hmm, no smart comeback ? Where's your flare of pride from before ? Did I kill it already ?"
But instead of sealing them in their growing fear, the comment irked the Louds instead, and a flare of determination managed to rise again from their SOULs. They weren't going to be defeated this easily !
"Yeah ? Well tough luck, Flowey the Bonkers !" was Lana's heated reaction. "We got your power now, and we're gonna use it however we please !"
"You've spooked us with your little trash talk, I'll give you that much, but it's like Lucy's silent approach. We may be scared of it, but we'll always come back to our senses to look the wrongdoer in the eyes. Only this time, you can forget about any family compassion." joined Lynn, puffing her torso with bravery.
"Get real, Flowey. We'll never do what you did. We now know that this FIGHT option only leads to trouble, and as long as there is another option, we'll keep Sparing and befriending everyone we meet. Sorry – not really though – but you're wasting your time here. And ours at the same time. So for the last time, if you don't have anything nice to say, just get out of our sight !" asserted Lori proudly. She was quickly backed up by cheers and aggressive hissing from her fellow siblings.
But of course, none of it had even fazed the flower monster. The talking daisy even had the gall to laugh at the Louds' unity, which made them a little madder, and thus amused him even further. "What a fantastic and... naive declaration you're giving right now. Hehehe, very interesting indeed. But is it your confidence in your abilities talking ? Or is it that new power you're putting a blind trust into ?"
"Wanna know, huh ? It's called 'None of your goshdarn business' !" shouted Lola with a positively wrathful scowl.
"Bad f'ower ! Bad !" followed Lily with as much threat as her tone could give. Flowey took extra care into adding a little glint of threatening obscurity in the side-glance he threw at the youngest Loud, who whimpered but held eye contact with the yellow demon.
"Being stubborn I see. Very well, it's your quest after all. But... humour me this, my little pacifists. While your new ability has its perks, do you truly think it'll help you stay on that goody-two shoes path all the way ?"
Lincoln squinted his eyes, and cocked his head to the side. "What are you implying there ?"
"What I'm implying, friend, is one simple question. What will you do if you are to meet someone as stubborn as you ? Someone who's as determined to end your little lives just as much as you are to spare theirs ? Perhaps even more so ! What happens then ?"
"What malarky is this now ?" asked Lisa in an uptight tone, trying to not sound intrigued by this.
"Hehehe, you are not answering my question~. Maybe you need good ol' Flowey to answer that for you, hmm ?" smugly teased Flowey with the biggest dirt-eating grin, increasing frowns and anger all around. The trollish flower loved every second of it. "I'll take that as a yes ! What will happen, is that you'll try to convince them not to kill you, but to no avail. As such, you die. But that's okay, right ? After all, the LOAD power acts automatically, and you're back for another round !"
"So this power can truly cheat death ?" quipped Lucy with sudden interest. "Hmm, it seems that I'm one step closer to reach the immortality needed to be reunited with my sweet Edwin." The small goth noticed the deadpan looks around her, and scratched her arm sheepishly. "Sorry, lost focus there. Proceed, demon."
"With pleasure ! As I said, you're back, and you try again. You look for more ways, try more ACTions, scrap every corner that you can find. But it still doesn't work. And you die, again. You come back, you try again, you die. Then a fourth time, and you die. You die, and die, and die. Over, and over, and over again. Dozens, maybe hundreds of times ! Until, at last, you become numb, and stop trying. You finally realise that it's all futile, and look at the situation another way. A real, naiveless way to act. But what will it be ?" Flowey's smile gained creepiness again, gleefully taking in the intense feeling of confusion emanating from those stupid humans. "Will you finally see how this world works out ? Accept its rules, and kill out of frustration ?" The toothful smile shrunk to a just-as-creepy malicious smirk, the two white dots appearing into Flowey's eyes seemingly piercing through the eleven dormant SOULs. "Or maybe... you'll simply give up ? Let your determination 'fall down', and give me back the keys to this wonderful power ?"
"N-No way that's ever happening !" sharply dismissed Lynn, but not as hard as she wanted to sound. And HE noticed it.
"Heehee, is that doubt I sense ? Fear, perhaps ?" gleefully purred the psychopathic bud. "But you have nothing to fear from me, my dear little monarchs. I am the Prince of this world's future, and I'll patiently wait for my place on the throne to be restituted to me. Hehehehe... THIS will be so much more interesting !"
Flowey's face then seemingly grew thrice its usual size, as if mutating out of the limits of his head, to adress the litteraly biggest and most wicked smile the Louds had seen thus far. Flowey released another cackling fit, which reverbated against the walls, and almost wrapped the children into its wickedness. A few seconds later, Flowey stopped, put his face back to 'normal', and adressed three last chilling words to his preys.
"I'll be watching~"
And with that, he was gone, burrowing back into the ground, and leaving the humans into the silent darkness.
The kids knew it was no use to lie to themselves. They were scared. What had started as a fond parting on a promise, had now turned into a jittering anxiety just in front of the doors leading to the Underground. What had once been wonder was now apprehension. So many questions and vague answers, as well as the doubt in putting their trust in them, simply let the Louds unsure of what to do now. Would they find the exit ? Could they handle this ASGORE ? Would Flowey be back to attack ? Or would they first fall against this enemy whose determination was superior to theirs ?
For once in their lives, the Louds were quiet. Not a peep, not a note of music, no nothing.
And that simply could not do.
"He's wrong." stated Lincoln calmly, simply, and most important, sounding sure of himself. All eyes immediately fell on him. "I don't know if any of what he has told is true, or how it happened if it is. But just because that jerk had issues in his own lonely twisted little experience, doesn't mean that it concerns us. We're more than him, both in numbers and minds to plan things ahead ! We've got a goal in mind, an amazing power given to us, and most of all, our spirits ready to handle any enemy in our way, by OUR rules !" Lincoln's proud grin quickly proved to be infectious, and all the better. "Whaddya' say girls ? Ready to prove that Nutcase wrong ?!"
"As if the answer wasn't obvious enough." smirked Lori confidently. "I gotta admit, that devious little plant got a way with words. But Lincoln's right, we've got numbers. And as long as one of us keeps their thoughts straight, we don't have anything to be afraid of."
"Took words right out of my mouth, mate !" said Luna, cool-headed once again. "As long as we stick together and work as a team, just like we've been doing until now, we'll get through the Underground, reach the exit, and just like that, the sun's back above our heads, baby !"
"It technically already is, but I support the message behind this nontheless." affirmed Lisa with a flare of wisdom passing through her retina. "There are many things left to see and discover, both here and back in our home world. If there is the teeniest of possibilities for us to succeed, we, as a team, are more than guaranteed to reach maximum success. And if it means proving utter and complete wrongness to this little green insanity that keeps looking down on us, all the better."
"Squash all opposition without any remorse whatsoever. Ah, I feel like I'm in the pageant world once again." swooned Lola.
"Or at a Roller Derby." chimmed Lynn.
"Or a Mud wrestling tournament !" added Lana.
"Or at the Sales !" squealed Leni about her most favourite time of the year.
"Or on the Internet." slyly chuckled Luan.
"Or towards a bully with a well-seasoned poem." threw in Lucy, briefly scaring both fashionista and comedienne upon noticing that she was standing just between them, and probably had been for the last minute or so.
Things simply felt right to Lincoln at the moment. Knowing that his sisters were going to have his back at any moment was something the boy was never tired of enjoying. The only thing that would've made the preteen feel even more accomplished with himself would've been a word from his ectoplasmic luggage. But since their farewell with Toriel, the presence had apparently made itself as unnoticeable as possible. Lincoln could still feel them, but he had heard no comment or sarcasm for a little while now. Lincoln had to admit, he was coming to miss those.
'Oh well. If they feel like getting talkative later, it's their choice. It's not like noise is something to be missed with all my sisters.' Lincoln shrugged internally. He was brought back to reality when he felt Lily tugging on his blue jeans. The tot was smiling up at her big bro, and Lincoln returned it with gusto.
"Right you are, Lily. Time to wrap this up." said Lincoln, booping her little nose. He then looked at his nine other companions. "So guys ? Ready for the rest of our weird adventure ?"
"YEAAAAAH !" yelled the Loud sisters, easily beating Flowey in echoing decibel power. Then, all the siblings formed a human circle.
"Let's litteraly go explore a whole new kingdom, and uphold Goat Mom's promise !" began Lori, putting her hand in the center.
"Let's make tons of new friends, and totes find loads of cute and nice monsters !" happily chirped Leni, adding her perfectly manicured hand on top of Lori's.
"Let's have one rockin' quest that'll shake up this dusty ol' place, and make head-banging tales that will never be forgotten !" Luna made her rock sign with one hand, and added the other one to the hand pile.
"Let's make monsterkind roar with laughter, and share our stories in front of a good drink ! Let's just hope we don't run into a bar, it really hurts ! Hahaha, get it ?" cracked Luan optimistically, handing them her support.
"Let's blast our way through this gigantic cavern, make ASGORE and his clique understand that no one messes with us !" whooped Lynn, harshly pressing her hand against her sisters'.
"Let's discover the secrets this place has to offer. Deeper and darker than its wide and bare walls. And maybe meet a nice ghost on the way again..." said Lucy with a slight blush and a tiny smile, as she added her pale hand to the mix.
"Let's have tons of fun and messy encounters !" cheered Lana, bouncing on her feet as she joined the circle.
"Let's do so, with a much needed pinch of elegance, courtesy of moi." Lola flashed her posh smile, and mirrored her twin sister, who playfully rolled her eyes.
"Let us go see how monsters can astonish us in many more ways, and how much we can learn from it. And who knows, maybe teach them a thing or two while on the way." proudly stated Lisa, always eager on the subject of knowledge. The little genius had to stand on her toes to add her own multi-fingered organ, but her siblings were nice enough to lower their hands, which she gratefully acknowledged.
This kind move also was to the benefit of one little Lily, who waddled her way to the center, and put her stubby little hand, gleefully chanting, "Go 'ome ! Mama an' Dada !".
All sister hands and spirits were in the middle, linked as one. Their SOULs made a vague apparition, symbolizing their very selves being put in this. Six shades, for ten colourful girls. But despite their unity, the sibling circle simply couldn't feel complete without their brother, bringing in his intriguing and almost overwhelming pulse of red.
With elation, Lincoln slapped his hand on the very top of the pile. It didn't even flinch, making the white-haired boy grin. "Let's show those monsters who we are. Who the humans are ! Who the LOUDS are ! No matter what comes our way, we'll keep walking, running, laughing, singing, and all the other stuff ! Because we are the Louds ! Chaotic, but always united ! Forever !"
"LOUDS FOREVER !" they all shouted as one, hands flying to the ceiling. And this time, the battle cry felt just right.
Feeling full of cheerful energy, and their group formation as closed as ever, the Louds stepped out through the two doors, truly beginning a brand new quest for our heroes. What would they find ? Who would they befriend ? Who would they battle with ? The road was unclear, but their destination couldn't be any clearer. As well as their determination to get to it.
As the light of outside seemed to blind them for a short moment, Lincoln could hear his inside narrator speak words that couldn't have been any truer.
*The Underground opens up to you. You all feel ready to face it.
*Ten girls. One boy. Ready to take on a brand new world.
LOUDERTALE
Arc 1 : Ruins
The End
Snow. Snow everywhere.
Snow to the right, snow to the left. It just never changed.
But did anything really ?
Woah, way too long without the bro. Starting to get all mopey again.
He had to stay focused. His fifth nap of the morning could wait. After all...
There had been a shift.
Quite a while since the last one. And dared he admit it, this one felt... different.
Every area was checked, and nothing changed. In the Ruins maybe ?
Was it another plan from Weedy the Weirdo to destabilize him ?
The guy was pretty cocky though, he would at least have taunted him a little. What kind of plan was he on this time ?
Urgh, so many things to do, and not much of a will to do them. Except if it involved puns or extreme gardening.
He never got tired of those two greatly satisfying activities.
But he had even more on his mind now. More than his brother's safety or keeping a constant lookout for that plant demon.
Seriously, why did he have to make this promise ? Not only did it sound like quite the chore, but the mere fact of keeping a promise was something he was not quite happy about to begin with.
But, how could he have turn her down ? Her indentity was nothing but a hazy blur, but that lady knew more than 80 different knock-knock jokes by heart ! You don't say no to that kind of person, you just don't !
And hey, maybe it'll get some more peps in his brother's step, who'd been a little bored those days.
Though, he couldn't help but wonder. Word over not a human, but multiple humans falling down, and Flowey keeping quiet for days, without a single Load to be reported. All of that happening after another weird spike in the Timespace continuum.
Could they now be the ones who-
Wait. That heavy, grinding noise. He knew what that meant.
The doors were being opened. And that could only mean another thing.
His mysterious guests had arrived.
...Better bring those guys up to some speed quick. It would be better to be the first to welcome them out there. After all, they would get to see a whole lot more of him. Whether for the better or for the worst, that'd be up to them.
But enough meaningless rambling !
Time to move out, and go say BONE-jour.
Arc 2 : Snowdin
Now in production
Author's Note : Oooh, what's that ? A glimpse into the most fan-favourite character of this story ? Did you get who that was ?
(*Sees hundreds of foaming Sansgirls fallen on the floor*)
Glad you did. Much more to come in the coming chapters ! That I hope won't be delayed...
Also, I hope that the Louds' backpacks make sense here. I mean, I never understood how you could keep a Tutu, a burnt pan, a cowboy hat, two cinammon bunnies, and three Mettaton-shaped steaks, all at once in short pockets ! So boom, added a little more sense in your lives. You're very welcome. I take checks.
As always, don't forget to throw in a Review, maybe an idea you'd want to see be inserted into the story later on. As said before, I am one to collect scraps. In the meantime, this is Superdimentio77, wishing you a heck of a good time ! See ya for the next arc~
Charismatic ? : THE GREATEST OF ALL ! NYEH HEH HEH HEH !
Lazy ? : it'll be a cool one, for sure.
Charismatic ? : OH MY GOD, IT HASN'T EVEN STARTED YET !