I swear to god, if anyone throws anything at me, I will make your character(s) suffer in this story!
…if I ever get to it.
So, currently, I'm 3D Printing things now for money. I need it to buy a better setup – PC, livestream equipment, the works – and improve my life. If you want to see what I'm printing as of now, I have a page that'll give not only information, but a way to buy these products. I currently only have one thing for sale, but as I receive funding, I'll design and print more products. That said, go to tehunoman to see what I'm doing.
Also, this is the point in which I'll begin updating the summary alongside the story. Why? Well, I wanted something a bit different, and this was one of the things I had in mind.
Now then…let's Return to Dust, shall we?
"G-give you a reason?" the monster asked, hesitantly.
"Yes," Cinder said. "The moment you give me a reason to kill them, I'll do it, no questions asked." She looked around, and noticed the room began to slowly degrade. "And, judging from the looks of this place, you don't have long to convince me. So, get to it."
The goat woman was hesitant, and couldn't say anything. The False Maiden sighed in annoyance.
"How about we start with names?" she suggested.
"That sounds wonderful," the monster said a little too eagerly. "I am TORIEL, caretaker – er, former caretaker of the RUINS, the place you were going to leave."
Cinder was about to use a false name, but remembered that she was dealing with a dead monster, and saw no harm in telling her the truth. "Cinder Fall, wielder of the Autumn Maiden's power."
Toriel's eyes widened at the title. "So, the Story of the Seasons is still true, then?" she asked.
"They are," Cinder replied. "But that doesn't matter. What does the fate of the Underground, and convincing me to put an end to it before it begins."
Toriel hesitated, before seeing the scarring on Cinder's side, feeling the power embedded into it. "H-how about a trade?" she began.
"You have nothing of value to me that I want," the False Maiden said immediately.
"What about the removal of that wound?" the goat monster replied, pointing at Cinder's side.
The woman looked at it, eyeing it over before turning back to the other occupant in the room. "You have my attention, Toriel," she said.
"Whoever caused this wound, it's not going to heal right," Toriel explained. "If you ensure the end of the…thing's…rampage, then I can remove the affliction in this state."
It was a tempting offer. For one, she would no longer be crippled, and forced to take a slow pace while traversing the Underground. Another positive would be that her Aura would not be as encumbered with focusing on healing damaged nerves, muscle tissue, and skin, and can refuel her magical reserves.
The only downside was that she'd be indebted to the goat monster in her final wish. It's not something she particularly enjoys, and would want to avoid it. But, considering the implications if she didn't stop the murderer…
"Alright, Toriel, you have a deal," Cinder said, standing up. "I'll bring the human's destructive path to square one; you have my word."
The former queen smiled in relief. "I have faith in you, child," she said softly, the room glowing brightly as Cinder is assaulted by Toriel's past.
She blinked once, and realized she hadn't moved from where she stood in a while. Moving her right foot, she realized the ash – no, dust – was gone. Her left hand instinctually shot down to her side, and felt smooth skin.
Indebted to the former Queen of the Underground…
"Why couldn't someone else save the Underground?" she asked rhetorically.
A girl in a red hood, fast asleep, sneezed. A black and white Corgi looked up, growled, and ran out of the room, a plan in mind.
Cinder, now fully restored thanks to the former caretaker, walked through the door her dust settled in front of, and soon found herself at another patch of grass.
This time, however, it was occupied by a yellow flower. With a face.
"Well, well. Not one but TWO murderers in the Underground?" the flower spoke, it sounded very ecstatic about the situation. "I can tell, you know, by the way your hands are stained with blood! Ooh, I can't wait to tell Chara about thisAGH!" It was interrupted by a fireball shot directly at their face.
"Hm, so this is what the queen warned me about; a talking flower that is more poisonous than the breed it came from," Cinder said, completely unconcerned.
That caught its attention immediately, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "I'm calling your bluff, because last time I checked, she's now a pile of dust," it snarled.
"Oh, in any other situation, you'd be correct," the False Maiden replied. "However…I have my ways of getting the dead to talk. Ways no one here can achieve."
"Such as RESETing?" the flower said. "Get real. I had that same power too."
"…what?" Cinder's face said all that was needed for the living flower to recoil in surprise. And fear.
"Wait, you…you don't know what RESET is?" the thing asked, incredulously.
"Should I?" she said, uncertain with the events taking place.
"Uh…um…this…this isn't good…" it muttered. Cinder prepared another fireball. "Well, I have to go, sooo…bye." The projectile struck the grass, immolating it, and not the flower that burrowed into the earth.
"RESET…what does that flower think this is, a game?" she asked. "In real life, there are no second chances."
She walked over to the other door, and realized it was already opened, some snow piling out from the small line. Shoving the rest of the door open, she walked out into a snowy world. The air felt tense here as well, yet not as dusty. Cinder sighed, and continued her path.
The feeling from before…it returned. Like the entrance to this world, it grew only stronger as she walked forward. A large stick stood before her, and she gave it a dismissive glance before walking over it.
Five seconds later, it snapped. Cinder's head twirled around to face the branch, every nerve firing off danger signs. She resolved to move at a much quicker pace, not daring to look behind her, even as a few footsteps echoed through the woods.
The pressure relieved itself the moment she was near a bridge. Cinder took a moment to look around. The trees here were barren, the bridge was somewhat short, and…were those bars too wide?
Who was trying to keep her – or the other human, for that matter – out? Paranoid monsters, maybe, but…
The moment she was a foot away from the bridge, the pressure returned in full force, freezing her movements solid. Then, the footsteps returned, echoing around the snowy forest, and becoming louder. It was getting closer; Cinder feared only a few things in her lifetime, and whatever this thing was, it was certainly going to become a new one.
It stopped behind her, and spoke: " n. D o n ' l? d."
Her body didn't listen to her as it turned around on instinct, every nerve screaming to get away from the speaker. It held out its hand, and her own reached out to grasp it.
The sound of a whoopee cushion rang out, killing every ounce of fear Cinder harbored for the…skeleton?!
…well, there's something you don't see every day. A skeleton, wearing a blue hoodie, black shorts, and…slippers.
If the 'Tale of the Underground' wasn't true, she would have pondered what kind of psychedelic Mercury slipped her. Or Roman, for that matter.
"heh, the good ol' whoopee cushion in the hand trick. it never fails," the skeleton said. All Cinder could do was gawk at the skeleton in surprise.
"eh…this is the point where you'd laugh," he continued, clearly unnerved. The woman shook her head, dispelling the confusion.
"Sorry, I…just wasn't expecting that, or the fact that you're…a skeletal monster, I assume?" she said. This seemed to relieve the skeleton.
"it's OK, i was coming on a bit hard. anyway, the name's sans, sans the skeleton, so you are assuming correct that i am a skeletal monster," Sans replied.
This one she'd have to lie her way out of; Sans, regardless of the irony, is a living monster, so any connection made with those on the Surface would spell disaster for her. However, it didn't mean she couldn't use the names of those fallen. "Penny Nikos," she said.
"well, penny, you're a human, right?" he asked. "i mean, you assumed that i was a skeleton, so am i…?"
"Yes, I am a human, Sans," 'Penny' replied, rolling her eyes.
"ah, well, that's hilarious. see, i'm supposed to be watching for humans…but i'm really not into that," the short skeleton said.
"Oh? Are you some form of guard or something?" the False Maiden asked.
"kinda. 'sposed to capture humans, but that's more my brother's thing, anyway," Sans said, shrugging.
"Well, that brings some small comfort," she muttered. Then, remembered Toriel's request. "Has there been another human here? I need to find them."
"sure has, they just went up the path ahead," the skeleton supplied. "and, uh, might i ask why?"
"…an old lady requested that I stop them," she replied, uneasily. "They…turned to dust, after they asked that of me." Sans' eyes darkened – or, rather, the pinpricks of light that he had vanished, leaving pits of darkness.
"'Old Lady?' if you're talking about the same person i'm thinking of, you'd best not be lying… Y o u ' e," he said, the pressure returning instantly.
Was he the source?
"I believe I can prove it," Cinder in disguise replied. "You know where that massive door is?"
He nodded. "Good, follow me, and you'll see the truth yourself."
Cinder shoved the door open, and had to wave her hands to get the dust away from her face. It was still thick. Sans stood behind her, his left eye burning a brilliant blue. Without her knowledge, of course.
The duo walked into the Ruins, neither saying a word as they walked down the hallway. 'Penny' opened the door into Toriel's basement, and Sans stopped dead.
Toriel's robe, lying on the floor, dusty. The air thick with the same material. The skeleton turned his head towards the False Maiden, almost as though he was looking into her soul, and sighed.
"well, at least i know it wasn't you that did this," Sans said in relief. Which turned to immediate horror. "my bro, he's with the human; he's not safe."
"Where would he be at this time?" she asked.
"…at the edge of waterfall, waiting for them," he muttered in fear. Luckily, Cinder heard it.
"Then why are we standing here for no good reason?! We have to stop them now!" she stated.
She felt him grab her arm, and was about to protest before seeing the look on his face, and noticed his eyes were closed. "don't worry…" he started. When he opened them up, one was empty, and the other blazed with magical power.
"i know a shortcut."
That's right.
I went there.
Those that don't know what I'm talking about, don't worry, it doesn't concern you.
Those that do, however…
Come fight me.
Quick facts:
1. Cinder has been healed, and doesn't have the scar anymore.
2. Sans knows of the fate of the Ruins, and of Toriel.
3. He might have a few theories on his mind, but I won't say anything more about that.
events of the Death Run are still somewhat the same.
5. A Corgi is doing something when no one important is looking; we should all be slightly concerned.
So! There's that little basket of sorrow. Can't say anything more than that…oh! Actually, there is one thing.
Read carefully in the future. Some events may take place that are entirely out of place with this story, but they'll make sense eventually. A lot of things are far more connected than you may think, so note everything that doesn't look right story-wise.
Whelp, after this, I'm going to pull the A/N from above down here, to get people to not have to read walls of text before the main story. See you guys next time!
