Toriel
The inside of the home felt warm and welcoming, a sweet aroma wafted through the air. Frisk smiled, glancing over at Player. She was busy taking in the atmosphere. Who could blame her?
"Do you smell that?" Toriel asked them. "Surprise! It is a butterscotch-cinnamon pie," she giggled. "I thought we might celebrate your arrival. I want you to have a nice time living here, so I will hold off on snail pie for tonight."
Just the mere mention of snail pie made the children want to cringe. However, that would be rude.
Toriel gasped like she remembered something. "I really wish I had known that two of you would be coming, then I could have better prepared..." she trailed off. Her next smile faltered. "Here, you can share a room of your very own."
A little down the hallway was said room. The gentle pat on the head stopped with an all too familiar hot, smokey smell. Each head raised in alert, looking to where it originated.
"Is something burning...?" Toriel murmured. "Um, make yourselves at home!" She said, rushing towards the kitchen.
Chuckling, Frisk opened the door. The room had only one bed, making the child feel uneasy when looking at Player. Yet, Player was already checking out the entire area. She even went to pick up one of the large duck plushies, but decided not to as if she lost interest. Her snoopy nature did not seem like it was out of excitement than it was for the sake of searching. Frisk raised a brow at this.
"Aren't you tired?" They asked her, rubbing their arm shyly. "Earlier you were complaining of constantly running around."
Player gave them a puzzled smirk. "Yeah...but eh. I dunno. It's new ground, man! You gotta look." When she said this, Frisk thought back to when they first met. "What's up, dude?" She must have noticed their nervous humming.
They swallowed the tension building inside. "You called me Curtis...why?"
"Oh, you can't see the text boxes, can you? Well...I was told to name 'the fallen human'. Maybe it meant you, or maybe it meant someone else, I have no idea. I'm going to assume it was you. Though, I did say you could tell me your real name," she spoke so matter-of-factly like she had been through this sort of thing before. Well, she had to be called "Player" for a reason.
Frisk found themself shaking their head. "No, it's fine. It's not like you even address me by it." Despite having said that, they really did want to tell her. It could wait, they supposed.
She said nothing. Confused about not getting a reply or a pat, Frisk looked up to see that the girl had sent herself to sleep. Her steady breathing barely moved the blanket if at all. They decided to nap as well. A little shut-eye couldn't hurt.
...
Frisk awoke to find a slice of butterscotch-cinnamon pie laid out on a plate next to the bed. The wedge was rather big for just them alone. Perhaps it was meant to be shared? They shrugged, putting the pie into their inventory. Looking back to the bed, they saw Player sitting up, staring back at them.
"You left me..." she mumbled groggily.
They did not know if she meant in her dream or the fact they got out of bed. Either way, Frisk smiled in apology. Did this girl grow attached already? Is this what having a friend is like? Maybe it was more like dating - the concept Frisk somewhat understood as being with someone you really like. If so, that sure escalated quickly.
"Hey! You still asleep there, buddy?" Player's voice broke through the swirling thoughts. She was waving a hand in front of their face. "C'mon, there's gotta be some cool stuff to explore!"
The duo headed out the bedroom and further down the hall. They went into the next room, which belonged to Goat Mom. While Frisk peeked inside the diary, Player snooped around the bookshelf. The circled passage read: "Why did the skeleton want a friend? Because she was feeling bonely!" The rest of the page was filled with similar jokes. To be honest, Frisk did not know how to feel about the puns.
A sharp gasp caught their attention. "Scandalous! Toriel has rainbow stockings!" Player seemed, to the orphan, a little too interested. "I wish I had some..." Ah, that explains it. Wait, why was she actually going through Mom's clothes? That is so weird...
"Maybe we should look elsewhere..." Frisk suggested, embarrassed about Player's antics.
Of course, she had no argument, exiting the room peacefully. At the end of the hall was a room under renovations. With nothing to see, the two made a U-turn towards the living room. Passing by a certain plant prompted "Oh, it's a water sausage!" from Player. In the living room, Toriel sat reading next to the fireplace.
"Up already, I see?" She asked, looking over her glasses at the children. "Um, I want you to know how glad I am to have company. There are so many old books I want to share. I want to show you my favorite bug hunting spot," she listed. "I've also prepared a curriculum for your education."
By then, Player stopped listening and began snooping through the bookshelf. She figured she would let Frisk handle the talking. One book in particular held a portion of Monster history. Cool story. Finished with that, she ventured into the kitchen. The rest of the pie sat out in the open, teasing her. However, it was far too big to eat and the drawer lacked knives. Checking the fridge surprised Player. Inside, a chocolate bar from the Surface seemed to wink at her. Too bad she decided to watch her sugar intake.
"I have to do something. Stay here." Toriel's voice sounded urgent.
Player peeked around the corner to see Frisk about to leave. Heart skipping a beat, she ran up to quickly grab their hand. Ignoring their squeak, she led the two of them after the fading footsteps. What did Frisk say that made Toriel run off? It mattered not, she would find out soon.
Downstairs, Goat Mom's profile came into view. "You wish to know how to return 'home,' do you not? Ahead of us lies the end of the ruins - a one-way exit to the rest of the Underground. I am going to destroy it. No one will ever be able to leave again. Now be good children and go upstairs," with that, she took off further into the purple hall.
Giving chase, the duo learned from her sad sighs of exposition that she grieved over the previous children's deaths. She had seen it, and did not wish to see them die as well. Her little tale sank in the depths of their hearts, but not even her warnings could stop them from going.
"You want to leave so badly?" Toriel huffed. "Hmph. You're just like the others. There is only one solution to this," her voice became low. "Prove yourselves...prove to me you are strong enough to survive."
The world around went from violet to pitch black as customary to battles. Frisk's soul exposed itself, the duo receiving the first turn. In the background, music flowed in a way that gave Player a better understanding of how difficult this decision to fight must be. Well, maybe how difficult these past years have been in general.
She pressed the Spare button, recognizing Toriel's expression as one someone set in their way holds. Hey, she was determined too. If what that one Froggit said is true, then constantly sparing Toriel could wear her down into giving up.
To Player's expectation, the first few spares did catch the Monster's attention. Hopefully, this would be worth the burns of fire magic. Probably not, but one could never be too sure.
"What are you doing? Attack or run away!" She asked, her gruff exterior beginning to crack with confusion. Toriel could shoot as much fire as she wanted, it would sting, but did not stop the children from sparing her. "What are you proving in this way? Fight me or leave!"
More fire, more burns, one less pie, and more sparing.
Eventually, the angry act melted, revealing Toriel's usual softness. "I know you want to go home, but...please go upstairs now. I promise I will take good care of you here," she managed a small smile. "I know we don't have much, but...We can have a good life here." Then, that smile drooped. "Why are you making this so difficult? Please, go upstairs."
Neither child budged.
Chuckling weakly, Toriel sighed. "Pathetic, is it not? I cannot save even a single child..." Her face hardened as she came to terms with the duo's wishes. "No, I understand. You would just be unhappy trapped down here. The ruins are very small once you get used to them. It would not be right for you to grow up in a place like this." The world was slowly regaining its color. "My expectations...my loneliness...my fear...For you, I will put them aside."
Color returned, but what did that matter when you're on the verge of crying? Frisk caught glimpse of Player wiping at tears before they came sliding down her cheeks. They rubbed her back as Mom continued speaking.
"If you truly wish to leave the ruins...I will not stop you. However, when you leave, please do not come back. I hope you understand." She kneeled down to give the children a proper hug. "Goodbye, dear children," that was the last thing she said before she left.
Looking ahead to the large doors, Frisk took hold of Player's hand again. They could hear her softly sniffle as they walked her through a long hall, light pouring through from somewhere. Farther in they went until seeing Flowey giving them a humored grin.
"Clever. Very clever," it dragged on the "very" with an eye roll. "You think you're really smart, don't you? In this world, it's kill or be killed." Somehow, that did not seem to really apply here. "So you were able to play by your own rules. You spared the life of a single person," Flowey snickered. "I bet you feel really great - you didn't kill anybody this time," it scoffed, clearly unimpressed by anything concerning the humans. "But what will you do if you meet a relentless killer?" The flower was talking to Player specifically now. "You'll die and you'll die and you'll die until you tire of trying. What will you do then?"
Both children pondered.
Luckily, Flowey provided ideas with that malicious smile from before. "Will you kill out of frustration? Or will you give up entirely on this world?" Its face relaxed a bit. "...and let me inherit the power to control it? I am the prince of this world's future," it bounced on that claim. Flowey began to sway merrily. "Don't worry, my little monarch, my plan isn't regicide. This is so much more interesting," it cackled before sliding into the dirt.
"What the hell was that about?" Player muttered.