A.N.
The reviews, follows, and favorites I've received for this story have filled me with determination! Thanks for the encouragement, I hope you enjoy the new chapter.
Mary had received many strange wake up calls over the years: painted ladies who needed doors opened, dolls that wanted to play, nearby paintings that had gotten bored...
"Howdy!"
Enthusiastic greeting by a goat boy was definitely a new one though. Mary blinked and looked up at Asriel's furry face with sleepy confusion.
"Sorry I had to wake you up, but Mom says breakfast is going to be ready soon and she always makes the best food ever so I didn't want you to miss out."
It took until Asriel stopped speaking for Mary to remember who exactly he was. Before she could reply there was a knock on the door, and Toriel stepped inside. Surprise flitted across her face at the sight of her son hovering over the girl, but her expression soon turned stern.
"Asriel, I asked you to help Chara to the dinning room, not wake Mary." Asriel hopped off of the bed, looking abashed.
"Sorry Mom, I didn't know you were coming here so soon."
"It's alright my son, just go and help Chara now."
Asriel nodded and dashed out of the room, slightly slamming the door behind him. Toriel's look softened to amused exasperation.
"That boy can be so excitable at times." She murmured to herself, then turned to address Mary. "Good morning little one, did you sleep well?"
"Yes ma'am!"
"Oh goodness, I'm too young to be a ma'am!" the goat woman said with a laugh. "You can just use my name alright? Now, let's get you up and see how those injuries are doing."
Toriel helped ease them up, one arm at the girl's back and another in front for Mary to hold. The girl had braced herself for pain, but none came.
"The pain is gone!" Mary exclaimed, and Toriel smiled.
"Then my salve and spells do work on humans, that is a relief. I was worried, since Chara's leg has not healed as well as I'd hoped. Still, let's take a quick look under the bandages." she unwound some of the bandages from Mary's arms, looking them over critically and humming to herself. The red marks were still there, but they weren't such a vivid shade anymore.
"It looks like your burns will also take a while longer to heal. Hopefully the treatment will keep the pain a bay for the rest of the day, but please try not to strain yourself. It could cause the wounds to act up further."
"When they are healed, will the red marks go away?"
"I am not certain. They might, but there is also a chance that they will improve but never truly vanish."
Mary frowned. She'd been trying to change something about her appearance for years, but this isn't how she'd hoped it would happen. She wanted the change to be her choice.
"Something smells good, is it breakfast?" she asked to change the subject.
"Yes, I decided to make a pie this morning. A little indulgent for breakfast perhaps, but we are celebrating two new arrivals today." Toriel replied with a wink.
Mary had to admit she was excited. She'd never needed to eat before, which was fortunate since the gallery didn't have much food. Trying different kinds of food had been one of the first things she wanted to do if she ever got out.
Toriel retrieved Mary's green dress, black leggings, and brown shoes from a drawer. Mary got dressed quickly, still reveling in being able to move without pain. Toriel helped tie her blue scarf, and then the two were off to the dining room.
"We've got to wait for Mom and Mary."
"But I'm hungry now!"
Asriel and Chara were sitting at the table, both wearing stripped sweaters of differing colors. Asriel was in green and yellow, just like yesterday, while Chara now sported red and blue. Asriel sat at the end of the table while Chara took up the middle seat to his right. The human's leg had a splint on it, and was being propped up by a chair on the other side of the table.
"It's probably still too hot to eat anyway."
"Actually," Toriel interrupted. "by now it should be just right."
All three children beamed. Toriel ushered Mary into the chair on Chara's right, then disappeared into the kitchen. She reappeared a minute later with a pie, plates, and forks. Under the eager gazes of the children she expertly cut the pie into equal pieces and served up a piece for each of them as well as herself. Chara dove into their pie immediately, while Asriel and Mary both waited until everyone was served.
Mary hesitated, suddenly realizing she'd never done this before. She looked out of the corner of her eye at the other two children, and then at Toriel. She took note of how they held their forks, and then picked up her own. She took a clumsy bite, and practically melted in her chair. It was so good! It was warm and sweet and gooey and yum!
"It's nice to see you both enjoy my cooking." Toriel laughed and Asriel smiled. "Butterscotch pie is Asriel's favorite you know. Now, we need to discuss..."
A part of Mary realized it was rude not to be listening to her host. But she was so caught up in the wonderful taste that the words began to drift away. Someone encroaching on her personal space brought her out of it though. She looked to her left and saw that Chara was leaning on her. Having eaten so fast, they were already done with their piece and were now looking for more. Mary hunched over her plate and scooted away from them. Chara leaned over further, and Mary had to bat away their fork. Mary scooted over again, and Chara leaned further still. When they tried to sneak another bite Mary pushed them back, Chara growled and-
"Children!"
The pair straightened and looked up. Toriel had her arms crossed and was looking at them sternly, while Asriel was trying not to laugh.
"Did the two of you hear anything I just said?" The rather abashed looks on their faces was enough of an answer. "I will explain again, but this is important information and you both must pay attention. And Chara, do try to be more careful. If you leaned over much further your hurt leg would have slipped off the chair."
"Yes Miss Toriel." They both said. Mary sounded guilty, whereas Chara's sounded a bit forced.
"Can I have some more pie?" Chara asked.
"Yes, but we have to talk about plans for the rest of the day first. I'll dish up seconds after that."
The brunette huffed and looked displeased. Seeing this, Asriel wordlessly cut off a section of his own slice and transferred it to Chara's plate. They started at it in utter befuddlement. Toriel took advantage of the silence to start over.
"I was explaining that Asriel and I do not live here on a daily basis. It's a bit of a second home, if you will. Today I want to start the journey back home, where my husband is waiting for us."
"Is this guy really going to be okay with you bringing two human kids home with you?" Chara asked skeptically, catching Mary fidget out of the corner of her eye.
"Oh I'm sure he will be surprised, but I'm confidant that he will welcome you with open arms. Asgore can be a bit bumbling, but he is also exceedingly kind." Toriel said with a fond smile. Chara nodded, but didn't look entirely convinced. Asriel, in response to his mother's dreamy tone, quietly pretended to gag. Chara was successfully distracted, and had to hide their smirk behind a hand.
"We will journey to a town called Snowdin, and take a ferry from there. That should deliver us close to home. However, before we leave I wish to have a quick lesson in monster interaction."
"Lesson? Like in school?" Chara asked, a note of disdain in her voice. Mary perked up at the though, she'd never been to school before! Asriel smiled and shook his head though.
"Nah, it's not like that. We just want to make sure you know how things work around here. Mom and Dad did the same thing with me a couple of years ago."
"That's a good point Asriel." Toriel looked thoughtful. "Do you think you could help them with it? There are still a few things I wish to get ready."
"Really?" Asriel asked excitedly. "Yeah! I can do it!"
"Excellent, my child, thank you. We'll start when everyone is done eating."
Everyone had seconds, which meant the pie was all gone. Once the dishes had been washed and put away Toriel picked up Chara and carried them out the front door; Asriel and Mary followed closely behind. The area looked much the same as it had the previous day, with one exception. A stuffed dummy with one button eye stood in front of the large black tree. The goat woman lead them right to it.
"You can handle it from here my son?" Toriel asked.
"Just leave it to me Mom!" Asriel proclaimed, puffing up his chest proudly. Toriel chuckled.
"Very well, I shall be inside if you need me."
Toriel gently placed Chara on the ground, and Asriel quickly rushed in to support them while Mary hovered close by. Once she saw that the children were situated, Toriel turned and disappeared back into the house.
"So what do we do now?" Mary asked.
"I'm going to show you what to do if you ever get into a FIGHT with a monster."
"A fight? Other monsters are going to hurt us?" Chara asked, now leaning away from Asriel a bit. He backpedaled quickly.
"Well, not exactly. I mean, you'll be with Mom and me, but some monsters can spook real easy. Since you're human, if they catch you on your own they might be afraid and think they have to attack you. That's how a FIGHT would start. Most monsters are real nice though, and if you talk to them and give them a chance to calm down then they'll leave you alone."
"So you're going to teach us how to make friends." Mary happily surmised.
"Yeah, that's right." Asriel beamed back at her. Chara looked a tad suspicious still. "Why don't you give it a shot Mary? Walk up to the dummy, and when you get close enough a bunch of choices will pop up in front of you. Choose the one that says ACT, and try talking to the dummy."
Mary nodded and walked over to the dummy. Once she got within a few steps of it, everything went dark. Mary halted, suddenly fearful. What had happened? Where had the Ruins gone? And Asriel and Chara? The only thing they could see was the dummy...and the void.
"Asriel?! Chara?!" She cried.
"What's her problem?" Chara's voice was distant, but it helped relieve some of Mary's fear. She wasn't alone here.
"Oh! I almost forgot!" Asriel exclaimed. "Mary, it's okay! The darkness is normal, it just means the fight has started. Only people who are involved with it can see what is really going on."
Mary sighed in relief.
"Can you see the options yet? What about your soul?"
Mary frowned, and was about to ask him what he meant, when she felt a tugging at her chest. She suddenly felt lighter, and then something warm and glowing appeared in front of her. After a moment the glow began to compact and became a single bit of light. She examined it curiously. The light had a shape to it, and it took her a moment to realize what it was. It was a heart! It was upside down, but still a heart.
Was that her soul? It must have been. For a moment, Mary was completely overwhelmed with happiness and relief. She had a soul. She had always wondered if she actually did...
Her soul shined a delicate pink, and Mary decided she liked it very much.
Large orange words suddenly popped up in front of Mary and her soul, and she was reminded that Asriel was waiting for an answer. She quickly wiped at her face, which had somehow become wet.
"I can see them now." she called out, voice a little shaky. "What do I do with them?"
"They work like buttons. Press the one you want."
Mary nodded to herself, looking at the options available. Asriel said to ACT right? She tried pressing it with her hand, but it didn't work. Her soul had moved a bit when she tried though. After a moment of thought, she focused on the upside down heart and envisioned it over the second option. She smiled when it appeared next to the word she wanted. She thought of pressing down and the ACT command was selected, making words appear above the button. More options? The two words were 'check' and 'talk'. She chose 'talk'. When nothing else happened, she guessed the dummy was waiting for her to follow through with her choice.
"I like the color of your button. Did you lose the other one? Maybe I could help you find a new one."
She waited for the dummy to respond. But it didn't say anything. She waited longer, but soon the darkness was dissipating and the room came back into focus. She looked around and saw Chara and Asriel standing right where she had left them.
"Good job!" Asriel congratulated. She wasn't sure why he was so pleased, the dummy hadn't even answered her question! Had she said something bad? Still, the goat boy seemed to think all was well. Maybe the dummy just couldn't talk very well, some of the paintings had been like that.
"You ready to try Chara?"
"I guess so, think I'll look as funny as Mary did?" The human smirked at her; Mary huffed and crossed her arms.
"It looks more normal when you actually battle during the FIGHT. Then you can see people dodging and kicking instead of just standing there." Asriel explained as he helped Chara over. "I've seen my Dad training some of the Royal Guard members, and they always look awesome!"
Mary moved out of the way and Asriel got Chara into position. Once they were stable Asriel backed up a bit and stood by Mary.
"Whoa..." Chara said, looking around themselves and then staring straight ahead. After a minute of stillness they spoke, a little uncertainly.
"Hey. Um, nice weather we've been having." A few moments later they looked around until they found Asriel and Mary. "So, are we good now?"
"Yup! You both did great!" Asriel said. He let Chara lean on him, and they started moving back toward the house. Mary opened the door ahead of them.
"So that heart was supposed to be my soul right?" Chara asked, and Asriel nodded. "Huh, kind of cliché that it was red."
"Yours was red?" Mary questioned from the door. "Mine was pink, like ballet slippers, but red sounds pretty too."
"You guys got different colors? That sound so cool! Mom and Dad always said that all souls were white."
"Maybe that's just for monsters then." Chara suggested, looking thoughtful as they entered the house.
"Mom! We're all done!"
"Excellent timing children, I have gathered the last few things we need." Toriel had just exited her room and was walking toward them, carrying four bundles of fabric in her arms. When she reached them, she handed each of them a bundle and kept one for herself. Mary unfolded hers, and found it to be a long purple coat, the same shade as Toriel's dress. There was a knit cap and mittens folded inside too. She looked at the other children and saw they had the same thing, only in green.
"It will be quite cold on the way to Snowdin, so I found some old clothes of ours for the two of you. I just got done making some repairs and adjustments to them. I don't have anything for your feet I'm afraid, so your own shoes will have to do."
"It's alright. Thank you Miss Toriel." Mary said.
"Uh,yeah, thanks. These are great, but am I really going to walk or be carried the whole way?" Chara asked warily.
"Worry not, I have found a solution to that as well. I can show you, if you'll let me carry you down the stairs."
Chara hesitated, but nodded. Toriel smiled and helped Chara balance as all three children donned the warmer clothes. Mary's was a bit loose on her, but at least it didn't drag on the ground as she suspected it might. Once all three were done, Asriel resumed the role of crutch so Toriel could get her own purple coat on. When she was done she carefully scooped up Chara and lead the other two children down the stairs.
A.N.
My thanks to fanfiction author ImagInarI, whose suggestion that Mary would try to seriously talk to the dummy helped inspire this chapter.
I was originally going to include more in this chapter, but it ended up getting longer than expected so I cut it short. That's okay though, it just means I'll be able to get a quicker start on the next chapter!
Just like in the game, I've decided the color of Mary's soul signifies a specific quality. Just like red=determination, dark blue=integrity and such. Does anyone have a guess at what light pink means?