Hi there reader LeafeonLover here back with another chapter of ST
I know, I know, it hasn't been very long at all
but I mainly wanted to get out a few more chapter so people would know where this story is going more
cause I mean it's hard to decide if you like a story after only one chapter
I personally always read at least a few before deciding whether to continue or not
so here's chapter 1 where we finally see some familiar faces but we're still kind of in a introductory stage
really I meant to smash the tutoriel part of the game out in one chapter
but I realised that was never going to happen pretty quickly
anyway just a few things before you start reading as a reminder/explation
italics and bold is chara speaking
italics is emphasised words/speech in memories
and later when used in "quotations" will signify speech of a Lost Soul
'single quotations' are used to convey something that is read off a plaque, sign, paper things like that
oh I'd also like to say thank you to everyone that reviewed, favourited and followed the story after only one chapter
you are all beautiful and I love you
at the end AN I'll write some replies to the reviews I got so if you reviewed last time check that out
now without further ado
ENJOY!
Chapter 1
TuToriel
-RESET-
Everything was dark as I stared down the fallen girl with hate filled red eyes.
"So you've come back again have you?"
"I knew you would. You would never leave them. You care for them too much."
"You want to save them? Why do you even care so much? Everyone… They just end up hurting us."
"You asked me, why are you doing this? Someone like you would never understand. Believe me if I could leave I would. But I'm trapped here and neither of us can escape."
The unconscious girl of course couldn't respond but that fact only encouraged me.
"It won't be long now then…"
"You'll travel through the underground making friends with every monster that crosses your path, so you can finally give them that happy ending. Yay!"
"Haha as if!"
My mouth turned upward as I felt my face contort in a sickly grin with red leaking from my lips and eyes.
"You'll be killed eventually."
"And when you are, I'll be right here… waiting."
I touched a hand to the left side of the girl's chest a red heart shining from within her body.
"Then it will be my turn once more."
With that my unstable transparent form was sucked into the glowing red soul tinting it with black for only just a moment.
-.-.-.-
Light peaked in through the cracks of my eyelids stirring me from a deep slumber. I shifted slightly where I lay, feeling something soft brush against my cheek. At first I thought it was just the covers of my bed, but as I rolled over to grasp at the mattress I felt something course and grainy meet my fingertips.
Fluttering my eyes open they were greeted by a sea of yellow swaying lightly before my eyes. Delicate yellow petals of golden flowers tickled my face as I breathed in and out. Buttercups… They were very pretty. I closed my eyes thinking that I was dreaming and waited to wake up.
I waited, and waited, but nothing changed. I could feel the flowers surrounding me and the soft soil they grew in beneath me. It was taking a long time. Elena should have woken me by now. Oh wait today was Saturday wasn't it, no school.
Besides it was the holidays now, the last day of school was yesterday… I breathed in shortly as I was reminded of what had happened at school the day before when the cut on my cheek stung. As those memories came so to, did the last thing about that day, falling down a giant hole.
My eyes snapped open as I sat up straight and looked around wildly. I saw stone walls all around me. I sat in a small bed of large golden flowers. Slowly gazing upward I could make out a hole far above me that sunlight poured through onto the flowers.
Slowly standing up I groaned as my aching body complained at the action. Looking down I saw the flowers I'd been laying on, they seemed more than a little crushed. I guessed they must have broken my fall, probably saved my life.
"Sorry little guys." I apologised to the flowers trying to prop them back up.
Half of them had broken stems, so there wasn't much I could do but hope they'd fix up themselves with time. Looking myself over for injuries I found that I was mostly just bruised in some places from the fall. I was just happy to be alive.
If I'd fallen head first without flowers to cushion my fall… I surely would have snapped my neck and died. An image of my body lying beside the flower bed with a twisted neck flashed in my mind. I quickly shook my head to dislodge the disturbing image.
My clothes weren't torn or anything, just dirty from lying amongst the soil and plants. I raised a hand and ran it over my hair feeling a few leaves, petals and twigs stuck amongst the brown locks. I made quick work of getting those out.
Now that was all worked out I had to try and find a way out of this hole, or at least signal for help. Stepping carefully out of the flower patch I walked up to the closest wall. The walls of the cave looked pretty smooth. No rocks jutting out I could use as hand or footholds.
I doubted I'd be able to climb out without some sort help. There was a hole in the ceiling of the cave I came in through. If I could start a signal fire then perhaps someone would see it and come rescue me. There weren't many materials here for starting a fire, apart from the flowers and some rocks.
I didn't much like the idea of burning the flowers that had saved my life but, it seemed like the best option right now. I gave a sigh turning around to gather some of the broken flowers and possibly suitable fire starting rocks but stopped in my tracks.
"Or I could just go through there." I murmured.
I hadn't seen them before, having been too preoccupied with escaping to notice the two giant stone pillars marking the entrance to a dark corridor. The pillars appeared to be made of the same grey stone as the walls and floor but had been carved with great care and looked vaguely roman in design.
Above the two pillars was an arch with a stone carving of a strange symbol. A dot with a pair of angelic wings and three triangles –two on the edge pointing upward while the one in the middle pointed down- beneath it. The pillars and carving looked pretty old but even so, they gave me hope.
Obviously this was a man made structure, so that meant other people had been down here at some point. And if other people had been down here, than there must be some sort of exit somewhere. Mount Ebott was considered sacred at one time.
Perhaps this doorway marked the entrance to a holy place, like a shrine, that had been long forgotten? What if I was the first person to set foot in this place for hundreds of years?! With new found determination I took purposefully steps past the pillars and into the shadowed corridor.
Past the doorway it got so dark I stumbled around in the blackness, despite the ground being very even. Pressing on forward a beam of light broke through the ceiling revealing a small patch of grass with a single golden flower. This flower however, seemed a bit different to the ones in the previous room.
It had only six, very large yellow petals while the middle, the part where the carpels and stamen usually were, was rounded and white. It vaguely reminded me of the structure of a sunflower only with fewer petals and no discernible florets, which was kinda strange.
It gave me an odd feeling. I don't think I'd ever seen a flower quite like it before. If I had I surely would recall it. Perhaps it was new species! One that was only native to mount Ebott. That would be pretty amazing. My exploratory expedition seemed to be going well!
Expect for when I fell down that hole, can't go out the way I came and everyone's probably worried about me by now, but apart from that! I walked toward the flower hoping to examine it more closely. To ingrain every detail of its features in my mind.
Then relay them to others when I got back to the surface. As I approached, the flower quivered oddly as if in response to my proximity. The sound of my footsteps on the stone drawing near to it seemed to awaken the flower.
The white centre of the yellow flower shifted, cracks forming on its surface. Two beady black eyes opened to stare at me as a grin spread on the flower's face.
"Howdy! I'm Flowey. Flowey the flower!" it greeted.
I froze where I stood. Did- did that flower just introduce itself to me? It couldn't have. Flowers don't talk.
Well this one does.
My eyes widened at the sound of a fleeting voice muttering distastefully in my head.
"Hmmm…" Flowey hummed looking at my horrified expression in delight.
Despite his voice being very bright it had a bit of depth to it making me think this talking flower was male. Could a talking flower even have a gender? Urg who cares! The grin on Flowey's face never seemed to falter as it stared at me. In fact it only seemed to grow with my discomfort.
"You're new to the Underground, aren' tcha?" he asked rhetorically leaning over to the right.
I guessed it was meant to be an action of tilting his head in question, but it didn't look quite right when all he had for a body was a green stem.
"Golly, you must be so confused. Someone ought to teach you how things work around here!" Flowey exclaimed brightly.
I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact a flower was talking to me. My legs were shaking where I stood.
"I guess little old me will have to do." he decided almost gladly.
I was beginning to think I had hit my head when I fell down here. This couldn't be real. Perhaps I was like Alice, in a strange place that was just my unconscious mind.
"Ready? Here we go!" Flowey yelled.
I felt a sudden swell in my chest as the world around me seemed to flicker suddenly. The colour drained out of my vision changing it to all manners of grey, like a black and white movie. The only colour I could see was a bright red glow that emanated from below.
Looking down I saw a tiny red heart no bigger than the size of my palm glowing there. It seemed to be mostly within the centre of my body slightly leaning toward the left of my chest.
"What is this!?" I panicked clutching at the fabric of my sweater near where the heart was situated.
I could feel a sort of strange sensation of warmth leaking from the glowing heart.
"You mean that heart? That is your Soul, the very culmination of your being." Flowey informed expertly.
I knew the concept of what souls were, well sort of. No-one is really sure exactly what a soul actually is, are they? No human had ever seen one from what I knew, until now. I vaguely remembered being told once that every living thing had a soul.
But a lot of people didn't believe souls actually existed. Souls don't have physical forms so you can't see them. It can be hard to believe in something you can't see. Personally I had always found the idea of souls interesting. Something you couldn't see, but you can feel.
Souls, they… somehow, they give us life. Your soul it's who you are. Your hopes, your dreams, personality, emotions, even memories, everything.
"My… soul." I whispered blinking my wide eyes at the tiny heart.
It was felt familiar and comforting.
"Yeah your soul…" Flowey spoke softly looking slightly puzzled.
Flowey seemed to shake off whatever ever he was thinking about regaining a cheerful tone.
"Your soul starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV. What's LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course!" Flowey chirped.
I hadn't even had a chance to ask what LV meant before he answered. It seemed as if Flowey was in a hurry for some reason.
"You want some LOVE, don't you?" Flowey asked doing the tilting thing again only in the other direction.
What was LOVE anyway? It didn't seem like it meant the same thing for him as it did for me.
"Ummm-"
"Don't worry, I'll share some with you!" Flowey cut in before I could answer.
Flowey winked at me cheekily poking his tongue out. I furrowed my brows slightly at this. Sure flowers can talk so why not have tongues too?
"Down here, LOVE is shared through… little white… friendliness pellets." Flowey squinted his eyes lightly.
While saying this some little white ovals appeared. They seemed to materialise from Flowey's form floating above his petals and spinning on the spot. Flowey wasn't sure what to call them by the sound of it.
"Are you ready? Move around! Get as many as you can!" Flowey encouraged sending the little white seeds toward me.
I was still sceptical about all this. I felt as though something was off. This felt familiar… like I remembered it from somewhere… I closed my eyes for a second a fuzzy image playing in my mind along with a sense of pain radiating from my soul.
If souls were real then… it must be a precious thing, right? I got the feeling it was. Like I should protect it. And Flowey, he wasn't being entirely truthful with me, was he? I opened my eyes the pellets flying toward me and without thinking I ducked under them at the last second.
The pellets disappeared after going about a metre past me. Flower looked a bit unhappy with what I'd done. I was sorry for making him angry but my heart, no my soul told me it was the right thing.
"Hey buddy, you missed them. Let's try again, okay?" Flowey spoke in a patronizing tone.
I couldn't even get a word in to tell him I'd rather not have any of his LOVE. More white pellets had appeared and were already flying in my direction. This time I side stepped them opening my mouth to speak but Flowey cut me off again.
"Is this a joke? Are you braindead?" Flowey spat. I flinched at the harshness of his tone.
Flowey saw my frightened look, grit his teeth and attempted to maintain a steady tone.
"RUN. INTO. THE. BULLETS- er Friendliness Pellets." Flowey ground out quickly fixing his little slip up concerning the seeds' name.
After seeing how angry he got when I dodged them. I was pretty sure those seeds weren't made for friendliness as Flowey had advised. He had just called them bullets too. Bullets were usually meant for hurting people. Flowey wanted to hurt me, didn't he?
"Liar." I muttered without thinking.
Interesting.
I ignored that voice and slid past the seeds on the other side. Fixing my gaze on Flowey I wondered what he'd do now since I wasn't playing along.
To my fright the friendly face that Flowey was holding morphed in front of me. It changed to one with cavernous black eyes with tiny white pupils and twisted fanged mouth.
"You know what's going on here, don't you?" Flowey questioned in a warped voice.
A shiver ran up my spine as my legs started shaking again.
"I- I-" I stammered.
I was in big trouble now.
"You just wanted to see me suffer." His distorted voice continued as he summoned more pellets.
Without warning the bullets shot at me homing in on the glowing red heart in my chest and crashing into it. I gasped as pain shot through my system causing me to fall hard to the ground. I saw something strange from in the corner of my eyes.
A red bar with a tiny sliver of yellow at the start that had the letters HP with the numbers 1/20 next to it was blinking in and out of my vision. I breathed heavily my heart thumping in panic as I tried to overcome the pain and get away.
As much as I tried though, I couldn't even stand. Flowey gave me a twisted grin as white pellets appeared entrapping me in a deadly ring.
"DIE!" I cowered before the wicked flower.
Squeezing my eyes shut and waiting for the end to come. I heard Flowey laugh manically at my pain as the pellets drew near. If this is a dream… I'd like to wake up now! Please! Just let me wake up!
That voice laughed ThIs IsN't A dReAm.
I expected more pain to come but instead there was only heat. It had suddenly gotten very warm. Just when I was beginning to think I had died without knowing it I opened my eyes. Flowey looked confused as the flaming seeds around me dropped from the air until they burnt away into nothing.
Then a fireball came zooming across in front of me and directly at Flowey's position. The flower's face contorted in rage before he ducked away into the ground leaving only cracks in the dirt behind him. My eyes slowly trailed in the direction the fireballs had come from.
Standing just a short distance away with her fist ablaze, still held out in a striking pose, was a goat woman. At least I think she was a goat woman… Perhaps she was a mixed breed? She didn't have any hooves. Her hands and feet were large pawed appendages.
Her feet seemed to be close to that of lions or other large cat only she stood upright on two legs like a human. I could see small claws protruding from both pair of paws. My eyes trailed upward to stare at the creatures head. She seemed to be a mix between a dog and a goat.
Her head's structure seemed to lean more toward a dog's as she had a long snout and fangs clearly protruded from her muzzle. Her ears were long and floppy like a goat's though and she had small curved horns near the top of her head too.
It appeared as though her entire body was covered in fine white fur judging from the parts of her I could see. I knew the creature was female. I'm not fully sure why but… it was partially because of the shape of her body and eyes.
She had long eyelashes, warm red eyes and clearly had breasts like human women do, even though her clothes mostly covered the shape of her body. The goat woman's clothes were another interesting thing altogether.
She wore a deep purple robe that only just didn't cover her pawed feet, and had long white cream coloured sleeves which stopped at her wrists. There was something else about the dress. The symbol on her chest was the same one I'd seen etched into the stone above the doorway of this hall.
"What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth…" she muttered as if Flowey had left an unpleasant taste in her mouth.
The goat woman turned her harden gaze away from where Flowey had been rooted settling a much softer gaze on me. She opened her fisted paw, the flames engulfing it immediately dissipating. The goat woman padded closer to me slowly.
Compared to my height she towered over me, which was rather intimidating. I found myself clumsily scrambling backward still fearing that my life was in danger. I wasn't sure why there was a flashing red bar in the corner of my vision but I knew it couldn't be good.
My body screamed at me to get away from any threat in response to it. My chest ached as my soul trembled humming softly within my chest. The goat woman stopped moving forward.
Her eyes tweaking in a sad gaze as she slowly lowered herself down to kneel on the ground before me. Now she was on my level I found her slightly less menacing.
"Ah, do not be afraid, my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins." She greeted quietly as to not frighten me.
The goat woman, Toriel, looked at me her eyes staring pointedly above my head a frown appearing on her furry face.
"Your HP has been severely depleted. It is fortunate I came by at this time…" Toriel trailed off shaking her head.
Or you'd be dead, that voice finished in my mind.
"W-worry not! I have something that will help." Toriel faltered cheerfully.
Digging into her loose sleeve with a large paw Toriel produced something from within. Whatever she was holding crinkled slightly like alfoil as she gently held it out to me. I wasn't sure whether I should trust this goat woman or not. Sure seemed nice, but so had Flowey...
And if a talking flower could try to kill me, why not a goat woman too? Although she did save me from Flowey… Killing me now would be counterproductive, wouldn't it? I looked at the goat woman for a long moment noting the way she smiled reassuringly with a kind gleam in her eyes.
It reminded me of her. Raising my hand up I hesitantly took the item Toriel was holding.
"Eat it. It will help recover your lost HP." Toriel explained patiently.
It turned out to be a chocolate bar I was holding. I looked the package over in my hands seeing how it read 'MTT brand milk chocolate'. That wasn't a brand name I'd ever heard of before. Still I tore off the wrappings and took a bite out of the chocolate bar.
It was extremely sweet, almost too much so. I was never a big fan of chocolate, but I wasn't so impolite as to turn down Toriel's charity when she had saved me.
I also noticed that as I ate the chocolate the red bar in my eyesight stopped blinking and began turning yellow the more I ate. I felt as though this was a good thing. The world returned to colour once the HP bar was full.
"Thanks." I whispered gratefully.
I gazed up at Toriel meekly wondering how she knew that would help. Did she know what that HP thing meant?
"What does HP mean?" I asked Toriel shyly.
She simply sat and waited uncomplainingly for me to adjust to the situation. That bar had appeared when Flowey had started attacking me but I only noticed it when it started going red.
Toriel blinked at me as if it was common knowledge before seeming to realise I was new here and didn't know how things worked. I waited for her explanation knowing that if she was kind she would answer.
"HP is an acronym for Hit Points. It's a measurement of your state of health, something that all humans and monsters have." She explained knowingly.
Toriel looked glad I was so curious then standing up from her position kneeling on the ground.
"I'll explain more soon little one. For now I will ask that you to follow me, so I may guide you through the catacombs. It's not safe for you to go alone." Toriel held her paw out to me to help me up.
I studied her expression for a moment as she smiled kindly at me. She wasn't demanding I come with her, more like making a friendly suggestion. So far Toriel had only been compassionate toward me so… I trusted her.
Taking the paw offered to me I grasped it as Toriel pulled me up smiling brighter. Toriel's paw was much larger than my hand pretty much engulfing mine completely. Her fur was extremely soft though, like a puppy's was.
I quickly let go of Toriel's hand once I stood on my own two feet. I held them to my sides timidly cautious. She began leading me through the tunnels of the cave. Oddly they seemed to light up with a warm fiery glow when Toriel walked through them.
I guessed it was because she was creating fire to light our way. I wasn't certain though as I couldn't see what she was doing with her paws from behind her.
"I pass through this place every day to see if anyone had fallen down. You are the first human to come here in a long time." Toriel informed me.
My head perked at her words. Other humans had fallen down here before? Where were they? Come to think of it where was I?
"Umm Toriel where exactly is here?" I questioned shyly.
I hadn't known the goat woman very long and I didn't want to accidently upset her.
"This place is known by monster kind as the Underground. The part of the Underground we are currently in is known as the Ruins. This is my home." Toriel told me without much of a pause.
Well she had said she was the caretaker of the ruins, hadn't she? I guess that meant she was something like a shrine maiden for this place. But something else Toriel had said caught my attention.
"Monster kind? Y-you mean there are other creatures like you down here?" I stuttered failing to keep the fear from rising in my chest.
It had only been minutes ago I'd be close to death at the hands, or rather leaves of that flower. The thought of there being more things like Flowey down here wasn't exactly a pleasant one. Toriel paused in her walk to turn and look at me a ball of fire blazing in her right paw.
"Yes there are many different kinds of monsters in the Underground. You will meet some of the monsters that live here in the ruins. Most monsters are not friendly toward humans… they may, try to harm you." Toriel's expression grew dark for a moment as if remembering something painful.
Concerned for the kindly goat woman I tugged on the side of her dress lightly. I called out to her softly "Toriel?"
Toriel came back to herself, smiling again and patting me on the head gently with her free paw. I surprised myself by not flinching away from her touch. Actually I kinda enjoyed how it felt.
"Worry not my child, I will protect you." She promised.
Turning around again Toriel continued through the long hallway. We finally emerged into a spacious room. The room started out dark but it suddenly became light when lanterns on the walls burst to life as Toriel waved her paw.
"How do you do that?!" I exclaimed with an awful expression.
Toriel turned to gaze at me, with a look of surprise at my sudden outburst. I felt heat on my cheeks as I lowered my head bashfully.
"All monsters possess some form of magic, my specialty is fire magic." Toriel explains holding her paw toward me.
I watched as something sparked in the centre of her paw a small flame appearing to dance on her fingertips. It was very beautiful and equally as impressive.
"I guess you could say I really know how to turn up the heat." Toriel jested before laughing heartily at her own joke.
It was a pretty weak pun but I found a small smile edged its way onto my face. Seeing my smile Toriel had a very pleased look on her face. My nerves were frayed and my senses were in overdrive but, something about the way Toriel joked. It put me at ease.
I wasn't sure why, so instead I chose to inspect the new room we had entered. The sides of the chamber were unlike the ones I'd previously seen. They were composed of purple bricks covering all the walls. Even the ground was purple, although it didn't appear to be composed of bricks.
Near the front centre of the room was a square made of red leaves on the ground. Directly in front of the leaf square was a huge pile of crinkled leaves the same shape and colour as the ones arranged in a square.
They seemed to have slid down the stone slope in front of them that had a staircase on both sides. At the top of the stairs there was another doorway and two glassless windows. Ivy grew in the space between the doorway and the windows going all the way to the ceiling.
"This way." Toriel directed walking up the stairs on the right.
She was very careful to walk around the leaf square and not disturb any of the leaves. This made me think that she was probably the one who had arranged the leaves that way. I wondered why she did that. Where did the leaves even come from?
I couldn't see any trees close by. How was there even ivy on the doorway? There was no natural sunlight entering the room. I shook my head and decided to disregard these oddities. After all, it wasn't the strangest thing I'd seen down here yet.
By this time Toriel had already disappeared through the doorway and I hurried to catch up with her. If there were other monsters in the Underground that would try to hurt me. I didn't want to lose the one monster that would protect me.
Coming into the next room Toriel was waiting for me just over the threshold. The room already lit by her fire magic. This room was much smaller than the last but the walls and floor were the same colour. Directly across from me was a tall set of doors with that strange symbol Toriel had on her robes carved into it.
To the left of the doors was a metal plaque but it was too far away to read what it said. To my right were six grey stones slightly elevated off the ground arranged in pairs. The two buttons in the middle row were positioned so they weren't in line with the other buttons.
They were also on a part of the floor that was a shade lighter than the rest. It was however the same shade as the pathway that connected the two doors.
"Welcome to your new home, innocent one. Allow me to educate you in the operation of the ruins." Toriel spoke sweetly.
She turned to the right and walked over the four elevated stones that were not in the middle column. Once she stepped on one it pressed into the ground and stayed that way. It appeared as though the stones were actually buttons that activated when pressed down on.
Once all four of the outside buttons were pressed Toriel pulled down a yellow switch on the wall in front of them. The doors on the other side of the room slide open with a stone scraping sound.
"The ruins are full of puzzles. Ancient fusions between diversions and doorkeys. One must solve them to move from room to room. Please adjust yourself to the sight of them." Toriel illuminated.
I nodded in understanding stepping forward Toriel smiled moving into the next room. I got the feeling Toriel thought I was a kid. Well, I suppose I was a kid compared to her. I wasn't an expert in the aging of monsters, or anything really, but in human years she looked to be in her forty's.
She was very patient, kind and wise though, which led me to believe she was probably much older than that. Toriel just gave off a very distinctly motherly vibe. It reminded me of the way a grandmother may call their grandchild a baby even if they were well into adulthood.
I wasn't quite that old yet, but I'm pretty sure my shortness combined with my young features was misleading her. My own grandmother died before I even reached double digit age like my mother had. But, Toriel was just what I imaged having a grandmother like that would be like.
Sighing I walked over to the plaque stuck on the far wall to read what it said. 'Only the fearless may proceed. Brave ones, foolish ones. Both walk not the middle road.' It read. Toriel had stepped on all the buttons except those in the middle, I remembered looking at the buttons.
This plaque was then a clue for solving this room's puzzle. I wondered if there were other hints like this for the ruins puzzles. Curious to see more of the ruins I went through the door seeing Toriel waiting for me once again.
To make progress here, you will need to trigger several switches. Do not worry, I have labelled the ones you need to flip." Toriel chuckled at my apprehensive expression.
She walked to the left over a small foot bridge. This space was larger than the last two rooms put together. It was very long and had small channels of water running in through grates in the wall.
I wasn't sure where the water was coming from but it wasn't absurd that there might be an underground spring here. I did remember the cave I had fallen from being wet for some reason. Maybe this was why.
There was a plaque on the far wall but not wanting to keep Toriel waiting I followed after her. On the wall between two channels of water was a yellow switch that had arrows pointing toward it drawn in yellow marker. It wasn't hard to figure out that was the one I needed to press.
There were no other options anyway. Going over to the switch I pulled it down with one hand. Toriel nodded happily at me before motioning for me to follow her over the next footbridge. In the next section of the room there were two switches with the one on the left being similarly marked.
Toriel stood in front of a row of sharp looking spikes in the ground anticipating me flipping the correct switch. So I flipped that switch, the second marked switch.
"Splendid! I am proud of you, little one." Toriel clapped her hands together joyfully.
I scratched the back of my head bashfully. The puzzles here didn't seem very difficult. They were so easy a child could do them. But I guess the switches couldn't have always been marked like this. I wonder why Toriel made it easier.
"Let us move to the next room." Toriel sang hurrying forward.
Looking closely at the second unmarked switch I realised it didn't even work when I tried to press it. Shrugging my shoulders I went after Toriel into the next room. The room I came into was small, only a third of the last.
There were no puzzles in this room it seemed. In fact the only think in this room was a stuffed dummy hung on a wooden pole. Toriel gave a sigh as she looked at the dummy turning away from me as she spoke.
"As a human living in the Underground, monsters may attack you. You will need to be prepared for this situation." Toriel's voice held a slight bitter tone.
I was very interested to hear what she said however. I didn't want what had happened with Flowey to happen again. I wasn't sure I would survive another encounter like that.
"However, worry not! The process is simple. When you encounter a monster, you will enter a Fight." Toriel spoke a bit more brightly though it seemed strained.
She didn't seem to like the idea of me getting into fights with other monsters. I didn't like the prospect much myself, but this was necessary.
"You mean when everything turns grey and my soul glows?" I queried my voice growing stronger with my confidence.
Toriel nodded happily in reply to my question.
"That's right! While you are in a Fight, strike up a friendly conversation. Stall for time. I will come resolve the conflict." Toriel assured.
It did make me feel safe knowing Toriel was willing to defend me when she barely knew me. I was a bit concerned though… what if I met a monster and Toriel wasn't there to save me? I didn't want to hurt anyone but I didn't exactly want to die either.
"Practice talking to this dummy and I'll give you some pointers." Toriel instructed.
I vaguely wondered how she knew how a human fought in Fight in the first place.
"Okay." I replied walking slowly over to the dummy.
I stood in front of it not exactly sure what I should do. It was pretty much a sack stuffed with hay, a rounded cone head and two buttons sewn on for eyes. The world abruptly flickered turning grey as my soul glowed red in my chest.
I didn't know it was even possible to fight a dummy since it wasn't alive. However something was different about this fight. In the corner of my eyes I could see my HP reading 20/20, but next to it were more letters and a number, LV 1. Flowey had said something about LV hadn't he?
Did those letters really stand for LOVE? I didn't think I should take anything that flower said to heart. He hadn't been very trustworthy on other subjects, but Toriel had so I decided to ask her about it.
"What does LV mean?" I turned my head toward where Toriel was standing in the doorway.
She was watching me closely but as soon as I asked this she paused, her furry lips pursing for a second.
"It stands for LOVE which is not a good thing for monsters or humans. I would advise you not try to increase your LV." Toriel's voice was gravely serious.
She shook her head then smiling at me once more.
"Now look at your opponent. During a Fight is when a monster's or human's magic is most powerful. When in a Fight, you will see the name and health of your opponent if you look above their head." She gestured at the dummy.
Looking closely at the dummy I saw the words 'Dummy' along with a yellow health bar floating above its head. That must have been why Toriel had been looking above me back when we first met. She could see my health was low meaning I was close to dying.
"Monsters will use their magic to attack and lower your HP. A Fight can end when one participants HP hits zero, the remaining combatant is the victor." Toriel continued.
She purposely avoided the subject of dying I noticed. She didn't want to scare me I thought pressing my lips together.
"But this isn't the only way to end a Fight. Through certain actions or speech you can convince a monster to stop fighting and Spare it." Toriel looked hopefully at me.
I stood there still not sure what to do but that option sounded better than fighting.
"And umm how do I do that exactly?" I asked biting my lip helplessly.
I wasn't so good at talking with strangers especially if they were trying to kill me.
"Listen to your soul. It will show you what to do." Toriel guided patting a paw to her chest.
My brows pinched together as I placed a hand over where my soul glowed. Closing my eyes I stayed quiet trying to listen to it like Toriel had said. All I heard was a great lot of nothing. That strange voice didn't even say anything either…
Breathing out through my nose I scrunched my face up in concentration. Please little soul, help me out here. In response I felt my soul pulse slightly and opened my eyes to see it glowing brighter. In front of me four rectangles formed.
Words appeared in each rectangle from left to right they read. 'Fight' with a little sword beside it. 'Act' with a little volume symbol next to it. 'Item' with a little bag beside it. Finally the last button said 'Mercy' with a little X next to it.
"What are these?" I gaped.
Toriel looked very pleased with me so far.
"These are the options your soul has presented you with. Human souls are more powerful than monster souls. It presents you with options physically. You can use any of these actions and your soul will lead you through it. I suggest sticking with the 'Act' and 'Mercy' buttons." Toriel advised.
She seemed to be eyeing the 'Fight' button nervously. I wasn't sure about that button. Why had my soul presented me with that option? It was clear I wasn't a fighter. I would never, could never hurt a living thing on purpose. So why?
Hehehe~
Dark laughter echoed in the back of my mind sending a shiver down my spine.
"Come now child, try using the Act button." Toriel encouraged from the sidelines.
I shook myself nodding once before putting my hand on the Act button. The button lit up orange then showed two more options 'Check' or 'Talk'.
Seeing these options displayed Toriel spoke up again.
"The 'Check' button is natural for all humans. It allows you to analyse your opponent. Your soul will tell you the defense and attack power of your opponent. The attack number of a monster dictates how many HP you'll lose if a magical attack hits you, while the defense indicates how much damage a monster might take from an attack." Toriel shifted uncomfortably.
She didn't mention me while explaining the defense points I noticed.
"Using this choice is helpful if you're facing an unfamiliar opponent but for now why don't you try the 'Talk' option." Toriel urged.
I nodded again pressing down on the 'Talk' option to my right.
"Um hi… It's nice to meet you?" I greeted unsurely.
Of course the dummy didn't respond at all to me. It didn't seem much for conversation.
"Wonderful, my child! Now try using the 'Mercy' button." Toriel clasped her hands together proudly.
I smiled lightly; well at least Toriel seemed happy with my attempt anyway. The four main buttons appear in front of me again and this time I reached for the far right button labelled 'Mercy'.
Pressing on it two more options showed 'Spare' or 'Flee'. The spare option was glowing yellow I saw. I looked at Toriel with an eyebrow raised in question.
"Oh good it's ready to be spared. You'll know when a monster wants to stop fighting as its name will turn yellow. This is when using the 'Spare' button will discontinue the Fight." Toriel concluded.
I looked up from my buttons seeing the name 'Dummy' was indeed glowing yellow before pressing the yellow 'Spare' button. Colour leaked back into the room as the Fight was finally concluded, my soul's glow dying down.
"Ah, very good! You are very good." Toriel applauded me.
The sound of her clapping was muffled due to her paws being covered in soft fur but I appreciated it none the less. I gave a sheepish smile mock bowing toward the goat woman.
"Thanks! You've been a great audience." I spoke twirling my hand theatrically.
Toriel laughed at my antics which made me smile. I was getting used to being around the kindly goat woman and steadily growing more comfortable with her. She really did remind me so much of her. Even her laugh sounded like hers.
Mum…
I gave a sigh forcing a smile onto my face as Toriel beckoned me forward.
"I hope you enjoyed my tu-Toriel." She grinned at me.
I couldn't help but snort at how terrible the joke was.
"Haha that was a good one wasn't it?" Toriel regarded me with a warm look as if she'd known me for her whole life.
I nodded at her enthusiastically as she ruffled my hair. I felt a tug of familiarity in my chest and knew I felt the same thing before. I knew Toriel somehow. That was why I grew to trust her so easily. I couldn't quite pinpoint the feeling but, it was like… meeting an old friend for the first time.
okay so how was that?
it was a little hard to write because the balance is a bit unsure
Frisk is frightened of the monsters she has found but at the same time her soul tells her not to be afraid
at this point Frisk has been through many timelines and reset without knowing it, many many times
she doesn't consciously remember previous timelines but, her soul gives her feelings as it remember
hence how she knows who is more worthy of trust and feels nostalgic in certain situations
but we'll get more into that in the next few chapters where chara speaks more directly to frisk
for now it's answering review time!
YAY!
usually I don't do things like this but I figured since it's a new story and I haven't gotten heaps of reviews it could be fun
To ALoyalReader
haha I didn't think it was THAT good but I'm glad you liked it anyway. Plus I'm glad to contribute to the Undertale community as I love the game lots and lots! I will stay determined! And I also hope our intuitions about my story are correct ;)
To ChuckNorris'ssister
HERE YA GO! Are you happy now? :D
To Brilliant
Well I'll say this it was a better intro than some of my previous stories have had *cough* Something Special *cough* *cough*. Again I still think it could have been better but it is an intro and I was finding my feet, still am. *blushes* haha I can only hope it will become a masterpiece like you hope. Gotta make Ink!Sans proud right :P
To Trefl
I'm glad you find it interesting as that's how I aimed to make it and I hope your curiosity will be satiated as we move along. That or I'll just make you more curious with all the crazy stuff I write haha ^w^
Thanks again for all the lovely reviews
As usual if you have any questions, suggestions or just wanna talk send in a review or PM cause I'm always happy to chat.
until next time
LEAF OUT!