Well, it's finally here. The final SOUL. This chapter was so much longer than I anticipated, so I split it into two. It has been so much fun writing this story, and I hope you enjoy these last two chapters. Now... on with the show!
Sitting up, I stared at the hole I had fallen through. The ceiling was dark, but a pulsing light shone near the top. I was sitting in a bed of golden flowers. Slowly, I got to my feet. I walked along a corridor to a large door. I kept making my way until I reached a floor covered in spikes.
I tentatively took a step forward. The spikes retracted into the ground. I took another with the same result. Feeling confident, I did this a few more times. As the spikes sunk again, I heard someone yell "Watch out!"
In my surprise, I stumbled back. The spikes suddenly sprung up twice as tall as they were before returning to their normal size. Disoriented, I looked over to see a humanoid goat in a purple robe hurriedly moving through the the spikes. She didn't wait a second as the spikes retracted. She reached me and kneeled down to inspect me.
"Are you okay?" Her voice was full of concern. "Did the spikes hurt you?"
"No," I replied. "I'm fine."
"Oh, what a relief," She sighed and stood. "Take my hand, child." She reached down and helped me to my feet. Carefully, she lead me through the spikes to the other side. We walked for awhile until she came to a stop. She turned to me with a warm smile. My heart gave a jump.
"My name is Toriel," She told me. "I am the caretaker of the Ruins. What is your name, my child?"
I told her my name. She smiled. A warm feeling spread throughout my body. "Come this way. You seem tired."
She lead me through more puzzles to a small house behind a tree with red leaves covering its branches. Inside, Toriel sat me in a chair around a dinner table. She went into another room as my eyes swept my surroundings. A cozy chair sat next to a fireplace with a warm flame flickering inside. A row of bookshelves rested in one corner. To my left, I could see down a hallway lined with doors past a staircase. The home radiated a snug feeling, making me smile.
Toriel reentered carrying a delectable smelling pie and plates with forks on top. She sat them down in front of me. "Would you care for a piece?" She asked. "It is a chocolate pie."
"Yes! Please!" I said excited, mouth watering.
Toriel cut the pie into equal pieces and placed two on separate plates. I quickly dug in with my fork. The crusted crumpled in my mouth. The chocolate had been poured around a sweet cream filling. It was the best thing I had ever eaten.
"It's delicious!" I said with a full mouth.
"I am so glad," Toriel began to eat her slice. We sat in silence as we ate until only crumbs were left. I pushed my plate away and patted my belly.
"Are you satisfied, my child?"
"Very," I said. "Thank you."
"It was my pleasure," Toriel stood up. " You should get some sleep. Follow me." I got up and she lead me to one of the doors. She opened it to reveal a bedroom with a wardrobe, chest, nightstand, and bed. She pulled back the covers as I got into the bed. She pulled the covers up to my chin and patted my head.
"Sleep well, my child." With that, she left the room.
I laid there, warm and safe in Toriel's home. Smiling, I drifted off to sleep.
Toriel looked after me for several weeks onward. She always found some way to make me smile. She taught me how to bake and read to me at night. Whenever I wanted to move, Toriel would take me on a walk through the Ruins. However, she never showed me where the staircase lead. Whenever I tried to look she would steer me away.
One day, I asked her what was at the bottom. She told me it was off-limits. I kept asking all day. As she was sitting in her chair that evening, she finally sighed.
"Do you really want to know, my child?" I nodded. She slowly got to her feet. I followed her down the stairs and along a long corridor. Finally, we reached a door. Toriel stood with her back to me.
"Past this door is the rest of the Underground," She said with a quiet voice. "If you leave, than you can find your way back to the Surface. You can go home, to your family. However," She turned to me with tears in her eyes. "I ask for you not to return. Those before all left through this door. I never saw them again. It was for the best. I could not handle myself if I saw them again."
She started to walk past me. She paused. Her back was turned again. "You have brightened my life down here, my child. I thank you. I'll miss you so much. Good-" Her voice became choked. "Goodbye, my child." She continued to walk away.
I stood in front of the door, thinking about how I could leave. How I could return to the Surface. How I would never see Toriel again. Tears streamed down my cheeks. I turned and ran as fast as I could. I ran to Toriel and tackled her in a hug. She turned and looked at me with surprise.
"I never want to leave," I cried. "I want to stay with you." More tears spattered at our feet. "I promise that I'll stay. I promise that we will be a family."
Toriel was silent. I was scared that she would tell me to leave. Then she began to cry, too. She dropped to her knees and returned my hug. I buried my face in her robe. "My child, I'm so happy. We can be a family. I'll be the best mother that I can. I know we don't have much, but I'll make sure that we'll be happy."
That night, I fell asleep on Toriel's lap in her chair.
It had been two years since that incident. The happiest years of my life. Toriel taught me about my SOUL. After practicing, she allowed me to explore the Ruins on my own. I could walk through their bind without missing a beat. One day, I was visiting the spot where I fell into the Underground.
The flowers shone in the light. I gently brushed the petals. As I did, I heard a sound. It was growing louder. I looked up to see another child falling from the entrance on the Surface. A blinding light filled the cavern when they hit the Barrier. When I could see again, the child was laying on the bed of flowers.
The child was a girl. She had a pile of rust-colored hair, a denim jacket, cowboy boots, baggy pants, a cowboy hat, and had an old revolver strapped into a holster on her belt. She was tan and her clothes were covered with mud.
Softly, I shook her shoulder. Her eyes flew open. She pushed my hand away and scrambled to her feet, but slipped and fell facedown on the flowers. She tried to get up again, but I grabbed her arm.
"Hold on a second!" I said. "Calm down, cowgirl!"
The girl turned her head, saw me, and froze. She turned her whole body so that she was facing me. Her eyes were the color of honey.
"Are you okay now?" I asked.
She nodded.
"Are you hurt?"
She shook her head.
"Can you stand?"
Another nod.
"Take my hand." I helped her to her feet. Slowly, we started moving down the Ruins. She was shaky, but her stride grew steady. As we were crossing a bridge, a Froggit crossed our path. Her hand gripped my arm tightly.
"Croak."
"Good morning."
"Ribbit." The Monster hopped off
"Have a nice day!" I called. I felt a pain in my arm. Cowgirl squeezed my arm so hard that her knuckles turned white. Her breathing was ragged and her knees were buckling. I lowered her to the ground and held her shoulders.
" It's okay. You're all right. Just breathe."
Her breathing started to slow down. She managed to get out a few words. "Was that… Monster… frog…"
"Yes, that was a monster." She grabbed my arm again. "Calm down."
"You… weren't scared?" She asked.
"No," I replied. "The Froggit families are usually really nice."
"But… but… they're Monsters!"
"Yeah, so?" Realization struck. "Oh! You think Monsters are mean?" I almost laughed. "Don't worry. I've been here for years. Everyone in the Ruins is nice to me. You'll be fine."
"…Are you sure?"
"Positive," I chuckled. "Trust me."
After some hesitation, she was leaning on me again. We made some more progress when a thought crossed my mind. "Say, what is your name anyways?"
Right after she told me we heard "My child! Where are you?"
She squeezed again.
"That's Toriel. She is the nicest person you'll ever meet," I reassured her.
She nodded, grip loosening. Toriel came into view as we turned a corner.
"Oh! My child!" She rushed to our side, checking cowgirl for injuries. As she fussed over her, cowgirl gave a weak smile.
A few weeks later, I was sleeping soundly. I was walking across a plain speckled with the golden flowers. As I walked, I saw a child wearing a green and yellow striped shirt standing in a ring of flowers. They turned to me, their face bright with rosy cheeks and red eyes.
"Hey, there!" They said. "My name is Chara. Who are you?"
At first I thought this was a dream, but this child radiated a feeling too solid to be a fantasy. I told them my name.
"That's a nice name," They said. "Hey! Do you think you could play a game with me for awhile? I've been so bored on my own."
"Sure," I said. "What do you want to play?"
"I'm in the mood for checkers." A checkerboard appeared by our feet, along with gold and white pieces. "I'm warning you, I'm good."
"Consider me warned."
We played for hours. Chara was so energetic. Every time they won, Chara would holler and throw their arms up. When they lost, they would cross their arms and puff out their cheeks.
They were in a fit of joy when the lights started to dim. Chara noticed with a sigh. "Well, looks like time is up. See you tomorrow."
I opened my eyes to see Cowgirl standing over me. I got up, stretched, and put on my slippers.
Cowgirl gave me a curious glance. "What are you smiling about?"
"I just had a nice dream."
For the next few months, Chara would show up in my dreams. We would play games and talk about out lives. However, they could be vague and skipped around some topics.
Waking up from one of these dreams, I saw cowgirl stirring restlessly in her sleep. Toriel called us for breakfast. I shook the girl's shoulder. I shook harder when she didn't wake up. Cowgirl shot up, her hair in an untidy bundle.
"Toriel made breakfast," I said. "Hurry up." I left her to get ready.
The girl poked at her breakfast, hardly taking a bite.
"My child," Toriel began. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," She said. "I just didn't sleep well last night."
"That's surprising," I said. "You didn't make a sound last night." Even if she was restless this morning, Cowgirl hadn't made a peep.
Toriel cleaned the table when we were done. I grabbed a book from one of the shelves and began to read. Cowgirl followed Toriel into the kitchen. After a few minutes, she left in a huff. Toriel and her barely looked at each other for the rest of the day.
That night, Chara was acting strange.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
They were silent. Slowly, they raised their face towards the sky. "What do you think death is like?"
This threw me for a loop. "Death? Why are you curious?"
"Do you think you go somewhere else? Maybe everything just goes black. Or would you linger until someone noticed you?" A disturbing smile crept over Chara's face.
"Chara?" I was getting worried.
"What if no one sees you? What if you scream and scream, but no one notices? Would you even exist? What would be the point in sticking around? What would happen?"
"Chara?"
They caught themselves. "I'm sorry. I guess I got carried away."
"Chara," I started, voice full of concern, "Do you want to t-"
"I think it's time to go." The colors started to fade. "I'll see you tomorrow." They smiled, a forced smile, as they faded into the shadows.
I tried to go back, but I was lost in a haze. I heard a voice whisper "I swear on my life, I will protect you. No matter what happens."
I woke up sweating and saw that Cowgirl was not in her bed. I assumed she had gone to the bathroom, so I went back to a restless sleep. The next morning, I found Toriel in the middle of a meltdown. Cowgirl had disappeared during the night. Toriel had found the Ruins' exit open, causing her to break down in tears. It felt like my heart would rip itself apart. Our family, our little mix-matched family, is broken. Months of laughing and smiles and warmth shattered. I curled into a ball on the floor. All I could think about was why. The thought ran circles in my mind, leaving permanent grooves in my memory. Why would she leave?
Weeks passed at an agonizingly slow pace. Toriel spent most of her time sleeping, but she was always tired. Some days she didn't even come out of her room. I spent hours sitting in cowgirl's bed, just staring at her pillow. I had spent days crying, but now I've run out of tears. During one of these episodes, I heard Toriel descend the stairs. I laid my head on the pillow and fell asleep.
The golden hue of the flowers had dimmed since Cowgirl left. Chara had changed, too. They had become interested in death and what happens to people after they die. I tried to figure out why, but they had shut me out. Today was no exception.
"How would you want to die?" They asked.
"I-I don't know," I stuttered.
"Come on," They urged. "Just tell me."
"I don't have any idea, Chara," Screams filled my head.
"Just tell me already," They persisted.
Glimpses of blood dotted my vision. Her screaming for him to stop, stop, stop, stop…
"Tell me!"
"JUST STOP ALREADY!" I shrieked.
Chara was taken back. They froze, then tentatively started to pull the petals off of a dull flower. Several minutes passed, until…
"What happened?"
I met their gaze. Their eyes were soft with concern that I hadn't seen for months. I took a shaky breath and told them my tale:
"I was an only child. My parents were rarely around, but we had fun when they were. One day, we had just gotten home from a carnival. They tucked me into bed and I fell asleep. During the night, I was woken up by my mother screaming. I crept into the living room to see a strange man standing over my parents. My dad was bloody and my mom was holding him, crying. The stranger had a pipe and… and…" My words were lost as I started to cry.
The color drained from Chara's cheeks. "Do you want to stop? You don't have to tell me anymore."
I shook my head. I had been holding this in for so long. After everything that was happening, I felt like I it would swallow me. I need to tell someone before I'm lost.
"Alright," They said. "Just… take your time."
I took a few minutes to gather myself again. Then, I continued.
"My mother pleaded for him to stop. He continued to hit him even… ev-even after…. h-he… w-w-was…"
"You don't have to say it."
I nodded. I waited a few more minutes before going on. "My mother kept screaming. The man shouted at her and started kicking and stomping. She wouldn't stop screaming. The man started swinging the p-pipe a-ag-again…" I couldn't keep going. My tears spilled over after so many months. My body was wracked with my sobs.
Chara pulled me into a hug. I whispered, "I ran away. I hide in alleyways… on the street, until I realize I had nowhere left to go. So, since I couldn't lose anything else, I fell into the Underground."
Chara spoke quietly. "I'm sorry that happened." They paused. They kept their silence even as the dim colors faded away.
I slowly got to my feet, my hair falling around my shoulders. I had lost my ribbon during one of the many dazed walks through the Ruins. I walked out into the hallway to utter silence. I checked the kitchen and bedroom, but Toriel was gone. She must still be downstairs. Toriel had started doing that. Past the first door, down the hall, she would just sit in front of the exit. When Cowgirl left, she took a piece of Toriel heart and, after the other children's departures, it was one of the last.
Down the stairs, past the door, down the hall, and almost to the exit when I heard it. A sound that took me a moment to recognize. Laughter.
I hid in the doorway when I saw Toriel. Her eyes were bloodshot and her dress was filthy, but her laughter rang through the air. A voice came from the other side of the door, sending her into a another fit until tears rolled down her face.
"Okay, okay," she managed to say. "How do you make time fly?" The voice, choked by chuckles, ask how. "Throw a clock out of a window!" The voice's laughter roared, merging with Toriel's into a ring of pure joy.
I made my way back to the house. For the first time in weeks, I felt a warmth build in my chest and spread throughout my body. A mother and daughter, cut off from the world, welcomed a new child into their family. Then it was simply broken. I can't say things will ever be exactly as they were before, but if Toriel could laugh after all of this pain, then I can't give up hope.
The next day, I woke up without a visit from Chara. A smell filled the house, making my mouth water. My nose lead me to the living room, where plates of pancakes, bacon, and eggs sat steaming in bowls on the table. Toriel entered carrying a pitcher of lemonade. I was shocked at her appearance. It wasn't that she looked strange, quite the opposite. Her robes were clean, fur groomed, and a smile brightened her face.
"My child, I have prepared breakfast," She said warmly. "Please have a seat."
I did just that. It had been so long since I ate Toriel's cooking. I inhaled my food and got seconds and thirds. Toriel chuckled at my enthusiastic appetite.
And so the world started to brighten once again. Warm breakfasts, reading by the fire, baking pies, going on walks; they all came back. Toriel would visit the exit everyday and exchange jokes with the voice for hours. I made sure not to eavesdrop, or at least not get caught, in fear of interrupting.
However, another aspect of my life turned dark. My dreams with Chara had lost their color. The grass wilted, clouds covered the sky, the flowers turned gray. Chara's topics of discussions became even more disturbing. Sometimes, they would just pull the petals off of the frail flowers without making a sound. Then it happened. The night that finally brought my world crashing down.
That is the end of part 1. Part 2 just needs to be edited, so it will uploaded soon. I can't wait to put up the final chapter! So exciting!
P.S. A huge thanks to Eccentric Axolotl. They were beta-reader of this chapter as well. No amount of thanks is enough to show my gratitude for their help.