There was a sense of acclimation to the darkness found in the ruins.
The dim location perceived by the girl, quite easily. Some part of her curious if she had always had such an easy time of it. Though, the dark was mitigated and gave war to the light.
Toriel had generated a swirling ball of fire from her magic, permitting it to float in front of them. A section of her robe now more torn near the end, as she had shredded pieces of it off. These loose strands of cloth wrapped around Charas arms. Providing some mild relief from the stinging the air caused the burns.
It felt odd to her, though, that they hadn't really talked or said anything since walking together. The closest came from little glances Toriel gave when she winced in pain. Or tried to adjust the wrappings. The two leaving the hallway room and its broken puzzle, proceeding along.
The walk was a slow thing progressing forward, Chara noting that Toriel seemed reluctant to move very far away from her. And yet, oddly, too hesitant, or doubtful to stand too close to her. It was an alienating, and unwelcome feeling.
Chara sometimes reached for her hand, and found her own taken. Only for it to be released moments after. As if her guardian was merely checking to ensure the girl hadn't faded away, or was actually present.
The pair walked across a bridge that creaked and moaned as they did so. The child glancing to the still water below it. There was so little light, even with the shimmer of the flame, that it looked like ink. The scent that accompanied it, was like a swamp. Putrid, and unwelcome.
Once across, the two stopped by a sort of lever. There was no bridge to progress that Chara could see. Yet, the room was distinctly familiar to the girl. And she knew there was 'meant' to be one.
Toriel spoke. "My child...the ruins are full of...traps. Some...faulty, I suppose." She turned. "You-"
"Why are there traps now?" Chara looked up at her.
"Because..." Toriel closed her eyes, took a breath and composed herself. "Because things have...changed."
"Changed?" The girl asked. "What happened?" She noticed distress in the woman's eyes. "A-are you okay?"
The woman looked however briefly irritated, like the question itself was too familiar to be anything but annoying. And yet, she just let out a breath. And cautiously placed a hand on the girls head.
"I need you to listen...and do as I say." She requested. "I...need you to be careful...and safe. So please, adjust yourself to the sight of them."
The tone of the request was very serious, something that felt wrong somehow to Chara. Was this because she was a ghost, or something? That didn't make sense to her. After all, she knew she had died before, but she came back. She always came back to her last save point, didn't she?
Her thoughts were fuzzy, taking in her guardian. Her head was so fuzzy, and she felt like there was so much she couldn't quite recall, the pain doing little to help with that. The girl giving a soft nod in response to this request.
The fire hovered beside the lever, which she reached out and pulled. She heard splashing water, and the groaning sounds of old metal. The flame left the lever after only a moment. Toriel moving to the edge of the platform, as a wet and crumbling looking bridge rose and cleared a path to progress.
Toriel stepped and then paused, holding out her hand without looking back. On instinct, Chara took it, a small smile returning to her face as they went. Though, she nearly slipped at one point, prompting her guardians grip to tighten.
It did prevent her from slipping off, but it also hurt. Sending an ache up her arm, agitating what was already presence, as she let out a whimper. At the sound of this, Toriel let her go, ensuring she was back on her feet, before taking a half-step away from her.
"I'm sorry." Toriel apologized quietly, briefly pulling her hood back up.
Chara didn't respond, her smile having vanished, rubbing the sore pain of her hand. She felt like an idiot, nearly falling like that. Adjusting herself, eyes slightly shadowed, as she followed along.
The path leading forward was the one blocked by massive spikes coming from the floor. They shone faintly in the firelight, glistening, rusted metal. The girl noticed that they seemed to be covered in dust. She glanced up at the ceiling, searching for the crack it had fallen from.
She replayed in her mind bits of memory. She recalled having fallen on the spikes, blocking their path now. She wondered if there was a trick to get beyond this, surely there must be. Did it have something to do with the first lever she pulled?
After all, she hadn't done that last time, then again, the bridge wasn't lowered last time. Shaking off the curiosity, she decided that didn't matter now. The girl far less than keen to partake in the lethal defenses once again.
While she was considering this, Toriel had stepped over to the spikes. Running her hand across one of the dusty ones, before wandering over to a nearby wall. Two switches were present there, partially buried behind old vines. She burned them away, to better reveal these mechanisms.
The sound of fire magic drew the child's attention. She seemed reluctant to this, frowning some, while brushing at something with her foot. Clearing her throat, she stepped back, and revealed that one of them had various markings on the wall pointing to it. Chara noticing dust on the ground beneath that one.
"Cha-m-my child...do you see these two levers here?" The Caretaker gestured to them, as the girl nodded. "I...marked one of them. However, that one is a trap, and will only 'pretend' to...disarm the spikes." She explained. "You will need to pull the lever on the right, to lower them."
"Why would...it...so nobody could progress?" Chara asked, looking over the spikes. "Like...a wall?"
Toriel adjusted her posture, hiding her eye in the darkness of her hood. "Yes...like...a wall."
Following the instructions given, the girl considered the two. Grasping the one to the right, she began attempting to pull it down. The strain of it made her grit her teeth, managing to bring it down with some effort.
The snikt sound that was so familiar to her before, echoed in the air, sending a chill down her spine. The barrier blocking their path, retreating into stone. A touch of relief following.
Toriel watched this, briefly reaching up, the girl watching, able to see something in the wall, barely visible in the darkness. Toriel turned it, creating a clicking noise, the bridge they'd crossed over, lowering back down into the water. The woman gesturing, while starting out of the room, beckoning her ward to follow.
Within the passing moments towards the next room, Chara noticed Flowey. She spotted him watching from alongside some golden flowers on the wall. He gave a slight wave, and vanished through a crack. His presence was oddly relieving, namely knowing he hadn't just abandoned her.
The next room saw the floating orb of flame move around the edges of it, striking various torches to life once more. Gradually making the whole room bright enough that Chara had to blink a few times to re-adjust to it all. Toriel letting out a sigh, before motioning the floating flame away.
Getting a good and proper look around her for the first time, the girl found the space peculiar. She also got a better look at Toriel, in a place much less dark. Taking stock of her present appearance, even with the hood up.
Her guardians fur had gotten longer, and had long strands like messy long hair reaching around the sides. She looked disheveled, a bit wild, and unkempt.
It was a far cry from the very proper look she once caried. The eye wound, notably, didn't have a scar or anything around the eye. It was if the eye itself had been injured somehow.
Toriel noticed the look, inquiring. "Yes?"
"N-nothing." Chara said, feeling oddly nervous of the look she'd been given.
Looking away from her, Chara found that there was a dummy in the room. It was visibly torn, stitched back together with countless different fabrics and materials. In some areas claw marks had been sewn over, and a few sections still held burn marks.
"Chara...do you remember what I told you and Asriel?" Toriel inquired, offering a serious look, while placing her hand on the girl's shoulder.
Asriel? The name was familiar to her, albeit foggy. That was her...brother, if she recalled. Though, strangely, she couldn't seem to recall what he looked like. Was he taller than her? Shorter?
The stern expression being offered to her, returned her from this set of thoughts. It would probably be unwise admitting that she couldn't recall everything. When adults were serious, that usually meant it was important...right?
"What you told us?" Chara tried to recall things she'd been told "Like, to make sure the lights are off or-" The woman's gripped tightened, causing her to let out a noise of pain. "M-mom, that hurts-"
"I need you to remember for me, won't you?" The woman requested, a faintly malicious tone to her words. The same one from the 'you aren't real' bit that left her burnt before.
Searching her mind, she didn't recall a lesson taught to her. But she did recall something that was told to Mychal. Something about how monsters may want to fight him. And how he should be ready for that.
"You were talking about how...uhm, how monsters may want to fight me?" Chara half-asked, as Toriels grip loosened once more, replaced with that guilty expression the girl had seen a lot more of recently. "And that I...uhm..."
Her caretaker let out a light sigh. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause you any harm." She said. "I just...it's important, and I really...needed you to remember."
"T-that's okay," Chara replied with a faint smile. "Did I...do something wrong?"
"No, no my child you haven't...I just, can't...tell if..." The woman closed her eyes for a moment. "The Dummy before you is here for training purposes. I need you to attack it."
The child turned to face her and asked. "Why?"
"I just need you to." Toriel stated.
"But..why?" Chara sounded confused. "E-everything is weird...and you won't...tell me why. You just...keep acting weird...so why?"
The momentary defiance earned a dark expression from her guardian. Yet, it wasn't directed at her. It wasn't the grim expression of anger, no, it was something else. Something Chara couldn't quite placed, sort of like being sad, or afraid maybe?
"I've told you; the ruins are...dangerous." Toriel explained. "I know you..." She trailed. "Tell me...have well do you remember the ruins?" She asked. "When was...the last time you recall being here?"
Chara knew a test when she heard one. Her hands going to her sides, as she paced a little. Taking in the room, thinking on things. Searching for the answer to this question. The most she could figure, was...a memory...faint as it was.
"I think I ate something from here?" Chara suggested, gaining the attention of Toriel. "I dunno what...and then...wait...is this where we were running to?" She asked, causing Toriels hands to shake, and her whole body to shiver. "I think, I was being carried by you?" She asked, before wondering aloud. "There was someone crying...was...was that you?" The girl asked. "Why were you crying?"
There was an extended silence in the wake of that question. It was strange, lingering well past the point of being uncomfortable. Chara felt her curiosity peak, rising steadily. She had told Mychal she'd died...was that the memory? That didn't make sense...she always came back, didn't she? Maybe? Then again...the other question she found more important was...who were they running from?
"Chara..." Toriel looked at her again, and knelt down, exhaustion and sorrow on full display. "I cannot always be there to protect you." She admitted, resting her hand against the girls cheek. "If a monster...a human...if anyone tries to hurt you, I need-" She paused briefly. "I need to know that you can protect yourself, my child." She scanned her over. "I need you to be safe this time. I can't...I can't...do you understand?"
For the first time since they'd encountered one another, her mother sounded honestly, and completely familiar to her. Felt familiar, warm, welcoming. But all of this demanded an answer, to a question that was now plaguing the child. It screamed in her head.
"Why would they do that?" She asked.
"Chara, people...not everyone is...kindly." Toriel said softly. "Do this for me, won't you?"
The answer she was given felt vague, and wrong in some sense. It was just stating the obvious, without clarifying a proper reason. But she also felt like she wasn't going to get a clearer answer, at least not right now. She wagered she would just need to continue on, try again later. Preferably, when they were home.
"Okay...Mom." She replied, as the hand slipped away, and Toriel stood upright once more. "I just...fight it?" She asked, gaining a nod, before stepping towards the Dummy. "I-" She noticed a stick on the ground and picked it up. "I can do that."
The stick wasn't very strong, nor as impressive as the branch she saw when she first woke up, but it would work. Gripping it in her palm, it felt...familiar somehow. Deja Vu in her movements, a breath released, and the world flashed for a moment, everything seeming to fade to black and red.
The Tattered Dummy was before her.
She closed her eyes briefly and visualized her options before opening them. Projecting them before her once more. Her soul, a slightly brighter purple than before manifested, floating softly above her chest.
|Chara - 10/20 HP|
|Fight| |Act| |Item| |Mercy|
