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Beneath The Mountain
Chapter 3: Home is Where the Heartbreak is
After closing the door, I pulled out my pocketwatch to check the time.
"Goddammit." I muttered under my breath upon realizing that both of the hands were hanging down limply. Guess the fall must've broken that too.
I examined it closer and to my relief it wasn't busted beyond repair, but I'd need an actual watchmaker to fix it.
Fuck it, I'll worry about it later. I thought, more concerned with the undoubtedly delicious pie that was waiting for me.
I walked out of the hallway, past a staircase which I noted as a possible exit, and into a cozy looking living room where Toriel was busy laying what I guessed was the pie onto a large dining table. As soon as she laid it down, she noticed my presence and turned towards me, giving me that same warm smile that reminded me of...
"Ah, there you are!" She cocked her head to the side a little and looked behind me. "Where's Frisk?"
"She was tired, decided to hit the hay early." I replied.
"I see. Well, it would be rude to not save her some." She took out a cake shovel and cut a piece from the pie, putting it onto a plate.
"I'll bring this one to her. In the meantime, feel free to help yourself!" She made her way towards the kid's room.
I obliged, cutting a good-sized piece and plating it up before taking a seat at one of the two big chairs around the table, the third one being more suited for someone Frisk's size.
Grabbing a fork, I took my first bite of the pie and...
Holy mackerel...
It was absolutely delicious, probably one of the best things I've had in my life. It was nice and hot with a flaky, buttery crust. The filling was just so rich and the flavor was as if it'd fallen straight from the heavens.
Cinnamon and butterscotch, why the hell haven't I thought of that? I thought while wolfing it down.
Toriel soon returned, presumably after leaving the piece in Frisk's room.
"How is it, dear?"
"It's... gulp wonderful, haven't had anything this good in ages."
She chuckled upon seeing the destroyed slice on my plate. "I can tell. Would you like another slice?"
"Yes, please." I pleaded like I was being offered water after being lost in the desert for a week.
She cut another slice and put it onto my plate, I barely managed a thank you before I started ravaging the piece. I could just imagine my mama rolling in her grave right now at how I was behaving, but luckily Toriel didn't seem to mind.
She was heading towards a plush sitting chair by the fireplace when I noticed that she hadn't had a slice yet.
"Hey, don't you want any?"
"Thank you for the offer dear, but I'm fine! I made it specially for you two."
"Nonsense. I'd hate for you to make something this great and not at least have some." I might've sounded a bit suspicious at this point but hey, can't trust a chef who won't eat their own cooking.
"Well, if you insist, I'll gladly have some!"
She cut a piece and plated it up, taking a seat at the other big chair at the table before taking a bite.
"Mmhmm... This is wonderful."
"Told you so." I snickered.
"You know, this dish has always been a favorite of mine."
"I can see why." I said, eagerly taking another bite.
"Takes me back. I used to make this all the time... back when-"
I noticed a flash of something in her eyes. I couldn't tell what it was, but it was enough to get her to cut the sentence short.
"...Ah, but that was so long ago."
"Are you alright?"
"Oh, yes! Just thinking of something..."
We sat in silence for a while, both of us just enjoying the pie and basking in the moment. After a while we were both sated, so we went ahead and cleaned up the table. Toriel carried the dishes to the kitchen and I followed along, carrying the pie.
The kitchen was pretty standard, looking similar to mine but much smaller. She began washing up the dishes while I placed the pie in a strange-looking icebox. While I was looking for a good spot for it among the various foodstuffs and... jars of snails... something happened to catch my eye.
A chocolate bar.
A normal Snowberger bar like you'd find on the surface.
There was nothing particularly odd about it other than it being very out of place, but there was some sort of aura it gave off that I couldn't put my finger on.
Whatever, just a bar of chocolate.
I put the pie inside and shut the door. Toriel was already gone, so I went back into the living room finding her seated back at her sitting chair, wearing a pair of reading glasses and buried in some book.
Judging by the various books around us and the one she was reading, I assumed she must've been a bookworm like me.
Guess we have something in common. I was glad for that though, gave us something to talk about.
There wasn't a sofa or even another sitting chair, so I ended up pulling one from the table and placing it in front of her.
By now, I could feel the heat coming from the fireplace.
Well no, more like a warmth.
For some reason, the fire never felt hot no matter how close I got to it, always just pleasantly warm.
I even made the genius move of putting my hand into the fire itself, but the result was still the same.
Even their fire works differently. What the hell is with this place?
"I see that you're enjoying the fire?" Toriel humorously asked.
"I guess. Mainly trying to figure out why my hand ain't been sizzled like a side of bacon yet."
She chuckled. "Fire magic my dear."
Fire magic? Normally I would've laughed at the mere idea of magic. But after you've had everything you know about the world suddenly turned on its head, you grow strangely accepting of outlandish shit like this. Sure, why the hell not.
"What are you reading?" I asked, curious about whatever book she had open.
"Oh, it is called 72 Uses for Snails!"
"Snails? What are you, French?"
She laughed "Maybe so, maybe so. Would you like to hear an exciting snail fact?"
"Sure, lay it on me."
"Did you know that snails talk. really. slowly?"
"I didn't know that."
"Ha! Just kidding, snails can't really talk."
"Really? Could've fooled me."
"How about another? Did you know that snails sometimes flip their digestive systems as they mature?"
"That's... interesting."
"I know! I'm not sure if you're much of a reader, but I have so many old books that I would like to share."
"Ma'am, it's practically my middle name."
Her eyes lit up with excitement. Guess I'd be excited too if I lived alone for so long and someone with my exact same interest just happened to walk through the door one day.
"Oh that's fantastic! All these books to go over, it'll be fun!"
I was mostly looking forward to any history books she had relating to the whole monster race and their history, I guess I was just a bit curious about this whole subterranean monster civilization and how it came to be.
"Now if it's alright with you, would you mind telling me about some of the books that you've read on the surface? It has been quite some time since I, since any monster really, has been to the surface."
"Wait, y'all were on the surface once?"
"Yes. A long, long time ago. I am surprised you do not already know this."
"Hey, I never even knew that monsters existed until a few hours ago."
"Really? Have... Humans already forgotten about us?"
"I guess so. Sure we have stories about monsters, but they're either tales to scare children straight or alleged sightings from hunters who've spent way too much time out in the woods. Haven't heard much about your kind of monsters, except for this one campfire tale. But that guy wasn't exactly "all there" anyways."
"I see... I'm not quite sure how to feel about that."
She made a long pause before picking right up again.
"Anyways, about those books..."
"Hold on a second." I replied, reaching into my satchel and taking out a book. I'd actually brought a book along with me, to keep me occupied in case the hunt turned out to be disappointing. It was a book I'd just recently got into and was already a bit of a personal favorite of mine.
She immediately perked up at seeing me pull out a book.
"I think you'll like this one." I said, handing it to her.
She closed the one she was already reading and took it, adjusting her glasses a little before reading the title.
"Twenty thousand leagues under the sea?"
"Yeah, I don't know if you're much into science fiction. I ain't myself but I think it's great."
"Why, thank you. If there's anything in particular you're looking for, feel free to ask."
"Actually, there is. You got anything about the history of your people? Maybe something related to how y'all ended up down here in the first place."
"Ah, I see. I know the perfect book."
She got up and strolled over to the bookcase, going over a few titles until ("Here we are!") she pulled out a worn red book and handed it to me.
"I believe you'll find what you're looking for in here."
"Perfect, thank you."
"No, thank you. It has been a while since I have had some new reading material, I'm glad you have brought this to me."
We went silent for a while, getting suckered into our respective books.
The book I was given was very old and worn, almost like it had been read multiple times over the span of decades. I could still make out the title though.
A Comprehensive Essay on the History of Monsterkind Vol 2 Ch 1.
I flipped to a page which had already been conveniently bookmarked and began reading.
...Following the collapse of the Roman Empire, seven powerful kingdoms rose from its ashes. Unlike the Monsters, they did not unify following the empire's collapse, instead choosing to bicker and go to war with each other. For centuries they constantly fought against one another over every manner of things. An uneasy peace developed between both humans and monsters, not hostile yet not in any way friendly...
The Romans? Damn. If Toriel remembered life on the surface, then how old was she? Was she immortal?
I put these thoughts aside and continued to read.
...unlike their predecessors, the people of the Seven Kingdoms began to adopt the use of magic. In stark contrast to the Romans who not only scoffed at the practice, but even outlawed it within their borders, preferring technological innovation over the schools of magic. Originally we saw their adoption of it as a good thing, something that could eventually bring both of our races together.
We could not have been more wrong.
The Romans were kind to us. Well, maybe not kind, but they left us alone at least. Both us and them knew that monsters were weaker than humans, and with the scale of their empire and the size of their armies, they could have easily destroyed us if they desired to do so. Yet for some reason, they didn't. We even established trade routes between our kingdom and their empire, bringing in a golden age of prosperity for the kingdom of monsters.
Maybe they just prolonged the inevitable.
Our relationship with the Seven Kingdoms was shaky at best. We had managed to avoid war with any of them for so long, yet we still weren't on the best of terms with them either. Still, we were at an unofficial peace with the kingdoms of man. Making it all the more surprising when they unexpectedly attacked.
We were caught off guard. We knew that they feared our ability to absorb a human SOUL, but we never thought these Seven Kingdoms which had always clashed with eachother and showed no signs of camaraderie would suddenly unite and bring their armies to our doorstep.
The battle was disastrous. Calling it a battle is too generous of a term, a massacre is more suitable. Using both magical and conventional weapons, they slaughtered us. Countless villages, farms, and towns were raided and burned, all the inhabitants turned into dust. They were merciless, taking no prisoners, just killing every single monster they came across.
We tried to fight them, but it was futile. All attempts at a counterattack led to nothing but more dust on the battlefield. At the end of the first day, over three-quarters of the entire monster population had been completely wiped out. A stark loss compared to the humans who had reportedly not lost even a single soldier.
Jesus. Are we really that powerful?
Without any other option, the king ordered us to flee eastward into uncharted territory. For months we endured steep mountains, frozen tundras, and harsh winter weather, all while being relentlessly pursued by the human army. We hoped that eventually they would give up, let us flee and we could rebuild our civilization in some faraway uncharted land. However, they never gave us that opportunity, the humans were much too determined to destroy us.
Eventually we were cornered on a mountain somewhere far inside the uncharted zone. Surrounded on all sides by a seven nation army, we fled underground through a large rocky maw where we hoped to find safety.
They did not follow us however. Instead, seven mages were brought forward, each the most powerful magic user from their respective kingdom. Together, they constructed a magical barrier that not a soul could pass through, effectively entombing us beneath this accursed mountain.
Trapped behind the barrier and fearful of further human attacks, we retreated. Far, far into the earth we walked, until we reached the cavern's end.
This was our new home, which we named... "Home."
As great as our king is, he is pretty lousy at names.
I closed the book, trying to digest all the information I'd just read. It was a fucking mouthful but at the same time I'd gotten what I wanted, maybe a little more.
Guess that old coot was right about something after all.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" Toriel asked, looking up from the book expectantly.
"Yeah. I did." I guess she must've heard the solemn tone in my voice.
"Our history is... not a pretty one. The humans did a lot to us back then and we still have not fully recovered. Probably never will."
Maybe that's why most of those monsters avoided me, they were afraid.
"As you can imagine, humans are not particularly popular in the underground. This is why as humans living in the underground, you and Frisk need to know how to handle yourselves in a monster attack."
"I think we handled ourselves pretty well back there, what do you think?"
"That you did, which is why I'm willing to trust you two more than I usually would."
"I appreciate that."
"Um, Jack? I want you to know how glad I am to have someone here. I do not get many visitors as you can probably guess, so it's usually just me and my books. I am glad that you and Frisk are here, it's nice to finally have some company. "
Goddammit, she isn't making this easy for me is she?
Don't get me wrong, I was glad she felt this way and that I was able to connect with her like that, but it just made me feel guilty. Here she was, pouring her heart out to me about how lonely she was and about how she was happy that we were here, and all I could think about was how the both of us were going to be gone in probably only a couple of days, putting her right back where she was. It's the kind of feeling that makes you sick to your stomach.
I guess she must've noticed my discomfort. "Is something wrong, Jack?"
Shit, what do I say? I couldn't tell her the truth, especially since all that could end up doing was getting us stuck down here forever. I had to think hard and fast.
"You kinda remind me of my mama." I said, almost in one breath.
What the fuck Jack My mind practically screamed. Is that really the best you could come up with?
Still, it seemed to work, as she just gave me that same goddamn smile again.
"I do? Well... Your mother must be a great woman then."
"She was..."
"Was? What ever do you mean... Oh... Oh no."
I just nodded in confirmation. "Buried her only a few months ago."
"Why that's... That's awful."
"Doctor said the sickness got her, but I believe otherwise. I think she died from a broken heart. She never was the same after pa died..."
By now, I could no longer contain myself. Guess it was my turn to pour my heart out now.
She was shocked at what she'd heard from me. "Your father too?"
"He died a few years earlier, shot like a dog on his own property."
"He was murdered? How did this happen?"
I told her, well, everything. The abridged version of my life story. I told her about everything I'd been through, from being born and raised in Dutch's gang, all the way to when I watched a very dead Edgar Ross fall into the San Luis river.
After spending god knows how long telling her about my past and all the various tragedies and tribulations I'd been through, it was now her turn to speak.
"My word... That's horrifying."
I simply nodded, too exhausted to say much else.
Yet again, we went silent. Neither of us knowing what more to say. I was mentally kicking myself at this point.
You just had to tell your entire fucking life story didn't you? I silently berated myself.
Toriel however, seemed more sympathetic if anything, something I was thankful for. Though I didn't expect what she did next.
She got up, gave me a hug, and comforted me.
It'd been such a long time since I'd been comforted like that. It almost felt like... ma was really there, like she was right there assuring me that everything was gonna be alright.
Fuck, I was tearing up too. When you've gone for so long without feeling that, getting to feel it again even just for a moment, it's nice.
We stayed like that for a while, feeling her warm embrace until she finally let go.
"Better?"
"Yeah." I replied weakly.
I felt emotionally drained at this point, I'd just let everything that was built up from the past out all at once and I was just so tired.
"Jack? If it is alright with you, I could be your mother... if it makes you feel any better."
If I was in the right mind, I would've taken offense to that. The idea that some old goat lady, as kind as she is, could ever replace my own mother felt like an insult.
But, I wasn't in the right mind. I don't know if I just wanted her to feel better or if I was just really out of it, but I muttered a weak "Maybe." in response.
Her smile returned nevertheless,
"Thanks... I'm... going to bed." I said, too tired to say much else.
She gave me a look of understanding in response. I stood up, and began making my way back to my quarters. Before I left, I paused and turned around.
"Thank you."
She said nothing in response, but she didn't need to.
I was tired, but I also felt a lot better. If it wasn't for the guilt that was eating me from the inside out, I would've said it was the best I've felt in months.
I made my way back to the kid's room, quietly opening the door and carefully shuffling through, trying not to make a sound.
Soon enough I was laying on my makeshift bed, going over the day's events.
I discovered that magic and monsters apparently exist, met a mysterious psychic child, told my life story to a motherly goat lady who's obsessed with snails, and broke my goddamn watch. All in one day.
My self ruminating was suddenly interrupted by the tiny voice of my companion.
"Jack?"
"Oh, hey kid. Did I wake you?" I whispered back.
"No, you're fine. Listen, there's... something I need to tell you."
"What is it?"
"It's about that psychic thing you mentioned earlier."
"Look, if you don't want to talk about it, it's fine. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to."
"No, it's... What I'm trying to tell you is that I never had this ability until... Until I fell down here."
"...What?"
"I... I don't know how to explain it. I just... woke up with this voice in my head that tells me... things. Things I'd never know otherwise."
I was concerned for her at this point. I didn't know much about head injuries, but I was pretty sure that suddenly hearing voices in your head, especially after a long fall down a deep pit was a sign of one.
"Are you sure you're alright kid? You might've hit your head or-"
"No. No, that can't be it. It's too... precise. It's almost like a sixth sense."
She did have a point. Whatever the hell that "voice" has been telling her, it was enough to get us through those ruins without a hitch.
Not sure what to think at that point, I looked over towards her and...
Look, I don't know what the fuck I saw, I don't know if I saw anything to begin with, but something was there.
It was dark, so I could barely make anything out. But I swear I saw a silhouette of someone or... something, standing next to the kid's bed.
The thing that confounded me the most is whatever it was, looked exactly like her. Same shape, same stature, same everything.
"What the-" I blinked and the apparition disappeared.
"Jack, what's wrong?" my companion concernedly asked.
"Nothing... Go back to sleep."
Wonderful, now I'm seeing ghosts.
Somehow against all odds, I slept well that night.
I even had a dream that wasn't a nightmare. Something which rarely happened, even on a good day.
I dreamed of being back home with my parents, not only them but my former aunts and uncles as well. Arthur, Hosea, Uncle, and even old Dutch himself just to name a few.
They were happy, acting like the events of the last 15 years had never even happened. Maybe they even acted better than I remembered, I'm not sure.
For hours we just caught up and talked about all manner of things I can't even remember, but it felt nice being in their company again. I actually felt truly happy for the first time in what felt like forever.
I didn't want it to end, but eventually I had to part ways with all of them. Tearing me from the warm embrace of slumber.
Frisk woke from a very deep sleep.
She slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes.
"Jack?" she said groggily.
Hearing no response, she assumed he must've still been asleep.
After taking a few minutes to fully wake up and regain her bearings, she hopped off the bed and slipped her shoes back on.
Hang on, what's this? she thought, seeing something placed next to her bed.
After picking it up, she found out that it was a slice of pie.
"Thank you." she whispered, remembering her companion's promise to save her a piece.
Even though it was morning, she went ahead and ate it anyway.
Mmm, this is delicious. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a dessert like this, or... if there even was a last time.
After finishing the pie, she decided it was time to wake up her partner.
"Jack? C'mon, wake up sleepyhead!"
Though when she turned on the light, she found his spot to be empty.
She panicked a little at seeing him gone, one of her deepest fears kicked in and she was afraid he'd left her.
Frantic, she ran over to the door and tore it open, only to breathe a long sigh of relief when she heard his gruff, accented voice echoing from down the hall. Deep in a lively conversation with their hostess.
She could smell something delicious cooking and despite having already eaten an entire slice of pie, she still felt hungry.
Rather than immediately join them though, being the curious child that she was, she decided to rummage around for a little bit.
She looked around her room, finding some mismatched shoes on one shelf, a bunch of striped shirts and a couple of articles belonging to her companion in the wardrobe, and finally a box of toys at the foot of her bed.
Kid's stuff she scoffed.
She quietly walked out and rummaged around in some of the drawers in the hall, finding nothing but some strange seeds, broken crayons, and a really old calendar.
After that she walked to the end of a hallway, coming face to face with a large mirror.
*It's you!
Yeah, thanks for telling me.
Next to the mirror was a door with "room under renovations" plastered on the door.
Guess that's Jack's room she quietly laughed to herself. She tried the door, but it was locked.
She decided to try the middle door next and to her delight, it opened right up.
Upon entry, she was greeted with a bluish room with a gigantic bed and a few other pieces of furniture.
This must be Toriel's room.
She looked around her room, but other than a tiny chair with "Chairiel" carved into it, an open diary filled with a variety of awful skeleton-related puns, a bucket full of snails, and...
*ah, the cactus
*truly the most tsundere of plants.
Sure, whatever that means.
Other than all that, nothing seemed all that out of the ordinary.
She silently exited the room, only to run right into her companion.
Oh cr-
"Hey, there you are, kid."
"Oh... hey." she sputtered out in surprise, having been caught snooping around in Toriel's room.
Luckily, Jack didn't seem to care all that much.
"You hungry? I cooked us a nice breakfast."
She nodded in response. Admittedly she was pretty hungry, ready to get a taste of whatever was cooking which actually smelled very familiar...
"What'd you make?" she asked inquisitively.
"Pancakes."
Her eyes lit up at the mention of pancakes and she began excitedly running towards the living room.
* (The delightful smell of your favorite food... it fills you with determination.)
Despite having the best night's sleep in months, I still woke up early. Not exactly sure how early it was, but I was the first one up so it must've been pretty early.
I decided to throw together a nice breakfast for all of us, as a token of my gratitude I guess.
Quietly exiting our room, I headed to the kitchen to find out what the old lady had that would translate into a hearty breakfast.
Searching the cupboards and icebox, I found the proper ingredients for some pancake batter.
I got to work, putting some coffee on first and mixing the pancake batter. Before too long, I had them cooking up nicely.
Toriel even came in around this time, complimenting on the smell before offering to help, which I politely declined.
After pouring ourselves some coffee, we got into another nice conversation while I continued cooking, this time managing to stay on the more lighthearted side of things.
She told me some more about the books she'd read, and I told her about my collection of songbooks and how I'd often play ragtime on the piano in my spare time, before subsequently explaining to her what ragtime was. Guess it hadn't hit the underground yet.
By that time everything was finished, and I let her serve and plate up everything, electing to go wake up Frisk instead.
I found her walking out of Toriel's room, but I decided not to ask what she was doing in there.
She was pretty excited when I told her I'd made pancakes, as she just took off running for the table as soon as the word escaped my lips.
Breakfast was great. I thought it was delicious, and the girls seemed to be enjoying their food, so I guess I must've done a pretty good job.
Frisk was especially happy with her food, I swear she must've gone through at least 4 helpings. Must've either been very hungry or just really liked pancakes.
It was a pleasant breakfast. I know I harp on about my past a lot but still, it's moments like this that you just... miss when everybody that used to be in your life is gone.
Soon enough we were all finished with breakfast, and after spending a short time cleaning up I found myself back in front of the magical fire, eating a slice of leftover pie.
Goddamn, even while cold it's still good.
Toriel had the book I lent her open, but she was talking the kid's ear off more than actually reading it. The kid didn't seem to mind though, and seemed like she was enjoying her conversation.
Not really having much else to do, I just listened to whatever she was talking to the kid about while periodically taking a bite of the pie.
"...I want to show you my favorite bug-hunting spot, and I've also prepared a curriculum for your education. This may come as a surprise to you, but I have always wanted to be a teacher."
I guess I could imagine her as a teacher. Of course I never actually went to school myself, but she seemed like a good candidate for one.
"...Actually, perhaps that isn't very surprising. STILL. I am glad to have both of you living here. Maybe you can even help me with her schooling, Jack. You seem like a pretty well-educated man."
"Toriel?" I heard the kid ask.
"Oh, did you want something, my child?"
"Yes... When can we go home?"
My stomach immediately dropped and I nearly spit out the pie I had in my mouth.
Goddammit kid what the hell are you doing? I silently screamed. I just wasn't ready for this yet.
"What? This... this IS your home now." she replied, the sound of shock and disbelief easily decipherable in her expression.
I finally got the nerve to join in. The cat was out of the bag and I knew it, there was no going back now.
"Toriel... We can't stay here. I have a ranch I got to get back to, and I'm sure Frisk here has a family that must be worried sick by now."
I don't think I've ever seen anybody emotionally crumble that fast in my life. I could tell just by the look in her eyes that she was just falling apart. I had to look away, I just couldn't bear seeing her in that state.
"Would... you… like to hear about this book?
"We... we have to go." the kid replied.
"How about... an exciting... snail fact..."
"Toriel, please." I just solemnly replied. "Don't make this harder than it already is."
She was a wreck by now, I couldn't tell you how hard it was to have to tell her all that. It was as if we'd both taken turns swinging a sledgehammer on all her hopes and dreams.
"...I have to do something. Stay here."
She quickly got up and left the living room.
Frisk and I looked at eachother, and we quickly got up and raced after her.
I saw her going down the stairs, so I rounded the corner and darted down them, the kid right behind me.
Looks like I was right about the stairs.
It led us to a small corridor of sorts, made out of the same purple brick that seemed to be of no short supply in the ruins. We almost had to brake to avoid running into Toriel.
"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 and go back upstairs."
Her words were no longer warm, no longer friendly. They were cold, but not like that of say, a cold blooded killer. They were more akin to that of someone who's just seen too much.
She inched closer towards the exit and we remained in tow, ignoring her command for us to return upstairs.
We kept on following her until yet again, she paused.
"If you leave the ruins, they... ASGORE... Will kill you both. Or... You will kill him, and the underground descends into chaos. I cannot allow either. I am only trying to protect you, do you understand? ...go to your room."
Any traces of the loving motherly goat lady we had come to know were gone now. Her voice now colder than the dark side of the moon.
She inched forward and yet again, we disobeyed her order to return.
"Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning."
We were not fazed though, and continued to follow despite her warnings.
Soon enough, we found ourselves in front of a large stone door with that same crest inscribed on it.
It was cold down here, felt like a fucking meat locker. Definitely much colder than it had been upstairs and was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Finally, she broke the silence.
"You want to leave so badly? Hmph."
She turned around and faced us. I saw that look from earlier in her eyes, the look that had appeared when she started and just suddenly stopped talking about her past. I finally recognized what it was.
Hurt.
"You are just like the others. There is only one solution to this. Prove yourself... Prove to me that you are strong enough to survive."
The room suddenly began to grow dark, while fire from her hands began to glow bright.
Fuck.
FIGHT INITIATED
There she stood, fire at her hands and a stone cold expression on her face. The darkness was pierced by the glow of the fire and the ambient glow of our souls.
My turn was first.
Check - Toriel ATK 80 DEF 80, Knows best for you.
Oh that's just fucking wonderful.
A criss crossing pattern of fireballs flew towards us and we tried to dodge them.
Emphasis on tried, both of us got hit at least twice.
I yelped out in pain as one of the fireballs hit me in the side.
Goddammit.
Our turn came again, and the kid tried talking with her.
*But you couldn't think of any conversation topics.
Again came the fireballs, I did better this time. Frisk took a beating however, I think she even did worse than last time.
"I'm not going to fight you, Toriel!" I shouted at her.
She said nothing in response, but I could see tears threatening to break through her stoic, cold expression. More fireballs raced towards us.
Yet again, Frisk got hit several times, and she was getting pretty hurt.
"What the hell are you doing kid?" I yelled at her. "Are you trying to get hit?"
"Yes."
"Wha- Have you lost your damn mind?"
"I know what I'm doing! Trust me." she shouted back angrily.
I probably shouldn't have listened to her, but at the same time I realized something.
The streams of fireballs were starting to get more spaced out, more erratic, more prone to missing. I don't know what was going on, but I decided to trust whatever instincts were commanding her.
Both of us stood still and a few of them hit us. I tried my best to keep the kid from getting hit, which meant I had to take a few of them myself. The pain was unimaginable, but thankfully the barrage didn't last too long.
We repeated this action until the next stream of fireballs came, but they were so spaced out that only a couple of them managed to hit us.
I noticed that Toriel's expression began to change, and It looked as if she was having some sort of internal struggle.
Frisk, you are a goddamn genius.
I just stood there and none of the fireballs even came close to hitting us.
"What are you doing?" Toriel shouted.
She did the same on her turn, again the fireballs just went off to the side, almost as if they were intentionally missing.
"What are you proving this way?" She yelled again.
I spared her again, like clockwork the fireballs came but never hit.
"Fight me or leave!" She screamed at us, tears now visually rolling down her face.
The kid spared her again. "No, Toriel. We won't."
The fire on her hands suddenly diminished, and she gave us this resigned, defeated look.
"I know you want to go home but... But please... go upstairs now." She even managed to crack a smile. "I promise I will take good care of you two here. I know we do not have much here but..."
"Toriel, please." I said.
"We can have a good life here."
I so badly wanted to just accept her offer, go back upstairs and just stay with her.
But I knew I couldn't. I had to get the kid back to her family and get back to my ranch, back home. Sure, it felt empty and devoid of life, but it was still home. It was all I had left of my parents and I couldn't just leave it behind.
"Why are you making this so difficult?"
"It's not any easier for us." I retorted.
"Please, just go upstairs."
Frisk just shook their head. "Im... sorry. But we have to go."
Her voice was cracking by now, and she sounded like she was ready to burst into tears at a moment's notice. I'd be lying if I said hearing the kid like this didn't break my heart.
Toriel put her arms down and everything just... stopped.
"Ha ha... Pathetic, is it not? I cannot save even a single child... Let alone a child and a young man." She said, sounding tired and utterly defeated.
"I'm sorry, but we just- " I tried to say before getting cut off.
"No... No, I understand. Neither of you would be happy trapped down here. The ruins are very small once you get used to them. It would not be right for me to keep you both in a place like this. My expectations... My loneliness... My fear... For you, I will put them aside."
Her hands lit up again, and she shot a row of green fireballs, but instead of harming us, they felt warm and comforting.
Finally, the darkness around us diminished and everything went back to normal.
"If you truly wish to leave the ruins... I cannot stop you. However, When you leave... Please do not come back. I hope you understand.
{Music: Cruel Cruel World - Willie Nelson}
She bent down and embraced the kid, saying her goodbyes to her.
Not feeling comfortable with sticking around, I silently excused myself and went upstairs. I'd left most of my things in our room, and I needed them before we even thought about going anywhere.
It probably wasn't the best idea, she could've easily destroyed the door while my back was turned, but I wasn't thinking straight. Everything with her just had my mind all fucked up.
I went back up the stairs and walked around the corner until I found myself in what was formerly our room. I picked up my satchel from my makeshift bed before going over to the wardrobe and putting on my coat and hat.
Right at this moment, Toriel walked in, causing me to turn around in surprise.
She had that same resigned look that I'd seen her with earlier, but she still managed to give me a weak smile.
I felt sick. Shit like this never leaves you feeling well, so I walked over to her. The least I could do was give her some comfort, I owed her that much.
"Jack..."
"Toriel..."
"Jack, before you leave... I need you to do something. For me."
"What is it?"
"Keep Frisk safe. I... I know you have already been doing that, and a good job too. But please, just promise me that you will do everything in your power to keep not only her safe, but yourself as well. Even if it means... "
She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and composed herself.
"I know this sounds like a great responsibility but... Asgore cannot be allowed to get his hands on another human soul."
"Don't worry. As long as she's with me, she's safe. I promise I'll get her home."
"Thank you. But, if mercy fails... Do what you must."
I put my hand on her shoulder and looked right into her rust red eyes.
"It won't come to that, I promise." I said softly.
We stood there for a few seconds until I embraced her. A gesture that she quickly returned. We ended up holding eachother for a very long time.
It brought back memories. Memories of the worst day of my life, the day when my father was killed and when I had to comfort my own grieving mother while being grief stricken myself. God, I couldn't hardly fucking bear it.
"Thank you. Thank you for all that you've done for us. I'm never gonna forget your kindness." I told her, my voice beginning to waver.
"I don't want this to end..." I heard her say sorrowfully.
"Neither do I..."
She was tearing up at this point, but I couldn't blame her, I was too. Took all I had not to break down myself..
It was time for me to let go. I ended the embrace and she followed suit. Not knowing what else to say, I began to leave.
"Wait. Before you go." She went over to the wardrobe and rummaged around until she emerged holding a blue child's size winter coat, which looked similar to my own.
"Give this to her. It's very cold out there, and I don't want her leaving without some sort of protection from the cold."
I nodded, accepting the coat.
"And I almost forgot..." She presented a book, the book I had lent her. "I think you will want this back."
"No. I want you to keep it."
"A-are you sure?"
"Yeah. Consider it a... parting gift, from me."
She smiled at me again, another warm and comforting smile. " Well... Goodbye Jack. Goodbye and good luck."
"Goodbye Toriel." It hurt just saying that, everything just hurt.
I left her there, slowly and methodically walking the way I came.
I finally got to the end of the corridor where Frisk was waiting for me. Judging by the look in her eyes and how red her face was, I could tell she had been crying as well. I couldn't blame her though.
"You alright kid?"
She quickly turned away from me, hiding her face. "I-I'm fine."
I handed the coat to the kid. "Here, you'll need this. It's cold where we're going."
"...Thanks."
I waited for her to put the coat on. After she was done, we both just stood there, staring at the large stone door with the strange crest in it.
"Ready?" I reluctantly asked.
"No."
"*Sigh* Neither am I."
Despite our hesitation we trudged on and exited through the great stone door, leaving the little house in the ruins and the kindly old goat woman behind. Presumably, never to return.
Behind it was an exceptionally long corridor, again made of the same purple brick.
We were silent as we walked farther along, I noticed it started becoming brighter and brighter the further we went down it.
Finally, we reached an exit where beyond it lied a very familiar patch of grass with a very familiar smiling flower poking out of it.
"Clever. Verrryy clever"
All of my sorrow went away in an instant and my protective instincts kicked into overdrive. I reached for my pistol, but before I could blow a hole right through that smiling face of his, he shot right back into the ground.
"You two think you're really smart, don't you?" I heard from somewhere else in the room.
"Why don't you come out flowerboy? I got some "friendliness pellets" of my own for you right here."
The flower let out an evil cackle. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? I know you better than you think, Jack Marston."
"What?"
"This world is kill or be killed. I thought you would've already known that long before you dropped down here. Guess you're not as smart as I thought."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
His voice came from an entirely different location this time, slightly further away now.
"Oh, you know exactly what I'm talking about. I know what you are, and I know the things you can do to this world."
"Clearly you don't know me that well at all, I ain't that kind of person. Not anymore."
"You disappoint me Jack. So you spared the life of a single person. Yeah I bet you feel super great."
"Maybe I do. What concern is it of yours?"
"Sure, you didn't kill anybody this time, but what will you do when you meet a relentless killer? You'll just die over and over and over again until you tire of trying."
What the fuck is this flower talking about.
"What will you do then? Will you kill out of frustration?" His voice began sounding more demonic.
"Sure, how about I start with you?." I retorted.
"Yes! Give in to your inner desire. Or don't. It doesn't matter to me much, either way I'll still get to have my fun."
Suddenly he popped back out of the patch of grass in front of us, the white center of his face growing into this giant evil grin.
A high-pitched demonic cackle emanated from his lips, and before I could even think of shooting him, his face shrunk back to normal and he disappeared back into the ground.
Afraid that he would come back, I looked at Frisk and just said:
"Run."
We took off, running through the archway that led us out of the ruins and right into the frigid cold. Leaving the ruins and hopefully that goddamned flower behind us.
A/N: I had so much fun making this chapter, dramatic shit like this is always my favorite. I hope I didn't ham up the emotional moments too much.
If you've noticed, I've started adding in some music tracks that I think would match the tone of the scene. I've seen a few other authors do this in some form or fashion, so I decided to try it out myself. They'll mostly be songs from the UT or RDR soundtracks, or just songs that match the time period.
Also I've probably butchered world history in some form while writing that history book entry. So my apologies to any of you history buffs out there.
In any case, thank you for reading and see you next chapter.