To my utter surprise, when trekking through the Ruins, I saw the layout was much more of a maze than I was used to, with some different alcoves leading to the houses and homes of other monsters who lived in the Ruins, me even managing to find a house that was owned by Decibat and Dalv, which I never expected to meet the duo, or that they actually were good friends, what with Decibat being sensitive to sound.
"Shh, don't make a sound," Decibat said when I was about to ask their names with my voice. So, instead, I tried using sign language, which the duo gawked at.
"You understand the language of hands?... Very curious..." Dalv said with a small, forlorn smile, them then speaking in their own language that I was also able to decipher, morse code. "You're a human, right? What brings you to our humble abode?" Dalv asked in the code.
"I'm actually trying to find the way to Toriel's house... but this place is a big maze," I signed.
"If you wish to know the fastest way, we can give you a map," Decibat said in chirp version of Morse Code, which Dalv then gave me a map of sorts, me seeing that it was a big maze, of course, but that it did give the names of the homes of all the monsters in the Ruins, with there being two exits. One to Toriel's house and one through the deepest parts of the Ruins, which would lead to the older version of Snowdin, which had been buried during the last earthquake, so it had an x on it that was more recent than the other notes.
"Did anyone die during that earthquake?" I asked them in sign.
"Some did, but only a few. Most of them managed to evacuate prior, thanks to a warning system from the CORE. The only casualties were from folks that didn't want to leave, those being some members from the Honeydew Inn and at least one bloke from the Dunes named Ed," Dalv said in Morse, me nodding as I then thanked them and left, me wondering if I'd meet any of those monsters from that long ago, if I met Dalv and Decibat here as well.
"How many monsters are in the Underground, Chara?" I asked her when I was sure no one was around after leaving the house of Decibat and Dalv.
"Oh, there's about 1500, but most of them live in Snowdin and Hotland. Waterfall and the Ruins are for the more reclusive monsters. The ones that used to live in the half of the Underground that got caved in moved to Snowdin and Hotland, dependent on which they wanted to live at... but all the robots that were programmed ended up getting disassembled. Now, only Mettaton and Tsunderplane remain," Chara said, me smiling at that.
"I see," I smiled as we then got into encounters with a couple more monsters in the Ruins, them being the ones that were in both Undertale Yellow AND Undertale, each one being concerned of me being human and trying to attack me, but I had to avoid them as best as I could... the magic went right through my body, and it seemed to only afflict my soul, which I had learned the hard way that it did react in different elements depending on what hit me. If I was hit by a white attack, I expelled a fire shield that would expand and burn the monsters, but luckily, so long as the fire was put out quickly, it didn't count as an attack, and I was quick to apologize. Of the lot, Whimsum, Crispy Scroll, and Sweet Corn were the ones to got flamed, but I quickly put them out before they could get hurt... well, Sweet corn did get puffed, but she actually smiled upon looking at herself in the mirror of Rorrim, which she thought made her look even cuter... and honestly? I agreed, same with a passing Penilla, who immediately asked to not only do a sketch of Sweet Corn, but a sculpture along with it!
"Aw, I'm getting famous thanks to you! Who knew that attacking a human and getting burst into flames would be the best thing to happen to me for over 100 years?" Sweet Corn asked, me smirking in bashfulness.
"Yeah, maybe spread word of that? How my soul creates fire when it's attacked? I don't want to hurt anybody accidentally and I certainly don't want to end up making the Ruins burst into an inferno," I said with a small smile.
"You bet!" Sweet Corn smiled as she and Penilla went ahead and did as I requested... well, to everyone except for a certain napping ghost, who laid on the ground and pretended to sleep through everything. I then went to the ghost and smiled as I heard him start to pretend.
"Zzzzz... zzzzz... are they gone yet?... zzzzz..." he said, pretending to sleep. Badly. I then smiled and laid my head down on top of Napstablook... and surprised both of us when I actually managed to be able to touch him with my body, which he looked up and spoke. "O-Oh... I... You can touch me?" he asked, me sighing at him.
"Shhh... I'm trying to feel like garbage..." I said, him then understanding.
"Oh, okay... let's do it together..." he said, us then laying down and Chara eventually joining in, us looking to the ceiling and picturing the scene. The whole world being beautiful... and us just being trash cans... and after, I felt at peace, just like I could in both the game and in my everyday life. It was a great way to calm down from a hectic day or a bad gaming session.
"Everything is gorgeous... and I am just a speck of dust in a vast universe of beauty..." Chara said as I smirked... she was feeling something. I sighed as I then got up and Napstablook then got up as well, but Chara remained on the ground.
"Thanks for joining me... what are your names?" he asked bashfully. But Chara didn't notice. She was busy feeling things again.
"I'm Scarlet Johnson... and my friend? Just call her Princess... she's been here the longest of anyone... don't repeat that, please?" I smiled.
"Ah, I see her a lot, actually... she joins me for feeling like garbage a lot... it's the only way she can feel emotions... being a ghost without a soul can do that to you," Blooky smiled happily. I then gave him a hug and he smirked at the gesture, even if he couldn't hug back.
"It feels nice to be touched by someone else... only she was able to do so... it's nice to finally know her name, too... I'm gonna get going now... thanks for the experience... bye..." he said before then phasing through the wall, me smirking at how Chara then stayed laid down for about five extra minutes before we then proceeded forward again, our duo encountering a couple more monsters in the form of Flier, a couple Froggits, a Vegetoid, Migosp, and a Loox. As for the Loox? He actually gave me some valuable information while I bought some Spider Donuts from the money the monsters had been giving me from helping them out via mercy actions.
"I heard that the first human that came down here, the Cyan Soul owner... her ribbon is being kept at Toriel's place. Your soul is one of Knowledge, and you said you can see things no one else can. Maybe you can see her memories by holding that ribbon?" he said, me gawking and nodding.
"I'll give it a try, thanks for the head's up," I smiled, me then going to the final place, that being right by Toriel's house... but, before that, I saw another alcove that led to another room, me looking inside of it... and being surprised at who I saw living in this alcove's house. I knocked on the door of the bird-shaped house and, when I did, the one who opened the door was just as I thought it would be.
"Hello, how are you... doing... today..." the voice of best girl in Yellow, Martlet. She was even more adorable to see in person, as everything looked realistic instead of cartoony and pixelated. So Martlet looked adorable. But she looked at me with surprise before then recomposing herself. "Ah... hi there, little one... I thought you were someone else when I first saw you..." she said with concern.
"I can imagine as to who... I've learned from a certain ghost that you were friends with the human who last fell down here," I said, which she blushed at and looked to be sweating.
"Uh... y-yeah... ahem... who was this ghost, just curious?" she asked.
"Her name is Princess, and she was here since before the barrier was made. See, I have a knowledge soul, so only myself and other ghost monsters can see her. She's actually the ghost of a human, minus the soul, as her conscious mind stayed while her soul left for the afterlife," I explained, Martlet gawking.
"Wow... it must be the mass amount of magic in this place, making it so she can stick around... well, I'm Martlet... I moved here shortly after the incident with Clover... it's quite lonely in the Ruins, though... better to be here than in the other part of the Underground, since it ended up getting buried in the big cave-in of 1979," Martlet sighed. "A-Anyways, you want to talk about anything else?" she asked, me thinking about it before getting a very big idea.
"Actually, I wanted to ask if you'd like to accompany me to the rest of the Underground," I asked, which Martlet gasped at.
"B-But Asgore..." she said with concern, me shushing her.
"Believe it or not, I have a way to convince him to abandon the war plans. It said that the force had to be equal to 7 human souls, right? Well, 6 plus 1 equals 7," I said, which made Martlet gawk at my idea before her beak gained a bit of an upward smile. "I could free everyone in the Underground with those souls, but if I did that, Asgore would need to abandon the Armageddon plans. From what I'm aware of, the humans on the surface don't even remember the war from that long ago, and monsters are thought of as fairytales as opposed to real-life," I said, which she sighed and nodded at.
"Clover was surprised too, when he saw all of it," she said, me then being surprised that she knew Clover's gender... so that meant Clover was male but preferred to be called they. "Okay, I'll join you, but only to help protect you from any kind of threat. I used to be a member of the Royal Guard, so I'll try to give you a good idea of what to expect on the way through the Underground. Would you like to practice your skills against me?" she asked, me saying no immediately. "Why not?"
"My soul has a kind of fail-safe against attacks from monsters. If I get hit by a magic attack, then I take damage and my soul expels a fire shield that hits the monster who attacked me. I don't want to end up getting thanksgiving turkey too early," I said, which Martlet frowned at.
"Uncalled for, but thanks for the warning," she pouted.
"At ease, soldier, it's just a joke. I couldn't resist," I smiled.
"Yeah, Clover liked to joke a lot too. But his sense of humor was more childish. Yours is a bit more morbid... you're a nice guy, right? Can I at least check your stats?" she requested, me nodding as she then checked me... and she gawked. "Oh my... your attack is actually -9 and your defense is 33... LV 1, HP 30, and FUN 1000... you aren't a normal human, I can tell... care to explain?" she asked, me being surprised that even my FUN value was shown... and it was that high.
"Well, guess I gotta tell the full truth, then... I kind of fell asleep in a different reality, where humans are the only true monsters, as they do a lot of bad things, just as much as good... and when I fall asleep in my bed, I wake up in the Underground right outside the entrance to the Ruins... and surrounded by monsters of all kinds, joined by the spirit of a human who came before, and strange food that heals me the moment I eat it," I said with a smile.
"That's a lot to take in... okay, let's get to Tori's place, then. It's been a while since I last visited, so I hope she's okay with it," Martlet giggled as we then went out of her place and to Toriel's abode, where we saw the tree in the center of a garden of orange grass, which I saw had a word etched into the trunk. Chara. I looked at my companion and she sighed at the sight.
"Here is where my body lies... trapped forever underneath the tree... it's best that the body stays there..." Chara sighed.
"It'll get better, I promise," Martlet said... wait, what? I then realized she was holding my hand at that moment... so I then looked at Chara, who was equally as surprised.
"Did... did you just hear her?" I asked.
"Yes, I did, actually. I was surprised, but it was nice to hear her voice. She sounds as cute as you do," she smiled, me blushing at that.
"Uh, trade secret, I was in my mid-20s when I was sent to this world. So it's super weird being in the body of a little kid who has terrible taste in fashion," I admitted, which Chara looked at me and nodded.
"Agreed on that much. Whoever's body you were placed into, it looks like they wanted to stay nondescript, kind of like me," Chara admitted as I then gave a call to Toriel, since she still hadn't come out of the house. And then, after I did so, she then came out of the house right away and looked at me in surprise, especially since I was next to Martlet.
"Oh my! I see you convinced Martlet to pay me a visit as well. How have you been, hon?" Toriel asked with a smirk.
"It's been a while, I know. I was hoping to accompany young Scarlet on his journey through the Underground. Y'know, to make sure he doesn't get into trouble... besides, I've been wanting to visit friends in Snowdin and Hotland for a while, now. And I'd love to see how the Underground has changed since I last left the Ruins," Martlet smiled, which Toriel smirked at.
"I give you my approval... but before that, why not come into my humble abode and take a rest? Maybe a slice of Butterscotch Cinnamon Pie?" Toriel asked, me immediately getting wide-eyed at that as my mouth immediately salivated.
"Mmm... must eat lovely pie..." I smiled as Toriel giggled and she led us in... and the smell upon entering the house? It was the greatest thing my nose had ever smelled. Sweetness with a hint of bitter... and Chara got all woozy from the smell as well.
"I can tell you've got a sweet tooth, much like Clover did," Martlet smiled, which Toriel looked surprised at as we then went to the table and I smiled at how the pie was there, completely made and ready to slice. I sat on the middle seat, then Toriel cut the pie as Chara then sat in the seat on the right side and Martlet on the left... and Toriel was confused as to why I proceeded to get a slice and place it on the side where Chara sat.
"Um... is that slice for me? Or your ghostly companion?" Toriel asked, me responding by slicing another slice for Toriel, her getting the point shortly after and her smiling at the taste... as for Chara? She was shocked at what happened. She was not only able to pick up the silverware but was actually able to eat the pie!
"Oh my god... I can taste it again... and eat it... I can't believe it... I missed it so much..." Chara said, tears in her eyes that were normal as opposed to black blood.
"Uh... is the ghost actually able to eat the pie? Your soul must be stronger than I thought," Martlet admitted.
"I'm not surprised. Knowledge souls are able to do a lot of things, like bringing memories to life slowly but surely. If Scarlet stays around this memory for long enough, it'll rub off enough to the point that she'll be alive again, and even her soul will regenerate back," Toriel said, her words making me gawk, but luckily, I didn't choke.
"She can... be alive again, huh?" I asked, Toriel nodding at that. "Uh, speaking of, I was told by Loox that you happened to have an item that used to belong to the Cyan Soul... could I ask to see it? Maybe I can gain another ghost on my side?" I asked, Toriel smiling and nodding as she then went to her room shortly after, me waiting and looking at Chara, her smiling with her eyes closed.
"Me, being alive again... I can't believe that's possible... but if it does happen, Flowey would want me dead even more, especially if my soul returned... please, I ask that if that did happen, that you'll protect me as much as you possibly can. Promise me, Scarlet, that I won't be in danger," Chara said, me nodding as I crossed my heart and gave her a pinkie swear.
"I swear on my life, I will not let anything happen to you, princess," I smiled, her nodding at that.
"Also, smart nickname to make sure nobody knows who I am... especially since they also called me Princess of the Underground when I was Asriel's sibling," Chara smirked back at me as Toriel then finally came back with the ribbon, me then looking at it and... seeing that, in the fabric of the ribbon, there was a memory waiting to be seen. I then touched said ribbon... and gawked at how I saw the sights of the soul of Patience!
The sight was one that looked quite scary. The Underground was, at this moment, only just becoming finished, with some places still under construction. And the human, her being a 7-year-old girl, had to make a disguise for herself, as per Toriel's request so she could fit in with the monsters. But then, she met a certain Royal Scientist. One who was tall, white, and spoke in hands and cryptic messages. He saw right through her disguise and lifted it, which got a whole slew of monsters to look at her and be shocked.
"I apologize, little one, but you know how it is..." Gaster spoke, his voice sounding almost exactly like the creepy beeping noises that he made in the fan mods and animations! And his voice as able to be heard normally, but Wingding messages came out of his mouth as he spoke, which were his form of attack as they slammed into her body and, after, she gasped as I could see she was bleeding all over.
"N-No... p-please... I... I just... wanted to... g-g-go home..." she cried, which her tears made a couple other monsters go to her as if she needed protected, which included, get this, Noelle Holiday!
"Gaster, don't do this! Mary's nice, I promise!" Noelle said with fear in her eyes.
"It's just how things have to be, Noelle... please, step aside," Gaster said, Noelle crying as she then did the opposite. She stood in the way and stood between Mary and Gaster. "Apologies, but this needs to be done..." Gaster said, him then grabbing Noelle with his conjured hands, her then being flung towards the house and going through the walls, her being okay, but very sore after! And after this? The whole town looked at Gaster in a new emotion. Fear. Now they were terrified of him.
And after he grabbed the soul of Mary (after slicing her head off of her body), he then was about to leave, but then, the whole town chased after him.
"HEY! Get back here, murderer!" shouted the voice of Mo, me gawking at that as Gaster kept walking through Waterfall, making a temporary barrier for the monsters chasing him. And the whole time, Mary was fully aware in the form of her soul.
"Please... it hurts so much... I just... I want my mommy..." she cried. But it fell on deaf ears, as Gaster couldn't hear her. And then, just as quickly as the memory played out, it abruptly ended as Gaster teleported himself and the soul to the castle.
And after seeing the memory, I saw that time barely moved after seeing all of it... and in the hands of Toriel was not only the ribbon... but also, shocking everyone, was something else... or should I say... SOMEONE else!
"M-Mary?" Toriel asked at seeing her.
"TORI?!" she cried before then hugging her goat mom, me gawking at this along with Chara.
"H-How is this possible?! He revived her?! What?!" Martlet asked in shock.
"I knew Knowledge souls were powerful... but not only did you revive her from death, but I also sense a soul in her now... it's almost impossible to think about..." Toriel said as she let Mary down onto the ground... and before you ask, she was not only revived from death, but she was even in the same outfit she was in during the memory, it being a very old, brown dress that looked to be from the 1400s, around the time Columbus would've come to America. But if I was right, we weren't even in America... my best guess, we were either in Europe or Asia.
"Um... so... what day is it today? I feel like I was asleep for a very long time..." Mary asked, which made Toriel look at me and then at her.
"I'm... I'm sorry, Mary... it's been a very long time since you fell down here and fell asleep," I said, me then pointing to the nearest calendar, it being a calendar for 2024, the year I'd been in before then being sent to this world in Frisk's body. And the date? February 17th. My birthday was coming up in only a week!
"It's been... 700 years?... Mommy... I couldn't see her again..." Mary cried, me then hugging her as gently as I could, her sniffling and crying into my neck as we hugged, me feeling a couple tears go down my face in the process.
"I'm sorry, Mary... from what your memories said before you woke up, you were found out to have been a human instead of a monster, and a monster tried to defend you from the Royal Scientist at the time, Doctor Gaster," I said, Toriel's ears perking upwards at the name, as well as Chara's.
"Him? How do you know about him?" Chara asked.
"Can I finish the story, then I'll tell you," I said, them nodding as I then spoke more. "And Gaster, when he saw that the monster, named Noelle, tried to stop him from hurting you... he grabbed her with his conjured hands and sent her through a wall into a nearby building. She wasn't hurt, she was just sore. And after that, Gaster killed you, swiped your soul, and looked completely uncaring as the other monsters in Snowdin tried to chase him for killing you in such a cold manner," I said, Mary gasping at that.
"T-That's right... I was in a lot of pain... I was... I was dead?" she asked before then feeling her chest. "Then... why do I have my soul back?... And... did you save me?" she asked, me nodding at that. "That must mean you have a Scarlet Knowledge Soul... it's one of the most potent ones out there! Only five people are capable of having a soul such as that at any point in the world, and you have one?!" she asked, me gawking at that. THAT was how rare they were?!
"Uh, yeah... odd, but my name is actually Scarlet Johnson... and my soul is considered as Scarlet, huh? Then why is it all brown with a yellow border?" I asked as I showed it off, Toriel then looking at it with a smile.
"The name comes from the fact that it's a mixture of different soul powers, those being Determination, Justice, and Perseverence, it being a shade of grayish brown, so it's actually the shade of Dark Rust, meaning that it's got a high FUN Value... I can tell the FUN Value is a very high amount, something I didn't expect from you... maybe that's why you happen to know about that name... Gaster... I can't believe I forgot about that name..." Toriel said with a shiver.
"Why would you forget a name so mysterious as that?" I asked her.
"I didn't think I would. He was our Royal Scientist since before we were trapped Underground! But then, shortly after I lost the Marc to the Royal Guard, I suddenly... it was as if I forgot all about him. It's so weird," Toriel admitted.
"I think I know the reason. He was like me, lost to the Void. Only by being close to the most memorable location of that man's work will you be able to see him, much like how I'm mostly remembered in the entire Underground... so where would he be?" Chara asked, me frowning at that.
"My ghost friend just told me that it's because of something called the Void. Maybe this strange place makes people forget about whoever gets sent there? My ghost friend used to be stuck there, but she had a lot of memories in the Ruins, so when I arrived with my Knowledge soul, she was able to come back as a conscious mind, but missing her soul," I smiled.
"Huh... interesting... I wish to ask you a question, Scarlet," Toriel smiled at me. "Can I ask you and Martlet to do me a huge favor? I wish for you to go throughout the Underground and try to find articles of clothing or important items that belonged to the humans who came before... if you can manage to do this and revive all of them, I ask you to keep them safe... and be good, please? I don't want you to end up hurting people like Marc and Antoinette did," she said, me nodding at her.
"I promise to save them and, for Marc and Antoinette, I'll try to find out why they hurt the monsters and have them not hurt anyone," I smiled, Toriel smiling at me.
"Now, when you finish with your pie, how about I test your mettle downstairs? I want to see if you can dodge my attacks for a total of 5 minutes. If you succeed, I promise to assist you further on your journey, so long as you give me a call on your phone," Toriel smiled, me nodding at her... and then?
"What's a phone?" Mary asked.
"It's something that can allow you to talk to people from a far distance away. So I could probably give a call to someone who lives in Snowdin from all the way in Hotland," I smirked.
"Wow... that sounds amazing!" Mary smirked as she also got to eat a slice of pie and, after we finished eating our delicious food, I then had one packed into a bag Toriel provided that was like a magic space pouch and, afterwards, we proceeded downstairs, us going to the door and for Toriel to then proceed to test my mettle in a fight of her hurling fireball attacks at me...
I managed to last for exactly 4 minutes and 59 seconds, just barely missing the 5 minute mark. "Dammit, I didn't make the cut... off by one second," I groaned.
"That's quite alright, I can still consider it a victory, Scarlet. If you ever need any advice, just give me a call and I'll try to give you some kind of assistance," she smiled.
"I appreciate it a lot... well, time to go through the Underground... stay safe, Toriel. We have a long journey ahead," I smiled, me then getting into a group hug with her, Martlet, and Mary... as for Chara? She knew not to get into the eyesight of any of them, so she waited behind Toriel and, after everything, we then dispersed with my group going through the door... and us seeing that Flowey was right there, and he looked at us with a smug smirk... that is, before he noticed our larger group.
"Wait... what the hell is going on here? You brought little friends with you?" Flowey asked, me then placing a save spot on the ground, which he looked at me with a sinister grin. "Hehe, you must think you're safe with a big team, huh?" he asked, which Martlet frowned at him after.
"I remember you. Anytime I saw Clover, he always spoke of a yellow trickster that wanted him to kill. He said he never believed you, because you were a rumor weed. And now I see it was literal," Martlet said as she then held her wings into a fist. "I suggest you waltz away, before you feel the fury of a former Royal Guard!"
Flowey snickered as he then sent out a couple vines, me then frowning at him about to hurt Martlet, so I loaded my save, which he looked at me in confusion... and my allies? They looked confused.
"What?... Weren't there vines just now?" Martlet asked, Flowey then gasping.
"Y-You actually remember?!... Hmm... I see now. Knowledge. Oh, how I'm going to have fun hating you. You want to be the nice guy? Fine. You're good cop, I'm bad cop. Let's see what happens in the coming future, shall we?" Flowey asked before then giving a sinister giggle, him then retreating underground after giving a pretty hefty threat.
"He's... he sounds evil..." Mary admitted.
"And he's not one to make empty threats. We need to keep going and keep an eye out for any kind of treachery hew might do," I frowned, us then going through the large door and into the frigid air that was Snowdin.
"Ah... Snowdin... it's been ages since I've been here..." Martlet smiled. We then proceeded to trek through the snow... and I had to hope that a certain skeleton would be okay with me having a bigger group than normal.