Chapter: The ruins

Toriel is leading me through the ruins, and she's killing every monster we come across. What have I gotten myself into? Anyways, after a little while she leaves me alone in a long hallway. "I'll be back my child! Try not to die!" She cackles and then walks away.

"Alright Flowey, you can come out now. She's gone" I whisper to Flowey who has been hiding in my backpack. I'm surprised that the backpack survived the fall down here. Flowey then pokes his head out of the backpack to check if she's really gone. He let's out a sigh of relief once he sees that she is. She agreed to let me take him along with me, but he's afraid of her so he wanted then stay in my backpack. Who can blame him though? He's been through a lot by the looks of it.

"Alright, let's think of a plan to get out of the ruins. Quickly I would suggest"

"Well I was thinking that maybe we could try to soften Toriel up and then convince her to let us leave!" Once I've said this Flowey just laughs at me.

"Her? Softened up? Hah! Yeah, that's not happening"

"Well I don't see you coming up with any ideas"

"Hey! I'm thinking..."

"Yeah, sure you are" as soon as I say this, Flowey gets flustered.

"Let's just think of something already......."

"Fine, maybe we-" I'm cut off when a Froggit jumps in front of me. Froggit approaches flashes across my field of vision. "Aw, look at the little guy! He's kinda cute!" I say as I inch closer to the Froggit.

"N-no Y/n! He'll-" Flowey is then cut off when the Froggit attacks me. "He'll attack you....." he then finishes.

"Ow!" I exclaim, "I've learned my lesson then" my HP then drops down to 18/20. HP? Is that supposed to be my health, like in video games?

Hm, well I've got to not die, but I don't want to fight it! So, I spare it. The Froggit just stares questionably at me and then attacks.

This time though, I dodge his attacks. Flowey starts cheering me on from where my backpack lies. He can be pretty annoying sometimes, but he can also be kind of adorable. The fight keeps going. Me sparing him, the Froggit attacking me. After a while, he finally gives in. Once he's been spared by me for the final time right now, he hops away. I take this moment to rush over to the flower sitting in my backpack.

"You did great out there! Maybe you'll be able to do that to Toriel! And you wouldn't be able to die, you would be able to keep using your save files!"

"Wait what?! What save files?!"

"Well you have a red soul, red for determination. All of the determination in your soul allows you to use save files and to reset the timeline"

"So.....like a video game then?"

"Basically"

"Alright, so does that mean that I've also got limited lives?"

"As far as I know, you have unlimited lives"

"And I have this power because I'm determined?....."

"Yes, now can we please get moving? I don't want to be down here any second longer than I need to"

"Fine Flowey, let's get out of here then" I say as I sling the backpack over my shoulder. We exit the ruins, sticking together like the duo we've become.

After several hours of sparing monsters, we finally reach Toriel's house. It's entirely red on the outside, with blood splattered on every single wall. Is this going to be the place I die in?....wait, there's still my save files. It'll probably be a while until I get used to having save files. If I'm being honest here, it'll take a while to get used to the fact that I'm basically living inside of a video game.

As we enter the house, I notice a scent. It smells as if someone's baking. But there's something.....off about it.

"Alright Flowey, we're here"

"Put me back in that backpack then, I refuse to interact with her"

"Fine, but you'll have to stop hiding sometime"

"Hiding is how I survive...." Flowey mutters as I put him back in my backpack. He probably didn't want me to hear it, but I did anyways. I keep pitying him more and more as I get to know him.

"Don't pity him. His story may be sad, but pity will get both of you nowhere" I jump at the sudden voice before I realise that it's the voice I was hearing earlier. "Yeah yeah, it's the voice that makes you think you're crazy. You haven't been down here long enough to be considered crazy" and how would they know? They're only a voice after all. "I'm much more than a voice Y/n, I used to live with these monsters. I know what it's like down here" they lived down here? "I used to be alive, like you. But I killed myself so that my soul could be used to free the monsters. The plan backfired and my soul was used for..... something else. My name is Chara" Chara? Hm, that name sounds somewhat familiar to me.

"So you survived then my child?" Toriel steps out of what appears to be her living room.

"Y-yes T-Toriel" I stuttered.

"Don't stutter. It shows weakness" Toriel says before walking over to me "Now get up and I'll show you to your room. Unless you'd prefer to sleep outside with the Froggits and Whimsums" that gets me up and moving. She leads me down a hallway and stops in front of a door. "This, will be your room for as long as I keep you"

"By that, she means for as long as it takes for her to kill you" well that's cheerful. "Who said I'm optimistic? Who said that I would help you be happy?" Good point then. I open the door and walk inside the room, only for Toriel to slam the door shut. Looks like I'm staying in here for a while.

This room isn't too bad. A little too little kiddy, but it'll suffice. I put the backpack down on the floor and look through the closet. What I find is a pot and some clean clothes that look like they're exactly my size. I desperately need these.

I slip them on and they fit perfectly. Next, I take the pot and put a sleeping Flowey in it. I turn the light off, put Flowey back in the backpack, plop down on the bed, and slowly fall asleep with a smile on my face. It's strange, but I finally feel some sort of happiness.

The sweet aroma of pie wakes me up. I look down at the floor and discover a slice of pie. When I pick up I get an eerie feeling about it, but I ignore it and I'm about to eat it.

"No Y/n! Don't eat that pie!" Flowey exclaims. I lower the pie and frown at Flowey.

"And why shouldn't I?"

"It's made with monster dust" the moment he finishes that sentence I drop the pie, feeling glad that I didn't eat any of it.

"Let's just try to leave now........"

"Yeah, let's" Flowey says as I grab my backpack, sling it over my shoulder, and walk out of the room. I walk over to Toriel who is sitting down reading a book.

"Hey Toriel?...."

"Yes my child?" Toriel glances up from her book and at me.

"When can I leave?"

"And why would you want to do that? I've given you food, clothes, and a roof over your head. What more could you want?"

"I want to go home..."

"This is your home now"

"No, it's not. My home is up on the surface"

"Well it's probably not that good if you came down here" I stare at her, taken back by what she just said. She's right, my home on the surface isn't good at all. It's terrible. "Excuse me my child, I must go take care of something. Stay right here" Toriel says before she goes down into the basement.

"So we're following her, right?" Flowey questions.

"You know it flower"

"Oh boy, here we go" I then rush downstairs after her. I want to leave, yet I don't. Toriel had brought up a good point. On the surface, I only have pain and misery to look forward to. Would staying down here really be all that bad? Then again, this place is filled with bloodthirsty monsters who all want to kill me. What have I gotten myself into this time?