Chapter Text
Flowey grumbled behind the three of you in his 'time-out bubble' as you and Toriel made light conversation.
As you went, she explained the fact that there were puzzles everywhere and how to solve them. (Such as the giant anemones that were fatal to the touch but had certain paths that weren't electrified. She insisted to lead you all through that one herself.) She also told you how fighting wasn't always the solution to something and if you were ever in trouble, you were to strike up a friendly conversation until she can come and scare the monster away.
No offence to her, but sometimes fighting is the only option.
You've learned that the hard way.
Toriel stops and turns to you when you all reach a medium sized cavern with a large black coral growth that looked like a tree from land in the middle of the cave surrounded by empty red sea snail shells. There was also a quaint little house made out of the same purple stone at the far side of the cavern. You could tell from a distance that she was growing different sea flowers and underwater plants in front of it in a garden. "Welcome to my humble abode, my child." She swims over to the house and opens the door for you. "Please make yourself at home. I need to head to the kitchen for a moment. I will be back momentarily."
She rubs a large paw over your long violet hair before swiftly swishing her strong white tail, disappearing into the kitchen.
Flowey seems uneasy being in the house, but you pay him no mind. You sigh and look down at your electric moray eel hybrid. "Well... Let's go look around while we wait for our host." With that, you and Panic drift off with Flowey's bubble floating after you.
You don't find much except for a room that's obviously for a child, one that has to be Toriel's, an overly large stone rocking chair with tons of tiny blooms to help cushion it, and a decent sized bookshelf with a vast collection of school books and... sea snail facts? There was also an underwater heat vent in a designated carved out spot in the wall near the rocking chair. There's a mysterious dark tunnel leading down below the house. You're curious but you decide to wait until Toriel is finished with whatever she's doing and is otherwise preoccupied.
You try to somewhat fix your hair from it's rather disheveled state by staring at yourself in the hallway mirror before giving up and making a mental note to find a comb or a brush later.
Flowey looks at you through the reflection of the mirror and scoffs at you. "There's no helping that, what do the human's call it? Oh yes, a rat's nest that you call hairrrrrr-OW!!!"
You had swiftly smacked the back of the bubble, causing it to smack him in the back of the head. He shuts up with a growl as he glares at you hatefully.
You rise an eyebrow and give him a droll look. "Did you really think that you can insult me without ramifications? Or did you just forget?" He glares at you for a moment before jerking his gaze away with a light blue flush to his face. You smirk and twirl out of the hallway and back into the living room.
Not a second after you wander back into the room, Toriel comes bumbling in with two plates with one huge steaming slice of pie on each and places one on each side of the table across from the rocking chair. The Capricorn-ish monster takes off her oven mitts and sets them off to the side as she smiles at you. "Well don't just sit there Y/n, dig in! I thought that you might be hungry after everything that's happened, so I made you my anemone and kelp pod pie. I do hope you like both ingredients..."
Aw. Maybe she didn't want you to stay for two long. Just long enough to eat and rest up. You smile at her and sit at the table to pick up your fork and dig in. "It's fine. Not a lot of merfolk like anemone because of it's stinging flavor."
Toriel snorts rather loudly and bleats out a laugh before quickly covering her mouth and letting out another bleating laugh. You smile. Huh. She must like puns then.
When she finally contains herself, you've finished her pie. It was one of the best pies that you've ever tasted. She inhales a large gulp of water and lets it back out again before looking back at you. "You like puns? That's just delightful! I do believe that you'll love living here, my child!"
Uh oh.
Flowey snickers from beside you as your face crumbles from it's easy going smile. "Toriel... I don't know how to put this delicately but I can't stay here. I have a family to get back to who's probably worried sick by now! I'd love to hang out some more, but the sooner that I get out, the less citizens my father will harass to try and learn of my location. And that brings up yet another question: How do I get out of here?"
Toriel's jovial mood was gone with the currents of a whirl pool. Her face goes slightly cold before straightening up with a flick of her tail. "I see. Come with me then."
She leads you over to where the tunnel is and swims in. After a quick second of hesitation, you beckon Panic to swim infront of you before grabbing Flowey's bubble and adding more magic to it to make it glow brighter.
Turquoise light dances across Toriel as you swim over to her. Her back is to you and infront of her is a gigantic set of double doors. "Tori-"
"Here it is. This door leads out into the rest of the underground. But you'll just end up like the rest. They come. They leave. They die. It's an endless and vicious cycle and I don't want another to suffer from it as long as I can do something about it!" With that, she whirls around and spreads her arms. You can feel the water around you start to flow faster because of the rising magic in the tunnel. "Prove it. Prove to me that you can take care of yourself!" You feel that tugging in your chest once more as your cartoonish turquoise heart fazes out of your chest and hangs infront of it as the tunnel gets even darker around you two.
Well shit.
Flowey seems nervous if a bit sullen. "Oh, she can... Believe me..."
You roll your eyes and mute the bubble before you turn to look at Toriel in sorrow. You know that you can take her. I'd be a bit difficult, but you've fought tougher. "I'd rather not, but I can tell that you wont back down so very well. Just know that I never meant to hurt you."
Panic hisses and tries to lurch forward, but you stop him with a raised hand. "No. This fight is my own. Stand down." He whines at you but drifts back a bit, nudging the bubble holding your flower delinquent so that it comes with him.
You wave your hand in a slight gesture and summon your glowing scythe. You see Toriel's eyes widen and flicker for a brief moment before hardening again. You position your weapon and dart forward, wanting this over with as soon as possible.
Toriel tries to shoot scorching hot bubbles your way, but you either block with your own magic or you just twirl around it. You control your swing, making it so that it takes most of her health without killing her. She was a good person at heart. She only wanted what was best for you.
Toriel gasps and clutches her chest as she sinks down to the floor of the tunnel. You let your scythe disappear as your 'soul' slips back into your chest and you swim forward to catch Toriel before she can touch the tunnel floor. It was rather filthy. "I must express my most sincere apologies, but I must get back to my family." Damn. Whenever you get nervous or particularly uncertain, you fall back into your 'formal Princess voice'.
Toriel groans but offers you a slightly pained smile. It's slightly bloody. "I-it's alright Y/n. I wanted y-you to show me, and you did. And I'm s-sure I'll be fine. All I need is some pie and I'll be g-good as new!"
She slowly moves her tail back and forth and rises. The goat-fish woman jerks like she just remembered something. "Oh! I meant to g-give you this earlier but... y-you know. Once you pass those doors, d-don't come back. But... Please keep in touch... m-my child."
Toriel reaches forward to tug you into a light hug which almost brings tears to year eyes before letting you go and slowly swimming away.
You reach for the door handles but you look back one more time and you find out that Toriel was doing the same. She smiles at you one more time before departing up through the tunnel and back into her house.
You sigh and pet Panic, who had swam back quickly (with Flowey in tow) when he sensed when the fight was over. "Well... that's that I guess. Let's go bud."
Panic let's out a series of clicks as you push open the heavy doors with ease. You pass through a cavern similar to the one that you had first met Flowey in. "Oh the memories." You mutter sarcastically.
After you exit that room, you reach another set of doors which you open easily as well. What meets you next are heavy cold currents. Why is it so cold!? You knew that the cold season wasn't supposed to come until six months from now! You shrug. Whatever. This place was trippy and you'll blame everything on that.
The cavern layout was vastly different from the Ruins. Out here, the stone was white with black streaks going up and down pretty far. On either side of you are tall walls with incredibly long stalactites and stalagmites. They sort of resembled the trees from the forests you researched about in school. This place was huge and it just kept on going. You wonder just how big this underground is.
You shiver and unroll the sleeves of your red turtleneck when a particularly cold current rushes past you. You have to wave your tail constantly in order to not be blown away, and you keep on moving forward. But just in case, you hold on to Panic and the bubble containing Flowey for a bit more balance.
You find a broken piece of a stalagmite laying on the white sand but you ignore it.
Once you're about ten feet away from it, the stalagmite shatters into a dozen pieces. You and your two companions whip around to stare at the shattered stalagmite in shock.
Flowey takes one look and glares at you. "Oh great! Just great! We're being stalked and are going to DIE! Down here, it's KILL or BE KILLED!!!"
Despite your better judgement, you feel a bit of a chill creep down your spine. You shake it off and keep going.
Seeing a rather widely spaced gate made out of coral, you speed up.
Just before you reach it, however, a deep gravely voice speaks up from behind you. "m e r m a i d . i s t h a t a n y w a y t o g r e e t a f r i e n d ? t u r n a r o u n d a n d- whoa there!"
Not one for dilly dallying, you summon your scythe and swing it behind you in a wide arc. There's a flash of blue and you look up to find... a skeleton man-fish!?
[TBC...]