36I will admit I slinkied down the stairs. Despite having several months of practice, I had no idea how to get down otherwise. To be honest, I also did it because I was feeling a little silly, despite the danger of being caught.
I got to the bottom of the stairs and started marching down the long hall. It was darker than the rest of the Ruins, with periodic torches lighting the way.
I turned into the next hallway when I felt a shiver run through me. In fact, it kind of felt familiar… Oh crap. I remembered this feeling. I felt it while I was falling into the Underground, but I was too distracted trying to land that I hadn't really thought about it. I could hear the shower turning off upstairs…
I started dashing to the door that lead out. If I could just make it there before Toriel finds me…
I had almost reached the room with the door when I heard her run down the stairs. "Human, please wait," she called out, not yet able to see me. "It is dangerous outside the Ruins! Other monsters may try to-"
Toriel burst into the room, to find me pushing my head against the door. It's heavy, but I managed to open it just enough. "Little One, what-" I slipped out, ready to escape into Snowdin Forest.
But it wasn't the forest I found myself in. I had completely forgotten about this room- the second place you meet Flowey in the game.
And he was already there.
"Oh, here already, are you?" His face sunk in. "Did seeing someone else's happiness bother you? Did you hate seeing what you could never have again?" His bullets popped out. I didn't know if I could escape in time-
"Little One!" Flames shot out of Toriel's hands as she appeared behind me. The ground parted with a sfft as Flowey dodged. He was gone.
"Little One." I turned around and instantly regretted it. Toriel was looking at me with a strange face- I honestly couldn't tell what she was thinking. "How did you set off the Soul Detection alarm?"
Oh shit. Now she knew something was up. 'Should I be honest?' Yeah, I probably should be.
"No know." I managed to warble out. She looked surprised at my talking. I guess she wasn't expecting an answer. It was too late now, but I guess what they say is true- deny, deny, deny.
"Are you like that flower then? Incomplete?" I looked down and shrugged. I had no idea if my situation was like his, if by some sort of accident or willful science. "Is your BATTLE scene incomplete as well?"
I stared at her, confused. Those were real? "No know. Yu'man." She looked shocked again, then her face calmed once again.
"Of course you wouldn't know. Humans cannot initiate a BATTLE. I am sorry for this but… May I, Little One?" I nodded my head yes. She was a maternal figure in the game- I trusted her here.
Black lines extended from her chest where I assumed her heart would be. They consumed the world around us, and everything turned black and white. Where I was once grey I darkened, and my white bleached. A box appeared between us, and inside was a hollow periwinkle heart.
My soul.
The white box shifted into three yellow ones- FIGHT, which was dim; ACT, and MERCY, which were brighter. I moved my soul over to ACT, and selected talk. A voice, much like my old human one, rang around us- it almost seemed to sing.
*Let me go forward. I cannot stay here.
Toriel inclined her head towards me. "I cannot end the BATTLE, Little One. You must either show MERCY, or kill me to end it." No, I was not going to kill her. I selected MERCY, and spared her.
The black returned to her, and she started sneezing again. I backed off a little, hoping to lessen the agrivation I was causing her. Her sneezing died down, and she spoke to me again.
"You truly wish to continue, don't you?" I nodded. "Very well. I cannot stop you, but I can offer you advice." She looked me dead in the eyes. "Non-sapients don't have souls. Do not let others know about yours. It is not strong enough to help break the Barrier, but I have little doubt other monsters will try."
I nodded again. "Do not use your FIGHT. It is broken, and will harm you just as much as it would your opponent. If you do, expect it to be the last."
She moved over to the door that lead to the forest. "I cannot offer you any form of communication. I am sorry, but if you leave, you cannot come back. I will not open this door for anyone on the other side, even you. Are you sure?"
I nodded my conviction, and she opened the door. I was one step closer to leaving, and being able to survive. I stepped through, and mew'd a goodbye to her. With one last sneeze, she shut the door behind me.
There was no turning back.
I checked the bushes outside the door. Yes, there was a camera. Alphys is so nosey. But so was I. Reminded that the anime that she liked was called MewMew Kissy Cutie so… I did probably the cutest thing I had ever done.
I poked my head into the bushes, so that I was right in the camera lense. Sniffing the camera (it smelled like salt and lizards) I started to lick it- hey, it still had salt on it! I hadn't had salt in months! Alphys must have spilled some of her ramen on it. I licked that camera probably as clean as it was going to get.
One of the things I missed most about being a human was the food. Sure, I missed my family, but I would be seeing them in a few years anyway. Cats aren't able to eat all the same things as humans- and that was another reason I had little desire to be a pet. I would constantly reminded of what I couldn't have anymore- at least I was alive and could come back to them when the time came.
Hearing a soft crack behind me, I jumped and turned around. There was a skull not two feet behind me! Feeling silly, I saw the rest of the skeleton crouching behind me. Sans was wearing a white turtleneck underneath his jacket, along with mittens for his hands. He was dressed just like in the game.
Sans lifted himself back up, chuckling and brushing the snow off his knees. I noticed he was a little over half the size of Toriel. "y'know, lil'buddy, dr. alphys doesn't like anyone messing with her cameras." His voice was deep and blunted, like someone trying to fight off sleep. "the lady on the other side of this door has some great puns- unlike mine, which are a cat-astrophe." leaning on the doors to the Ruins, he winked at me and sat in the snow. "you want to listen in?"
Hell yeah! I didn't really think Toriel was still there, but I wouldn't want to miss any interaction with someone who wasn't allergic to me. Feeling bold, I draped myself right on his lap. It was a little boney(skull joke- yo ho ho ho ho!) but his clothes were padded, so it was fine.
Sans knocked on the door, but no one answered. I guess I was right about Toriel being gone, but that didn't stop him. Scratching me behind the ears- damn that felt good- he continued with his joke. "who's there? bones. bones who? no bones about it, this is a bad joke." He paused. "nah, dishes would probably work better. dishes a bad joke."
Looking down at me with pupils that seemed to glow, he scratched underneath my chin. "my brother only deserves the best of my jokes, even if he doesn't appreciate them. don't you agree?" I nya'd in delight. He was magical with his fingers- I was almost asleep at that point.
That was how I drifted off, sitting on Sans' lap as he made knock knock jokes to an empty room.
A/N- some clarification, because I am not a good enough author to get everything I want out.
BATTLE scenes and incomplete souls- only monsters can initiate a BATTLE, but only their opponents can end it. This causes problems with animals, because the default button is fight- most animals are not smart enough to choose anything else, and will have to end with either the monster or the animal dying. Because Flowey is not complete, his BATTLE scene is different- you cannot attack him or run, but he can't kill you. As omega, his scene is different because he can no longer make a proper one. As TALOH, he isn't able to kill you, even if his scene looks correct. The MC is also somewhat incomplete, so BATTLES don't affect her the same way. Flowey will never be able to BATTLE her, but they can attack each other. It takes a large amount of power for a monster to interrupt or end a BATTLE they set, like Papyrus and Toriel do.