I've finally reached the Internet and I can post a new chapter.
The previous one is here.
Happily Ever After
Chapter 2 - Ruined Expectations
You're taking a slow walk after receiving a small tu-toriel (heh) from the guardian of the ruins. Now that you think about it, it was somewhat alarming. When you jokingly tried to shift the right switch instead of the left, Toriel panicked so much as if the floor would collapse under you if you did, so you immediately moved away to calm her down, feeling a little guilty. Although... maybe this concern is caused by the condition she found you in.
You shook your head, pushing the unpleasant memory away. Another strange thing was the force with which Toriel squeezed your hand while taking you over the bridge with spikes. Your hand still hurt a little, even though you didn't show it.
Maybe she always holds human's hand that tightly, and you just didn't know it.
Anyway, now that you're alone (except for Flowey, whom you occasionally spot out of the corner of your eye here and there), you can explore the Ruins properly. They turned out to be much narrower than you expected, their shabby purple brick walls, dimly lit by torches hanging on them, depressed you. Dancing flames created bizarre shadows when interacting with cracks and chips. The long-familiar place now seemed creepy and hostile. You shivered, gripping the stick tightly with your good hand.
And then you remembered the phone that was given to you. Without thinking twice, you dialed Toriel's number. You just wanted to talk to someone, hear a friendly voice, and relieve the tension.
However, you didn't come up with anything other than "I just called to say I love you hi".
“This is Toriel,” she answered, as it seemed to you, in a slightly tired voice, “Are you bored? I should have given a book to you. My apologies.”
Strange. She usually says this if you give her a hello call about 3 times.
“Why not use your imagination to divert yourself?” Toriel continued after some silence, “Pretend you are... The main character of your favorite tale! You do have a favorite story, do you not? Face all the challenges along the way with a will of iron. Can you do that for me?”
The call ended with a click.
Feeling a little better, you determinedly continue to move forward.
...Only to stand rooted to the spot a few meters later.
You've completely forgotten about this place. A phantom pain swept through your whole body at the very thought of what you had to do.
In front of you, across the entire width of the corridor, there was a section with a sinking floor.
Remembering your soft landing at the very beginning, you didn't want to fall into some pit again at all, but had no choice. There's no other way to get through here.
After taking a deep breath and watching the brick fall with a thud to the floor below, you finally take a step...
The next moment, you were rubbing your bruised hip, hissing in pain. As expected, the thin layer of fallen leaves in the middle of the room didn't help cushion your fall, nor did the golden flowers.
At least you didn't break anything this time. You could say you got off easy.
It was only when you got back up that you remembered you could jump, and that very small in length gap could be completely avoided.
***
After going through a few more rooms and having a unique experience of communicating with a living stone (brr), you came across something incomprehensible.
Well, actually, you came across another Froggit, but what happened during the battle caught you completely off-guard.
The battle has begun, your soul has (already habitually) passed through your chest into the open air. The first time it happened, you didn't even immediately realize that your soul didn't look right. Only upon closer inspection did you notice that its bottom part had been broken, creating a slanted edge. Fortunately, no one seemed to notice.
After easily dodging the attacks, you used the customary tactics of complimenting Froggit.
But unexpectedly it didn't work.
Your opponent just looked at you strangely, after which a new batch of attacks followed. Before you could react, you missed a few.
When it was your turn, you mentally asked your invisible companion for help.
‘Upon what basis do you presume I shall render assistance?’ they replied in the same bored tone, ‘My forced association with you does not obligate me to supervise your actions; I suggest you exercise your own judgment.’
You were about to ask why they were so unfriendly, but missed a few more attacks, although it seemed like it was still your turn.
You didn't have much strength left, and you only had one monster candy to heal, which you might need in a battle with a more serious opponent. It was necessary to act immediately.
Trying not to miss any more hits and attempting a few different approaches, you finally found a common language with this Froggit, and you parted ways.
Apparently, not all the old strategies work the same way.
The rest of the journey Home only confirmed your fears. When playing a game, you can think about every move as much as you want; you're outside the constraints of time, and the same approach works equally well for all similar rivals. But in real deal, things turned out to be much more complicated. Some were no problem, while others behaved completely differently than you expected, and everything depended on your ability to respond to the monsters' unpredictable actions.
It seems that your travelling won't be as easy as you initially thought.
***
Standing in one of the corridors on the approach to the old capital of monsters and stretching your neck, which was stiff from the draft, you did something else that you had never done here before. You looked up.
At first, you didn't see anything remarkable on the ceiling - just a set of chaotic cracks. But when you looked a little more closely, you realized that this was not the case. These weren't just random cracks and notches. It was a map.
Burning with curiosity, you got your bearings and, following the map a little back into the Ruins, found a secret room behind one of the pillars. It was much brighter than most of the others, as there was almost no ceiling from above, and the Sun generously shared its rays with anyone who came in here. Tall grass covered a significant part of the cracked walls overgrown with moss. It looks like no one has been here for a long time.
One of the bricks in the wall especially caught your attention. It was half pulled out, and there were a lot of cross-cuts on it, like from a knife.
‘Congratulations, you've found mom's favorite bug-hunting spot,’ the voice said, dropping its "official" image, although still not expressing anything, ‘...or, at least it was.’
You cautiously asked what had happened to make this place abandoned.
At first, no one answered you, but after a long silence, you got a short reply:
‘You'll see.’
Not wanting to push anymore, you exposed your face to the warm light, the feeling of which you had already forgotten. However, your sunbathing didn't last long because your phone rang and you heard Toriel's anxious voice asking where you were. A little crestfallen, you said you were already approaching the house and left the room.
Toriel's house turned out to be much nicer than in the game. The freshly painted walls, without a single scratch, and the softly glowing windows with lace curtains beckoned to go inside.
SEEING SUCH A CUTE, TIDY HOUSE IN THE RUINS GIVES YOU DETERMINATION.
