Triad

[LKWayvern]

I'm pretty sure that I saw other fanfictions that were not Pokemon fanfiction here...

Anyways, this is an Undertale fanfiction I've been working on, called Triad. It's about three different timelines, each one affected by the other two. And my goal here is basically confuse everyone until the final reveal. Those timelines are Genocide, Pacifist, and Inner. The Inner Timeline is not a canon timeline. And it may or may not be considered a proper timeline at all.

At any rate, hope you enjoy Triad. I have about twelve chapters written right now, so I'll post one chapter a day until this site is caught up.

Triad
Arc 1: Ruins
Part 1

Inner

When the human fell into the Underground, they awoke on a bed of flowers. Golden flowers. They had a rather pleasant scent.

It was surprising that flowers capable of growing, down here.

The human stood up, leaning on the stick that had fallen down with them, and toddled forwards uncertainly. The human child was uneasy on their feet, and the stick aided them greatly.

Things were so similar, and yet the human was unsure why.

The human entered a new section to the cave, only to discover that they were not alone.

“Howdy!”

The stranger was familiar to them. An anthropomorphic goat with bright red eyes, wearing a green and yellow striped sweater, and a golden heart locket. The stranger smiled at them.

The goat smelled of the golden flowers that had broken the human’s fall. He seemed nice.

He smiled.

“I’m Asriel, Asriel the boss monster!” the goat introduced himself. “...You’ve fallen down again, right Chara?”

The name, like the goat, was familiar to the human.

“Golly. It’s been a while since you last did that!” Asriel remarked. “...It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. But you haven’t changed! Maybe it wasn’t really that long, it just felt long? Haha!”

He seemed happy… The human was unsure how to feel about this.

Asriel clapped his hands together. “...Well, we didn’t change. But I bet a lot of other things did! We should go look around the Underground, Chara!”

Asriel grabbed the human’s hand, and guided the human forwards, racing along excitedly.

They came across the facade of a large purple building. Was it that the building’s walls were high enough to meet the distant ceiling, or that the ceiling was low enough to touch the sturdy walls?

Nevertheless, the shadow of the Ruins loomed above, filling the human with Determination.

They walked up the steps, through the door, and came to a smaller chamber. There were raised stones in one side of the room, and the door seemed to be closed, blocking them off from the rest of the Ruins.

Asriel and the human stopped. Asriel turned to the human, smiling assuredly. “Oh, right! I forgot… Mom told me about this. She said the Ruins are full of puzzles, ancient fusions between diversions and doorkeys. One must solve them to move from room to room.” As he spoke, his voice took on a different tone. Older, wiser, motherly. His face changed to match. “Please adjust yourself to the sight of them.”

The tone and face were familiar to the human.

Asriel stepped on four of the raised stones in a sequence, and then used a lever next to the door, which opened with a click.

As the human and Asriel walked through the door, the human noticed an inscription on the wall. Words carved into the ancient violet stone that read ‘Only the fearless may proceed. Brave ones, foolish ones. Both walk not the middle road.’

In the next chamber of the Ruins, all along the wall there was a multitude of levers. Next to some of them was neat cursive, written in chalk.

Asriel walked up to them. “Right. Mom wrote notes of some of the puzzles, to help out other humans who fall.” Asriel smiled brightly at the human. “Of course they need it. They’re not like you, Chara. You’re better than any of them.”

The human walked up to the levers, taking time to read the cursive beside each one, and pulling the levers labeled as being the correct solutions to the puzzle. When this was done, Asriel and the human proceeded.

In the next room, there was a cotton dummy. It stared blankly at Asriel and the human.

Asriel looked over at the dummy. “Mom uses the Dummy over there to teach the other fallen humans about what to do in a FIGHT. She tells them to talk to a Monster who wants to FIGHT them, and then she’ll come rescue them.” Asriel grinned mischievously at the human. “Not like anyone’d attack you though, Chara! And even if they did, you’d be great at handling yourself in a FIGHT!”

The human stepped towards the Dummy.

Asriel looked surprised. “You want to try?”

The human nodded.

…

They remembered the Dummy.

FIGHT. The human stepped forwards, punching the the Dummy’s head clean off. Cotton flew everywhere, up the human’s nose, making them sneeze.

ACT. The human greeted the Dummy. The Dummy did not respond.

The human stared blankly at the Dummy.

Nothing happened.

“...Come on, Chara,” Asriel said.

They moved through the corridor beyond the Dummy’s chamber. The human thought that they were supposed to meet someone else… But no one came.

FIGHT. Kick the Froggit away. It wants to hurt me. Why else would it FIGHT?

ACT. Compliment the Froggit. It doesn’t actually want to hurt me if I ACT the right way.

It crumbles into a pile of white dust that lies forlornly on the ground.

It blushes deeply. That makes me laugh.

Asriel stopped in front of what looked like a bridge of spikes over of pool of indiscernible depth, and spun to face the human. “Here’s another puzzle. It’s kind of dangerous, but not if you walk it right!” Asriel paused thinking, then grabbed the human’s hand. “Stay right behind me, Chara!”

Asriel led the human across the bridge of spikes, walking in a very specific way. The spikes retracted before him, leaving a perfectly safe and flat path.

Once they crossed the bridge safely, Asriel continued racing across the ground, through the corridors. The human felt like things should be going more… slowly.

Strange. Why would they feel like that?

With Asriel’s help, they made it through many different puzzles. Until they finally reached something.

A black tree. The ground littered with blood red leaves.

The tree filled the human with Determination.

It made Asriel’s breath hitch.

The human turned towards Asriel. He was staring at the tree blankly, his breath shall and quick.

Concerned for the monster, the human tried taking Asriel’s hand in their own. Asriel’s hand eagerly gripped the human’s, squeezing as tightly as possible as if to confirm that the human was really real.

With their other hand, the human steered Asriel by the shoulder so he was looking at the human, rather than the tree.

Asriel’s breath slowly steadied. An uneasy grin crossed his face and he poked the human’s nose.

“Heh, heh…” His laugh was breathy, and not really there at all. Less a laugh and more an quick exhaling of air. “G-golly, Chara. I just noticed. When’d you get that bandage?”

[LKWayvern]

Triad
Arc 1: Ruins
Part 1

Pacifist

When the human fell into the Underground, they awoke on a bed of flowers. Golden flowers. They had a rather pleasant scent.

It was surprising that flowers capable of growing, down here.

The human stood up, leaning on the stick that had fallen down with them, and toddled forwards uncertainly. The human child was uneasy on their feet, and the stick aided them greatly.

Things were so familiar, it made the human smile.

The human entered a new section to the cave, only to discover that they were not alone.

“Don’t you have anything better to do?”

The stranger was familiar to them. A six-petaled yellow flower with simple dot eyes and line mouth, perched on about a foot of bright green stem. The flower smiled at them.

The flower smelled of the golden flowers that had broken the human’s fall. He seemed nice.

He smiled.

Everything flashed. The surrounding area faded into void. The color drained from Flowey. The human felt a strange, unnatural tugging from deep in their chest as a small red heart appeared in front of them, the only spot of visible color. The heart was colored dull red.

“See that heart?” Flowey asked, cheerful grin still plastered to his face. “That is your SOUL, the very culmination of your being! Your SOUL starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV! What’s LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course! You want some LOVE, don’t you? Don’t worry, I’ll share some with you!”

Flowey winked, sticking his tongue out.

Several small white spheres materialized around Flowey, spinning in space. “Down here, LOVE is shared through little white…” He paused.

Flowey’s expression shifted. The human thought he was still smiling at first, but no…

Is that a smile?

“‘Friendliness Pellets,’” Flowey finally finished his sentence. “Are you ready?”

The quote and quote ‘friendliness pellets’ began slowly converging on the human’s red Soul. “Move around! Get as many as you can!” Flowey advised.

The human dodged out of the way, their Soul trailing after them.

Flowey twitched. “Hey buddy, you missed them. Let’s try again, okay?”

More friendliness pellets appeared, moved at a faster pace towards the human’s SOUL. Nevertheless, the human dodged.

Flowey’s smile shifted into a scowl. “Is this a joke? Are you braindead? RUN. INTO. THE. BU--” Flowey’s expression and tone shifted back into his overly sappy facade in a heartbeat. “friendliness pellets.”

The human dodged once more.

Flowey finally dropped the charade, his face becoming demonic and his voice shaking. “You know what’s going on here, don’t you? You just wanted to see me suffer.” A ring of the so-called friendliness pellets encircled the human. “DIE.”

The ring enclosed on the human. They glanced about, searching for a way of escape while Flowey cackled loudly. Maybe they could jump up at the last second? Or--

A fireball smacked into Flowey and he quickly retreated.

A familiar creature entered the scene.

She was tall. Very tall. She was wearing a long robe that reached down to her paws, with a familiar sigil sewn on to it. A winged circle above three pointed triangles. She looked like an anthropomorphic goat, with long floppy ears and petite, curved horns.

The goat rushed over to the human child, comforting them and patting their head. “What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth…” When she had assured herself that the human was okay, she stepped away and smiled comfortingly down at the human. “Do not be afraid, my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come here in a long time. Come! I shall guide you through the catacombs.”

It occurred to the human that catacombs were tunnels meant for the dead.

The human followed Toriel as she walked ahead.

They came across the facade of a large purple building. Was it that the building’s walls were high enough to meet the distant ceiling, or that the ceiling was low enough to touch the sturdy walls?

Nevertheless, the shadow of the Ruins loomed above, filling the human with Determination.

They walked up the steps, through the door, and came to a smaller chamber. There were raised stones in one side of the room, and the door seemed to be closed, blocking them off from the rest of the Ruins.

Toriel explained to the human how the puzzles in the Ruins looked, and the human listened to her attentively. Or, at the very least, they did not interrupt her while she was speaking. Upon being given instructions by Toriel, the human obeyed them, pulling levers as directed.

“As a human in the Underground, monsters may attack you,” Toriel was saying. “You will need to be prepared for this situation. However, worry not! The process is simple. When you encounter a monster, you will enter a FIGHT. While you are in a FIGHT, strike up a friendly conversation. Stall for time. I will come to resolve the conflict.” She nodded at the other creature in the room, a stuffed, worn looking dummy. “Practice talking to the Dummy.

The human looked at the the Dummy. It stared blankly back at them. The human stepped towards the Dummy.

ACT. The human greeted the Dummy. The Dummy did not respond.

Toriel beamed at the human. “Very good! You are very good!”

They moved through the corridor beyond the Dummy’s chamber. While they walked, Toriel mused aloud. “There is another puzzle in this room… I wonder if you can solve it?”

While the human was walking, something familiar happened.

Everything flashed. The surrounding area faded into void. The color drained from Flowey. The human felt a strange, unnatural tugging from deep in their chest as a small red heart appeared in front of them, the only spot of visible color. The heart was colored dull red.

Froggit attacks you!

ACT. Compliment the Froggit. It doesn’t actually want to hurt me if I ACT the right way.

It blushes deeply. That makes me laugh.

Before the human and the Froggit could interact more, Toriel scared the Froggit off with a rather menacing glare.

Toriel continued down the corridor, until she stopped in front of what looked like a bridge of spikes over of pool of indiscernible depth, and turned to face the human. “This is the puzzle, but…” She paused, thinking, then took the human’s hand. “Here, take my hand for a moment.”

Toriel led the human across the bridge of spikes, walking in a very specific way. The spikes retracted before him, leaving a perfectly safe and flat path.

“Puzzles seem a little too dangerous for now,” Toriel remarked once they crossed the bridge safely. Upon entering the next corridor, Toriel stopped, and faced the human. “You have done excellently thus far, my child. However… I have a different request to ask of you.” She paused for a few moment, worry darting across her face before she managed to replace it with a smile. “...I would like you to walk to the end of the room by yourself. Forgive me for this.” Without another word, Toriel ran out of the human’s sight.

The human walked forwards, unfazed. Being alone was familiar to them. They walked in silence, the stick they had brought with them held loosely in their right hand as they trailed it across the purple brick floor.

After several minutes of walking, with only the sound of the human’s breathing for accompaniment, Toriel stepped out from behind a pillar at the end of the corridor. The human’s expression was unsurprised.

“Greetings, my child,” Toriel told the human. “Do not worry, I did not leave you. I was merely behind this pillar the whole time. Thank you for trusting me.”

The human gave no response.

“However, there was another important reason for this excercise,” Toriel continued. “...to test your independence. I must attend to some business, and you must stay alone for a while.” The motherly smile evaporated from Toriel’s face, leaving a look of concern. “Please remain here. It’s dangerous to explore by yourself.” Toriel’s face lit up. “I have an idea! I will give you a cell phone! If you have a need for anything, just call.” Toriel handed the human an old flip phone. They made no comment. “Be good, alright?”

Toriel turned around and left, more hesitantly this time.

She did not look back.

The human wandered forth, ignoring Toriel’s warning to stay put.

As they walked, they could not shake the sense that all this was familiar. Something they had experienced before. Not something that they knew before, but more like a place they had seen once in a distant dream.

Not enough memory to be useful, but just enough to let them know they knew the place.

They encountered many denizens of the Ruins, and though the monsters began the encounter by attacking the human, it rarely took more than a few quick actions to diffuse the situation.

Froggit hopped close.

ACT: Compliment. MERCY: Spare.

Whimsun approached meekly.

MERCY: Spare.

Moldsmal blocked the way!

MERCY: Spare.

The human’s wanderings were interspersed with constant calls from Toriel’s cell phone.

Ring.

“Hello? This is Toriel. For no reason in particular… which do you prefer? Cinnamon or butterscotch? ...Wait. Do not tell me. Is it butterscotch?”

The human informed her that their favorite was not butterscotch.

“Oh… I see. Well, thank you. Goodbye for now.”

Ring.

“Hello? This is Toriel. You do not dislike butterscotch, do you? I know what your preference is, but… would you turn up your nose if you found it on your plate? Right, right, I understand. Thank you for being patient, by the way.”

Ring.

“Hello? You do not have any allergies, do you? Huh? Why am I asking? No reason… No reason at all.”

The human managed to successfully navigate their way through the Ruins, relatively uninjured. Even when they encountered a depressed ghost lying in the crimson fallen leaves, they managed to cheer him up and avoid his magical tears for the most part.

They made their way through the Ruins, until they finally found something.

A black tree. The ground littered with blood red leaves.

The tree filled the human with Determination.

The Ruins had been like walking through the landscape of a distant dream made real. The tree felt familiar, but more like some horrifying fact you had heard long ago and have only now been confronted with.

The human was focused on the black-barked tree, and did not notice that Toriel was nearby for a few moments. “How did you get here, my child?”

The human stared blankly at Toriel.

“Are you hurt?” she asked, checking the human over, before standing up and looking somewhat awed. . “...Not a scratch… Impressive! But still...” Something flickered across her face. “I should not have left you alone for so long. It was irresponsible to try to surprise you like this.” She blinked, realizing what she had just said. ‘Err… I suppose I cannot hit it any longer. Come, small one!”

[LKWayvern]

Triad
Arc 1: Ruins
Part 1

Genocide

When the human fell into the Underground, they awoke on a bed of flowers. Golden flowers. They had a rather pleasant scent.

It was surprising that flowers capable of growing, down here.

The human stood up, leaning on the stick that had fallen down with them, and toddled forwards uncertainly. The human child was uneasy on their feet, and the stick aided them greatly.

Things were so different here, and it terrified the human.

The human entered a new section to the cave, only to discover that they were not alone.

“Howdy!”

The stranger was so different from anything they had ever seen A six-petaled yellow flower with simple dot eyes and line mouth, perched on about a foot of bright green stem. The flower smiled at them.

The flower smelled of the golden flowers that had broken the human’s fall. He seemed nice.

He smiled.

“I’m Flowey, Flowey the flower!” the flower introduced himself. “Hmm… You’re new to the Underground, aren’tcha? Golly, you must be so confused.”

The human nodded. This was not untrue.

“Someone oughta teach you how things work around here!” Flowey continued. “I guess little ol’ me will have to do it!”

The human nodded in appreciation.

“Read?” Flowey asked. “Here we go!”

Everything flashed. The surrounding area faded into void. The color drained from Flowey. The human felt a strange, unnatural tugging from deep in their chest as a small red heart appeared in front of them, the only spot of visible color. The heart was colored bright red.

“See that heart?” Flowey asked, cheerful grin spread across his face. It made the human feel better, somehow. “That is your SOUL, the very culmination of your being! Your SOUL starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV! What’s LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course! You want some LOVE, don’t you? Don’t worry, I’ll share some with you!”

Flowey winked, sticking his tongue out.

The human nodded, and cupped their hands, reaching out.

Several small white spheres materialized around Flowey, spinning in space. “Down here, LOVE is shared through little white…” He paused.

Flowey’s smile shifted slightly. The human took no notice.

“‘Friendliness Pellets,’” Flowey finally finished his sentence. “Are you ready?”

The human nodded, and gave Flowey a thumbs-up.

The friendliness pellets began helpfully moving towards the human. “Move around! Get as many as you can!” Flowey advised.

The human moved towards where the pellets were congerging, cupping their hands around the small white spheres… Before dropping to the ground, tears leaking from their eyes. The pellets exploded into their cupped hands, causing their palms to turn an angry shade of red, and start bleeding.

The human dropped to the ground in shock as more friendliness pellets bombarded them. They squeezed their eyes shut tight, and clutched their stick as hard as they could, like a child scared by monsters under the bed would clutch a teddy bear, under the mistaken assumption it would protect them.

The stick did not protect them.

“You idiot!” Flowey’s tone remained as bright and cheery as ever, the words he spoke clashing terribly with it. “In this world, it’s kill or be killed! Why would anyone pass up an opportunity like this!?”

The human curled up into a ball as a ring of the friendliness pellets encircled them.

“DIE.”

The human was curled up into a ball, and so did not notice a fireball smack into Flowey and cause him to flee, and the friendliness pellets to vanish.

Nor did they notice the new creature enter the scene. At least, not until she ran to the small human, comforting and healing them.

The human first flinched from the unexpected physical contact, then looked up at the creature.

She was tall. Very tall. She was wearing a long robe that reached down to her paws, with a strange sigil sewn on to it. A winged circle above three pointed triangles. She looked like an anthropomorphic goat, with long floppy ears and petite, curved horns.

She tried hugging the human close, and they stiffened up. “What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth…” When she had assured herself that the human was okay, she stepped away and smiled comfortingly down at the human. “Do not be afraid, my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come here in a long time. Come! I shall guide you through the catacombs.”

It occurred to the human that catacombs were tunnels meant for the dead.

The human uncertainly followed Toriel as she walked ahead.

They came across the facade of a large purple building. Was it that the building’s walls were high enough to meet the distant ceiling, or that the ceiling was low enough to touch the sturdy walls?

Nevertheless, the shadow of the Ruins loomed above, filling the human with Determination.

They walked up the steps, through the door, and came to a smaller chamber. There were raised stones in one side of the room, and the door seemed to be closed, blocking them off from the rest of the Ruins.

Toriel explained to the human how puzzles in the Ruins looked, and the human stared ahead, not seeming to see anything. They followed the commands Toriel gave them immediately and obediently. They followed after Toriel like a lost puppy, uncertain if they should trust a monster after their experience with Flowey, but suspecting Toriel was at least marginally better than the alternative.

“As a human in the Underground, monsters may attack you,” Toriel was saying. “You will need to be prepared for this situation. However, worry not! The process is simple. When you encounter a monster, you will enter a FIGHT. While you are in a FIGHT, strike up a friendly c--”

The human stepped towards the Dummy.

FIGHT. They punched the Dummy’s head clean off, scattering cotton everywhere. Cotton flew everywhere, up the human’s nose, making them sneeze.

The Dummy’s remains disintegrated into dust. The human looked confusedly down at their powdered white hands, then looked back up at Toriel, a questioning expression on their face.

Toriel gave the human a stern look. “Ahh, the Dummies are not made for fighting! They are for talking!” She knelt down, vigorously brushing the dust off the human. The human felt tempted to squirm away, but did not react. “We do not want to hurt anyone, do we…?”

The human did not want to hurt anyone. But they did not want to be hurt, either.

“Come now.” They moved through the corridor beyond the Dummy’s chamber. While they walked, Toriel mused aloud. “There is another puzzle in this room… I wonder if you can solve it?”

While the human was walking, something familiar happened.

Everything flashed. The surrounding area faded into void. The color drained from Flowey. The human felt a strange, unnatural tugging from deep in their chest as a small red heart appeared in front of them, the only spot of visible color. The heart was colored bright red.

Froggit attacks you!

The human’s breath hitched, and they began hyperventilating. They remembered this happening when Flowey attacked them.

FIGHT. Kick the Froggit away. It wants to hurt me. Why else would it FIGHT?

It crumbles into a pile of white dust that lies forlornly on the ground.

Dust was all over the human’s shoe and leg now.

Toriel simply brushed it off, not saying anything about what the human had just done.

Toriel continued down the corridor, until she stopped in front of what looked like a bridge of spikes over of pool of indiscernible depth, and turned to face the human. “This is the puzzle, but…” She paused, thinking, then took the human’s hand. “Here, take my hand for a moment.”

Toriel led the human across the bridge of spikes, walking in a very specific way. The spikes retracted before him, leaving a perfectly safe and flat path.

“Puzzles seem a little too dangerous for now,” Toriel remarked once they crossed the bridge safely. Upon entering the next corridor, Toriel stopped, and faced the human. “You have done excellently thus far, my child. However… I have a different request to ask of you.” She paused for a few moment, worry darting across her face before she managed to replace it with a smile. “...I would like you to walk to the end of the room by yourself. Forgive me for this.” Without another word, Toriel ran out of the human’s sight.

The human hugged themself tightly, before walking hesitantly forwards. The corridor seemed intimidating to them. Even if they were sort of scared by Toriel, they figured they were far safer with her than without. They walked in silence, their footsteps and breaths echoing off the purple brick walls.

After several minutes of walking, Toriel stepped out from behind a pillar at the end of the corridor. The human whirled around, startled by this, holding up their stick like a sword.

“Greetings, my child,” Toriel told the human, trying to sound reassuring. “Do not worry, I did not leave you. I was merely behind this pillar the whole time. Thank you for trusting me.”

The human gave no response as they lowered the stick.

“However, there was another important reason for this excercise,” Toriel continued. “...to test your independence. I must attend to some business, and you must stay alone for a while.” The human gave Toriel a look of fear. The motherly smile evaporated from Toriel’s face, leaving a look of concern. “Please remain here. It’s dangerous to explore by yourself.” Toriel’s face lit up. “I have an idea! I will give you a cell phone! If you have a need for anything, just call.” Toriel handed the human an old flip phone. They gave her a hesitant thumbs-up. “Be good, alright?”

Toriel turned around and left, more hesitantly this time.

She did not look back.

The human wandered forth, ignoring Toriel’s warning to stay put.

As they walked, they could not shake a sense of utter terror. They had not seen where Flowey had gone. He could pop up at any time. Or another monster like him could appear.

They clutched their stick tightly, ready to use it if they entered a FIGHT.

They encountered many denizens of the Ruins, and each time, the human hit the monster with the stick as hard as they could before the monster had a chance to attack, causing the monster to explode in white dust.

The dust was getting everywhere. All over the human’s striped sweater, dusting their hair, getting in their eyes and up their nose to make it hard to see and breath. They coughed the dust out of their lungs and rubbed it out of their eyes.

Froggit hopped close.

FIGHT.

Whimsun approached meekly.

FIGHT.

Moldsmal blocked the way!

FIGHT.

The human’s wanderings were interspersed with constant calls from Toriel’s cell phone.

Ring.

“Hello? This is Toriel. For no reason in particular… which do you prefer? Cinnamon or butterscotch?”

The human informed her that their favorite was butterscotch.

“Oh, I see. Well, thank you. Goodbye for now.”

Ring.

“Hello? This is Toriel. You do not dislike butterscotch, do you? I know what your preference is, but… would you turn up your nose if you found it on your plate? Right, right, I understand. Thank you for being patient, by the way.”

Ring.

“Hello? You do not have any allergies, do you? Huh? Why am I asking? No reason… No reason at all.”

The human managed to successfully navigate their way through the Ruins uninjured. Although they were terrified by the revelation that one enemy they fought, a depressed ghost lying on crimson leaves, had been lowering his ‘HP’ ‘just to be polite’. The thought crossed the human’s mind that maybe there are monsters like both Flowey and the ghost, Napstablook. What if there was monster that wanted to hurt them like Flowey, who didn’t want to lower their HP just to be nice?

...What if Flowey could do what Napstablook did, and they didn’t know because they never even tried to hit Flowey with their stick?

Nothing they could do then could make a difference, and their death would be certain.

They made their way through the Ruins, until they finally found something.

A black tree. The ground littered with blood red leaves.

The tree filled the human with Determination.

The tree filled the human with fear.

They did not know why. It was just a tree, not something that could potentially hurt them. But there was such an aura of sheer wrongness emanating from the tree, permeating the surrounding atmosphere and striking dread deep into the human’s heart. They clutched their stick tightly, backing away from the tree, unable to take their eyes off of its bark, black like the void of space.

The human was focused on the black-barked tree, and did not notice that Toriel was nearby for a few moments. “How did you get here, my child?”

The human stared blankly at Toriel.

“Are you hurt?” she asked, checking the human over, before standing up and looking somewhat awed. “...Not a scratch… Impressive! But still...” Something flickered across her face, as her eyes settled on the human’s dusty stick. “I should not have left you alone for so long. It was irresponsible to try to surprise you like this.” She blinked, realizing what she had just said. ‘Err… I suppose I cannot hit it any longer. Come, small one!”

[LKWayvern]

Triad
Arc 1: Ruins
Part 2

Inner

Seeing such a cute, tidy house in the Ruins gives you determination.

The human followed Asriel into the small, purple cottage. They entered, to find him already waiting for them.

They took a few moments to look around the house, waves of deja vu crashing onto them. Except, unlike in the Ruins, which had been a neutral form of familiarity like the route you walk to school or work every morning, this was… strange. They could feel two contrasting emotions in the familiarity.

A feel like home and happiness.

And a feel like fear and regret.

It unnerved the human.

For a moment instead of Asriel there, they saw someone else. Someone like him, but taller, with horns, wearing a long royal purple robe.

Why did you…?

How could I…?

“Chara!? Chara, are you okay?” Asriel’s voice broke through the emotions.

The human found that they had somehow curled into a ball on the floor, clutching their stick tightly. They slowly uncurled, and stood up, lookin at Asriel with confusion and concern.

“Chara, what happened?” Asriel asked, looking back at the human with concern.

The human looked down, and shook their head. Even they didn’t know quite what had come over them. How could they explain seemingly random memories and emotions that kept appearing, that had no rhyme or reason yet seemed to belong to the human…?

Asriel suddenly stepped forwards and hugged the human. The human tensed up, then relaxed, slowly returning the hug.

It felt like… Something they had experienced before, that had not belonged to them.

It felt weird.

They pulled away from Asriel.

An awkward moment passed, before Asriel broke the silence.

“...Hey Chara, smell that? I think mom’s making cinnamon pie! That’s your favorite, right?”

The human shook their head. A look of confusion crossed their face.

Asriel’s face mirrored the humans. “Huh? Um… I guess we have changed, kind of?” He tried to smile. “...Even if it’s not your favorite anymore, you remember how mom’s pies are really good! Come on, let’s go try it!”

Asriel took the human’s hand, and slowly led them to the kitchen, before leaving them there and dashing off. Asriel returned with two pillows and a plushy. He set the pillows on the floor, and sat the human down on one. The human was grateful to be sitting. Asriel handed the human the plushy.

“My favorite’s at the castle, where Dad is. But I know you like all my plushies a lot,” Asriel told the human.

The human nodded. The plushy was familiar, in a not-overwhelming way. Just faint contentedness coming from this one.

Asriel grabbed the pie from out of the oven, as well as some plates. He carefully sliced out pieces of the pie placing them on the plates, and offered one of the plates to the human. The human thanked Asriel, and slowly ate the pie.

The pie was familiar in a contenting way, too.

The human noticed Asriel smiling at them while they ate their pie. And they suddenly realized that they were smiling too.

When they were both done, Asriel took the plates and put them in the sink, before gathering up the pillows, and guided the human towards a bedroom, placing the pillows on the bed.

The human at this point was too tired to register the feelings of happiness coming from the room. They collapsed onto the bed, and vaguely felt Asriel getting in the bed behind them.

They drifted off to sleep like that. Hugging the plushy Asriel had given them.

Chara… Please wake up, Chara. I don’t like this plan anymore…

…

...I trust you Chara.

Stay determined…

The human woke up to find that at some point Asriel had fallen halfway off the bed, taking most of the blankets with him, pooling under his head. His legs were somehow under the human’s side, and the human’s arms were still locked around the plushy.

Asriel snored in his sleep.

The human placed the plushy on the bed, and woke up Asriel.

“Snrrf? Mrr? Oh, g’mornin’ Chara…” Asriel’s mouth gaped as he yawned.

The human asked Asriel where his mother was.

“Mom? She’s not here?” Asriel furrowed his brow. “...She should be here. I mean, she’s always here. She never leaves the Ruins, except when--”


Asriel trailed off, his gaze unfocusing for a moment, before he shook his head. “...She’s probably in the house somewhere. Maybe she’s still asleep?”

The two searched about the house, and after a short period of time they had searched all the rooms. Asriel’s mother was nowhere to be found.

“...Mom’s gotta be down in the basement. She does go down there sometimes,” Asriel reasoned.

They headed down the stairs. The human clutched tightly to their stick.

They remembered this hall.

Overwhelming guilt was crushing them.

They didn’t want to be here.

Asriel looked uncomfortable too.

“You wish to know how to return ‘home’, do you not? Ahead of us lies the end of the Ruins. A one-way exit to the rest of the Underground. I am going to destroy it. No one will ever be able to leave again. Now be a good child and go upstairs.”

“Every human that falls down here meets the same fate. I have seen it again and again. They come. They leave. They die. You naive little child…If you leave the Ruins… They… Asgore... will kill you. I am only protecting you, you understand? ...go to your room.”

“Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning.”

“You want to leave so badly? Hmph. You are just like the others. There is only one solution to this. Prove yourself… Prove to me you are strong enough to survive!”

Standing in front of the door was a familiar creature warped horribly.

She was tall. Very tall. She was wearing a long robe that reached down to her paws, with a familiar sigil sewn on to it. A winged circle above three pointed triangles. She looked like an anthropomorphic goat, with long floppy ears and petite, curved horns.

Her face was covered by a blocky mess of static.

The human’s ears were ringing.

Asriel looked horrified. “Mom!?”

[LKWayvern]

Triad
Arc 1: Ruins
Part 2

Pacifist

Seeing such a cute, tidy house in the Ruins gives you determination.

The human followed Toriel into the small, purple cottage. They entered, to find her already waiting for them.

They took a few moments to look around the house, waves of deja vu crashing onto them. Except, unlike in the Ruins, which had been a neutral form of familiarity like the route you walk to school or work every morning, this was the familiarity of a place in which you had once lived, and dearly loved.

“Do you smell that?” Toriel asked them, smiling broadly. “Surprise! It is a butterscotch-cinnamon pie! I thought we might celebrate your arrival. I want you to have a nice time living here.” Toriel’s smile shifted to something slightly more teasing. “So I will hold off on snail pie for tonight.” Her expression brightened again. “Here, I have another surprise for you!”

Toriel headed down a hallway to the right, her soft paws padding first on hardwood floor, and then on soft carpeting. The human followed her. Toriel stopped in front of a door and spun around, a huge smile on her face. “This is it!” she exclaimed. She excitedly took the human’s hand, and led them right to the door. “A room of your own! I hope you like it!” Toriel affectionately rubbed the human’s head.

The human did not react.

Toriel suddenly stopped, beginning to glance about, deeply sniffing the air. “Is something burning…?” She glanced down at the human. “Um, make yourself at home!” The goat monster quickly dashed away.

The human opened the door, stepped inside, and promptly stopped in their tracks.

It was their room.

For the first time since they had fallen to the Underground, their first true outward display of emotion, or anything besides neutrality. They sunk to their knees, eyes wide open at the nearly identical room.

...Nearly.

They crawled to the toybox, and peered inside. Dusty toys. The human didn’t recognize any of them. The human shoved the box under the bed, not wanting to look at the unfamiliar toys. They stood up, and walked unsteadily towards another box, peering inside. Their eyes boggled. Child’s shoes. Their vision started getting blurry with tears. They couldn’t focus on that now. They reeled for a moment, falling backwards onto the carpet, roughly.

After rubbing the tears out of their eyes, they walked towards the closet, throwing the doors open.

Striped sweaters.

Their sweaters…

None of his...

They threw themself on the bed, tears welling up again, burying their face in the pillow for a few moments before starting to punch it repeatedly. They kicked their legs wildly.

There had been other children.

WHY.

Had Toriel forgotten about them and him? Surely she hadn’t she wasn’t the type to do that, right? And he hadn’t been erased like that old man.

There was no way.

The human peeked over the edge of the bed.

His plushies. His favorite one wasn’t there, sadly. Nevertheless, the human grabbed one, hugging it tightly.

...Was it that it didn’t smell like him anymore, or that they had forgotten what he had smelled like?

They drifted off to sleep like that. Hugging his plushy.

...

……

………

Who is Chara?

Why do you keep calling me that name?

Who are you?

I can’t find the way out. I thought I had found it, but it’s not there…

Where am I?

Someone please help me…

The human woke up to find that they had been sleeping rather restlessly. Their arms were still locked tightly around the plushie, but most of the blankets were partly wrapped around their legs and partly cascading off the ball in a fabric waterfall. One pillow had fallen off the bed, while the human had curled up almost completely on the other.

The human slowly uncurled, and sat up, casting their gaze across the room. There was a plate sitting in the middle of the floor. On the plate was a pie. It had once been piping hot, but had long since cooled over the night.

The human slid off the bed and landed on the floor, stepping towards the pie and crouching down near it.

They were not hungry.

They went back to the closet, avoiding looking at the green and yellow striped sweaters. There, at the bottom of the closet, was a small bag.

The human picked up the bag, walked back to the pie, and placed the pie slice in the bag.

The human marched directly out of the room, right up to Toriel. Toriel was sitting in an armchair by a blazing fire, donning reading glasses and reading a large book. She looked up as the human approached.

“Up already, I see?” she asked the human, giving them a warm smile. “Um. I want you to know how glad I am to have someone here.”

The human did not respond, their neutral mask absolutely perfect.

Toriel continued, lost in her fantasy. “There are so many old books I want to share, I want to show you my favorite bug-hunting spot.” Her eyes lit up, she turned her attention back to the human completely. The fire popped and crackled merrily, seeming to brighten to match her mood. “I’ve also prepared a curriculum for your education! This may come as a surprise to you, but I have always wanted to be a teacher! Actually, perhaps that isn’t very surprising?” She paused. “...Still. I am glad to have you living here.”

Toriel smiled fondly at the human for a few moments. The human stared pointedly back.

“Oh, did you need something? What is it?” she asked the human.

The human asked how to leave the Ruins.

There was an awkward pause. The fire died down.

Toriel finally broke the silence, giving the human a strained smile that tried to be reassuring. “Wh-what? This… this is your home now.”

The human stared blankly.

Toriel glanced about the room for a suitable distraction, before her eyes settled on the book she was reading. The strained smile returned to her face. “Um. Would you like to hear about the book I am reading? It is called ‘72 Uses for Snails’! How about it?”

The human stared blankly, and then repeated their question.

Toriel looked flustered. “Ummm…” Her cheeks colored, and she shoved the book in front of her snout to hide that. “How about an ex-exciting snail fact? Did you know, ah, that snails… Snails sometimes flip their digestive systems as they mature? Interesting!” As she spoke the snail fact, she seemed to calm down slightly, easy the book back into her lap and smiling earnestly at the human.

As though by conveying all the emotions clashing within her through her facial muscles, she would be able to convince this human child to stay here, no matter their emotions or reasons for wishing to leave.

The fire churned nervously.

It failed.

The human stared blankly, and then repeated their question.

Toriel’s face fell.

The fire went out.

“...I have to do something. Stay here.”

Toriel got up and ran so fast that she accidentally dropped the book on the floor.

The human followed her, down the stairs to the basement.

The basement was familiar to the human. At first it was just familiar in the way the Ruins had been, but then the human detected in the familiarity a stomach-wrenching sense of guilt and regret.

Guilt and regret that did not belong to them.

The human walked forwards, and stopped when they were several feet behind Toriel’s back.

Toriel’s hands were clenched into fists, and trembling.

“You wish to know how to return ‘home’, do you not? Ahead of us lies the end of the Ruins. A one-way exit to the rest of the Underground. I am going to destroy it. No one will ever be able to leave again. Now be a good child and go upstairs.”

Her words were authoritative, an ultimatum.

But her shaking voice betrayed her emotions.

She walked down the corridor as quickly as she could.

The human followed at their own pace, stopping again several feet away from her back.

Her arms and shoulders were slack now, her fingers loosely curled into fists.

“Every human that falls down here meets the same fate. I have seen it again and again. They come. They leave. They die. You naive little child…”

Her voice now was a unique voice. It was low, a monotone. The voice of someone who had seen history repeat so many times that she was very nearly resigned to it, very nearly ready to give up. And yet there was still so much fight in her. Sparks of a fading fire that simply refused to fade and cool.

“If you leave the Ruins… They… Asgore... will kill you.”

That single name. So drenched in so many powerful negative emotions. Hatred. Anger. Fear. Sorrow. Loathing.

That single name.

So. Damn. Familiar.

And confusing emotions, not the human’s, that came rolling in with the familiarity.

Fear, first.

Then determination.

And finally understanding, and pity.

“I am only protecting you, you understand? ...go to your room.”

Her voice very nearly broke.

She walked down the corridor as quickly as she could.

The human followed at their own pace, stopping again several feet away from her back.

Toriel had corrected her posture. Ramrod straight spine. Her joints were locked. Head held high. Eyes staring straight ahead. If it weren’t for her words, it would be impossible to tell if she realized the human was there or not.

“Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning.”

Her voice was like steel. Cold and unyielding.

She walked down the corridor as quickly as she could.

The human followed at their own pace, stopping again several feet away from her back.

She was relaxed, ready for something. Her fingers flexed, and limbs stretched.

“You want to leave so badly? Hmph. You are just like the others. There is only one solution to this. Prove yourself… Prove to me you are strong enough to survive!”

Toriel had buried any sign of her emotion under an imposing vocal mask of steel and ice.

The human was unfazed.