After scavenging the room for supplies that I might need outside of The Ruins, Flowey and I started making a plan while I sorted through and organized the stuff I had found.

"So you know when Toriel goes to sleep?" I asked while checking a large black jacket with fur on the hood for holes. "Yes, it's around ten minutes after the clock chimes in the living room." Flowey said, trying to climb inside a sock with a large hole where the toes should be. I looked up from the black jacket and at Flowey. "How do you know all this?"

Flowey managed to wiggle inside the sock so that it fit snug around his stem like his own little coat. "I have to know, Toriel is one of the only ones here in the Underground who still has human blood to drink from her pies." He flinched. "Sorry, I just, really needed it at the time." He turned his head in shame, his petals drooping a bit.

I smiled and patted his petals, making his head turn and his large green eye focus on me. "Look, from what you told me earlier about hope, determination, and all that jazz, I won't judge you for how you acted in the past. You're good now, and that's all that matters." Flowey's petals perked up at my words and I could imagine a large smile would probably be on his face.

"You're one of the most understanding humans I have ever met! Thank you, Y/N." I accepted his compliment with a smile. "Your welcome, I guess, but c'mon, if we wanna leave her tonight then we better hurry and get this stuff packed."

I turned from the bed where I had been looking through clothes and opened up the desk to see what was inside. There was a lot of useless things like erasers or old drawings, but I noticed the sharp glint of scissors sitting next to a small cluster of pencils and pens. I grabbed the scissors and looked at the blades, seeing that they were quite sharp and would be very useful if I ever had to defend myself.

I closed the desk drawer and set the scissors on the bed next to the black jacket. I walked back over to the closet and starting shifting through the clothes inside until I found dark jeans that were close to my size and a dark F/C shirt that was a bit big on me. I grabbed the two articles of clothing and set them next to the jacket and scissors, realizing that I didn't have any shoes.

Turning back to the closet and looking through it one more time, all I found were a pair of mis-matched socks. "Hey Flowey," I said, putting the socks on over my bare feet. "Yeah?" He asked, looking over at me. "Do you know where any shoes my size would be?" Flowey thought for a moment before turning to the bedroom door. "Toriel keeps the shoes of every child that has fallen down in the living room next to the fireplace, I'm sure you'll be able to find a pair that fits you." I nodded and picked up the shirt, about to take my nightdress off when I realized Flowey was still there.

"Uh, could you turn around so I can change?" I asked sheepishly, Flowey nodding and turning around to give me privacy.

I took off the tattered nightdress and stuffed it into the closet behind a bunch of other clothes before pulling on the dark F/C shirt and dark jeans. I grabbed the black jacket and slipped that on as well before putting the scissors in my pocket and a flashlight that I had found under the bed.

"Alright, I'm changed." I said, walking over to Flowey so that he could wrap his roots around my arm. After he was secured to my arm and snuggled into the hood of my jacket with a sock as his own coat, I headed to the bedroom door and crouched down next to the lock.

"My dad taught me this trick in case my mom ever locked me in my room," I muttered to no one in particular while using my fingernail to stick it into the lock and twist it around until it caught onto a familiar gear and clicked. I continued to use my fingernail to find the right gears that would unlock the door until I heard the satisfying sound of the last click and the door was unlocked. "Bingo." I whispered, slowly turning the knob so that it wouldn't make any noise.

I poked my head out of the door and saw that the hallway was dark, the only light coming from the living room a few yards away.

All I have to do is wait for the clock, I repeated in my head. All I have to do is--

DING, DONG.

The clocked echoed through the house, the eery noise sending a shiver down my spine. And on cue just like Flowey said, I saw Toriel's shadow up ahead start to walk down the hall. I pulled my head back into the room and closed the door quietly, listening for her footsteps to pass so that I could leave to get some shoes then escape into the rest of the Underground. I heard her slow footsteps pause by my door and held my breath, hoping she didn't check the knob to see if it was still locked. I let a small breath when her footsteps started up again then faded into the distance.

"Alright," I mumbled, opening the door and slipping into the dark hallway. "Time to get outta here." I moved quickly and quietly down the hall and into the dark living room, walking over to the fireplace and seeing several pairs of shoes sitting neatly beside it. I smiled when I found a pair of sneakers that were the closest to my size and when I put them on the fit snug to my feet. I stood up and was about to head towards the basement when Flowey tugged on a strand of my hair, causing me to turn my attention to him.

"What is it?" I asked. "The kitchen, there are knives in there that you can use to defend yourself." He whispered, pointing a petal in the direction of the kitchen.

Oh. Right. Since I had scissors with my I had forgotten that there were better weapons in the house.

I quickly made my way across the living room and stepped into the kitchen, the horrid smell making me gag. I quietly opened a drawer to just find potholders. Another drawer held pots and pans. Three drawers later, and I found the drawer that held a compete set of kitchen knives.

I chose a blade that was seven inches long with a thick handle and wide blade. It would be good to use if I ever got into trouble and small enough to slip up into the sleeve of my jacket. Clutching the knife to my chest, I hurried out of the kitchen and to the stairs that led to the basement.

CREAK!

I froze, my eyes widening and my heart starting to race. I took my foot off the creaky floorboard and stood there for a few seconds, waiting to see if Toriel heard. After about twenty seconds, I let out a breath and was about to take another step when I heard a door slam open and footsteps racing down the hall.

So what do I do? I get the hell out of there.

I bolt down the staircase and push against the wall to make the sharp turn that led down to a long hallway. I ran as fast as my legs could take me and turned the corner to see another hallway with a door at the end. I was aware of the pounding steps behind me and the shrieks of protests and threats that echoed down the long hallway.

I reached the door and flung it open, dashing through the doorway before continuing to run down yet another hallway. Halfway down the hallway, I cursed myself for not closing the door behind me. Fortunately, there was another door up ahead where I could have my second chance. If I could hair reach it--

"GAH!"

I fell to the ground and screamed in agony, my left leg burning from a ball of flame that had hit it. I frantically snuffed out the flame and struggled to stand back up, but my now blistered leg refused to work properly. I shot my head behind me to see Toriel with her hands ablaze, an insane smile on her face as she stalked towards me.

"My child, you should've just stayed in your room," she cooed, her eyes going half-lidded. I was terrified, knowing that anything could set her off and have her kill me in a second. What was I supposed to do to get out of this one? That's when I remembered I still had a few tricks up my sleeve.

I pulled out the knife that I had stuffed inside my jacket and held it in front of me for defense, still on the ground while my leg throbbed painfully. Toriel cocked her head to the side with her pale green eyes locked onto the knife in my hands. "Oh? What's this? A fighter?" She chuckled and took another step towards me. "I'm afraid I'll have to end your life, my child. That pathetic knife won't do anything against me so you might as well just give up," Toriel spat, a bit of sadness in her voice. Sadness? Was some small part of her still sane? I hoped so.

"T-Toriel, just let me go. I'll free you all from the Underground! I'll give you hope! That way you won't need to kill humans for determination!" I cried. "Please! Let me help you!" Toriel stared at me, her eyes flickering from doubt to confusion. "Free . . . us?" She said uncertainly, her guard dropping a bit.

I nodded.

"Yes! And if you let me go, you'll see the surface and everything on it!" I tried to put persuasion in my tone, hoping it would take affect and give me luck. Toriel stared at me for a few moments, thinking over everything I had just promised. I thought I was winning her over until she shook her head and rage filled her eyes. "No, I will not let this much determination get away from me!" She shouted, the flames in her hands engulfing her arms.

I felt warmth in my chest and looked down to see a S/C heart pop out of my chest, the soft glow lighting up the area around me. Toriel flung her arms at me sending a mass of fireballs towards my figure. I ducked and tried to stand again, only to fail and end up getting my leg in even more pain. "F-Flowey! Now would be the time for some help!" I called, managing to dodge a large fireball by throwing my body over to a wall and trying to use it to stand. "R-Right!" He said, roots starting to poke out of cracks in the walls.

Toriel seemed unaware of all this and just kept sending more fire attacks at me, hoping to watch my body get burned to a crisp so that she could take my determination. But I wasn't about to let her have it. I grabbed onto a root and helped myself up, the root starting to wrap around my injured leg to help me walk somewhat.

This helped me avoid more of Toriel's attacks, the S/C heart in front of me following my movements. Finally, Flowey seemed to have enough roots for whatever he was planning and half of them shot at Toriel while the other half starting helping me to the door at the end of the hall.

"WHAT IS THIS?!" Toriel shrieked, trying to set the roots on fire. The roots that were helping me opened up the door and I was met with a cold burst of wind. The roots let me go and I stumbled into the snow that was on the ground. I looked behind me to see Toriel running towards the closing door with burning roots laying dead where she had been standing. Right before she made it to the door, they closed with a loud BAM! before the sounds of her pounding fists were being heard.

While she shouted out more protests and threats, roots started closing the door tightly so that Toriel wouldn't be able to open it even with her fire powers. Flowey was letting out sharp gasps of air in the hood of my jacket, the effort of controlling the roots taking a huge toll on him. I managed to stand even with my injured leg and took a small step towards the door.

"Toriel," I began, hearing her pounding stop and her shouting cease. "I know that you need determination, but if I could just give you hope, would that be enough until I can free you all?" There was a pause, then silent sobs could be heard through the door. "M-My child, I'm so sorry for how I acted, this -- that wasn't me. I would never do something like that in my own right mind," Toriel sniffled. "Please, save us. Save every single monster. We used to be kind and caring, but over time we became insane and murderous. Just free us all, my child."

I rested my hand on the door and nodded, suddenly feeling stupid since Toriel couldn't see me nod. "I will," I stared at the door, determined. "I promise." I heard more sniffling behind the door then everything went silent. Slowly, footsteps started making their way back down into the hallway, the soft sound of shuffling footsteps soon fading. I stood at the door for a few seconds before Flowey broke me out of my daze.

"C'mon Y/N, we need to go." I turned to look at him then nodded, starting to take steps into the snow while trying not to wince from the wound on my leg.

After about half an hour of walking, I was freezing from the harsh wind and my leg felt like it had just been set on fire again. The snow was no help whatsoever to my leg. I wanted to just lay down and cry, to just close my eyes and fall asleep and let the thick white snow settle over me. But I refused to give up, determined to keep my promise that I had made to Toriel.

But after ten more minutes, it was clear that I could not walk until I was my leg was properly healed. I collapsed into the fluffy snow and shivered, my H/C hair blowing into my face from the wind while my whole body was covered in snow. The wind howled in my ears and I could faintly hear Flowey shouting for me to not give up and keep going, but my eyes were starting to already shut.

I looked up and saw a figure in the distance, just standing there. I started to crawl towards them, hoping for any sort of help I could get. They were twenty feet away and I had only crawled about two feet when I collapsed again, my muscles refusing to work when I needed them. "Help me! Please!" I shouted, hoping the wind wouldn't drown out my voice.

Staying awake was getting harder and harder, my hands, knees, and feet starting to go numb from the cold while my teeth chattered and body shook. Flowey was still shouting for me to stay awake, but by then, my eyes were already closing and I lost consciousness.