Eventually you fell asleep, and stayed that way for quite awhile. It seemed like your fall had at last exhausted you. When you woke up the next day- or so you assumed- there was a piece of pie waiting for you on the floor. The sight of it made you smile a little.

She's so sweet... I almost hate to...

Toriel was back in her reading chair when you emerged from the room, a smile on her face and book in hand. "You must really like to read," you murmured softly.

She nodded. "I've always wanted to be a schoolteacher. Isn't that silly?" The female laughed a little bit, but you didn't find it as silly as she seemed to. The idea of Toriel being a schoolteacher fit her perfectly.

"Toriel? I... have a question for you. How do I get out of the Ruins?" You already regretted having asked the sweet female goat, for her face said everything. She had been unprepared for it.

"Leave? Why? This... this is your home now," she reasoned.

Damn it. You sighed and glanced at your radio. If he was truly a monster, then you would find him. No matter how far you had to go. "Toriel, there's something I need to do. Please. I can't stay here," you pleaded.

Her expression darkened just a little as she lowered her book and stood up. "I am sorry, but there is something I must do." She hurried out of the living room, and you turned around just in time to catch a glimpse of her disappearing down the staircase.

All you could do was grab your radio and follow her, confused.

The stairs led to a deeper part of the Ruins, with that same eerie shade of violet on the walls. Toriel could hear your footsteps following, however, and she stopped in her tracks. She did not turn around. "You wish to leave the Ruins, do you not? Of course you do. But there is only one way out of here, and I am going to destroy it."

What?! No!

"T-Toriel, please, don't! There's someone I have to meet!" you begged her.

She didn't seem swayed by your pleas. "I see it every time," she murmured. "They come. They go. They die." Now the female goat peered over her shoulder, sadness in her eyes as she spoke. "If you leave here, they.... they will kill you."

Your stomach dropped to the floor. "Who will kill me?" you asked slowly, terrified of the answer.

"Asgore. I have seen it time and time again. I will not let it happen once more. Go back into your room," Toriel urged you, continuing to walk forward.

But you followed her down the long stretch of hallway instead, frowning deeply. Who the hell was Asgore? "Toriel, please... I can't stay here. Not... not right now. There's someone I have to meet. Please..." you pleaded some more, hoping it would get through to her.

She had stopped walking in front of a giant door, one that felt ominous and foreboding. As though whatever was beyond it was too terrible for your eyes. The female goat frowned as she turned around to look at you. "I cannot let you leave," she repeated. "No. He will kill you and take your soul to break the barrier, and then unleash his terrible anger onto your world. I will not let that happen."

Break the barrier? So it was all true. You sighed and shifted your weight from one foot to the other, looking everywhere but at Toriel. "Please," you spoke softly, "I don't want to start another war. All I want is to... to meet somebody."

There was a faint glimmer in her eyes as you explained yourself. She glanced at the radio in your hand, then back up to you, when you nodded. "You wish to meet him? Is that it?"

"Yes," you begged again. "Please, just let me through."

Her hands clenched into fists. If you had no intentions of visiting and trying to kill Asgore, then perhaps... "If you leave you cannot return. Is that what you want?"

No, it wasn't. You liked Toriel and didn't feel it was fair to break her heart the way you were doing, but you couldn't help but glance down at your radio again. "Please." You had come so far already, you weren't about to be turned away and be trapped in the Ruins forever.

She didn't like it. Not a bit. Pulling you into a hug she squeezed you tightly. "Be good. I cannot stop you, after all. Pathetic, is it not?"

"It isn't," you answered, but she had already released you, walking back down the hallway in the direction the two of you had come, not looking back.

You eyed the giant door and, hesitating, pushed. It opened easily enough, with a bright white light beyond it, making you squint your eyes.

I've got to go. I'm so sorry, Toriel.

☆¤☆

The first thing you saw was snow. A ton of it, surrounding you and the pathway before you. The doorway closed on it's own. Out of curiosity you tried to push at it again, and the door did not budge. You were effectively banned from the Ruins, for there was no way back inside now.

Breath billowing in clouds you turned on your radio, to the one channel you wanted. The reception was clearer than ever, being out of the Ruins, and there was only one way forward. So you walked deeper into what ended up being a forest, somehow underground. It was lovely all the same, quiet and peaceful. Despite that you could feel eyes on you, which gave you more of a chill than the air did.

Walking forward in the total silence was only a little unnerving, but nevermoreso than when you heard a crack behind you. Whipping around you found a stick lying on the path, broken from having been stepped on.

I didn't step on that....

Heart starting to pound you walked further on, frowning a little. Even the music playing on the radio didn't calm you in the slightest, so you ended up turning it off.

You whipped around again, hearing footsteps. Were you being followed? "Whoever the fuck is there, you'd better fucking knock it off! It isn't funny!"

No reply, of course, so you simply walked forward. What else could you do?

Soon enough you came across a bridge, with what looked like a gate before it. But the bars were set too wide, and it would have been easy to slip between them.

The feeling of being watched only grew stronger, and you stopped before crossing the wooden bridge. There were more footsteps, approaching ever closer.

"H u m a n."