Lost In The Echo (Arc 1: UNDERTALE)

Chapter 3: "A World In Ruins"

"She sure is taking her sweet time," the older human complained, "what could be so important that she's taking this long..?"

Frisk sat against the stone pillar that Toriel had hid behind when she was testing them earlier, looking up at the ceiling in contemplation, turning towards the doorway to their left where the old monster had disappeared to. The two humans had sat here in silence for nearly twenty-five minutes, with Magic occasionally pacing in small circles around the end of the chamber they have been in, waiting for Toriel to return. They had begun to worry, starting from five minutes ago, that something bad happened on Toriel's end or something of great concern was troubling her. Whatever it was, they sure weren't going to get any answers waiting around for much longer. The smaller human quietly stood up and walked a few steps closer towards the exit, looking back at Magic as they pointed towards the doorway.

"Should we try to go find her?" they asked curiously.

Magic seemed unconvinced, "It wouldn't be smart to leave after Toriel asked us to stay put, but it's not like there's much we can do here," she looked at her sibling sternly, "but if we get ambushed, stay close to me, alright?"

Frisk nodded, beaming up at their sister with a sense of joy. Their small talk earlier really seemed to work, and she was being more open to their ideas and suggestions, even if she was still a bit hesitant, but then again, that was very much like Magic. The two humans began their independent trek down through the Ruins, but just as they entered into the next room, one of them heard a small buzzing noise that emitted from Frisk's pocket. The tiny human reached in and pulled out the cellphone that Toriel had given them, answering the call as a soothing, maternal voice came from the other end.

"Frisk? Are you and Magic alright, my child?" Toriel asked, "I hope you haven't left that room… though I understand if you appear to be frustrated. I should've left you some activities to appease yourselves until I returned. Do forgive me."

Just as quickly as she called, Toriel suddenly hung up right after messaging the small human.

"Was that Toriel?" Magic asked, receiving an affirmative nod from Frisk, "What did she say?"

Frisk relayed the minor information that Toriel gave them over the phone to their big sister. Magic gave Frisk a slightly irate look.

"Yeah, it would've been nice," she said, "too bad we've already left that room."

Frisk grinned awkwardly and shook with small, nervous giggles. It was too late to go back now; they had already disobeyed Toriel's orders.

"I guess the only thing we can do now is keep moving forward." Magic inquired.

Frisk smiled, but then stopped when their nose picked up on a very sweet scent wafting through the air. It smelled like certain fruits, but also a hint of cinnamon, or was it caramel? Whatever it was, it smelled delicious and mouth-watering... and it was emitting from the small room to the north of their current chamber. Frisk turned in the direction of the source to see just what was giving off that delicious fragrance, their sister following in slight confusion. Upon entering the room, they found a small pedestal with a bowl of sweets sitting neatly atop it.

Magic approached the small note next to the bowl to read it aloud, "It says… 'Take one.' Is it some kind of brand of monster candy..?"

Frisk's mouth began to water. They absolutely loved candy. Magic took note of their expression and carefully took one piece of candy from the bowl, handing it to her sibling. The child looked ecstatic at first, but then turned to their sister in slight confusion.