Were We Doomed From The Start?

3.- Navigating The Ruins

"What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth...
Ah, do not be afraid, my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I pass though this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down.
You are the first human to come here in a long time."

Shadow, who was holding the torch low near their both hands, forced the torch into Ninja's hands, retreating to the shadows to observe from afar.

"Come!
I will guide you through the catacombs.
This way."

She continued as the darkness and the box faded into light, showing the area that was there before the fight, Ninja's soul going back into his body and Toriel leading him through a door into the Ruins.
Inside, leaves were everywhere as if it was the middle of fall. The looming building in the ruins filled Ninja with Determination as he walked up the stairs to the door. After going inside that door, there was a puzzle, that Toriel began to explain.

"Welcome to your new home, innocent one. Allow me to educate you in the operation of the Ruins."

She walked in a square like path, from one pressure plate to another, then another, a third one and lastly, a fourth one out of the 6 total. Toriel then flipped the switch on the wall next to the door, allowing for it to open.

"The Ruins are full of puzzles. Ancient fusions between diversions and doorkeys. One must solve them to move from room to room. Please adjust yourself to the sight of them.

She then motioned for Ninja to follow her as she went through the now open door. It led to a slightly bigger, much longer room with some small bridges over little gaps filled with water. She then continued to speak once again.

"To make progress here, you will need to trigger several switches. Do not worry, I have labelled the ones you need to flip."

Toriel went to the right, over the first bridge and stood there, waiting for Ninja to flip the labelled switch on the wall. He looked at her and looked back at the switch.
His eyes darted between Toriel and the switch, slightly irritated at the fact she wanted him to participate in her delusional fantasies.
He sighed and went over to the switch, flipping it as Shadow stood under him, as if he were a normal shadow. Shadow slightly chuckled silently, for just a brief enough moment for Ninja to see, but not enough for Toriel to catch a glimpse of his presence.

After Ninja flipped the switch, Toriel walked over the second bridge, and stood in front of the hallway that was blocked off by spikes coming from the ground. There were two switches in between the second bridge and the wall, one labelled and the other unmarked.

He went over and flipped the marked one, which activated the spikes to retract, then he proceeded to get praise from Toriel about it as if it was some kind of grand achievement.

"Splendid! I am proud of you, little one.
Let us move to the next room."

Down the short hallway, was another room that Toriel led him to, with a training dummy in the middle, and a door to the left.

"As a human living in the Underground, monsters may attack you. 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. Practice talking to the dummy."

Toriel walked over to the doorway and stood there, patiently waiting for him to do as she instructed. Ninja was very unamused, now bothered by the fact she wanted him to talk to the dummy.
Shadow silently cackled in the dark corner of the room, fuelled by the fact Ninja was so annoyed at Toriel's delusional requests.

Nonetheless, he walked over and got out his makeshift spear he had used during his trip on the Surface. With a simple yet swift swing, he stabbed the dummy in the neck, with enough force that its head came clean off, then fell to the floor with an echoing thud.
Toriel gasped, and briefly stepped back in fear as she questioned everything she knew about this child. It took a solid minute or two before she went back to her normal cheery self, thinking she was helping him, and that he wasn't actually dangerous, just slightly paranoid of his surroundings.

"The next room awaits.
Here is another puzzle in this room...
I wonder if you can solve it?"

Toriel said, walking into another long-ish room, with a path marked on the floor. As they walked down the corridor, Ninja observed the vines on the walls while following her.
Down a crooked hallway and past a sign, there was a bridge over water, and the only space to walk on, was full of spikes all over the ground, extending all the way over to the other side of the room.

Toriel paused, worried that the view of spikes scared the child.

"This is the puzzle but...
Here, take my hand for a moment."

She extended her hand out, waiting for Ninja to also reach out. He hesitated, his hand recoiling even as he tried to take her hand.

Finally, she held Ninja's hand in hers, and she led him through the spikes, to which some retracted with each step. At the end of the room, she let go of his hand and spoke once again.

"Puzzles seem a little too dangerous for now."
Toriel walked out of the room and into the next, starting her dialogue again.
"You have done excellently thus far, my child.
However...I have a difficult request to ask of you.

...

I would like you to walk to the end of the room by yourself. Forgive me for this."
She said before taking off, running to the other side of the room and obviously hiding behind the pillar located there.
Ninja stared, puzzled by Toriel's actions. Shadow leaned on his shoulder, looking at him, being just as puzzled as Ninja was, yet more intrigued.

Ninja looked at Shadow, then nodded. Shadow smiled, then disappeared back into the corners of the room, seeping into the bricks and vines that made up the walls of the Ruins.

Ninja walked forward, down the corridor for what seemed to be an eternity and was about to pass the pillar when Toriel stepped out from behind it, blocking his path.

"Greetings, my child. Do not worry, I did not leave you. I was merely behind this pillar the whole time. Thank you for trusting me.
However, there was an important reason for this exercise...to test your independence.

I must attend to some business, and you must stay alone for a while. Please remain here. It's dangerous to explore by yourself. I have an idea.
I will give you a cell phone. If you have a need for anything, just call.
Be good, alright?"
She said before running off into the Ruins, quicker than Ninja would be able to catch up with.

Not like he did try anyways. Ninja stood there, contemplating and plotting his next move, taking out his journal and taking notes of the Ruins, as well as of Toriel.
Shadow floated silently next to him, gazing upon Ninja as he became lost in thought, thinking of the possibilities he had. After thinking for a bit, he advanced to the next room, when he got an immediate call from Toriel.