Underfell

Toriel's Flames

I stopped running when I reached the exit of the Ruins, and stood for a moment crying. I just kept thinking "I can't do this." Over and over. How come no matter what, my encounters with Toriel always end dramatically and sad? Flowey popped up from the ground in front of me.
"Frisk?" He said quietly. I refused to look up at him. I just watched the tears fall as they dripped off my face. "F-Frisk it's ok...that's not the real Toriel in there. You know the real Toriel loves you and would never hurt you." I finally looked at him, and wiped away my tears.
"Yeah...I guess you're right." I said weakly. We both smiled at each other for a moment. The moment was interrupted when I heard the sounds of running behind me. Flowey disappeared into the ground, as expected...little coward. I spun around and felt the blood drain from my face when I saw Toriel running towards me. All I could do was stand there as she approached. When she reached me she grabbed me by the shirt collar and held me above her.
"Listen human." She said coldly. "You're very different from the other humans I've met before. They don't even try to get on my good side. They're wiser, and decide to get out of the Ruins as soon as possible. You however...you're different." I suddenly felt hopeful. Maybe I was finally getting through to her! Toriel grinned at me with her sharp teeth, and chuckled. "You won't last a day outside the Ruins." I felt my hopes diminish as she said that. She released me from her grip, and I fell onto the dirt bellow me.
When I stood back up, I saw that Toriel was in a defensive position. Flames lit up from her hands, and my red heart appeared in front of me.
"Prove me wrong human." She said. "Prove to me that you are strong enough to survive out there." As soon as she was finished speaking, her flames surrounded me. There were very small areas of escape from the flames, and her turn seemed to last twice as long as usual. I got hit twice, but I was still ok. I told Toriel that I didn't want to fight, and she just laughed at me. She swung at me with a flame engulfed fist, which I dodged easily. I told Toriel I didn't want to fight again, and this time she laughed weakly. The next time I got a chance to spare her she said nothing. After sparing her about fourteen times, (all resulting in her saying nothing) she finally let out a long sigh, and let her hands fall at her sides. "Why? Why can't you just kill me?"
"I don't want to." I said firmly. "I don't want to hurt you." She looked down at the ground for a moment, and when she looked back up at me there were tears in her eyes.
"You know..." She said softly, her voice cracking a bit. "No human I've ever met has tried to spare me. They all just run away." I started to inch closer to her, and she didn't seem to mind. "I know I'm not a very good person...but if you met everyone outside of here, you'd see me as the nicest person you know. Every one out there is pure evil. I apparently wasn't as bad as them, which is why my husband..." She trailed off. She covered her face with her hands, and I immediately ran over to her and hugged her. Instead of shoving me off, she wrapped her arms around me too, pulling me close.
"You're a good person Toriel, and that's ok." I said. "You don't have to be like them." She laughed nervously, then let me go.
"You're right.." She said while wiping her face. "Thank you...for everything." I couldn't stop myself from hugging her again. When we broke the hug, I unwillingly turned to face the exit door of the ruins.
"I...have to go now." I said quietly.
"You're still planning on leaving here?" I could hear the sadness in her voice. I didn't want to turn around and see it on her face. I nodded. "Alright then, I guess you're strong enough to survive out there." I heard her start to walk away, and I started tearing up again. Then I heard her stop. I turned slightly to face her, and saw that she was turning back to look at me too. "Goodbye, my child." She said, and it took every bit of restraint I had to not run up to hug her again.
"Goodbye mom." I managed to say. Then we both turned around and went our separate ways without another word.