Still You {UNDERTALE}

Still You

You didn't mean to go this far back.

You just wanted to go back to when everyone left the Underground, to tell Toriel that you wanted to stay with her rather than stupidly going back to the life you lived before. But here you are, fallen down among the golden flowers deep inside Mt. Ebott.

Something about this reset is different; it's not like when you messed up and went back to the start to fix things. It feels...fresh. Like when you first "dropped in," so to speak. In...that one run, the one you don't like thinking about, Sans had mentioned the timelines were a mess. Something—or, maybe, someone—tells you that you can't share your secret.

The others won't know you this time.

You spend a minute fighting with yourself. This is your fault. You sent everyone back Underground, back into their war mindset. You don't want to go forward. You don't want to do this again.

But you have to.

Finally, you sniffle once before getting up. You walk down the narrow passage, through the door.

The flower's still there, smiling at you like he has every time you've gone back.

"Howdy! I'm Flowey! Flowey the Flower!" he greets with that syrupy cheerfulness he always has. "Hm...you're new to the Underground, aren'tcha?"

The rest of his explanation is muffled out as you watch him, trying to keep your face in that same passive expression you always wear. It's hard. You know Asriel's in there, you know he needs a friend.

And you know that there's nothing you can do until the end of the story.

You dodge the "friendliness pellets" without a thought; you've done this enough times to know the routine.

"You know what's going on here, don't you?"

You do. Far too well.

"You just wanted to see me suffer."

You almost tell him that you didn't, but this is the way things have to happen. You stay silent. Bullets surround you, but you're not afraid. You know what happens next.

She comes.

"What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth..."

You want to hug her. You want to bury your face in her fur and cry out how sorry you are that you've done this again, that all you wanted was to live with her the way she had wanted.

But you can't.

"Ah, do not be afraid, my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins."

You blink several times, still trying to keep up that impassive face. She doesn't know you, not even faintly like she had the last few times. That hurts more than anything.

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

You follow behind her quietly, like you did the first time. You try to be subtle as you rub the tears from your cheeks. If she notices, everything will go wrong.

You walk through the Ruins; even after all this time, you still know them well.

Toriel explains everything as you walk through. You don't need the help, but you're not about to stop her. Even disregarding messing with time, there's something wonderful in having someone wanting to take care of you. Even so, you can't help but show off a little when you talk to the Dummy, making sure to be extra kind to it. Sure, it probably won't make Mad Dummy be any nicer, but the smile Toriel gives you is well worth the extra effort.