You and the new monsters talked for hours, joking and passing advice to one another. Your mood changed swiftly, comforted by him even of you couldn't see him. He was just so open-minded, so willing to help. You sniffled and brushed your hair out of your face. Checking the phone you'd been given, you chuckled.

"Wow Sans, it's already 3:30." You joked. "Toriel's gonna kill me."

"Heh, so Toriel's her name. I knew it was her." He mused.

"She was who?" You asked.

He laughed again. "Maybe another time kid. But really, I have to be going now. Maybe I'll meet you some other time."

You smiled, though you knew he couldn't see it. "Yeah, let's do that."

"Until next time (Y/N)."

"Until next time." You concurred, standing.

Your joints popped as you stretched. The crunch of snow alerted you as Sans left and you sighed. It was nice to let out a lot of the stress and talk to someone. When things like this happened to you, you usually had to keep it bottled up. But this monster, Sans, was willing to listen without judging you. It made you happy.

You trudged upstairs and back to the room. The door creaked quietly as the door opened and you flinched, immediately moving your eyes to Frisk. He groaned and rolled in his sleep, but didn't wake. You released a sigh and closed the door more carefully than you opened it. Your steps were gentle and cautious, trying to avoid stepping on creaking floorboard. As you sat on the bed, drowsiness swept you and you yawned again.

Now that you had relaxed for the first time in days you realized how exhausted you were. You slipped the covers over your small frame and curled into a ball, cuddling the pillow. As darkness met your mind, you were left to a peaceful rest. Images of your past completely erased in your dreamless slumber.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Small hands shook you awake and you groaned. "Five more minutes..." You muttered.

It was cliche, but at the moment the overused phrase held truth to your wishes. Just a little more peace. They shook you again and you opened one eye. "Yes Frisk." You pouted.

He snickered and stuck his tongue out at you. "Come on Sunshine, Toriel's making breakfast!"

You huffed. "Hey! Don't call me sunshine. I'm am the night. Demons respond to my beckon call. My armies could crush the souls of a thousand more and still go on. I'm am fear itself."

Frisk raised an unbelieving brow. "You were drooling with your mouth wide open and snoring louder than a whale."

You smiled. "Yeah. It's my sonic attack, duh."

Frisk snickered. "Well it didn't work! Some demon general you are."

You smirked. "Oh really?"

You snatched him up and tickled him, pinning him so he couldn't escape. Howling laughter boomed from vocals as your fingers danced at his sides. "MERCY!" He called. "MERCY!"

You laughed evilly. "There is no mercy in my army!" You hollered.

You continued to tickle him until he could no longer breath, his giggles reduced to airy gasps of air. You retracted your hands and smiled. "Not devious huh?"

Frisk put his hands up in defeat. "I give in! Please! No more tickling."

Still smiling, you shrugged. "For now..." You said ominously.

Frisk groaned and got off the bed. "Now can we go eat breakfast with Toriel?"

You snickered then nodded. "Fiiiiiiine. I guess we can go eat now."

Frisk whooped and danced in a small circle. You stood and let him tug you behind him, leading you to the table. As you entered the living room, you saw Toriel swaying gently. You stopped instantly, mesmerized by her movement. She hummed a sweeping tune as she glided in a box-like manner. A simple three step dance, the waltz.

You glanced down at Frisk to see him just as awed by what we saw. Smiling evilly, you pushed him to her. "It's always better with two!" You chirped.

Toriel nearly tripped when Frisk fell against her dress. Her surprise quickly turned into a look of amusement as she took Frisk's hands in her own. She leaned and led him in a down-scaled version of the waltz. If you had a camera, you'd be all over this. Sadly, all you had was your memory.

You sat at the table and watched as they danced. Slowly, they stopped and bowed to one another. You snickered. "I guess your dance is the Waltz?" You asked.

When Toriel met your gaze, you could tell she was confused. The night before the subject of dancing was sore for you, painful almost. Now you were asking her about it like this was a daily occurrence. You did that a lot though.

"Uh, yes actually. You're familiar with it?"

This game. The game where they asked what dances you were 'familiar with' in an attempt to pin down yours. Sadly, your response destroyed hope of pinning it down.

"I can recognize any dance." You said bluntly.

Toriel's face seemed to betrayed discomfort. You chuckled softly and sat up straight. "Heh, sorry Toriel. I guess it's a bit weird since I snapped at you last night. I hope you can forget my lapse in judgement."

Her features softened into a smile. "Well, I might if you're willing to chat with me over pancakes."

You nodded with a smile. "Now you're talking."

Frisk snickered and darted to his seat. Toriel disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared with two piping hot stacks of pancakes. After placing a pad of butter and an array of topping on the table, the three of you went to town with your pancakes. You cut into yours and tasted the first bite, smiling from the taste.

"Wow, you sure can cook Tori." You praised. "I could eat these for the rest of my life!"

She laughed. "Well you sure are a morning person!"

Frisk snorted and you both looked at her. "No she isn't. She's the opposite of a morning person." He teased.

You elbowed him and stuck out your tongue. Toriel raised a brow and looked at you. "Did you have a nice dream then?"

You chuckled softly. "Actually, the night started with a nightmare. After that I stepped away and calmed down until around 3:30. The second time I fell asleep it was dreamless."

"Stepped out? Did you go exploring the Ruins my child? That's quite dangerous you know!"

You waved your hand submissively with an easy smile. "Nah, I actually just went downstairs. I walked up the the big purple door and blew off steam there... I actually met someone there too! He was really nice. We both talked for a while before I went back to bed."

Toriel froze up. Frisk tugged on your sleeve and you turned to him. "Can I meet him?" He asked.

"I, uh, didn't actually didn't meet him. We just talked from different sides of the door. But hey, maybe we can meet him soon! Is that cool with you Toriel?"

The two of you looked at Toriel, only to find she went rigid. Her hand was clenched into a fist and her expression seemed pained.

"Uuuuhhh, Toriel? Are you okay?" You asked.

"I have to do something."

She stood abruptly and left the room. You stood too and darted after her, Frisk on your heels. As you chased after her, she led you downstairs. Once she met the large purple door, she turned to you. With a pained expression, she spoke.

"My children, I can never allow you to leave the Ruins... please go back upstairs."

Your eyes widened. "What?! Toriel, you can't keep us cooped here."

Her eyes snapped to meet yours. "You want to leave just to meet some monster! The dangers beyond this door will destroy you. I can't allow another child's life to slip through my hands just because they wanted to meet someone!"

"Toriel, you can't keep us here. We don't want to leave just to meet some monster either. Even if I'd never met him, we'd still have to leave at some point! I need to get Frisk out of the Underground and back to the surface. If you destroy the door, you're ruining our chance."

"I don't care!" She snapped. "If I let you leave, I can't protect you! They will.... Asgore will... kill you. They'll kill you and take your soul to break the barrier. I can't allow that!"

You stood in front of Frisk, head held high. "Toriel, I won't let you destroy the exit." You said bluntly.

She was taken aback by your response. Her face lowered into shadows. On both sides of her, fire engulfed her hands. When her face rose again, tears streamed her face. "Then prove it. Prove to me you are strong enough to survive."

Black consumed your vision, leaving only Toriel and the door behind her. Music played distantly. Frisk gasped as she waited for your to react.

"Please Toriel. I don't want to fight you!" You cried.

She was silent. Swiftly, she brought up a hand and balls of fire broke off, moving at random in your direction. You glanced at Frisk and nodded. "Stay on your toes." You said.

The two of you leapt from the blazes, twisting around the attack. You could feel both sets of eyes on you. Frisk's eyes continued to flicker towards you because he knew it wasn't the closest thing you'd ever revealed to you performance. The way you dodge mimicked expert level. The years of practice you spent had made you as flexible as water with the strength of an old oak tree.

Her attack lessened and you took the chance. "Stop! We don't need to fight Toriel. This is our fate! We'll have to leave at some point. Don't make it any more painful than it already is!"

"I can't loose another one! I can't!" Toriel yelled.

You continued to plee with her, quickly growing desperate. You had incredible stamina, years at that place had drilled it into you, but Frisk was not anywhere near your level. No one knew how long it would be before he took damage.

But then it happened. You weren't looking and you were blasted with several flames, the heat licking at your flesh like poison. A shrieking cry pierced the air as you were blown back by it. Frisk cried out to you but you shook you head. "Keep dodging! I'm fine!"

"(Y/N), you're hurt!"

He was almost instantly at your side, trying to help you up. Toriel's eyes widened with horror as she looked at you and Frisk. The flames she sent towards you swerved, avoiding the two of you entirely.

Using the wall you stood, hand wrapped around your left arm where you had been burned the worst. Toriel's voice shook and the attacks disappeared. She dissolved into tears. Your chest ached to see her cry. "Please, I beg of you. Stay here, with me. I can teach you and raise you as my own child. We can be happy here.... please."

Before you, a glowing option appeared. In golden yellow, the word 'Mercy' appeared, pulsating. Both you and Frisk smiled and pressed the button. Color returned to the world and Toriel looked up. You hugged her.

"Toriel, you are the only parent I've ever truly loved, and you'll forever be my mother, but I can't accept it. Frisk has a future and I don't want it to be taken away from him like mine was from me. We need to leave the underground, but we'll come back for you. I'll break the barrier, and free the monsters. Then we can be together."

She sniffled with an airy laugh. "You don't know how many times I've heard that promise. And yet, here I am again, believing every word of it..."

You snickered, hugging her again. She returned the embrace to you and Frisk and sighed. "Leave now my children. But please know you won't be able to return. I no longer belong to the world beyond this door."

You nodded and smirked. "Heh, guess that won't matter when I break the barrier."

Toriel snickered. She planted a kiss on Frisk's forehead, then yours. "Save me the pain and leave now. But please, remain safe my children."

You nodded. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Toriel stood and walked away, leaving you and Frisk behind. You felt him tug on your hand excitedly and you looked down at him. "Guess we'll be meeting Sans earlier than I thought." You shrugged.

Frisk beamed, putting a hand on the door. You put your hands on to the other and winked at Frisk. "Onto another part of our adventure I guess..."