Chapter Text
Toriel stared down at the mass of unconscious children and felt her heart ache. Who could do this to such sweet, innocent creatures? They all had blood coming from their mouths, staining their clothes, and each second that passed had them growing paler and paler. She had to bring them back to her house, but the question was how?
She could only carry one or two in her arms at a time. The trip from here to her house would take three minutes at the least, especially with puzzles and other monsters in the way. But if she left the rest of them behind, there was always a chance that the monstrous, cruel flower would show back up to end the job. And if it wasn’t the flower, it could always be another monster that finished them off.
No, she had to bring them all back at once. It was the safer option. She just needed to be strong.
Taking a deep breath, Toriel rolled up her sleeves. First, she grabbed the eldest and tallest of the group, putting them on her back. Already, the weight was causing her muscles to ache, but she couldn’t stop now. Next, she scooped up as many of the children as she could carry in her arms. That only left the two smaller ones remaining. How was she supposed to carry them safety?
Well…this was going to be wildly uncomfortable. But it was better than death!
With some straining and tremendous effort, she balanced the two on her head like a stack of pancakes. Her balance was wildly thrown off, her muscles were screaming at her to stop, her lungs ached…but at least she can transport the children in one go. It will take a long time, but it will work.
The trip, that would have been three minutes, stretched out to twenty. She had to stop numerous times to adjust or to catch her breath. The children didn’t stir once that entire trip, and it only worried her more.
Thankfully, one of the monsters that call the RUINS their home decided to grant mercy on Toriel. A Froggit and a Final Froggit carried one child with them, taking them from Toriel’s head. Mentally, the goat woman made a promise to herself to give those two frogs a treat for helping out.
Pushing the door open with her foot, she walked inside straight to the living room. She laid the children down on the ground and the couch, immediately casting healing magic on them. She watched the bleeding stop, but with so many kids, she can only do so much. She would have to use bandages and basic first aid in order for them to fully recover.
“These poor children…” She muttered to herself, rushing to the bathroom to retrieve a medical kit from under the sink cupboard. She came back and, carefully, she went from child to child to examine their SOUL. Their SOULs were all badly battered and bruised with small lacerations where the pallet had hit. Looking at their health bar, she could see that each SOUL only had one hit point (or HP) left. They were, literally, on death’s door. If she intervened even a second later, these children would not have a chance to recover.
Using a roll of bandages, she wrapped the lacerations as tight as she could, making sure the bleeding was either slowed or stopped all together. It would take some time before their health would start to regenerate again, but at least she gave them a fighting chance.
She turned to the boy in blue, the one who worried her the most. His forehead was completely drenched in sticky blood, and he had a pretty nasty cut that had to be a few inches long. Bandages wouldn’t be able to stop the bleeding, no, she would need to apply stitches.
Rummaging in the medical kit, she pulled out a half empty bottle of rubbing alcohol, a needle, a spool of black thread that was almost gone, and the last of the clean bandages. She wasn’t prepared for so many wounded…she just had to hope the supplies she had would be enough.
After they were stable, or stable enough, she could run to the store and get more supplies. Food, fresh clothes, more medical supplies, blankets, pillows, toys…maybe even more.
But first, she had to finish the procedure.
Threading the needle, she dabbed some of the bandages with the rubbing alcohol and wiped the wound clean. Carefully, muttering apologies the entire time, she pushed the needle through flesh. In and out with steady hands. Fresh blood seeped onto her paws, but she didn’t let it deter her. Once the wound was closed, she wiped the blood off with the bandage and wrapped his head with the rest of the roll.
“There!” She did all she could, used as much magic that their SOULs could handle. Their fate was in their own hands now. She cleaned up the mess, washed her hands, and gave two biscuits to the frogs that had helped her. She left a small note on the fridge, just in case the children woke up before she returned.
Now it was time to go stock up on supplies.
When she came back, she was met with absolute chaos.
The couch had been striped of all its cushions, and the cushions had moved to the top and the arm rests, turning it into a mini fortress. Blankets draped over head like banisters. The children had been split into two groups, with group one trying to take over group two’s couch castle. Only one child was missing, the one with the notebook and green sweater, was missing. The smell of something cooking told Toriel that they were in the kitchen, making something that smelled…actually very, very good.
The door closed behind her with a thud, and everything went silent. The girl in pink froze, holding a girl in orange above her head like a canon ball. The girl in blue had somehow managed to tie the child in purple with a blanket.
All eyes were on the woman.
“Ahem.” Toriel placed all the bags down on the ground, clearing her throat. “Now, what exactly is going on here?”
The eldest of the group, a boy with blond hair and multicolored blazer, stuck his head out of the top of the cushion fort, a blanket hanging to the sides of his face. “Greetings! You must be Toriel!” He gracefully pulled himself free, balancing on top of the fort for a moment before he jumped down and landed with ease on the carpeted floor below. He held up the note she had left on the fridge up. “I read your note. I must thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for assisting my friends and I. You saved our lives.”
“Please, it was nothing. But I would love to know why you decided to tear my living room apart.” Toriel said, tilting her head to the side as she stared at the group in front of her.
“We were just playing!” The girl in light blue squeaked out, spinning the child in purple over and over again. “Play, play, play!”
“Stop spinning meeeee!” The child protested.
“Alright, since you’re all up and awake…may I please have your names?” Toriel asked, walking over to the fortress and beginning to tear it apart. She pulled the blankets on the ground and pushed the cushions back in place.
“Of course! I am Flowery.” The older teen said, brushing off his clothes. “That’s Aqua, Seth, Blue, Yellow, Pink, Orange, and finally…” he motioned to the kitchen. “Green!”
“You’re all named after colors? Or, well…most of you.” Toriel couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh, bringing a hand to her mouth. “Now…I think it’s a good idea if you all stay a little while. At least until your wounds are fully healed.” If it was up to her, they wouldn’t leave at all…but that was a problem to worry about in the future, not now.”
“It would be the best…at least for a week or so, right, Flowery?” Pink approached Flowery, nudging him with her elbow. “I’m sure everyone is tired, hungry and scared. A nice place to rest would be the best for everyone. Even you.”
Flowery let out a heavy sigh. But he couldn’t protest. Maybe he could find a map or something in the house, something that can be used to help find an exit back up to the surface. He wanted to trust Toriel, but after that demonic flower, he couldn’t help but feel weary. He won’t let any of the children out of his sights for a while. “I suppose it’s fine.”
“Wonderful!” The goat woman clapped her hands together with a smile. “I took a quick run to the store…I got all of you something! Oh, I hope you like it.” Picking back up the bags, she carried it to the dining room table and placed it down. The gangle of kids followed close behind, and a few seconds later, Green joined with a plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. They placed it on the table next to the bags, beaming happily.
Toriel took one of the cookies and nibbled away as she unpacked the bags. She pulled out a good number of toys; including stuffed animals, wooden blocks, a pack of paint and markers, a play kitchen set, and a handful of dolls.
Next, she pulled out a pile of folded clothes. She had to guesstimate on the sizes, but as long as the kids weren’t wearing bloodstained clothes, she would be happy.
“I tried to match the sweaters with your names.” She said, picking one of them up. It was a light blue sweater with three white stripes going across the torsos. On the upper left side of the sweater, right above the chest area, was a little stitched white heart. “This is for Aqua.” She said, passing it along.
The child in question took the sweater with wide eyes. She gasped, holding the sweater out like she was looking at pure gold. She squealed in joy, hopping up and down. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I love it!”
Seeing the pure happiness made Toriel’s heart swell with joy. She chuckled, digging through the pile. She handed Aqua a pair of jeans and fresh white socks to go along with her new outfit, before pulling out one of the sweaters for the next child.
Next was Orange. She received a light orange sweater with dark orange stripes, with little tangerines stitched around the sweater in a random pattern. The girl took the sweater and let out a tiny huff…it wasn’t something easy to move around in and it was kinda itchy…but she wasn’t going to complain. Only when Pink gave Orange a firm pat on the shoulder did she speak up. “…thanks.”
The following sweater was given to Blue. It was a dark blue one with light blue ribbons that laced the end of the sleeves and the bottom of the sweater. There was also a pale blue stripe in the middle. The boy was happy to slip it on, smoothing it out with a big grin. “Oh, it’s beautiful! I love it!” He did a little spin. “How do I look?”
“Well…I think ya look mighty perty…” Yellow scratched the back of his neck with a smile before a bright yellow sweater was placed in his arms. He fumbled with it for a moment, holding it out with wide eyes. It was as yellow as a banana, with a little toy sheriff badge attached to the chest, along with a dark stripe in the middle. It matched his hat! “Wow…is this mine? It’s so fuzzy!”
Then Green was given a sweater. It was pale green, almost an olive color, with a single dark green stripe, this time going horizontal down the middle. It had different types of cooking utensils running around the bottom of the sweater; a fork, a spoon, a knife, a spatula, a pizza cutter, a whisk, and more! They smiled and folded it into a small square. They wanted to wear it, but they also didn’t want to get it dirty and stained with the flour still caked over their clothes and hands.
Pink was given a fluffy pastel pink one with four dark pink stripes running across the waist. The word ‘meow’ was written all over in white, along with cat paw prints and whiskers. She looked at it with a slight grimace. It was a little…much, but she couldn’t complain. That would be rude. “…thanks.”
Then was Seth. Their sweater was a dark purple with darker stripes running from the collar down to the bottom of the shirt. It was a turtleneck, providing extra warmth for the child. Seth actually…kinda liked it. The extra fabric kept them from shivering. “This will be…satisfactory.”
Finally, there was Flowery. Toriel glanced at them and sighed, resting her cheek against her hand. “I couldn’t find one that would fit you…so you’ll have to use an old sweater of mine.” She frowned. “Is that alright?”
“Of course! Don’t worry about it, miss! I don’t mind!” Flowery said with a big grin. “Anything is fine with me! I don’t even need something new, I’m fine with my old clothes.”
“Great! And, speaking of…” Toriel straightened up with a large smile, clapping her hands together. “I can show you to the room you will all be staying in while you recover! Please, children, follow me!”
The group crowded around her. Toriel, without thinking, reached down and took Aqua’s hand like it was second nature, turning to the left and down a hallway. There were two doors, one that led to her bedroom, and the other an old child’s bedroom.
It was small and cozy, with two beds, two dressers, and a chest filled with various toys. The dressers were still filled with dusty old clothes, and a window sat between both beds, leading to a garden filled with yellow daisies. Faded posters and stickers scattered across the walls, the words long since gone, and the images portrayed now slightly warped and distorted.
“Where will the rest of us sleep?” Pink asked. Aqua seemed to be the only one excited about the new room, immediately running to one of the beds and leaping up and down as if she was a frog.
“Ah, right. I will have to run to the store…again. I’ll grab some air mattresses and ingredients to make homemade pizza! Does that sound good with all of you?” Toriel asked, scanning the crowd of wide-eyed kids. She felt a little silly that she forgot the air mattresses…how were all these people supposed to fit on two, small beds? Her head must be up in the clouds!
“What’s an air mattress?” Aqua asked from the background, giggling.
“Will you…all be alright without me here?” Toriel frowned, lowering her arms. She would be leaving this group in a strange new world, alone, with no guidance…was this truly the safest thing to do? “I will lock the doors when I leave. There will be no way that flower creature will be able to get you while you remain indoors.” She said. “The windows are seal proof. As long as none of you mess with the locks, you’ll be safe. I won’t be gone for long, I promise. An hour or two at most.”
“We’ll be alright. Pink and I will watch these little rascals.” Flowery promised, ruffling Seth’s hair, causing them to hiss and swat at his hand. “You can count on us!”
Toriel cracked a small smile. She pulled out a piece of paper from her purse and scribbled a phone number on it. “Here. If anything happens, use the landline to contact me. This is my number.” She said, placing the strip in Flowery’s hand. “I’ll be counting on you two.”
“We’re on it!” Flowery gave a silly salute. Toriel smiled and took a deep breath, before suddenly hugging them all at once, earning various shouts and protests.
“I’ll miss you! Behave yourselves, alright?” She quickly walked towards the front door. “Listen to Flowery and Pink!”
“Bye!”
“See you later!”
“Don’t die!”
Who knows…maybe this place won’t be so bad after all.