Chapter Text
Steven dashed down the stairs, leaning against the cold wall for extra balance. Following her, he'd shout down the dimly lit purple hallway for her. "Toriel, what are you doing!?"
"I am going to destroy the exit to the ruins. No one will ever be able to leave or enter through the ruins ever again."
"B---what!?" Why in the world would she do that?? She'd trap herself, him, --everyone! "Toriel, can't we just talk this out!? We-- you-- it doesn't have to happen like this!"
"There is no other way," She said, furthering down the hallway, with a stern voice. "If you leave, he, ASGORE, will kill you."
"-----What!?!??" Someone was going to KILL him? They-- "But they don't even KNOW me!"
Toriel said nothing as she made a turn to the left, disappearing from Steven's view as she followed the hallway's path. He followed after her, to meet her, face-to-face with the door and herself. She held out both hands, creating fireball projectiles within them.
"Please, this is your last warning, Steven. Go back to your room." Her voice was... somewhat shaky.
"Just... please, let me out, you can even come with me! We can, maybe, talk something out with this 'Asgore' guy! We--"
"Fine." This stern tone scared him almost out of his sandles. "If you want to leave so badly...
"Prove to me.
"Prove to me you are strong enough to survive." Without hesitation, she whipped around, now facing Steven, firing fireball projectiles at him. With fire being sent into his direction, threatening his very being, Steven quickly put out his hands, and, with a pink flash...
". . . my mom was a Pink Diamond, who was secretly a Rose Quartz-- that's.. also a long story, but, her weapon was a shield. When I was born, I inherited her gem, and her powers, so, I'm sort of... half of her."
...a shield, decorated with a thorn-like spiral pattern on it, appeared. It protected him from her own projectiles, something that would definitely hurt a human. Humans haven't had magic for a long time... and, despite Steven telling her about this...
...She shook her head, ignoring this. Toriel would approach this from a different angle, by surrounding Steven with her own fire magic. Can his shield counter that?
"--Aah!" Steven quickly unsummoned his shield, and, a pink bubble, the size of his body, appeared and closed around him, bottom to top, like arose. It had shielded the magic attacks. How...?
Without much warning, he pushed out the bubble, making it bigger and bigger around himself, until it would pop, sending Toriel back a few steps. Suddenly, Toriel had second thoughts about this fight.
"Please, we don't need to fight!"
"You have no idea what you would be up against out there...!"
"Why!?"
"Because!" She threw her arms to the side, fire magic being cast from her emotional state. "Thousands of years ago, he declared war on humans, your own kind! Without hesitation! Don't you care about that..!?"
--Wait, 'Asgore' declared war on humans?
"Do you think a coward like he would ever want to sit down, have a cup of tea, and talk!?" Toriel's voice rose only higher with tension. "He hasn't retracted his statement then, he will not do so now! He does not deserve that kind of treatment, not after...
"Not after..."
...Toriel wore a defeated, hopeless expression on her face. Steven tore up inside at this, watching someone he cared about, yet, didn't even know very well feel hurt. A tear came to his eye.
...
A moment of silence.
"...You... you still want to leave, do you not?"
"....I... I guess so."
Toriel's frown turned into a smile, but, not one out of happiness. "Haha... even after all of these years, I cannot save a single child..."
Did she mean...? All of those shoes, shirts, and other stuff... those belonged to human children? They came through here, faced a situation like this, and... ended up dying for it, after leaving?
"...It'll be different this time. I... I have a shield, a bubble... I can protect myself." As Steven told her this, maybe... maybe it will be different. Her smile lightened, still almost as if her heart was broken.
"...Perhaps, Steven, it will be different this time. However, I must ask of you..." She knelt down to Steven's level, putting her hands on his shoulders. "When you leave, please, do not come back. I will lock the door behind you."
"--You're... not going to go?" Her hands were... comfortable, embracing.
"I'm afraid I cannot."
"...I guess this is goodbye, then." Steven unexpectedly hugged Toriel tightly, tears leaking from his eyes into her shoulder. Toriel would return the hug.
The hug ended, with the mutual lift of the grasps around each other. Toriel's shoulder was slightly wet from Steven tears.
"Hahah... I'm sure you will do great, Steven. You've shown me you are very capable of many things." She ruffled through his hair one more time, as she stood up. "Goodbye, now."
She would turn and walk a few steps forward to leave, but, she couldn't help to look back.
He sadly waved and smiled. "See you around."
"Heehee... see you around, as well."
Someone has to take care of those flowers.