Part 4: Heartache
BGM: Home
Surprise! It is a butterscotch-cinnamon pie. I thought we might celebrate your arrival. I want you to have a nice time living here. So I will hold off on snail pie for tonight. Here, I have another surprise for you.
A room of your own. I hope you like it!
Is something burning...? Um, make yourself at home!
So, this is my room.
BGM: Home (Music Box)
Let's see what's in my new home.
It has everything a kid could want, but... hmm.
It's been a long day, so I'll hop in bed for a quick nap.
Someone left something for me while I was sleeping.
I wonder what else is around in this house.
BGM: Home
This pie is the strongest healing item in the entire game.
There's another room down the hall to the right.
You read the passage...
"Why did the skeleton want a friend?
Because she was feeling BONELY..."
The rest of the page is filled with jokes of a similar caliber.
I just realized I forgot to do a couple of the phone conversations.
Time to call Toriel from two rooms away!
Oh, heh... heh... Ha ha ha! How adorable... I could pinch your cheek! You can certainly find better than an old woman like me.
"Typha - A group of wetland flowering plants with brown, oblong seedpods.
More commonly known as "water sausages."
It's Toriel's sock drawer.
The hallway continues.
Nobody lives in this room.
One last phone call before we check out the other side of the house.
Huh? Did you just call me... "Mom"? Well... I suppose... Would that make you happy? To call me... "Mother"? Well then, call me whatever you like!
About face, let's see what's to the left.
This house feels extraordinarily lived-in.
There she is.
Trapped behind the barrier and fearful of further human attacks, we retreated.
Far, far into the earth we walked, until we reached the cavern's end.
This was our new home, which we named...
"Home."
As great as our king is, he is pretty lousy at names.
This is a very safe place to live.
To the north is a very cozy kitchen.. Looking around...
Okay, I think I've poked around enough.
Um, I want you to know how glad I am to have someone here. There are so many old books I want to share. I want to show you my favorite bug-hunting spot. I've also prepared a curriculum for your education. This may come as a surprise to you... But I have always wanted to be a teacher.
...actually, perhaps that isn't very surprising.
STILL. I am glad to have you living here. Oh, did you want something?
What? This... IS your home now. Um... would you like to hear about this book I am reading? It is called "72 Uses for Snails".
Um... How about an exciting snail fact? Did you know that snails... Make terrible shoelaces?
...I have to do something. Stay here.
Something is wrong here.
I'm going to find out what.
BGM: Silence
The stairs lead to a very long tunnel.
Ahead of us lies the end of the Ruins. A one-way exit to the rest of the underground. I am going to destroy it. No one will ever be able to leave again. Now be a good child and go upstairs.
I keep following Toriel.
I have seen it again and again. They come. They leave. They die. You naive child... If you leave the Ruins...
I am only protecting you, do you understand? ...go to your room.
Still, I continue.
This is your final warning.
...
Hmph. You are just like the others.
There is only one solution to this. Prove yourself...
Video: Toriel Fight
BGM: Heartache
This battle won't be like the quaint little monsters in the ruins.
Toriel's magic attacks are beyond anything I've seen so far.
Under the ACT menu, we have Check and Talk. Maybe there's still a way to Talk out our problems.
But I don't know what to say.
Toriel waves her hands and summons walls of fire. Dangerous, but not one of her most painful attacks.
I'll try to talk again.
I wasn't prepared for this.
(Something went a little weird with the gif speed in this fight. I'm not sure why.)
This is Toriel's third magic attack, and the most dangerous by far. Dodging all of it takes equal parts skill, luck and reflexes.
I'll try one more time.
I can't make her listen.
Do I have to fight?
I won't. I'm not going to hurt someone who was so kind to me.
No response. Also, this is a more representative job of dodging those fireballs.
Once again, I choose Mercy.
I feel like that one was a little different.
Mercy.
Is she hesitating?
I'm taking a pretty serious beating, so it's time for a lunch break.
A less common attack - only one hand, but the flame orbs home in on my soul slightly.
Mercy.
More pain. More Mercy.
Mercy.
No.
I don't know.
I won't.
While I'm being stubborn, I'm also getting slowly blown apart by magic.
That was my last healing item.
Back to Mercy.
...
...
...
Are we going in a circle?
Was I wasting all this time?
...What?
BGM: Silence
I keep choosing Mercy, but... now she isn't attacking, either.
I promise I will take good care of you here.
I know we do not have much, but... We can have a good life here.
Please, go upstairs. ... Ha ha...
... No, I understand. You would just be unhappy trapped down here. The Ruins are very small once you get used to them. It would not be right for you to grow up in a place like this. My expectations... My loneliness... My fear... For you, my child... I will put them aside.
BGM: Fallen Down
I will not stop you. However, when you leave... Please do not come back. I hope you understand.
Goodbye, my child.
Toriel leaves without another word.
I open the door.
BGM: Silence
The corridor goes on and on.
And eventually, I come to a new room.
Oh.
It's you.
You think you're really smart, don't you?
In this world, it's kill or be killed.
So you were able to play by your own rules.
Hee hee hee... I bet you feel really great. You didn't kill anybody this time. But what will you do if you meet a relentless killer? You'll die and you'll die and you'll die. Until you tire of trying. What will you do then?
Will you kill out of frustration? Or will you give up entirely on this world... ...and let ME inherit the power to control it? I am the prince of this world's future. Don't worry, my little monarch, my plan isn't regicide. This is SO much more interesting.
With an inhuman laugh, Flowey withdraws.
For now.
The world of monsters awaits.
