Extend

The monsters are free, but now what?

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Chapter 1:

She was staring down something she never thought she’d see. A monster, about her height, with watchful, deep crimson eyes, covered with snow white fur and dressed in an elaborate purple robe. It was holding her child’s hand. Frisk’s hand.

The birds chirped outside as the three of them stood in silence.

Frisk spoke first. “H-hey mom… Uh, I know this is kind of weird, but I can explain. So, y’know, don’t freak out.”

She nodded, nearly imperceptibly, unwilling to break eye contact with the monster.

Toriel, trying to ease the tensions, chimed in. “Hello, I’m Toriel. Nice to meet you,” she said, raising a hand.

Frisk’s mom flinched away, fear in her eyes. Toriel’s face fell. “Did I do something wrong?” she asked, turning to Frisk. “I didn’t mean to scare her…”

Frisk quickly reassured her that she had done the right thing, before turning to their mom, subtly gesturing at Toriel’s still extended hand, indicating for her to shake. Looking at Frisk, she finally mustered up the courage. After all, if her own child seemed so at ease around this creature, what harm could they be?

Cautiously inching towards Toriel, she slowly extended her hand, trembling slightly. Fighting her instincts, she reached out and limply took the hand in her own. Toriel made up for the lack of strength, and completed the exchange, shaking her hand a few times. It was a reassuring grip, firm but gentle. She didn’t know why, but she felt a little more at ease now.

“Why don’t... You two come in?” she asked, still a little nervous. “I can make some tea.” She made to take Frisk’s hand, but they instead clutched the bottom of Toriel’s robes.

“Ah! S-sorry… Do you mind if I stay with her a... little longer?” Frisk asked, a bit sheepishly. Both dejected and curious, she agreed and made her way to the kitchen. What on Earth happened in the day her child had left?

Frisk lead the way, showing Toriel to the dining room. The monster herself was full of wonder and curiosity, looking outside the windows towards the still setting sun. She muttered under her breath, “It’s… Breathtaking.”

Re-emerging a few minutes later with a kettle and cups, Frisk’s mom poured Toriel and herself a glass, giving Frisk some water, before sitting down. Trying to hide her anxiety, she said sarcastically, “Well, this should be an interesting story… I can’t wait to hear how this happened.”

Toriel and Frisk eyed each other, unsure of who should tell the tale. Eventually, Frisk took the initiative.

“So, you know how yesterday I ran off while we were out playing?”

“I was worried sick!” she scolded.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I kinda ended up going to Mt. Ebott, since we were close to the base and all… I heard it was really dangerous, so I wanted to explore.”

She exclaimed, “Frisk!”

“Look, I said I’m sorry, okay? Now, I got a little… Lost. I ended up falling down a hole in the mountain, and it gets a bit complicated after that…” Frisk trailed off. “But long story short, I ended up freeing a race of monsters trapped underneath the mountain.”

The only reaction she gave was a look of dumb shock. It looked like she might drop her teacup at any time.

“M-mom? You okay?” Frisk asked, breaking her from her trance.

“Yeah… it’s just, this is a lot to take in…”

“Do you want some time to rest? I know this has probably been a long day, what with you looking around for me and all… I would have come back sooner, but...”

“Yeah, that would be good… I am happy to have you back though.” she said, hugging Frisk. Frisk hugged back, and they embraced for a few moments. They eventually released, Frisk’s mom going back to her chair.

“Anyway, this is Toriel. She took care of me while I was down there and now she’s, well...” Frisk started, “It’s getting late, so is it okay if she spends the night over here?”

Embarrassed, Toriel tried to excuse herself. “Oh, It’s fine, I can just go back to Mt. Ebott! Everyone else is waiting there anyway.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Frisk replied. “I already told them, they know we’re going to be over here tonight.”

“Oh, well in that case… Is that okay with you, Mrs…?”

“Janet. And sure, let me get the extra matress out…” she said wearily.

“I can help, if you need it.” Toriel offered.

“That would be nice, thanks.” They both set off for the attic, leaving Frisk in the bedroom. They could hear wolves howling in the distance as the moon rose.