Tensura: Undertale

James Pov

Toriel quickly brought us to a chamber after a quick pressure plate puzzle, in the chamber was a dummy, I could guess what she was going to try, it was heavily hinted in the game that 'battles' and its mechanics actually existed.

"now" Toriel stopped and turned around in front of the door further into the ruins "As a human living in the UNDERGROUND, monsters may attack you. You will need to be prepared for this situation. However, worry not! The process is simple." she smiled at us "When you encounter a monster, you will enter a FIGHT. While you are in a FIGHT, strike up a friendly conversation. Stall for time. I will come to resolve the conflict. Practice talking to the dummy." She gestured at the dummy and looked at Frisk

Frisk looked weirdly at Toriel, they looked back at me and I just shrugged, they didn't really think about it much and just stepped up to the dummy

"uh… hello?" Frisk looked unsure of what to say

"…" the dummy doesn't seem much for conversation

I turned towards Toriel to see her reaction and she just looked wide eyed at the situation.

she quickly strode towards the dummy causing Frisk to take a step back.

Toriel looked intensely at the dummy as if it owed her money, she slowly brought her hand up in a loose fist and knocked its head like it was a door, after that she simply looked lost.

"was something supposed to happen" Frisk asked innocently

"there was… this was supposed to start a FIGHT" she looked confused until a look of a dawning understanding "I think this relates to the… Reconfiguration" she put a hand on her chin before shaking her head as if giving up on thinking about it now "well, I suppose I should explain" she looked sheepish knowing she acted weird for someone without context.

She took me and Frisks quiet as a sign to continue

"down here in the underground there is a thing called 'FIGHT', it happens due to the ambient magic responding to a confrontation" she looked back at the dummy "normally, a FIGHT causes a sort of… change to how the world works, like not being able to escape easily or taking turns to take actions."

"you mean like a game" Before Toriel could continue Frisk curiosity strikes

"yes" she huffed with humor "like a game, however, it seems something changed in the underground, I wouldn't know if it also occurred on the outside, but… it seems that the worlds rules and magic changed seemingly in seconds, the way the world feels now is very different than what it was before, but I didn't think it would also change the fundamental rules" she smiled with a worried look before continuing "for now, let's head back to my home, I'll be able to give you a place to stay and you may ask anything on your mind, I would guide you there!"

Me and Frisk simply walked behind goat lady, the puzzles were not difficult nor all that dangerous.

the purple stone bricks shown wear that together with green vines gave an ethereal feeling to the place.

unlike in the game the place was a lot bigger, and had many more different turns, it felt like a maze.

also unlike the game, the monsters didn't attack us, most just left us alone when they saw we walked with the queen.

"hello!" Frisk struck with friendly conversation at the froggit standing on a small pond

"Ribbit, ribbit." His eyes made it seem uninterested

"nice to meet you too!" Frisk didn't truly understand the frog but Toriel looked proud and amused nonetheless

I turned towards the goat monster and decided she was the best source of info I could get

"I never really introduced myself, my name is James, James Script" I looked up at her

"hello there little one" I wasn't young but I guess she lived much longer "my name is Toriel Dreemur"

"yeah… listen, I don't really have a way to ask this so I'll be forward, do you know anything about 'skills'?"

"uh" she seemed to understand "have you also heard that strange voice?"

"yeah, it told me about skills and now I can somehow feel my soul and the magic around… does everyone have those skills?" she knows about the voice so it's probably the Reconfiguration she talked about.

"yes, as far as I know in a single moment every monster in the underground heard a voice that gave them skills and stated their species, it was an odd occurrence" She fully turned towards me "I have also gained skills which I can feel taken space within my soul, as far as I can tell these skills transform raw magic of a being into permanent abilities… though I couldn't tell you why or how, I can tell you however that the skills I gained were unique and tailored to me."

"could you perhaps tell me what skills you have?" it felt awkward like I asked something private

"while all monsters have the 'intrinsic' skill of mana manipulation, I on top of it have an intrinsic skill called 'Majesty' which simply gives me a stronger presence" she was about to continue before frisk interrupted

"but I don't feel anything?" Frisk raised an eyebrow at the goat lady

"…" Toriel smiled and slowly… her presence got… heavier? Until it disappeared "I'd rather not use it completely on you child, it is quite heavy and wouldn't be a pleasant experience" she put her big paw hand to headpat Frisk

"…" Frisk looked nonchalantly at Toriel before smirking "that's what she said"

I spit take at that moment and started coughing on my spit

"…" Toriel looked confused before understanding what Frisk said "hehe… you are an… 'interesting' Child" she gave me a side-eye as if it were my fault

Frisk just looked proud of their 'that's what she said' joke and put their fists on their hips.

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Anyway, we reached Toriels home with nothing really noteworthy to mention, Napstablook was sleeping and we did wake him up, but Toriel simply asked him to move nicely and he just disappeared.

 Toriel quickly showed us to the rooms after Frisk yawned.

I looked around Asriels room, it was… sad, unlike in the game where the decorations were there to hint at their existence, Toriel preserved all their belongings for as long as possible, giving me a sort of melancholic feeling.

Me and Toriel left the room to continue talking, Frisk simply excused themselves to bed.

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Frisk Pov

I opened my eyes to the unfamiliar ceiling,

'I fell asleep much faster than I thought I would' I thought while sitting up on the bed

I looked around the room my eyes landing on the red eyes looking at me from the dark.

the eyes belonged to Chara, my annoying unseen stalker who simply sat on the floor leaning on the wall.

"you know I can hear your thoughts right?" Chara smirked leaning her head backwards towards the wall

Chara looked scaringly like myself, she even dressed similarly and if she dressed in my sweater I would have thought she was some kind of evil version of myself.

"…you know I can hear your thoughts right?" she repeated a bit more dryly but still smirking

I ignored the stalker and just walked towards the door to see what James and Toriel were up to

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1248 words

ain't really proud of this chapter, feels rushed and I feel like Toriel didn't retain enough of her personality, I hope make her more 3D in the next chapter if it ever comes.

anyway, what you think? bad? good? meh?

or maybe you are just gave up on the concept of right or wrong?

Cya