From the moment she took Chara into her soul, Woona knew she was on a time limit. The longer he was within her soul, the stronger he would grow. If she was to prove to him that she could bring the family back together, then she needed to do it while she was still stronger than him. If he grew strong enough, he'd be able to influence her decisions and actions...or have a strong enough presence to influence others perceptions of her. She would need to be both fast and careful.
Quite the conundrum you have, don't you? Chara murmured in her mind, plainly amused by her conundrum.
Woona did her best on the outside to pretend she didn't hear his voice. She didn't want to upset Toriel. However, she did notice that whenever Toriel hugged her, Chara grew quiet. Plainly he was affected by the presence of his goat-mom.
Woona felt the guilt of her plan in her heart. She'd told Toriel she was happy staying here with her...and this would require leaving the Ruins. It would hurt her so much...
She'll try to stop you, Chara whispered in her mind. She knows not all monsters will just let you move forward because you're nice and cute. Some will FIGHT you with their full strength, and you've never faced that. She'll make you FIGHT her, to prove yourself. Mercy won't help you then. He chuckled. How will you handle having to fight your Mommy?
Woona frowned. I...had thought about that possibility, she admitted in her mind. And I have a plan for that.
Oh? Chara asked curiously. A plan to FIGHT Mom?
No. A plan on how to not fight her. Her birthday's coming up... Woona winced at the very thought of the plan.
Talk about a birthday present, Chara taunted with a wicked chuckle.
Woona didn't like how Chara put it, but she knew it was true. Toriel's birthday would be the day Woona snuck away out of the Ruins. But maybe Toriel would forgive her, when she brought the family back together. But for now, she needed to prepare.
Nearly everything was set up in the house. All the decorations were hidden away where a single spell would reveal them all. Woona had even hidden the cake she'd spent hours baking in a pouch she'd slipped behind the vase on the table. The same spell that would reveal the decorations would unravel the pouch, making the cake appear as though out of nowhere. She would be able to give Toriel a wonderful birthday party...for as long as it lasted. All that was left was the present.
Making her way back to the spider bake sale, she approached the larger web. "Is...is it ready?" she whispered.
The spiders happily provided her with the bottle they had prepared, glittering inside with gold and blue.
Got Spider Cider+
Made to a secret recipe
Not for kids.
...your plan is to get her drunk? Chara asked derisively. He then grew thoughtful. Can monsters get drunk?
Dunno, Woona thought back. So it's a good thing that's not the plan. Slipping the special bottle into another pouch, she held out the empty temperature-regulated pouch. "It's time," she told the spiders. "Climb on in."
The spiders rapidly clambered into the pouch until they were all inside.
Got hundreds of Star Spiders.
Smiling, Woona slipped the pouch back into her saddlebags. "Here goes..." she murmured softly.
As Toriel awoke, she noticed that the house was quiet. Too quiet. She quickly got to her feet and rushed out of her room. "Woona?" she called out worriedly. "Woona, are you alright?"
"Out here, Mommy!" Woona called from the lounge.
Sighing in relief, Toriel made her way there. "Thank goodness, my child," she murmured softly. "It was so quiet, I was half afraid-"
As Toriel stepped into the room, Woona cast her spell. Streamers popped out of the walls, banners proclaiming 'Happy Birthday Mommy' dropped from the ceiling, and a pinata bounced around the room on a pogo stick for no apparent reason. A large cake also sprang up on the table. "Surprise!" Woona proclaimed happily.
Toriel let out a yelp of shock as the popping explosion sounds released from all around her. For a moment she even called her fire out of defensive instinct, only to calm down when she saw what had happened. "Goodness!" she gasped out. "You gave me quite a shock there. Just how long have you been planning this?"
"Weeks and weeks!" Woona proclaimed happily. "Happy Birthday, Mommy!" She eagerly raced across the floor, leaping into Toriel's arms for a big hug.
Toriel hugged her equine daughter tight, laughing the whole way. "This is wonderful, Woona," she gasped out between laughs. "You've done such a wonderful job, and grown so far." She blinked away tears as a thought crossed her mind. You've outgrown the Ruins, haven't you?
"Got you a special present too, Mommy!" Woona proclaimed happily. Reaching into her saddlebags, she pulled out a bottle. "Special cider the spiders made you! For grownups only!"
Toriel chuckled happily. "Well, I certainly don't want to disappoint them when they worked so hard on it." With a wide grin, Toriel chugged down the bottle.
Woona stayed close to Toriel as they laughed and played games, and as Toriel slowly grew more and more tired. Eventually, Toriel sat down in her chair to relax a bit...and her eyes closed.
...what did you do? Chara asked worriedly.
Sleeping potion mixed with the cider, Woona replied in her thoughts. I've got a few hours before she wakes up to make it out of the Ruins. I assume you know where I'm supposed to go?
...the basement, Chara replied. She's not going to be happy with you running off. Are you at least going to leave a note?
Better! Fishing through Toriel's pockets, Woona found her Cell Phone. Switching it to vibrate, she set it on the table where Toriel would see it the moment she woke up. Once I'm far enough out that she can't easily drag me back, I'll leave her a voice mail!
With that set up, Woona made her way down the stairs to the basement. Following the narrow, darkened path of purple stone, she came to a large door. Steeling herself, she passed through it.
Finding herself in a large darkened room, she wasn't surprised to find Flowey waiting for her in the only shaft of light present. "I bet you think you're clever," he taunted. "You've found a way to get out without having to FIGHT Toriel. All your friends in the Ruins...how do you think they'll feel when she wakes up hurting so because you're gone?" He let off a wicked laugh. "I'm actually looking forward to-"
Woona took a step towards Flowey.
Flowey blinked, pulling back a bit. "W...what are you doing?" he demanded, confused as Woona continued to walk forward. "You...you aren't supposed to move while I monologue. That's not supposed to happen. That can't happen!" Panic began to suffuse his voice as she got close enough to reach out and touch him. "S-stay back! Don't come any closer-"
Woona pulled Flowey into a hug. "I'm sorry I tried to eat you when we first met," she murmured softly.
You what? Chara gasped out in her mind, obviously torn in voice between rage and laughter.
"I'm sorry I blasted you away," Woona continued. "You were just being friendly your way...and I hurt you. Can you forgive me?"
Flowey stared down at the filly holding him so tight. He had been trying to kill her, to steal her soul...and she was apologizing? He didn't know what to make of it. Why was she so nice? Why was she so confusing? Why did he want to return the hug and tell her it was okay? Why did she fill him with such confusing feelings that left him not knowing what-
...with feelings...
Gasping, Flowey withdrew into the ground, fleeing a terrible realization he couldn't understand.
Woona blinked at the mound of dirt Flowey had disappeared into. "...how rude..." she muttered. "I wonder what that was about?"
Nothing to worry about, Chara reassured her as she made her way out, pulling out her Cell Phone to leave the voice mail.
Toriel awoke slowly in her chair. "Goodness," she muttered. "I guess I'm not used to so much excitement. I'm terribly sorry Woona..." She blinked in confusion when no one responded. "Woona?"
As she sat up, she saw her Cell Phone sitting on the table, blinking with a voice mail. Worried, she listened to it.
"Hey Mommy!" Woona's voice came through loud and clear. "Sorry about this, but I knew you wouldn't let me do this if you knew what I was planning. The 'adult cider' was mixed with a harmless sleeping potion...so I could make it out of the Ruins without you stopping me. I know you'll be upset hearing this...but I'm doing this for you.
"Daddy was a poopyhead, and that's hurt you a lot. I'm going to fix that. We're all going to be a family again. All five of us."
"Five?" Toriel gasped in confusion. "Child, what do you think you're doing?"
"I know what I'm doing," Woona's voice continued. "I'm going to find Daddy, and then I'm gonna fix everything that went wrong! I don't know how yet...but I'm too determined to fail! And while I'm at it, I'll deliver all the spiders safely to Hotland...wherever that is." There was a creak of a familiar door on the recording. "And there's the exit. I'll be okay Mom...brrrr! It's cold out here! And so much snow! I see why the spiders needed a lift. Maybe I should go back and grab a sweater or something..." There was the sound of hooves against stone. "...why won't this door open?"
"Oh, Woona," Toriel moaned in worry, turning to try and make her way after her little one, having no idea how far ahead she'd gotten by now.
Woona shivered as she pushed her way onward through the snow, doing her best to stay warm. There was no turning back now. As terrifying as that was...she wasn't alone.
Her brother's presence in her soul filled her with DETERMINATION.
Genius!
lol, Chara, you're funny when you're not genocidal.
So Woona's gonna' probably meet the Skelebro's next! Get your whoopie-cushions and your battle-bodies ready, cos' this is gonna' be fun!
Sweet Jesus on a Pogo stick while singing the Lord of the Dance...why the hell didn't frisk think of something like that?
i like it and is Toriel going out of ruins to her duagther Woona i thought she did not want to go out of the ruins
Well... Didn't think of that when trying to avoid hurting Goat Mom. And that bit with Flowey! She actually... Wow, not even I could outright forgive that weed after the stunt he pulled. Well played, Tats, well played once more.
You always find a way to make things better for the characters. I hope this story will bring me tears of joy and relief! This is turning out great so far! Keep up the awesome work! :')
Chara...just choose laughter...
Flowey...stop being rude
Star Spiders keep warm!
Goat mom...pwease fawo woona
Woona stay determined!
Well, Chara stands no chance it seems. Neither does Flowey the Flower.
Guess Flowey couldn't handle the Feels Train.
Seems like Flowey ran to the land Down Under.
If I didn't know any better, Flowey might be trying to get to the... Root of the problem.
Just snow you know, we're reaching another introduction chapter folks. But then again, you all already knew that right?
I thought chara was a girl! There are comics where they do that.
So. Much. Yes.
...... I did not see the Flowery interaction coming.... I honestly do not know what to expect with this one.
Wow! You pulled off two surprises in one chapter for me! Not only did you surprise me with Woona sneaking out of the Ruins with Toriel asleep after drinking a spider cider mixed with sleeping potion, but that interaction with Woona and Flowey made me go .
Now Woona gets to meet Sans and Papyrus. This will be very interesting for sure. Stay determined, Woona!
Oh man, Wonna is gonna LOVE Sans and Papyrus.
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I wonder how the whoopie cushion gag is gonna work on Luna...
Wait, you mean... there's URGENCY!? And there's a possibility that she might NOT make it out of this?! I mean, we all know that she will, but it's nice that stuff like this is happening.
Hmm, either I'm not the only one who watched Ross and Barry''s plathrough (Or wherever that amusing moniker originally came from), or you're just aware of nicknames the fandom gives some characters. What's next, a mention of regretti spaghetti? Either way, pretty neat.
Cake... coming from nowhere... from a kind of bag of holding... I'm strangely reminded of Homestuck.
I actually kind of like this, because not only is Woona emotionally invested in this, but it makes sense canonically. Flowey always said that Chara was the only person who was different from all the rest- the one who isn't scripted, the one who can do something different every time. And similarly, they're the one who can make Flowey feel something, as seen in the final moments of the Genocide Route. So yeah, this is pretty cool. He might give Tsunderplane a run for her money later on, but it was still pretty neat.
Onto less serious topics... Will Red ever make an appearance? That would be a pretty cool sight to see.
*Happily gasping for air and vibrating intensely*
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
This is so good~~~~~~~
I never understood why that door needed to be one-way. I always saw it as a subpar excuse to fight/spare/kill Toriel. Can't Woona/Frisk just get a brick or something to prop the door open?
6852578
I actually have been giving consideration to incorporating various fanmade characters such as that one, and using various other fan designs.
6852647 Ooh, neat!
So... sans shows up soon, I presume. Or maybe Pinkie Pie.
This is easily the best story I've read so far... You my dear sir/ma'am have earned my attention. Keep up the good story. (Sorry I have no idea what gender you are)
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
And let the chapter-ly scheduled fainting resume... HRRRG!!! *faints*
im impressed by how many likes this story is getting.
This is definitely your best one so far, Tats.
Woona run is best run.
I'll admit I was skeptical at first, but I'm glad I gave this fic a chance, as it's gotten really good.
Aww man, where's Sans? Is he gonna give her the ol' "whoopy cushion in the hand" trick?
I hope he does, that's the best part immediately after leaving the ruins.
wait, why would the others think that some monster would fight Woona. The only reason the monsters attacked Frisk was because he/she was a human (although i think some were unaware they were hurting Frisk), not to mention that majority of the monsters hold a grudge towards humanity in general. Woona looks nothing like a human and can easily pass for a monster.
also i wonder how long into the story would she discover she has the power of the save files... yes, that would mean Woona has to die at some point but it's important to any undertale story.. or at least ones that take place in the underground
yes, this part confused me the most. I see where your coming from since it adds a sense of urgency to the story but there's problem... Chara won't grow in power over time, he/she will be able to take over Woona if she killed enough. Which is how he/she was able to take over Frisk when Frisk was getting power by increasing LV.
6853596
In regards to the first, it was explained in an earlier chapter that Woona's soul is so much more powerful than a Human Soul that some Monsters might hunt her because her soul, too, meets the qualifiers to be the seventh soul to break the barrier (though not in so many words since no one actually explained the barrier to Woona).
In regards to the second, it has to do with the nature of magic, ponies, humans, and souls. It's more convoluted than one might expect.
6853720 But how are the other monsters suppose to know that, wouldn't most assume she was a monster too
6853746
Because Monster's senses are based in magic. They can feel the power of her soul. It's that large a difference.
One human soul is equal to the entire monster population of souls. Woona's soul is equal to multiple human souls, and she has an aura of castable magic. The sheer magical pressure around her will be apparent to most monsters.
Chara is surprisingly cool.
Well, Flowey has a LOT to think about right now. Wasn't not having feelings what made him bitter in the first place?
This will be a lot of fun.
So, a race against time begins. Still so many interesting characters to confuse and then befriend!
I see chara as a girl
Sobbing, dawwwing the feels are too much here.
I'm Gonna preempt this, by saying...SPOILERS! AND TEARS!
This is freaking awesome. NOW the story has got my attention!
6853754 Given that Woona decisively isn't a human, couldn't be simplier finding a way to make her absorb the Human's souls? This way nobody will get hurt, the monsters will be free, maybe one or two spare souls can be given to Chara and Asriel, and then everybody is happy!
Or train her in magic in such a manner to be able to damage the barrier: seven human sorcerers created the barrier, and everyone of them presumibly only had only one human soul, so they had to use a speel together. Finding a way to use the magic of two someones with more soul power than one human soul shouldn't be that complicated...
NO!!! NO!!! YOU'RE THE FUCKING BAD GUY!!! YOU'RE FUCKING SUPPOSED TO BE KILLED BECAUSE AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH I FUCKING HATE YOU, YOU GODDAMN HOMOCIDAL FLOWER!!!
Grr...
Well, Tat. Guess it had to happen eventually.
Something you've done that I simply cannot condone...
I won't quit reading, but still...
6854956
If you kill Flowey, you can't SAVE Asriel.
6842608 It typically means preferring being referred to as 'they/them/theirs', although individuals may decide otherwise. It's an identity all by itself, and deserves to be treated as such.
6855902
But Frisk and Chara aren't non-binary in the sense they are supposed to be considered that way. They are that way so that anyone playing the game can identify with them however they choose.
6855928 And you chose Chara to be a guy. I thought of him as Asriel's bro so it works out. Then you have Luna; those two bringing a good girl and bad boy perspective. Nice.
Flowey has feelings?! Dang, how much DETERMINATION is our little pony packing?!!
6856481
About four human souls worth.
6856573 That's our Woona, all right.
we're finally gonna get to see sans!
6855101 Doesn't matter. That time-altering, fourth-wall breaking... Abomination must be stopped. She should know what that monster is capable of. She would understand.
I'm sure nothing will go wrong with this plan at all.