When Only Stones Remain

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A Monofell Fanfiction

Undertale AU

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"Did you know that slugs each have an individual scent trail? They are nearly blind, you know. They have to use their sense of smell to find their way home."

...wait. She'd told that one before, hadn't she?

Silence.

Just the stone echoing her voice back at her.

Toriel sat on the stone floor, her legs folded beneath her. Book open on her lap, the faded pages a stark contrast against her black robe. She listened as the echoes died out. Listening for what?

Anything really.

"They really are quite fascinating creatures for something so small, don't you think? Quite delicious too. I have a recipe for slug pie-they were quite common on the surface you know."

Why was she doing this?

Talking to the stones.

Once they'd spoken back.

But. No longer.

Yet still she came. At the same time as before. Book in hand. Back to the stone door she'd sworn she would never open again. She could feel the cold radiating through the slab. A small, chill taste of the eternal snow beyond it.

"You are dressing warmly, correct?"

It snuck out.

She hadn't meant to say that.

Did it matter?

"They like to hide in garden soil. They didn't often break the surface, but if you went digging there could be dozens-we had to be careful so they didn't damage the flowers-"

They'd...loved the garden. The garden and the flowers that he'd-

The white static of apathy devoured the memory before it could be...painful.

She sucked in a shuddering breath to compose herself.

"I-did you know-they only have a single lung?"

She wasn't even seeing the book anymore. Had she even been reading it in the first place? Or going from memory? Straining to hear if there was any difference on the other side.

...this wasn't working.

She tried to think back. There'd been nothing different, the last time she'd heard a voice through stone. They'd talked. Her with her book, him with his theoretical physics. He'd break it up with a word pun or two, and she'd laugh and laugh and laugh.

She didn't have much to laugh about of late.

It got so lonely in the ruins sometimes. The house so big. And empty. Even the froggits weren't much for conversation

She checked C-their grave every day. In that one spot in the ruins where the flowers could bloom in faint sunlight from above. Just in case. Each time she was disappointed. And grateful. Yet it meant another day alone.

She'd started to look forward to these moments. She never asked his name. He never gave it. But here at the edge of her self-imposed exile...she could lose herself in the joy of sharing and learning.

And now even that seemed to be gone.

She kept coming back. Day after day. Hoping there'd be something different.

...maybe it was time to stop.

Toriel sighed. Closing the book gently. Cradling it in her big paws.

"BROTHER!"

She froze, leaning back against the door. Listening.

That wasn't-

"BROTHER WAIT!"

Closer.

There was a faint stirring. The tingle of magic.

Fwip.

Gone.

Silence once again.

The crunch of snow beneath heavy boots. The stranger didn't speak again. Something rattled. Not the nostalgic rattle of metal armor. Something more...organic.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU FORGOT YOUR DICTIONARY IN A PLACE LIKE THIS."

A heavy sigh. The speaker's voice carried easily. One used to projecting. One used to being heard. "DON'T WORRY, I'LL JUST PUT IT AWAY. YOU WOULDN'T WANT THE SNOW TO RUIN THE PAGES."

But the next line was soft. Spoken to no one. Expecting no answer.

"...come home soon. please."

The quiet pain reached her through the door. It broke her heart. She wanted to throw open the door and draw the speaker into a crushing hug and whisper that everything was okay.

But she didn't.

It wasn't going to be okay.

Something had happened.

To her friend through the door.

To this one's lost brother.

To her lost children.

And there wasn't anything she could do to fix it, no matter how much she wanted to.

Toriel didn't return the next day.

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A/N: Monofell is an Undertale AU made by the wonderful PC-Doodle! If you are interested in the circumstances surrounding this ficlet go check out the tumblr monofell-au dot tumblr dot com or PC-Doodle on deviantart! I absolutely adore it ~

FFnet why do you hate outside links so? I'm just trying to give credit here!