Hey Everyone!
Before you judge me on the weather - I have, in fact, lived through nights like this. Multiple times. Colorado is weird.
I do not own Undertale - that would be Toby Fox.
Alphys and I were driving through the dark in the pouring rain, our voices raised loud enough to shake the roof as we sang along to the title song of our newest favorite anime, Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha. The song was beautiful, the tune was catchy, the message something that tugged at our SOULs, fitting perfectly with the rain and the darkness all around us that was broken by the lights of our car and our SOUL deep love. The moment felt...powerful. Like there was no force in the universe that could change it, no force in the universe that could RESET this night.
Then the quiet feeling of the Colorado mountain night is shattered. The resounding echo of pain, bewilderment, fear, and confusion that broke the night was something that no monster could mistake - the feeling of a child's first release of magic gone wrong. She turned to face me as I turned to her, the panic in her eyes familiar even as I clamped down on my own.
I threw the wheel to the side, stomping on the breaks with enough force that, if Alphee hadn't reinforced them ages ago, they'd have gone straight through the floor. The car didn't dare roll, not in a crisis like this. It slid to a stop beside the road and we threw open our doors, my girlfriend running to the truck where her black bag was, I pulling out the scruffy blanket we'd left in the back seat when we took Lesser Dog to the vet last week. Whoever this kid was, they were hurt and scared, and if we didn't find them soon their magic would tear them apart.
Blanket tossed over one shoulder, umbrella in hand, I run round the back and scoop up my tiny girlfriend, bag and all. I try to pinpoint which way the magic is coming from from until a tug and gesture from Alphys get me running in the right direction.
Bushes, grass, sandstone, bushes which are somehow trees - all are no match for the former Captain of the Royal Guard! Now even I can feel it, dense power and emotion rolled up in a coil of...protectiveness? I clear the final ridge as I try to sort through just what the feeling might mean.
The sight before me is pretty bad. I set Alphee down, handing her the blanket and umbrella, and summon a spear, anger fueling my magic, anger at the...the...THINGS before me! Some fucking humans have a pair of monster kids backed into a hollow in the ridge, and the piles of dust at their feet tell me they aren't there to give the kids a cup of tea.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!" Well, now I have their attention. It isn't until I hear the chink of a shotgun being pumped that I think to wonder how exactly they killed the other monsters. Great. I hate guns, but at least I know how to deal with them.
I summon a wall of spears between the humans, us, and the children; Their light lights up the scree below this ridge - painful to fall on, do not trip. Behind me I hear Alphys scurrying over to the two monsters, and I mentally check the new surge of magic off the list of things to be worried about. She got this.
Some kind of battlecry from one of the humans is my only warning before the shotgun blasts. I let my Terrifying Grin of Battle fill my face as I lightly twirl the spear in my hands; even if they won't really be able to make it out in the rain, a fight wouldn't be the same without the feel of that smile. Just to reward my efforts, a flash of lightning hits a nearby scrub-tree, leaving a burning fire in its wake. Good. Intimidation is good. I would much rather know they can be intimidated than be uncertain as to their LV - intimidation really stops being a factor after LV5.
"So, what do we have here, a bloody hero come to save the day?" The voice makes my SOUL crawl. Great, feels like the leader's got a bit more LV than the poor henchmen, "You know, that's good. Really good," I catch the edge of a grin gleam in the light of that fire as they turn to face me, "That just makes this more of a fucking challenge, and I oh so wanted a fucking challenge. Almost makes me sorry to do this, but, you know, not really."
The monologue - hah, and Frisk said humans don't monologue - clues me into their intent, and I'm already in the air by the time the shot fires. My spears are the best - sharp, shiny, and springy. Everything a monster could want. The back of my mind notes, as I sail over the heads of several confused humans, that Alphys has managed to get the kid calmed down enough to start reeling in their magic. Good.
The moment I land I send a fusillade of spears arcing towards the murderers. I feel them hit, shuddering a little at the sensation of my spears passing through flesh and blood. I never can get over how wrong that feels. Oh well, no time to dwell on it. I dive to avoid another shot, mentally reviewing the tally sheet of substances my spears encountered, separating them by location until I get an impression of each human facing me and their armament.
Three shotguns, two knives, and one pistol, spread between three adult humans and one teenager. Don't think there was any spare ammo, not with the shells on the ground and the discarded cartons. Three shots off, all shotguns, sounding like one barrel each, so three shots and whatever is in that pistol. I can work with that. I roll around the edge of a boulder, readying another set of spears. Green would do no good here, it's not as if they're trying to dodge. Maybe once I get it down to the knives...I throw the spears, rolling into the cover of another boulder, desperately aware of the dropoff beside it. Next rounds going to have to be a jump.
The impact still rocks me, the shotgun fracturing the sandstone and sending a few chips past my head. I am so glad for giving into the skelebros and taking that dodging lesson. Who'd have thought I'd be using it so much up here? Two shells left, and the sound of running feet. Eh, with the smell of my magic on him, he won't get far before someone hauls his ass in for questioning.
"Oh, come on, hero, hiding behind boulders? Now, is that fair?" I grit my teeth. Don't let the asshole under your skin, Undyne, "Honestly, I don't know why I'd expect any different. You are all such cowards, always so polite and kind - it makes me sick, it really does. After all, who the hell would be nice to you? Those fucking monster supporters don't count, they're just enchanted or something, and that demonic little Ambassador of yours-"
Okay, that does it. He has no right to-
Okay, stupid. Now my left arm is full of holes and I'm down by one third of my HP. Great. At least it stopped raining, and now they're down to one shell, the pistol, and the knives. I can handle this. At least I'm back over near the ridge, that fucking dropoff is scary as hell. I roll, spears fly, lightning flashes, and I see the pistol wielder is standing a little bit aways from the other three. Good. It's the teen, and I haven't been hitting him as hard as the others. If I can just-
Okay, stupid AGAIN. Why didn't I think that was going to be a trap? The arm's bloody near useless now that they've taken out the shoulder, and this rain is getting harder. If I were a human, I'd probably be getting bruises. Hah.
"Wow, you really are that gullible, aren't you? I mean, I get it, teenager equals youth, and oh do monsters seem to value youth, but...really, teens like me are much more cruel than any adult can be - after all, we have all of their examples to work with, all the pent up aggression of the repressed and rebellious, and all the emotional uncertainty that is puberty. Really, why wouldn't we be dangerous?"
Well, he's not wrong. Most of the teens I've run across have been pretty sketchy, but still! Come on, Undyne, stay focused. Another set of footsteps retreats, the second empty shotgun with it. One shell and six more bullets in the pistol - thank you, lightning. I feel the kid's magic finally cool down, contained and under control - theirs or Alphys', doesn't really matter.
Another leap, another barrage of spears, and THIS TIME a successful dodge. Four bullets and a shell. I double back, breaking the pattern of circling I've been keeping up till now. Three bullets.
"Why won't you STAY STILL!" Good, he's getting angry. This time, I send a line of solid spears down between the teen and his single remaining follower. The man flinches, and I can see the drip of blood is slow, far too slow. Huh, okay, if I can knock him out, Alphee can probably keep him alive and unconscious till we hit the city. A touch of green and another spear and he's passing out on 1HP, his last shot fired up into the sky.
I roll again, sending a wall of spears to block the teen from his unconscious helpmeet, dropping a few of the ones nearer the ridge. Alphee should notice and get over there quick enough. Three bullets and one knife.
"You think I'll just fold up without them, do you? Hah, those idiots weren't doing much anyway. Blabbing about 'justice' and 'mercy', least till they got a whiff of battle fever. Not so wimpy then, and those two dustbags were just the icing on the cake," I grind my teeth at the horrible insult to the two monsters he'd killed. He couldn't even be bothered to...to think about them as people, or even animals! Humans have personalities, even animals have descriptions, but that...it's almost as bad as- "Fucking bundles of free EXP."
Okay, stupid. Less than half my HP left, what the hell did I think I was doing? At least he's down to one shot, right? Heh. And I've got my back to the scree and one eensy boulder blocking his view.
He's lost a lot of blood now, got two of my spears laced through him, too. His decisions will be impacted...then again, so are mine. Great, fucking amazing. Not like this could get any - OH COME ON! HAIL? I DIDN'T EVEN GET TO FINISH THINKING IT!
At least the groans tell me he's not any happier about it than I am. Damn, it's coming down hard. I look down - the hail isn't THAT big, maybe two centimeters in diameter? Something like that. Coming down in buckets, though. Slippery.
The thought has barely crossed my mind when a rough, human arm wraps around my throat, "Found you," Damn damn damn damn damn, "Heh, heard a rumor all it takes is the intent to kill. Guess we'll see, huh?" I feel the dull edge of a knife digging into my side, and I push off the boulder with my legs.
Ow. Ow. Okay, more ow. Ow ow ow. Note to self - do not roll down scree ever again. Scales are barely any defense at all. Ow.
When the rolling, tumbling mess of rocks and bodies finally seems to stop, I dig myself out of the pile and look around, summoning a spear for light...okay. Guess we'll be staying around for the cops...or sheriff? Law enforcement. The law enforcement people. I just need my phone...okay, no phone, it's still in the car. Great. I hunker down beside the body, ready to wait until my girlfriend either gets down here with the kids and the follower, or summons the police. Either works.
Rocks slide down the slope above me, and I turn. My girlfriend has the follower and the kids wrapped in the blanket, trying hard to lower them down the slope without tumbling to their doom. Her grip on the blanket slips, and I throw a set of spears up to stop the rockslide. She smiles at me, and I feel a goofy grin slip onto my face. She is the best girlfriend ever.
Platform by platform, step by step, she and the blanket make their way down the scree. When they finally reach rock bottom, she scurries over to me. I pick her up and we nuzzle. Gods, that was scary. We hold each other while the world gets soaked. Oh...the hail stopped. Isn't that great.
She seems to notice my arm for the first time - the sound of worry and commiseration she makes is so tender, so loving, I can't stand it! I set her down carefully. The moment she's grounded she scurries over to the blanket, pulling out her black bag and digging around. She comes up with a somewhat battered Sea Tea. Aww, my favorite. I feel the healing magic seep into my SOUL, sensation slowly returning to my arm. It's not totally healed, but it's better than nothing.
My girl sees the blood and bones poking out of the rockpile behind me and shudders. She looks at me, and I know my eyes are sad. No matter how horrible they...it is...I hate it when I have to kill a human...especially a kid. I can't believe I ever thought this was right. She reaches out a claw sympathetically, and I lean into the touch. I am not alone. Alphys pulls out her cellphone, moving over to the other side of the gulch and perching on an exposed slab of sandstone.
I hear a groan above the dying rain, high pitched and reedy - definitely not human. I wander over to the blanket. The human's head is poking out, the tip of Alphee's usagi print umbrella beside him. He doesn't seem to be awake, although asleep probably isn't the right word, either. I reach out and move the corner of the blanket.
For the first time, I get a good look at the two monster kids we came to save. They don't honestly look like any other monster I've met, not even a combination. Their heads are sort of shaped like circles, long feathers fanning around the edges - at least, if they weren't sopping wet. Their faces are flat, with a line of magic across the center and bisecting the top half. Right now, the bottom half of their face is drawn together in pain and grief, although the larger of the two seems to be asleep...I can feel my girlfriends magic laced through theirs - okay, guess they were in too much pain, too emotional, to control their magic completely. Sleep is better than the terror of uncontrolled magic.
Their bodies are fairly humanoid, if rounder and less...jointed? Their limbs look almost like tubes. I can't tell what kind of coloration they have in this light, but I doubt it is natural. I think some kind of blue on the smaller one, and the older might be red or yellow or somewhere in between. Guess we'll see later, huh? Most of their skin is covered in blankets...not ours, they almost seem like clothes? Could be. The tangled fringe supports that impression
The smaller of the two is stirring - probably the one who groaned. Their mouth shifts into a wavy black line of uncertainty, the black lines of their eyes widen, crescents shifting into thick black rectangles. They turn to me. I feel...awkward, "...hey there punk. You doing okay?"
Their eyes seem to stutter for a moment, then their mouth wobbles. When they speak, their voice sounds like a flute - honestly! It's almost impossible to make out what they're trying to say, since they don't seem to be able to form consonants. After a moment, I think I've figured out what they said.
"*Where's momma?"
I look up at the sky, hoping for an answer, any answer but the one I suspect, to fall from the clouds...but nobody came. I sigh, and give in to the cowardice, "I don't know punk, but me and my girl Alphys over there will take care of you until she comes back, alright?"
They look confused, but seem to accept it. They turn their head, looking for something?...they spot their larger...sibling, I guess, and snuggle up next to them. Within moments they are sound asleep, lit by lightning and the glow of wildfire.