So I've been Undertale trash for a couple of months now. I've always loved RPGs with quirky characters and a good story, so naturally I would love Undertale too. Alphyne is the best, and I'm absolutely in love with Undyne! I'm purely pacifist, but when I watched a video with all of the neutral endings, this one spoke to me. Huge spoilers for the Toriel/Papyrus/Undyne neutral ending!
Before Frisk fell into the Underground, Sans didn't know very much about Undyne the Undying. There wasn't much to know, though; all he needed to know was that she was Papyrus's friend. Sometimes, as the Captain of the Royal Guard, she'd come by to give him orders as well. But since Undyne wasn't exactly a quiet person, he ended up learning more than he needed to about her.
She was loud, daring, and excitable. She loved spears, she gave Papyrus cooking lessons, and she had a major crush on Dr. Alphys down in Hotland. Whenever she came to visit Papyrus in Snowdin, Sans could hear them howling with laughter even from his post at the Ruins.
She was good to Papyrus, and Papyrus adored her. That was all Sans needed to know about her.
After Frisk left the Underground, leaving a trail of blood and dust in their wake, Sans learned more than he had ever wanted to about Undyne the Undying. With Asgore gone, she didn't have a job anymore. And Alphys, wracked with terrible guilt and grief, had committed suicide not long after Frisk's departure. All of this led up to the breakdown that had caused Undyne to burn her own house down one final time. Sans and Papyrus had rushed over to find her lying on the ground outside the smoldering wreck of her home, sobbing into a worn pink anime shirt.
She hadn't protested when Papyrus picked her up and carried her all the way back to Snowdin. They walked back in silence, save for Undyne's sobbing. When they reached their house, Papyrus had laid her down onto the couch and Sans had covered her with his hoodie.
"This is the first time I've ever seen her cry when she wasn't laughing, or watching anime," Papyrus had whispered to his brother.
For a couple of weeks, she was inconsolable. But Papyrus had a way of getting through to people. Soon enough, Undyne was talking and laughing again. She ate the spaghetti that Papyrus made for her, too; Sans wasn't sure whether that was a good or a bad sign. Either way, she seemed to be edging back toward her old self.
One evening, she went out 'for some fresh air'. Sans waved at her from his spot in front of the TV, and Papyrus raced over to give her a taste of his newest spaghetti sauce recipe before she left.
"Needs more tomatoes," she laughed as she closed the door behind her.
"More tomatoes! Got it!" exclaimed Papyrus. "Undyne is a culinary master, isn't she, Sans? I've truly learned from the best."
"Yeah, bro. She is."
"I think she's really going to like it this time!"
"I bet she will, bro."
But she wasn't home by the time Papyrus had finished cooking.
And she wasn't home by the end of Sans's TV program.
"Sans?" Papyrus asked nervously. He was barely touching his spaghetti. "Do you think Undyne's all right?"
"I sure hope so, Pap," Sans said. But beneath his nonchalant exterior, he was starting to worry about her too.
"Should we go and look for her?"
"Yeah. Let's go."
The temperature had plummeted since the last time Sans was outside. He looked around at the snowy landscape before pulling his hoodie tighter around him. "Which way should we go?" he asked.
Papyrus paused for a moment before pointing. "That way! The great Papyrus has a feeling that Undyne's that way."
"Mmmkay, bro."
They trudged along in the snow. "Undyne!" Papyrus called, cupping his mouth with his hands. "Undyne, where are you?"
The wind whistled against Sans's bony face, and he buried his it in the neck of his hoodie. Fighting through the storm, calling out for someone with worry stabbing through his bones… it wasn't a new experience for him. Somewhere, tucked at the very back of his mind, he could see the events of the other timelines. Things that could have happened, things that did- hell, in the other timelines his universe was just another what if. And in a lot of those universes… he'd braved the chilling snow outside only to scream Papyrus's name into the empty landscape. In an overwhelming number of the other timelines, Toriel was dead. Undyne, too.
In their timeline, Frisk had left Undyne alive. Sans only hoped Undyne wouldn't change that.
Just as he was about to call out for Undyne himself, a loud yell broke the silence. "Stupid!"
Undyne, Sans thought immediately. It was one of those moments when, if he had a stomach, it would be plummeting.
"Sans! That sounded like-"
"I know, bro. Let's go."
They broke into a run toward the sound of Undyne's yells. As they approached, the screaming continued. "You couldn't protect her! It's… it's your fault… ngaaahhhhh!"
Sans wasn't sure what he was expecting. But when they reached Undyne, they found her sitting in the snow with her knees drawn up to her chest. In her hands was the same pink anime shirt from before. Even from across the clearing, he could see her shaking. Whether it was from the cold, from crying, or both, he wasn't sure.
Papyrus was racing over as soon as Undyne was in his sight, calling her name in mingled relief and concern. Sans followed at a slower pace, as Papyrus knelt down beside Undyne and placed a hand on her back. She didn't even bother swatting him away.
"Papyrus… I'm sorry," muttered Undyne.
"There's nothing for you to be sorry about!" Papyrus said. "Now come on, let's go back home, okay? You're freezing cold."
Undyne nodded and looked down at the snow, her face the very picture of despondency. "She… she jumped over the waterfall at the dump, didn't she? So she didn't feel anything." Her visible eye closed slightly. Sans could see tears forming at its corner. "It's so cold… I… I just wanted to feel what s-she felt. A-Alphy… I miss her s-so m-much…"
A thin, sharp gasp came from Sans before he could stop himself. For a second, the image of him, hugging Papyrus's dusty scarf, blurred with the image of Undyne and Alphys's shirt in front of him. In this timeline, he'd been lucky. Undyne hadn't.
It didn't seem like either Papyrus or Undyne heard his gasp. "Undyne, please…" Papyrus was whispering. "What happened to Alphys was terrible. But it wasn't your fault! I promise you."
Tears rolled down her cheeks. Sans watched her for a moment before speaking. "Y'know… people like us… we try our hardest to save the people we love. But sometimes, fate just isn't on our side."
"But it's not fair!" cried Undyne. "Alphys was… she d-didn't do anything b-bad to anyone. Well… she did, I g-guess. She would never tell me what she did. Said she was t-too ashamed. But I gathered that it was s-something to do with her work as Royal Scientist… and she always felt so bad about it. She d-didn't deserve… to feel the way she did. And I should have protected her."
Sans shook his head. "I don't think even you could have done that. Sometimes, you just can't save people from their own brains."
Papyrus stopped to give Sans a surprised and rather concerned look. However, he looked back to Undyne as soon as she spoke. "You're right," the ex-guard sighed. "Okay… let's go home. I was s-stupid tonight."
Papyrus took her by the arm and helped her to her feet. She was trembling quite violently by that point; Sans offered her his hoodie, and she nodded stiffly. Since she was taller than he was, the hoodie only went down to just above her waist. She didn't complain, though; in fact, she was silent all the way back to the house, where Papyrus offered her a steaming bowl of the spaghetti he'd made.
She accepted it, a wan smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
Undyne was Sans's exact opposite. Never in a million timelines did he ever think he would be able to relate to her so closely. But what he realized that night was that the more faith you have in the world, the harder you fall when it betrays you.