"C'mon Zero! Make something happen!"
"Show us absolute Zero!"
"Careful this time, dear Zero. Make sure you leave enough land to walk on!"
"Better get some helmets on for the explosion!"
Louise ignored them all. They were jeers she had heard ever since she came to the academy. Be it in front of the professors or in the dining hall, her name was only ever spoken of with zeros and mockery, nothing or negatives. She didn't care because it didn't matter.
She was Louise de La Vallière, the third daughter of one of the most powerful noble families in Tristian. She was not to be put down by petty words and gossip. Mockery was only a weak form of penance. She had committed failures, more than she'd care to admit, but that didn't matter.
All that truly mattered to anyone was what came in the end.
And the end was the summoning ritual. Here, today, she would summon forth a familiar unlike any the Tristian Magical Academy had seen before.
It would be a noble familiar worthy of her standing, able to part the crowds with its presence and make fools of those who dared to mock her. It would be able to turn every failure of her past into nothing but memories, the first step to show that she was far more than some untalented noble.
It would be the first of many steps to show the strength of her blood and power of her magic.
"Please, quiet down now," Professor Colbert announced. His voice was far from strong, but his position carried its weight. He waved his large staff lightly with his words, though only for show. The jeers of her 'peers' died down swiftly.
"Now, Ms. Vallière, are you prepared for the summoning ritual?" She knew she was.
"I am, professor," she spoke in return, pride in her voice and strength in her stance. The rule of steel needed both to work. She needed her every advantage to bring forth the familiar she needed.
"Whenever you are ready, Louise," Professor Colbert spoke to her, kindly as he spoke to everyone else. Hand on his staff, he held a book to his chest, smiling at her with sincerity. Louise returned his words with a nod. She would not let him down. She would not let herself down.
Louise stepped forward to approach the circle, a collection of runes transcribed by Professor Colbert himself. She readied her wand in her hand, pointing it at the intricate pattern carefully. A deep breath came and left her, slowing her thoughts and focusing her mind. If Louise was to summon her familiar, the greatest the Academy had ever seen, she would need absolute focus.
"My servant that exists somewhere in this vast universe, my divine, beautiful, wise, powerful servant, heed my call!"
Louise felt the magic flowing through her. She was doing it! She felt the strength that was her Vallière family's namesake.
But it wasn't over. Not yet.
"I wish for you to show yourself to me. I wish for you to follow as I speak. I wish from the very bottom of my heart to ask of you your guidance!"
She thrust her wand forward, commanding the summoning circle with all her might!
"APPEAR!"
And it exploded.
Louise threw up her arms as the loathsomely familiar cloud of soot and dirt peppered her vision. Equally familiar cries of surprise took over the grounds, at least those that were not deafened and muted by the explosion itself. Her cape pulled at her neck, dress skirt taunt against her from the force.
A part of Louise truly wished the blast had just killed her. Even as the dust began to drop and the few crumbs of earth settling back down, the fruit of her efforts was obvious.
There were none. She had failed, again.
Just like with her many attempts at Fireball, she had failed. She had made nothing but a poor show of magical control, a harsh insult to her family's talent.
Louise, the Zero, a failure even when it mattered most.
But she would not allow this to faze her, not in a way that would show. Before the smoke had truly cleared, Louise straightened herself, standing to her tallest to prepare for whatever insults and jives her fellow students would throw at her. She was Louise de La Vallière.
She would not let petty words or even failure defeat her. It was the Rule of Steel.
The smoke began to truly subside now, enough for Louise to see the summoning circle, or what remained of it. She had prepared herself for a mass of missing earth, maybe just some scorched land. She would be allowed to summon the familiar again; she had to.
It didn't matter if it took multiple tries. She would get it. Louis would do it. She-
Was staring at something crouching in the circle.
"I did it…"
Her heart leapt to her throat at the sight, almost audible given the silence that had fallen over the courtyard. Not a student nor their familiars made a sound as the figure became clearer to see. And a figure it was. Louise had summoned a familiar!
She had summoned a familiar. She didn't fail!
"I did it! I did it! Yes! Thank the founder, I did it!" Louise nearly jumped into the air, her excitement building. But she composed herself as a noble should. Instead she took to studying her new familiar, letting the crowd of jeerers behind her stew in their embarrassment.
It was a bipedal creature, obvious by its crouched posture. Scales as black as night were adorned over its body, some of which jutted off to make imposing spikes. A long band of red fell from atop its head, appearing to be sharp as flames.
Its claws were white, a contrast to the darkness that was the rest of its body, but it fit nicely, elegantly even. Louise had to bite her lip as her familiar then began to move.
A growling noise came from the creature as it stood, sounding to be heavier than even Tabitha's dragon. The sound came from every part of Louise's brand new familiar, making its imposing all the more threatening, in the best of ways.
If a griffon or a dragon were a sign of high power and might, then this new familiar of hers would be worth just as much, if not more!
It stood up to an impressive height, towering over Louise. Its face was menacing without compare, appearing to have rows of teeth that matched its dark scales, the red of flames churning just past them. Sharp yellow eyes looked out beyond slits, looking over the crowd.
It was at that moment Louise realized something else. Not just that she had summoned a familiar and not that it was one that looked more imposing than even Tabitha's dragon.
Louise had no idea what kind of creature she had summoned. Apparently, no else did either.
"What the heck is that?"
"Is that a monster or something?"
"Dude, the Zero summoned a baby dragon, didn't she?"
"No way the Zero just pulled that off."
"S-Still, far from as elegant as my familiar."
Louise let them talk, let them lick their wounds and poorly attempt to save their pride. In the end, they were wrong. She had summoned a grand familiar, imposing, tall and powerful.
And she could tell by the look in the creature's sharp eyes that it understood who her master was.
Undyne was doing everything she could not to freak out.
One minute she was sifting for treasure in the dump, the next she was falling through some nothing portal, and now she was standing in front of humans.
HUMANS!
Not one or two, but dozens of them. So many that they could destroy the barrier of the Underground three times over! They were all just children, gathered around like a freaking potluck. It was almost too good to be real. That was what was getting her.
This was too good to be real. It felt like those shows Alphys would watch with her, where the hero was having some perfect dream only to wake up tied to the bed or something… There was really no way this many humans had just showed up in Waterfall randomly, not without the guard patrols giving her the heads up.
Heck, not without Papyrus running across the entire Underground to let her know!
Something was seriously wrong here. She couldn't put her finger on it, but it was really bad. Bad enough that she didn't know if she should pick up the nearest human in front of her and run or just knock them all out. Asgore needed just one more soul, just one.
If they got one more human soul, then the monsters could be free.
Undyne twisted her head to look up. They could go outside… they could… they…
They were outside.
She stared up at the sky. The sky!
It was right there, right above her. No glowing crystals, no stalagmites, just an endless blue sky. It was… it was really endless. No walls, no ceiling, nothing. Just an endless blue with blotches of white.
Undyne fell to her knees. Hard. She ignored the humans' cries of fright just as much as the 'boom' her armor made. They didn't matter right now.
All that mattered was the sky above her. And the sun! Jeez that sun! It was huge, it was beautiful! It was like all those stories Asgore and Gerson had told her after her training. It was just a ball in the sky, but it felt warmer than sitting next to a fire.
She really… couldn't describe it. But that was probably because she probably couldn't see it. Stupid helmet!
She gripped and removed the hulk of metal, letting it hit the ground with a dull 'thud'. She could hear the humans talking, but she still couldn't care. She couldn't care because they didn't matter.
They didn't matter because Undyne really was outside! She was passed the barrier and the proof was all around her!
The sky really was endless above her. The sun really was bright as fire above her. The ground really was covered with grass beneath her.
And the air… the wind… everything… it all felt free. Her gauntlets scrapped at the ground beneath her, feeling it actually give. It wasn't just rock on rock.
It was dirt!
Asgore told her about dirt, how it felt to walk across it. Undyne sucked in a deep breath of the air, savoring the scent. It smelled like freedom. She wanted to devour it.
She settled with falling onto the ground, flat on her back. It felt amazing. Even through her armor Undyne could tell how incredible the ground actually was. It was warm, it was soft, and it was everything she could have ever hoped.
She laughed as loud as she could, ready to start making angels in the grass. Would that work like it did in Snowdin?
She'd make it work!
Undyne moved her hands up and down, laughing like the kids that crowded around her. Her armor tore through the grass and dug into the dirt, but it still felt amazing. It was like warm snow, the best thing since a hot fridge! It wasn't like the molten rock of Hotland or the frozen ground in Snowdin. It was just so different, so much better outside.
And she was outside!
That meant she would get to see stars at night, she would feel the sun every hour during the day. There would be weather, that meant rain! She would get to feel water without having to get into water! She wanted to scream, to laugh, and to do so much more! She could do anything now!
Could this get any better?
Something tapped on her shoulder. Undyne followed it to see one of the humans. She was looking at her like the kids from Snowdin, wide eyed and waiting for something.
What did she want though? Undyne was outside! She didn't need the human anymore! She… wait…
Undyne sat up, ignoring the startled sound the pink haired human made. How did she get past the barrier? Where were the other monsters? Was she the only one out? Undyne looked around, doing her best to ignore the grass, the sky, the trees, and everything else that proved she was outside.
She was looking for Asgore, for Alphys, for Papyrus, Sans, her guards, anyone. They had to be here.
She saw animals, but not monsters. Plenty of humans, more than she thought she'd ever see, but still no monsters. None of her friends and no proof that they were ever there. Where was here? What was going on? She was outside, but how? Maybe the girl knew.
The pink haired chick was wearing some kind of cape, kinda like Asgore's but a lot shorter. There was a skirt too, just below some white blouse. Other that, she had pink haired that trailed down past her waist. That looked annoyingly long and painful. But the girl was still looking at her, looking at her with wide eyes.
It took Undyne a moment to realize the girl was probably scared of her. That was normal. Undyne knew she was scary, but most monsters caught on quick she wasn't all-bad.
"Hey, girly," Undyne spoke to the girl. She was girly, given how small she was and how long her hair was. It was long enough to rival Asgore's ears. Then again, the girl was like half her own height, let alone Asgore's. "Do you know where I am? Do you got any idea how I got here?"
The human didn't say anything. Heh, no small wonder. A lot of monsters had a hard time speaking to Undyne, made sense that humans were the same way. She didn't need to worry though, not right now at least. All the pink-haired girl did was keep looking at Undyne. It was kinda starting to freak her out.
"What, I got something on my face?" Undyne asked incredulously. The girl just made some sort of noise, blinking up at her. Was that supposed to be here talking? Oh, wait, did she not understand her?
Ah geez, that was a problem. Undyne made a grumbling sound as she scratched the back of her neck.
"Well that's great. Finally found my way outside and the humans can't even understand what I'm sayin'. Top it off without a friend in sight." Undyne made a move to stand, but was stopped by the stupidest thing. And it really was stupid, cause there was no way it was strong enough to actually stop her.
The girl's hands, specifically, on either side of her face. Undyne felt her usual grin pull across her scales, the kind she usually gave Sans after his bad puns, the one that said 'shut up' without any words. The girl at least shook at little at the sight.
Easy to tell given how she was holding Undyne's head.
"Hey, punk," she growled out. "You wanna tell me what you think you're doin'?"
The girl didn't move. Instead she just some weird sound. Maybe she was talking, maybe she was whispering, Undyne could tell, or really care. There was being bold then there was being stupid. This girl was clearly in the latter category.
"Seriously, I got places to go, so if you wanna do something you better-"
The leaned forward and placed a kiss on Undyne's forehead.
Undyne was not impressed.
"Brat," Undyne growled no, grin wide with the ideas of what she was gonna do to this human. "I don't care if you can understand me or not, you got ten seconds to start-"
A lurching pain stopped Undyne.
It was sudden, quick, like getting hit by a boulder during her training. Problem was it wasn't all over, not even near her head. It was just on her hand, her left hand.
She ripped off the gauntlet, letting the metal hit the ground with the same thud as her helmet. She ignored the quick sound the girl made. She was probably just scared, the wimp. Undyne was the one who felt pain. Few positives though. Undyne knew she had felt a whole lot worse pain than this before. That was good. Plus it was only over hand. Better than having an actual boulder plow into her. Those hurt all over.
Still didn't explain the markings that started to etch their way over her hand. Etched was the right word for it. Felt like her spear was being used to mark up the back of her scales, making a bunch of jagged symbols across her.
They were glowing like the coils in her fridge, felt hot as fire, too. It wasn't a good feeling.
Undyne clenched her jaw as she watched the symbols continue to shift and form over her skin. Her fist was shaking from the effort. What the heck kind of magic was this? What was it even doing? Tattooing her? It better be one kickass tattoo to be worth this. Pain was only worth it if you got something out of it. Thankfully, the magic seemed to take her silent hint.
The sensation of her scales ripping died down, disappearing until it was just a light throb. Kinda felt like she was bruised, by that would definitely go away. She let out a relieved grunt, flexing her fingers. The mark on her hand was still there.
It didn't look like anything Undyne recognized. A bunch of marks that really did look like something she'd leave behind after trying out her spears on a cavern wall. Straight lines meeting other lines. Didn't look like any image she'd want or word she'd recognize. Still, as far as markings went, it could have been way worse.
"Sweet," Undyne let out, looking over the markings whilst twisting her hand. The back of her hand was the only thing different. "Ain't good for a tattoo, but it looks like one kickass scar."
"Those are not scars, they're runes."
Undyne whipped her head back to the girl. The pink haired floozy was looking back at her, eyes as wide as before. She stared at the human, making sure that her ears weren't playing tricks on her. Given that she had randomly popped up outside the barrier, it wouldn't be too crazy for her ears to start acting up.
Alphys would probably have a better word for it then 'going crazy'.
"Did you understand me?" Undyne asked testing, hitting her other hand against her armored chest. The clang made the pink hair girl jump. She really was just a kid. "Seriously though, do you know what I'm saying?"
"Yes," the girl spoke up. Undyne understood her to. "Yes, yes I do. And I am glad that you can understand me as well. A familiar that can hold a conversation…" What did that mean? And why the heck was the floozy grinning like that?
Undyne knew her grins were scary cool, but this girl's was just creepy. Plus, was the girl trying to talk to her this whole time? Coulda fooled Undyne. Unless they talked in yells, that'd be cool.
Wait, no, had to focus. This human could talk, that means she had answers!
"Kay, girl," Undyne spoke to the pink haired human. She blinked at the word, good. "Where the hell am I? How did I get past the barrier?" The girl only tilted her head.
"Barrier? What nonsense are you talking about?" That wasn't the answer Undyne wanted to hear. "And as for your location, you're now in the famous Tristian Magical Academy! Show your proper respect." Her hand waved around her as she spoke.
Undyne followed the motion, seeing all the monsters and humans staring at them. All the humans were dressed the same, and all looked pretty damn young, too. Maybe this was a school, like that one anime Alphys showed her, where the school was a detective academy.
That'd be cool. But that didn't explain the buildings.
She stood up from the ground, pushing off the grass to do so. The grass that had been pulled and the earth dug into during her 'angel' motion. The girl looked up at her, still looking surprised. Was that the only expression she could make or something? Didn't matter.
Undyne looked at the buildings. Really, all the magazines that had survived the dump talked about how humans lived in these giant glass towers and homes like the ones made in Snowdin. They were supposed to be high-tech and awesome.
The stone tower and buildings around Undyne did not show that. They were just a bunch of stones piled on top of one another. It wasn't smooth, wasn't painted, and sure as hell didn't have a single pane of glass as far as she could tell, let alone enough to make up the entire wall.
It honestly was looking more like some kind of castle that Asgore would tell her about. Where was he anyway? No way he would miss out on going above ground.
"Um, excuse me," a new voice spoke up.
Undyne looked towards a new human. This one looked older than the kids that littered the ground, but he was still a shorty! Seriously, Undyne was taller than like every human here. That was cool.
"My name is Professor Jean Colbert, an instructor to the students here. I understand that you may be… confused right now, but may I please have your name?" Well, he was polite. Maybe Papyrus was onto something with his whole 'befriend' the human shtick.
Eh, worries for later.
"You can call me Undyne," she spoke back, giving him a large grin. The human took a step back. Wuss. She'd say she made him bald, but it looked like he was already doing that on his own.
That was her name, but that wasn't enough. The mangas that Alphys salvaged always said that humans liked to give their titles when they met. This guy even called himself an instructor.
Crap, Undyne forgot to prepare a speech.
This wasn't like she was confronting some human in Waterfall. She was outside! That meant she had to improvise. Asgore should be doing this, not her. But she could do this.
"But if you want to get personal, I'm the Captain of Asgore's Royal Guard, King of the Underground." That made him blink.
Undyne was beginning to think that was all these humans could do, blink and look shocked. Better than laughter though, maybe. If they laughed that would have just pissed her off.
"King?" the girl spoke again. Undyne looked down at her. Seriously, she came chest high at best. "Underground? What in the name of the Founder are you talking about? As my familiar it is your duty to explain these things to me." What did she just say?
"Familiar? The hell you talkin' about?" Undyne asked back. She didn't hide the sneer that crept up her scales. Did feel good to see the human shirk back at the face. "Seriously though, where the hell am I?"
"I just told you! You are in the Tristian Magical Academy! How do you not know where that is?" Was this girl trying to get her mad? Well it was working. "As those markings on your hand are now proof, you are my familiar and you now belong to me, so you must do as I say."
That was one step way too far!
Undyne reached back her hand, getting ready to summon a spear and really show this human what it meant to-
"My word," the old human's words stopped her. That and the grip on her exposed arm. She looked at the bald human, holding her arm and staring at her hand. The hell was he doing?
"These glyphs and runes, the intricacy, they appear to match the texts almost perfectly." Too much was happening for Undyne.
One, she had been sucked up in Waterfall and somehow thrown to outside the Barrier.
Two, she was sporting a brand new tattoo given to her from a kiss, apparently.
Three, the girl who kissed her was calling her a familiar and talking like this place wasn't some relic of the past.
Four, the only human that looked old enough to take care of themselves was grabbing her arm like it belonged to him.
Five, she was pissed!
"That's it!" Undyne shouted, wrenching her hand out of the old man's hands. She kinda wished he'd fallen on his face.
His staff caught him, damn.
"I don't know how I got here, I don't know who the hell any of you are, but I need to find out where the rest of my friends are! Got it? If I got out of the Underground, then they could have, too!"
The area became dead quiet. Undyne was used to that. She tended to make people either scream or shut up. Right now she was pissed off as all hell, so it was definitely going to be the latter. Her grin probably helped with that.
Papyrus did say that her teeth were large enough to admire his reflection on. Probably didn't help when they all had that damned shocked look on their mugs. Seriously!?
The rest of the human kids didn't look much better. Those brats were just huddled up in small groups or hanging around their animals. Seriously? Really?
"Okay, everyone," Colbert spoke up again. Undyne wanted to throttle him. "That concludes the summoning ceremony. The remaining time may be spent familiarizing yourself with your new familiars." Was this dude ignoring her again?! She was going to- "Ms. Vallière, Undyne, may we please speak in private. I feel there is… much to talk about." Undyne let out a breath of air through her nose.
She picked up her gauntlet and helm as the rest of the human kids and monsters began to move around, probably going who knows where. Actually, she wanted to know. Undyne really couldn't afford to forget that she was outside!
It was because she was outside that she had to find everyone else, especially Asgore. He'd know how to handle this better than she could.
At least know she'd finally get some answers.
Louse was going to get her answers, no matter what.
Her familiar, the idiot that she was! Everything had been so perfect, just like it was supposed to be, then her familiar decided to shed her skin and gain a voice. A voice meant a mind, it meant reasoning, it meant she had summoned not something, but someone!
Of all the things that could have happened, why did it have to happen to her? Easily one of the most intimidating and clearly powerful familiars and she wouldn't even listen to her!
Even when she had shed her 'armor', she was still an imposing creature! Scales had gone from black to blue and teeth from black to yellow, but her grin was only maddening large and sounded ready to bite off someone's head.
That wasn't even to mention the fins that jutted from her head or the ease it had for lifting those hunks of metal. If only she came with an ounce of discipline or knowing what it meant to be a familiar!
It didn't help that the whole trip up to the headmaster's office was full of her familiar making noises and questions about the place, everyone sounding more like a challenge then some kind of inquiry. Why should Louise know who all the servants were? Why would Louise care how many commoners lived here? Why were the academy's stone walls weird?
But more than anything else, why was her familiar grinning like a shark from the ocean!?
"Ms. Vallière," headmaster Osmond spoke her name. She stood to attention as her mother had instructed, head high, chest out, and back straight. "Let me begin by congratulating you on a successful summons. I must say you have truly surprised me. It has been some many years that I have had the pleasure."
Louise poorly hid the smile that came to her lips.
"Thank you, headmaster," she spoke clearly in return. It would be beyond rude to say anything else, especially nothing at all.
"You're welcome. Now, as for your familiar herself, I would like to hear more from her." Louise felt her stomach drop. She turned from the wise and long-bearded headmaster of Tristian Academy to her armored, rude, and utterly imposing familiar.
"Undyne, you are the first familiar I have ever seen to be able to speak, let alone one that claims to have served a king. Can you elaborate on this?"
Her familiar wasn't saying anything. That was… good? It would have been if she had not spoken anything in the first place. But both Louise and Professor Colbert had heard the fish thing speak, so it wasn't as if Louise could pass it off as some side effect of Willpower depletion. Undyne had spoken, she had named itself, so why wasn't she talking!?
"Ms. Undyne?" Professor Colbert began to ask. "Are you… alright?" Louise was beginning to wonder the same herself. It didn't seem like her familiar could move enough earlier. What changed?
"Huh?" Her familiar spoke. Louise wasn't sure she should feel relief or annoyance that she did. "Oh yeah, sorry, wasn't listening." Annoyance it was. Louise bit her lip to keep herself from screaming, hard. "Just… that's a great view you got."
She lifted its armored claw past Osmond, to the glass windows behind him.
"Hm?" The wizened headmaster returned. He turned to follow her point, something that Professor Colbert and Louise did as well. It looked nice, sure, but it certainly was not ignoring the headmaster over. "Oh, yes, I do quite enjoy the view myself. But it is important to always return to the work at hand. Old Chuchu does help to keep me honest from distractions."
Louise saw the famed familiar of the headmaster peak out past over his shoulder, making a small noise as it did so. Louise offered it a kind smile, as was expected of her towards her headmaster's familiar. A quick glance at Undyne told her that her familiar was not doing the same.
No, she was still looking out that damn window!
"You don't get it," Undyne kept talking. If that was all it would have been bad enough. But now, then she started walking towards the headmaster's desk, armored boots stomping the ground as she did so.
Louise felt a trickle of fear run up her back as her familiar moved, watching Professor Colbert ready his staff. Undyne must have been either stupid or ignorant, because she didn't take that as the clear sign to stop that it was.
Did she want to get burned alive?!
Her fears, thankfully, appeared to be unneeded. Undyne walked past both wizards and stopped at the window of the tower, her face pushing up against the glass. When she started raising her armored claws, Louise was honesty afraid the glass was going to break.
"You can see so far away," Undyne went on. "You got so much you can see. It's like it never ends. The sky, the trees… ah geez." Louise wanted to feel anger for her familiar, the well-deserved fury that came when subordinates refused to listen to their betters.
But at the moment, she felt something else. Confusion.
Confusion for the light trail of tears she saw running down Undyne's blue cheeks.
"Ms. Undyne, are you sure you're well? You're crying!" Professor Colbert spoke in a flustered tone. Louise just watched. There wasn't much she could do right now, nothing that the headmaster and professor couldn't do without her.
"Wha? Nah, I ain't crying," Undyne poorly lied. Louise lifted her nose at the words. Lying to a noble, how abhorrent. She rubbed its black armor over its face, pushing at the scales. "Just got somethin' in my eyes is all."
"Oh, and what is that?" Louise asked in turn. The best way to reveal a liar was to put them on the spot. Cowards and liars all relented when they had attention focused on them.
Unfortunately, Louise got exactly what she wanted.
"Tears, dammit!"
Undyne let out some kind of sound with her yell. It could have been a laugh, but Louise thought it could have just of easily been a bark. Odd, considering how amphibian her familiar appeared to be.
"Interesting," the headmaster continued. "Please, can you tell us why the sight is so… breath-taking?" Louise nodded her head at the question. That was a proper way to phrase, though her familiar likely needed a firmer hand than that.
"You don't know?" Undyne asked in return. How rude! She was being questioned, not the other way around! "Monsters have been in the Underground for centuries. We've been kept there fer 'slong as I can remember. This is the first time I've seen the sky. And… ah geez, it's so awesome!" Undyne flexed her arm in what Louise assumed was a pose of victory.
The force of the motion pulled and shattered the headmaster's window.
Louise let out a shriek of surprise as the sound of breaking glass filled the room, shard of the clear material falling to the floor and out the now gaping hole in the tower. She was frozen as ice, hunched over like some uneducated commoner, staring at her familiar with an expression she couldn't describe well enough herself.
"Oh, oops," Undyne lamely let out. "You're glass is really fragile here, ya know that?"
Louise now knew the expression was rage.
"Familiar! What are you thinking!?" She shrieked. The anthropomorphic fish finally showed a bit of fear in the face of Louise, complete with wide golden eyes. It was not nearly enough of an improvement to placate Louise's anger.
"Hey! I said I was sorry!" Unydne let out quickly.
"No you did not!" Louise countered. Her familiar blinked before pulling up her hands. "You just insulted a noble's place of work by shattering a window! Apologize this instant!" She threw her hand down, pink hair bobbing with the force of the action. Why weren't the professor and headmaster upset with her?!
"Alright, alright! Geez," the fish familiar let out, turning to face the two nobles. Good, she was doing what was expected of her. "Sorry fer breaking the glass like that. Got kinda carried away and all."
Bad! Muttering in front of nobles, the headmaster and a professor no less, was completely unacceptable!
"It's quite alright," the headmaster dismissed. Louise stared at him. Why did he not punish her? "I'm sure we can have repaired easily enough. I'm more curious about this whole monsters underground business you spoke of. Are you referring to yourself as a monster?"
"Well duh," Undyne made a face that showed disgust. It was a sneer, with her blue nose raised and eyes looking down at the Osmond. Louise made her own face of bewilderment. She wasn't sure what the reason was right now. Too much was happening. "Do I look like some kinda human to you? Think you'd lose me in the crowd?"
She pointed to herself with the question.
"No… not at all," Osmond returned slowly. "But… I feel there is quite a tale you have to tell, isn't there?" Deflection. Louise saw it in an instant. It was the same kind of statement the professors had given to her a hundred times before.
"I concur, but before we go much further, Undyne," Professor Colbert spoke, earning her familiar's attention. "I was hoping I may be able to see the runes on your hand." Louise cocked her own head at the question. What did the familiar runes matter? Oh, they must be making sure the contract was in place.
A smart idea given her familiar's abhorrent nature up till now.
"You mean these marks?" Unydne asked. She was already detaching the bulk of metal that sat on her arm, holding the white metal in its claw before dropping it on the headmaster's table.
It splintered the wood with a resounding crack.
Louise let a quite noise of fright, seeing the headmaster and professor jump back as well. Only Undyne didn't seem that affected. Why wasn't she taking her damage to a noble's office seriously!?
"My bad, sorry 'bout that," she let out lamely, as pathetically as a commoner attempting magic. Louise felt her teeth grind. "Used to most of my stuff being made of metal or stone. I'm sure it'll buff out, right?" Was her familiar an idiot!?
"That will most certainly not 'buff out'!" Louise finally screeched at the blue scaled monster. The monster she apparently called herself. "You've done an egregious amount of damage to a noble's place of work! This will likely inconvenience the headmaster for days! Are you trying to break everything in this room?!"
Undyne didn't answer her. Instead, while looking at Louise, the lips of her mouth pulled back, revealing even more of her fanged yellow teeth. She was intimidating, of that there was no doubt. But, oh, Louise was going to punish her familiar something great for that kind of face at her.
"You call this damage?" She asked. Was that a serious question? "I've broken things worse in my sleep! Bit my pillow in half and tore off my bed's headboard! This is nothin'!"
To prove her point, in all of her delusional grandeur, Louise watched as Undyne slammed down her other claw down on the table, right next to her unused gauntlet.
With a crack that echoed, the table fell to the one side, all of the items atop of it jumping and rolling off.
Louise stared at the damage, already knowing what was going to happen. That was no good. Her familiar should be the one scrambling for an apology, trying to placate them for all the damage she'd done. But instead, all she was doing was staring down at the shambles that was one Headmaster Osmond's desk with a look of regret. That was it!
"Before anything else of mine is broken," Osmond began to speak. Louise turned a hopefully eye to him. "Perhaps you can honor Professor Colbert's request. I'm hoping it'll make the damage to my desk worth it."
"Sounds good to me," was all the response Undyne gave as she pushed her hand towards the professor. Louise wanted to scream. She wanted to blast her familiar with the largest fireball she could muster and watch her fall to the ground! Louise wanted her familiar to do what she asked.
But she couldn't do that without losing face in front of her headmaster and professor… Stupid familiar!
"Interesting," Professor Colbert spoke up lightly. Louise almost missed it with her silent seething. But she couldn't say a word, not now. She would not lose face in front of the headmaster and her teacher. "These runes, their detail… their intricacy is something I have seen only reference to. It's possible, but I'd need more texts, time to study…"
"They really that important?" Undyne asked. She didn't look happy about having her hand held by the professor. Good. She could do with some discomfort. "Do you got all you need from them. Like, can I have my hand back?"
"Hm? Oh! Yes, of course!" the professor let go of her webbed hand. Louise was becoming increasingly annoyed that it wasn't a claw. With every piece of her black scale armored she removed, the less intimidating she looked. "My apologies, it is simply rare to… have a familiar such as yourself appear."
"You keep throwin' that word around like I'm supposed to have a clue what it means." Undyne pulled her hand back lifting it up to place her gauntlet back on. At least while she wore she appeared to have claws.
Small blessings, but they didn't nearly make up for her non-subservient behavior.
"Why don't you start spillin' on what this place is or how I got here or any number of… no."
Louise took a full second to realize her familiar had stopped herself. She had placed one of her gauntleted hands on her forehead, concealing her one good eyes and letting her razor sharp teeth sit in a frown. She didn't say anything, neither did the headmaster or her professor.
"Ah, dammit, I'm gettin' off track," Undyne spoke with a far calmer voice. Louise would have thanked the Founder if her familiar weren't also scratching the back of her head with an impossibly large sneer across her face. It showed off her shark like teeth to a hideous level. "Came up here ta ask some questions an' I got sidetracked with the view."
"What are you talking about, familiar?" Louise questioned seriously. If her familiar was acting calmer, than she must follow suit. It would have been completely unbecoming to be presented in a poorer light than her own servant. "It is improper to ignore-" She was cut off by the waving of a white metal gauntlet
"Yeah, yeah, we'll talk in a bit, I got a few important questions first." She… she what? Did her familiar honestly believe her wishes were above those of her own master?
"The only reason I came up here at all was to get some info." Louise no longer cared if they were in the headmaster's office, she was going to blow her familiar out the window and summon a new one!
"May I assume it has to do with this... Underground you spoke of?" Professor Colbert asked. He was staring at Undyne with wide eyes. Louise was doing the exact opposite.
"Yeah! That's part of it," Undyne's grin grew with the words. Louise would not allow herself to be intimidated by her familiar's razor sharp teeth. "See, if I got out of there, I'm bettin' that I'm not the only one. So I gotta find the rest the monsters."
What? Was she talking about leaving?
"Unacceptable," Louise spoke with strength. She ignored the glare Undyne gave her. She was her familiar the 'monster' would do as she said. "You were summoned here by my magic and as such you are my familiar. I do not permit you to go off searching for some wild goose."
Louise still kept herself from being intimidated by her familiar. Even as her grin turned into a feral frown.
"Punk," she spoke down to Louise. "You seriously thinkin' 'bout keepin' me from finding my friends?" Louise felt chills running up her back. With the headmaster's window broken up, it sounded like the wind was howling.
But Louise stay determined.
"I do," she turned her nose up at her familiar. "As a familiar, summoned by my magic, you are bound to do as I say. Those runes are proof of the contract."
She pointed at the gauntlet that now concealed said hand. It was foolish to think hiding the runes erased their existence.
"You are extremely lucky that a noble as forgiving as myself summoned you, or else you would be punished severely for the amount of damage you have caused! At the very least, you are not to go looking for these 'monsters' you are speaking of or-" Anything else Louise had to say died on her lips.
The metal gauntlet around her throat kept anything from being said.
A quick choking sound was all the noise Louise could make before she found herself being lifted from the ground. Her hands reached desperately for the white gauntlet holding her, grabbing at it with her small hands. It felt like she was pushing against a wall, grabbing at the ledge to a cliff.
There was no give. There was no slack.
And as her wide eyes stared at Undyne's own open gaze, Louise saw no mercy.
"Hey," Undyne spoke in a low voice. Louise would have gulped if her throat wasn't being squeezed. "I'm tryin' my best ta stay on good terms with you punks. Asgore would be pretty angry at me if I went and ruined everything he worked for. But if you keep talkin' like that, actin' like I'm something you own… you'll get to see why I'm the Captain of the Guard."
Louise felt her determination waver in the face of her familiar's sharp eye and sharper teeth. Her teeth looked ready to tear into her, eyes read to bore into her. Louise felt her legs thrash, unable to reach the ground. She couldn't move the hand on her throat, could recite a spell, couldn't do anything.
It… it was scary, terrifying even.
Her familiar was truly a monster.
Undyne hoped she wasn't being too scary to the brat. Just enough.
Monsters needed seven human souls to pass the barrier, seven souls to free themselves from the Underground. She didn't know how, less of a clue when, but Undyne had gotten out.
If she was out, the others were to. But Asgore had said, over and over, that seven souls would be all the souls the monsters would claim. Anymore and it would just be war again.
But dammit if this brat and her attitude weren't making the idea of making it eight souls a good one. Not like it would have been hard, given how thick headed they seemed to be. Seriously, they were giving
Papyrus a run for his money, and that goofball didn't even know the difference between a threat and a greeting!
"Undyne, release Ms. Vallière this instant," the old guy spoke, the one who looked he should keel over any minute. She turned a sharp eyes to him. Didn't let go of the pink-haired brat in her hands. She could feel her struggling in her grip, but it was like holding a tadpole. "If you are honest with your earlier words, then you will release my student. I do not believe anyone wants any harm to come to her."
Undyne would give that geezer credit. He sounded a little threatening now. Didn't hold a candle to Asgore though. Heck, he was probably weaker than Gerson. Still, she had to remember that she was interacting with humans.
Humans.
If Asgore was right, they were weak, easily frightened, and likely going to think the worst of them. They had to prove them wrong.
"Fine," Undyne spoke as she dropped the girl from her hand. She fell to the ground, collapsing like a wet rag. Pathetic, the brat was all bark and no bite. "But you better not be expectin' me to take all that talk with a bright grin."
Neither of the humans spoke up, not at first. The bald one, Colbert if she caught his name right, rushed over to the pink haired girl. He was checking her over, the brat bobbing her head at whatever he was saying. Looked at her neck to.
No reason to, Undyne knew she didn't break anything.
"Do you want to leave, Ms. Vallière?" He finally asked a bit louder. "It's perfectly understandable if you do."
"No… I will stay," the brat responded. Undyne had to hand it to her, she looked a little tough with those words, giving a good glare with it.
Undyne smirked at the human.
"It will take more than… threats for me to fear you, familiar." Oh, was she still on that?
"Ms. Vallière is acting as though she summoned a usual familiar." Undyne gave Colbert a sharp look. He looked like he did out in the yard, talking to the other humans.
"Or, to explain, familiars are beings summoned by our second-year students, brought forth to aid the students in their pursuit for knowledge." It was better than the Alphys-like attitude he had before. Made it easier to focus on the fact he was human.
He had his hand on the girl's back the whole time, helping her stand up. She brushed him off when she was up right again.
"Summoned, huh?" Undyne began. That was a pretty weird word to use. Whatever. "Cool, awesome, but you can tell me all about that later. I want to know where the monsters are!"
She thought about slamming her hands on the old man's desk for effect, but that was kinda hard.
Namely because she had already pushed it too close to the floor.
Not her fault, at least not really, the thing was weak wet dirt. She'd bet the gold bits in her pocket she could probably lift the roof off the place, especially if everything was as fragile as the desk. Wait, no, that wasn't what was important!
"I believe we are at a disadvantage," the bald man began to say. The heck did that mean? "To explain, we use the term monsters to describe… horrible acts or creatures. They are not associated with reasoning, let alone the ability to speak such as yourself."
Undyne didn't react. Oh, she wanted to rip the staff out of his hands and bite it in two, but she didn't. Gerson warned her that humans were a bunch of imaginative tools, pretty much always in the wrong way.
"Well I ain't that," Undyne countered. "I'm looking for walking, talking, and probably carrying a heck of a lot of luggage monsters. I've been researching humans since I was little, so I know there's no way you guys couldn't know about that by now."
The two humans shared a look. Good, that meant she caught. Those narrowed eyes probably meant they were thinking of what to say next, yeah, and that head shake, they had to change their plans! Oh yeah, she caught them.
"How could we possibly know something so quickly?" the older human spoke. Undyne hadn't heard his name yet. She'd need it, or else he'd be Human!Gerson for life. "It would take hours for us to learn of something from the Tristian Capitol, likely days or even weeks beyond that."
Undyne wasn't sure how to express her disbelief properly.
"Are you kidding me!?" She yelled. That had to be the proper response. The old man even made a quick jump at the action. Damned mouse on his shoulder scurried off, too. "We can pass messages across the underground in like… nanoseconds! They're called phones! I know you humans got them!"
"Phones?" Colbert spoke up now. He was pointing his staff at her. The heck was that supposed to even mean? "I… We have no idea what a phone is! Messages are transported via trained couriers or carrier pigeons. Hawks or ravens are used by the noble families as well." That was one of the worst lies Undyne had ever heard, and she'd heard Sans say he was strong enough to be king!
"That's bull!" she shouted back. Why stop what worked? Showing off her teeth had to be helping. No better way to get information then being scary, and Undyne knew she was scary. "If you got 'nother name for it, fine. But let me show you what a phone is!"
She reached into the loose patch of metal in her suit, grabbing at the items inside. Her gauntlet pushed away one of Papyrus's golden bones, a t-shirt Alphys made for her, some tea packets from Asgore. It wasn't there. Undyne let out a grumble as she undid her other latch. It was right there, next to her house keys.
What she pulled out though wasn't a phone. Not anymore at least.
Holding up her cellphone, or the shambled mess of wires and metal that was left it, Undyne looked across the room. The old man was staring at her, Colbert was doing the same, but the pinkette brat was looking up with a sneer that Undyne wanted to make.
But more than that, it made Undyne want to do two things. One, scream. Two, throw the broken thing across the room. Being the highest ranking of the Royal Guard, she did the most logical choice. Both.
"Gah!" Undyne yelled, chucking her phone across the room, it slammed into the stone wall with a satisfying crunch. Pieces of stone fell with the useless scrap metal. "Now I can't even CALL Alphys!"
"Familiar!" The brat called again. Undyne groaned at the human. This brat was in desperate need of a beating. "I cannot tell if you are being genuine or insulting or… just attempting to make excuses for your behavior, but I won't allow it!"
She stomped her foot like it mattered. Undyne was damn close to doing the same. If the floor was built like everything else, she'd probably bring the tower down. "There are no monsters like you, we haven't heard anything from Germania to Wales, and you are doing a horrendous job at showing your civility!"
"On two of the accounts, Louise is correct," the old man spoke before Undyne could finish sucking in her breath. She clenched her teeth to keep in the yell. The brat would be getting the lesson later. At least the old human was acting like Asgore said a leader would. Undyne couldn't risk disappointing her king. "We truly have not heard anything, let alone by these… phones you are talking about."
"Then I'm gonna have to go look fer myself," Undyne grunted out. She was honestly looking forward to it. The Underground got pretty boring when you memorized every glowing rock on the ceiling, but outside? She could spend the rest of her life learning the land! That was an idea.
"Can't sit around waiting for new to get here."
"ACT-ually," Colbert spoke up, well, yelled at first. Undyne gave him a sneer only to see his hand in front of the pink brat. Probably yelled to stop her. "That may be the smart decision. I highly doubt the appearance of other… monsters such as yourself will go unspoken across any kingdom. Searching for them could take some time, and if we do hear about them when you are gone, we would have no way to let you know where your friends are."
Damn, he had a point. Undyne growled as she crossed her arms, the metal of her gauntlets scratching against one another. Her good eye looked at the ground. She hated it when other people talked like that.
She couldn't say anything to show them they were wrong!
"But in the meantime, I can look into possible locations for this… Underground," the bald professor kept talking. "I'm confident I can find some reference or possible landmark to follow."
Undyne lifted her gaze to him, giving him a happy grin. He gave his own, but it was really weak. Dang though if that wasn't a good idea!
Undyne had completely forgotten about the internet! If this dude was serious, he'd probably find the Mt. Ebott damn quick. That'd make it easy to find!
"Now that's an idea I like!" She pointed at him, boisterous as she could be. He should be loud to, he did a good thing! "You're gonna wanna look for a place called Mt. Ebott though. Underground was built beneath it. I mean, you've heard of that place, right?"
She didn't like the unsure look he had. Alphys had that whenever Undyne asked for more mecha-animes.
"I am… unfamiliar with any landmass or mark called Mt. Ebott," Colbert answered. Undyne sneered at the comment. Wasn't his fault, hopefully. "But I'm sure that if it's a mountain, I'll have little trouble finding it. I can report to you as soon as possible."
"Professor!" the girl called up now. Figures she'd try and ruin a good mood. "Are you suggesting my familiar run off and try to… and just abandon me?" The heck was this girl talking about? How the heck was it abandonment?
"If and when we find this Mt. Ebott and its… monsters," the old man spoke up. Undyne looked at him. "I'll be sending you with Undyne to look into them. If nothing else, you are undoubtedly the reason Undyne has appeared here in the Academy. That makes you the prime member of society to bridge relations with Undyne's people."
The girl put on the proud smirk she seemed to love to wear. Too bad Undyne had more fun ripping it off.
"Fat chance of that," Undyne spoke up. The girl gave her a funny look. Funny because it looked like she was getting ready to yell but was slapped. On some human like her, it looked good.
"So far all this brat's done is yell and call me her familiar or whatever. What makes ya think this punk is gonna be a bridge between monsters and humans?"
"Because if you two can get along, it will prove that all humans and monsters can."
Undyne let out a slow, long, groan at the bald professor's words. He really was like Alphys, throwing around all that logic and stuff. Just when Undyne thought she was in the right, he had to go and say something to throw her off.
Alphys did that all the time, but at least she had food to give her!
"Fine, whatever, we wait," Undyne waved her arms, clicking her tongue behind her teeth. "But you better be fast with whatever yer looking into. I'm not gonna be the last one to meet with Asgore when he meets with whoever's in charge."
"Asgore, can I assume that's your king?" Undyne gave Colbert a look. It was her look, a look that got Sans to shut up, sometimes, and Papyrus to listen to her, always. "I-I mean no offense, it's just odd to hear you call your king his name without a title."
"Why's that odd?" She parroted the question. "He helped train me since I was little. Be pretty weird if I called him King when we're havin' tea. Sides, I'd bet a tooth the big guy would want everyone to call him Asgore."
Yeah, he'd definitely do that. Undyne could see that now.
"But when you meet him, you better call him king first. I am his captain."
"I feel that is one of many facts about yourself I will not soon forget," the old man responded. He sounded a heck of a lot like Sans.
Cool, confident, way more than he deserved to be. All that logic, too.
"For now, I hope we have reached at least a tentative compromise. Colbert will search for this mountain of yours and, as soon as it is found, we will seek permission to send you and Ms. Vallière to it. Is that acceptable?"
She wanted to leave now, but Undyne knew the old human would just use more of his logic.
"Sure, sure, that'll work," she waved off, not really happy with the situation. Still… it was kinda hard to stay mad right now.
Aftercall, she was outside.
She felt herself smile again as she looked out the broken window behind the man. It was really hard to stay mad when she had a view like that, when she could feel with wind.
Asgore was right. So was Gerson. There really was nothing like a good view of the surface.
"That is… acceptable," the pinkette spoke. Undyne felt her good mood tarnished. Figures. "But until that time you are my familiar and you will do as I ask, understand?" Uh, no, that was a no.
"Or, I'll listen ta what you say, ignore it, and do what I want!" Undyne shouted back, leaning down to the punk. Undyne knew she was scary, but this human… she just stared right back up at her! Did she really toughen up that fast? Human were interesting. "Stop calling me your thing and maybe I'll get past that attitude of yours."
"My attitude!?" The punk shouted again. Was all she did shout? "You are the one who has broken more in the past hour then I ever have! That's not to mention you speaking lowly of nobles who are clearly your betters." Her betters? Ha!
"HA!" Undyne barked the laughter she felt. "Betters? There ain't no way anyone here is my better. I bet you couldn't even lift a rock!"
"What does that have to do with proper behavior!?" The girl shouted back. She was on her toes, nose shoved right into Undyne's face.
She sneered back at the bratty human.
"That only proves your nothing but a BRUTE with sharp teeth!"
"I got teeth for eating and charm for days!" Undyne lifted her armored arms above her head with her yell.
She felt like grizzly getting ready to tackle the punk!
"You don't got a single idea of how many kids look up ta me in the Underground! That kind of respect doesn't come from bein' some over stressed BRAT!"
"A brat am I!?" The pinkette was shouting back. If ever there was a brat, Undyne knew she was looking right at one. "Well you're the familiar of a brat and you are going to act as such!" She stomped her foot. It was pathetic, the room didn't even shake!
"You wanna bet, punk?!" Undyne yelled back, pushing her face forward until her scales dragged over the brat's face. She still didn't back down.
"On my life as a noble, familiar!" She growled with her voice, something that Undyne did back in turn. There was no way this brat was going to-
"I'm glad to see you two are already seeing eye-to-eye." Undyne whipped her face towards the old man. She felt the brat do the same, her pink hair hitting her armor.
The human just chuckled with raised palms, the kinda expression Sans did a lot. It really pissed Undyne off.
"For now, I believe our business is conclude. Professor Colbert will look into this mountain you hail from, as well as lookout for any talk of monsters roaming the land. I promise, Undyne, you will be among the first to know."
Honestly, it wasn't good enough. She should be out there looking right now. The idea of just sitting and waiting while Asgore was out making talk with other humans, Alphys was trying to work on new stuff, or Papyrus's cooking lessons… She let out a growl as she stood to her tallest, away from the brat next to her.
"In the meantime, Ms. Longueville will see you out," the human spoke while pointing with his hand. Undyne turned to where he was waving. There was another human standing there, probably came in through the door during the screaming. Made sense.
Honestly, as far as humans went, she wasn't too bad on the eyes. She had a good shade of green hair, tied up in a bun, a pair of thing glasses sat on the bridge of her nose, and she carried a small board in her hand. Probably notes or something. Alphys did that a lot.
"Now, if everything is settled, I will need to see to… repairs." Undyne felt a grimace pull at her lips at the reminder. Wasn't a big deal if she broke her stuff, but other people's things… that usually was a bad sign. It was kind of their fault, given how freaking fragile everything was. "Undyne, I hope you find the academy a welcoming to you."
"Eh, we'll see," Undyne shrugged at the words. She had to admit, a part of her did it just to get the pinkette to act up. She really was fun to tease. "Can you at least point me to where I can get some grub? Nothing gets makes hungry like a good adrenaline rush."
"That is understandable. Seeing the sky for the first time can do that." The bald professor agreed. Undyne gave him a toothy grin. He was alright for a human. At least he wasn't being some kind of royal brat like the pinkette. "I believe Ms. Vallière will be happy to show you the mess hall. It is nearly time for supper."
Supper? They had to be kidding. The only person Undyne had ever heard say that was Gerson, and he liked to act older than he was. It was better than talking in whatever gibberish they were before, but at least they could have talked like they weren't from the stone age.
"Am I to expect my familiar to be eating with nobles, professor?" Undyne felt her grin towards the professor turn into a more comfortable snarl. If only she could breathe fire. "Surely you can imagine the uproar of her eating at the same table as the others."
"If they got a problem with me eating then they can sat it to my face," Undyne let out with a large grin. She knew she was scary, and it was starting to be a good thing around this human brat. "Or, what, you expectin' me to eat on the ground or something."
For a moment, the pinkette said nothing. Just stared at Unydne right into her one good eye, smooth face snarled into her own look of displeasure. Undyne was pretty damn sure she was scarier than this half-pint punk, but it was pretty relative until she found the other monsters. But to her surprise, when the girl finally started talking again, said something other than another insult.
"Familiar," the brat let out. "Let us eat outside." She let it out between her clenched teeth. "I cannot trust you to not damage anymore of the Academy, and at least outside you could avoid damaging the academy further." This girl didn't know the can of worms she just opened up.
"Sure you aren't just tryin' ta keep me to yourself?" Undyne took great satisfaction in watching the pinkette's face light up like the Christmas trees in Snowdin. Still, eating outside… hard to say no to something that awesome. "But ya know what? Fine. If the rest of you noble humans are as bratty as you, I can't promise I won't skewer them on sight, especially if they all start calling me this familiar crap." If she was lucky, maybe Asgore really did need another human soul. Then this brat could be good for something.
"Agreed," the girl's teeth looked ready to crack in her jaw. Good, maybe if they did it would shut her up for a while. "Then let's go. We've done enough damage to the headmaster's office." She spun on her heel and marched out of the room, passed the one good looking human. Undyne let out a breath of air through her nose.
Of all the humans she could have met, Undyne couldn't understand why she had to get stuck up with one like her.
Of all the familiars she could have summoned, Louise could not understand why she had gotten stuck with like Undyne.
She was rude, destructive, insubordinate, filthy, a hog, and one of the single most glutton like monstrosities she had ever met! Her only saving grace was her apparent love for the outdoors, something that Louise was fortunate to find she could already use her advantage.
At least this way she would not have to risk damage to her own quarters, at least until she had found a more suitable means to gaining her familiar's loyalty.
The only, the only, reason she had not blown the worthless familiar back into the wild with her magic was the supposed 'monster race' she spoke of. Louise was no stranger to politics, she knew that harming a representative of a foreign power was on par with a declaration of war.
It was nearly impossible to believe what Undyne was speaking of, but if the headmaster and professor saw truth in her words, Louise was not at liberty to insult or correct them.
She could only wait until her familiar's fantasies were disproven. Then she could properly reign in her creature.
For the moment, she was doomed with a familiar that ate without fill, shook the earth with her every step, snarled at every command, and seemed content to mock Louise's very existence.
Still… despite her abhorrent nature, Louise could not and would not suppress the giddy realization that she had done as promised to herself hours ago. Undyne as her familiar, summoned through the Spring Time Summoning Ritual, bound to serve her.
She was easily more intimidating than any of the other creatures summoned, had high enough intelligence to speak, and declared her position of power under a king. A king!
Louise was a Vallière, and she would accept what had occurred only to improve upon it in the future. Such was the Rule of Steel, to harden the metal through work and discipline.
"This grub of yours ain't too bad," her familiar spoke up next to her.
Louise gave her a disapproving look.
She would do that to any idiot that spoke with their mouths full of food and hand grabbing greedily at more. Especially those were digging through their fourth serving of lamb meat and gardener's salad. Honestly, her familiar ate like pigs in a sty, but at those creatures had a use for eating their fill. Undyne had eaten enough to send the servants into a frenzy.
"Could be a little warmer here n' there, but least it's better than the noodle packets Alphys usually cooks up." Louise gave a snort of the words, especially at the crumbs that fell from between her familiar's teeth. It was all gibberish to her and, until her familiar saw fit to explain them to her, they were meaningless.
They were currently sitting outside the kitchen, next to the doors meant for the commoners. Louise could feel her disdain rise for hiving to sit here instead of in the cafeteria with her fellow nobles. But in truth, it was a minor offense compared to all else.
What was more important was deciding how best to care for the supposed 'dignitary' of the monsters. She would likely throw a destructive fit if she saw the pile of hay Louise had assembled in her room for her, not to mention the collar she expected a more proper familiar to wear. Those would have to wait.
"I will have to see to getting a stand for your armor in my quarters," Louise spoke up. She said that while staring at the white gauntlet Undyne had dropped to the ground. It was still buried a good inch into the ground.
"No proper suit of armor should be damaged or wasted through improper care."
"That's an idea I can get behind!" Undyne shouted following another great swallow food. Her smile was as menacing as ever, teeth longer than Louis's fingers. Small blessings to go with her boisterous nature, Louise supposed.
"Can't have my steel gettin' rusty on the ground. Stuff's heavy to, so I can't exactly wear it all the time. But what do ya mean your quarters? Do you mean your room?"
"Of course," Louise dismissed the obvious answer with a wave of her hand. "Familiars are expected to be in the presence of their masters at all times. You'll be expected to assist me in return." Louise looked to the sky as she finished speaking.
It was getting late. Perhaps another hour at most before the stars finally started to come out.
"I'm not up for sharin' a room with a brat like you," Undyne let out. Louise clenched her teeth. She could very nearly feel them crack. If one did, she would find risking war a worthy cost for blasting her familiar to the other side of the Academy. "Sides, who would want to bunk with a punk like you?"
"I could say the same for you and your abhorrent behavior!" Louise shot back. She pointed a finger at her familiar's only good eye. The fish monster just swallowed the last of her food. "I was expecting to have a noble wolf or chimera for a familiar, not some stuck up fish who destroys property for fun."
"Ain't my fault your stuff is brittle," her familiar defended, poorly.
"Least you could do is make your tables out of metal. Gotta be a better choice than wood. Least you can hammer some steel back into place. Only thing wood's really good for is burning."
Louse felt her hand grate against her seat. The urge to blow her familiar off her feet and into the wall was immense. Just one well casted fireball spell and she would handily be raising a competent familiar, not some slob with scales for skin!
But she couldn't, not without angering the headmaster and Professor Colbert. A part of her wished she had summoned just some random commoner. At least then no one would care if she tore him apart!
"Look, I'll say this straight, I don't like ya," Undyne final spoke. Louise scoffed at her familiar. At least she had no reason to worry about lies or deceit around her.
"And it's not hard to see you don't like me. I ain't taking that to heart. But if it's gonna take your human leaders a while ta find the rest of the monsters, then I guess I gotta stay here. So if that's the case, how about we just meet each other half way."
"I will not be compromising with my familiar," Louise explained for the umpteenth time. Perhaps now was the good time to show this 'monster' just what it meant to be a monster. "You'll be well cared for so long as you obey the rules of the Academy. There isn't any more for you to understand."
"Punk, you're barks worse than the Dog Squads' in Snowdin," the familiar let out the unusual insult, teeth clenched together. Louise heard the marble table crack, probably her familiar's monstrous strength grabbing it or something.
But Louise didn't falter. Honestly, she was already finding the damage something to expect around her familiar. At least it was the servants' station and not anything belonging to the nobility. That would have been another story.
"You really don't get what I'm trying to say. I don't give a damn about what you think. All I care about is finding Asgore and making sure the rest of the monsters are okay." Louise was still having a difficult time imaging any race suddenly appearing from underground.
"But until I do, I'm not gonna be the one to burn the bridge with you humans. My king wants peace and I'm damn well gonna make sure he finds it when he gets here."
"How noble of you," Louise sneered at her familiar. But… Louise would not be a hypocrite. "But it appears I'm in the same situation. The headmaster says that I will have to be the ambassador to whatever party meets your king. As a noble, I will not sully Tristian's reputation or risk war."
"Then hear me out, cause I'm doin' my best ta not start another war either." Louise was glad to hear her familiar talking seriously for the first time.
"I don't got a clue about half the crap you and your human leader up there in the tower were talking about, but I get that you're the reason I'm out here. Thing is, I still gotta find my friends, and nothin's gonna stop me from doin' that."
Louise listened, but she was still only one word away from blasting her familiar out of her seat. Give the state of the chairs and table they sat at, it was unlikely anything would be left once she did so.
"But that head honcho dude up there was right. If either of us screw up badly, things could go wrong from the monsters. I'm not about to let that happen." Undyne snorted with her breath. Louise was almost impressed she could see the air from the breath.
"You keep throwin' around the noble and stuff, but tell me, can I at least expect you to act noble?" However, she was more disgusted.
"Of course!" Louise shouted at her familiar. Who did she think she was, questioning her nobility? She was Louise de La Vallière, there was no question to the matter! "It's insulting for you to even insatiate I'm anything but. I'd forbid you from meals, but it appears you've eaten enough to last the week!"
"I ain't wasting good food," Undyne spoke up, snorting with laughter.
"But that's part of what I'm talking about. If I'm stuck here till that Colbert guy finds Asgore and the monsters, you're gonna have ta stop calling yourself my master and junk like that. I'm patient, everyone knows it, but I'm not gonna put up with that crap much longer."
Louise fumed.
"I am not relinquishing my role as your master!" Louise stood up if only to slam her foot to the ground. Her familiar was a brute, plain and simple. So many she only understood brutish displays. Very well.
"But seeing as I'm kinder than most other families, I'll allow you a single reason why I should not demand you address me as master or you my servant. Just one!"
"Asgore's a good guy, but do you think he'll be jolly to hear you tried to make yourself my master?" Undyne gave a toothy grin with the words. Louise understood why immediately.
Her own face was pale from the obvious insinuation. Turning the vassal of a king into a servant was unheard of, for good reason. Undyne was her familiar, there was no way Louise could allow anyone to question that, but that was almost the same as a servant.
If her king saw or heard that… then he might declare war.
Louise would not be the sole reason for Tristian going to war, no matter how unlikely the odds. She bit her tongue and clenched her hands. She was being trapped again, her one good act of magic in her entire life and it was being turned against her.
Why was this happening to her? Why did this have to happen to her NOW of all times?!
"Hey, cheer up punk," Undyne spoke up. Louise felt no reason to give her familiar the attention she craved. "I've been doin' plenty of research on humans with Alphys. I get you guys are pretty thick in the head, but you're a determined bunch." Then she slapped Louise's back.
The Vallière noble felt herself get thrown from her feet by the blow.
She rolled to a stop some distance away from the table, vision skewed and breath gone from her lungs. It took a moment for her to right herself, laying on the ground and eyes to the sky. It took the next for her to force air back into her chest, a deep gulping breath. The one after that, Undyne was right by her side.
"Geez, you okay?" she asked, unarmored hand hovering over Louise. "I'm gonna have to help bulk you up if we're gonna be hanging out." Louise, between her gulps of air, managed to screw a look of raw fury at the fish monster. Was that blow to the back meant to be taken so lightly? "Kinda hard for me to control my own strength. Props for actually staying awake though!"
This was what Louise was conflicted about. Undyne, her familiar, had the strength of an army in her every blow, but the discipline and respect of an unruly child! The nerve of her, the audacity! If only she were just some common thug or undisciplined brute. Then there would be no consequence for blasting fire at her! But no, the Rule of Steel…
"Here, let's get you up." Undyne spoke, grabbing at Louise's arm.
Like she was some used doll, Undyne lifted her up and dropped her on her feet. With one hand, no effort, and the subtlety of a boulder. Her every action both confirmed and denied her story, Captain of a Guard beneath a king. All the strengths but none of the discipline!
"Seriously though, we've gotta at least tolerate one another," Undyne kept talking. Didn't she realize what she had done yet? Maybe she simply didn't care… "I've gotta wait for Colbert to find the rest of the monsters and you're gonna be the VIP or whatever for when we find them. So can we at least call a truce?"
There really wasn't any other choice.
This wasn't a real truce.
This wasn't Louise giving up her power over her familiar. It was a compromise at best. It was her making the best of a bad situation, just as her mother had taught her to do. She would work with Undyne for now, placate her delusional familiar until she could reign her in.
Once she did, Louise knew she would have one of the greatest familiars ever to be summoned into the Founder's lands.
This wasn't her admitting to any fault on her part. It certainly wasn't her saying she'd simply let Undyne walk off with any monster race that Professor Colbert found, if any at all. Undyne was her familiar, and it would take more than a simple agreement to break that pact.
She was branded, after all, marked just as Professor Colbert had said she was.
Louise had her familiar. All she had to do now was wait until Undyne started to see how lucky she was.
"Agreed," Louise finally spoke, shaking Undyne's hand. The monster put on her over-done smirk.
It was the first time Louise had actually grabbed Undyne's webbed hands. It was then she could tell just how monstrous she was. Next to the fact that it felt like she could break her hand in two with the grip, her entire hand was all scaly, but smooth.
It felt like a fish that wasn't filleted yet, the kind her servants back at the manor would bring from the market before cooking. If nothing else, at least no one could accuse Louise of falsifying her magic now.
"Cool," Undyne let out, letting go of her hand. "It's getting late though ain't it?" She asked as she turned her head to the sky. Louise didn't need to know her familiar was right. Stars were already starting to peak out across the sky. She would have to return to her room soon for a good night's rest.
Tomorrow would be a day she could not take lightly.
"Indeed, so we should best go to sleep," Louise spoke. "Fam… Undyne," she began and caught herself, speaking her familiar's name carefully. "I am sure I can have a servant bring a spare bed to my chamber's sleep in. We should rest for tomorrow."
"Yeah, should, but I'm gonna sleep out here." Louise already felt the futility of the promise appear.
"A noble is offering you a bed and you are deciding to throw the favor in my face?" Louise snarled out the words. Undyne wasn't even looking at her. She was just leaning back in her seat and staring up at the sky.
"Are you already breaking your end of the bargain?" Were the stars more interesting than an offered bed from a noble family?
"Given the shoddy work in that tower, I'm willin' to bet a tooth I'd break more in your room then I would out here!" Undyne sounded almost thrilled at the idea. Thrilled!
"But that ain't it. In case you already forgot, I've been living in a cave all my life." This really was a mistake, and Louise was already paying for it.
With as much ceremony as she had put into her other actions, Undyne fell flat on her back, straight to the ground. Louise felt her feet leave the earth for a moment by the force of the blow. She only just barely managed to keep her footing.
"For the first time, I can finally sleep looking at the stars." Louise blinked as she finished righting herself.
She was a noble. That meant she was far from uniformed or unintelligent. Undyne had told of her apparent prison underground, beneath a mountain and a barrier that surrounded it. Undyne really never had seen the night before.
So she was going to spend the entire night, outside, in the cold, just to stare up at the stars.
There wasn't much Louise could say to that.
"You really are an idiot, aren't you?" Louise could only ask the question, the answer already apparent.
Her familiar let out a chuckle before Louise could walk away completely. It was a bad idea, she knew it, but Louise would not be the noble to forego knowing enough about her familiar to control her. So with clenched teeth, she started what she hoped to be the last conversation with the fish humanoid that night.
"What is so amusing, familiar?" Undyne tilted her head up at her, the one good eyes she had looking at her for only a moment before looking back into the sky.
"Just thinkin'," she began. "Gerson used ta tell me about the moon at night, how big it was an all. I'm just tryin' ta figure out which one he was talkin' about."
Truly and idiot, within and without.
Author's Note: You know what's hard? Keeping everyone in character without ending the story early. How would the story end early? Undyne killing a bunch of humans and making her a wanted criminal. Bam goes the context.
But hey! I gotta keep Undyne's unintentionally destructive nature in check. And her pride. Louise… I have to keep her angry and unjustifiably proud? Funny how the hardest two people to keep in character are gonna be the main two of the plot. I can see the problems now…
All props for the cover go to G0966. Check out the link! g0966 . tumblr
