Undyne leapt off the mound with a furious battle cry, hurling her spears at me. I shrieked, and summoned up a green shield to defend myself from the first wave. I heard them crash against it, as I jumped away from where Undyne would land. She held her personal spear out as she summoned more floating ones.
"Alphys' books didn't mention humans could make shields... But I suppose that just makes this much more interesting" Undyne uttered, grinning. I jumped as she flung the spears at me.
Her spears come from all directions! Be alert at all times!
I flinched at the instruction, and barely managed to keep all the spears from hitting me, as I quickly and jerkily twisted around to block them. Undyne grinned at my struggles, knowing she was getting the upper hand already.
Miraculously, I managed to avoid getting hit for a good portion of time, as Undyne's attacks got more and more intense. She'd managed to clip my hand with a spear at one point, and that's when I realized I had to check out or die.
'Where can I run to though? Undyne's got me pinned down and she's blocking the exit!' I thought, as I had another close encounter with a spear, this one scraping my face. I yelped as she hurled the spear in her hand at me.
Dodge that spear and run for the exit! Undyne will be caught off balance!
I obeyed the order without a second thought, as I dropped my shield and slipped away from the spear, making a break for the exit. Undyne took quite second to realize what I was doing, which gave me a good enough head start. She stomped angrily after me, as I kept running for my life through the exit, which led to another corridor. I didn't look behind me as I ran from Undyne, as I didn't want to waste a single second of escape time to look behind me and check.
"GET BACK HERE!" Undyne shouted, as she started hurling spears again. I shrieked, and started jumping around in an attempt to evade the spears coming from behind me.
This ended with me being overtaken by Undyne again, as I had to turn and face her to ensure she wouldn't kill me. She summoned up even more spears than she had before, to make sure I stayed pinned down so I couldn't run again.
I summoned up my shields, and the beating continued, as I discovered Undyne had another trick up her sleeve: Spears that changed direction RIGHT before they hit you, which made this even MORE difficult. It went without saying, but she managed to get a few EXCRUCIATINGLY PAINFUL hits on me, that had immobilized me for a few split seconds. I was panting by the time she hurled another spear at me, struggling to keep my shields in place.
Run, Lloyd, RUN!
I flinched at Chara's reminder, and quickly turned around and fled, running as fast as I could away from her. Undyne shouted in frustration, and gave chase, as I quickly changed directions into another corridor.
'I do NOT want to die today!' I thought, as I picked up the pace.
Then, my phone rang.
Jumping, I shakily and quickly searched through my bag, and pulled it out. I fumbled with the buttons as I tried to answer it, almost dropping it in the process. Undyne seemed to stop as soon as I answered it, which was weird, but I didn't question it.
"Hey! What's up?" Papyrus asked on the other end of the line, as I shakily looked over at Undyne, who was glaring at my back.
"Papyrus, this really isn't the best time..." I said slowly, as fear choked my voice. I could feel her hate and malice running rampant through the air, as Undyne waited for me to hang up. "But please, continue..."
"Okay then. I was just thinking, you, me, and Undyne should all hang out sometime! I think you would make great pals!" He continued cheerfully on the other end of the line. I continued to stare fearfully at Undyne, sincerely doubting the prospect. "Let's meet up at her house later!"
The second he hung up, Undyne hurled another spear at me, causing me to shriek and take off again. I barely caught the "Welcome to Hotlands" message on the board beside us as I ran into the next area.
I skidded to a hault when I realized how literal it was. The next area had a rickety bridge hanging over lava, that looked like it could fall any second. I gulped as I quickly considered my options.
"HUMAN!" Undyne shouted, causing me to jump and make a mad dash for the bridge. Sans was asleep at a sentry station just before the start of it, and I very briefly considered waking him up for help, before I realized he probably wouldn't hear me. I then darted across the bridge, catching a brief flash of Undyne stopping at the station before I was too far to see her.
You can stop here
Chara's command came at the very end of the bridge, where a water cooler was sitting. I needed no second invitation, as I stopped to catch my breath, trying to recover from the wounds I had received. I heard slow, heavy stomping as Undyne tried to make her way over to me, and I turned around to face her.
She seemed to be struggling at the end. Shaking, even. She could barely stand up.
"Armor... so... hot... But I can't... Give Up!" She panted, before she collapsed. I flinched as the earth shook a little bit. I looked her over closely, and realized she was dried out. I turned around, and headed over to the water cooler, and got a cup of water. I then walked back over to her body, and poured it on her head.
She shook a couple times, before jumping back to her feet. She stared down at me for a few moments, contemplating her options. But, contrary to my expectations of her attacking me again, she turned around, and walked away.
I slowly sunk to my knees, sighing with relief.
Hmm. Interesting... But no matter. We need to go back before we continue. There's something we must do
"Like what?"
"I can't believe I let you talk me into this" I muttered, as I walked up to Undyne's house. Papyrus was waiting at the front door, smiling as always.
She won't kill an innocent. That I am certain of. Making friends with Undyne might be useful in the long run
'If you're wrong about this, I swear I will make you pay in the afterlife' I shot back in my head, as I walked up to Papyrus. "Hey, Papyrus"
"Hello, Human! Are you ready to hang out with Undyne?" He asked, smiling widely. "I have a plan to make you two great friends!"
"Yeah, I'm ready" I muttered, kicking a bit at the ground. Papyrus smiled again.
"That's great to hear!" He cheered, before he turned toward the door. "Psst. Make sure to give her this, while you're at it. She loves these"
He displayed a gift wrapped bone for a second, before he turned back around to knock on the door. A beat passed, before it opened like a set of jaws, revealing Undyne. She was smiling, and wearing a casual outfit that wasn't her armor.
"Hi, Papyrus! Ready for your extra-private, one-on-one training session?" She asked, grinning happily.
"You bet I am!" Papyrus cheered, and stepped aside to reveal me. "And I bought a friend!"
I promptly withdrew into myself under Undyne's gaze, trying to hide. The woman had almost killed me not too long ago... As in, "in the last couple of hours" not too long ago.
"Hi, I don't think we've-" She started out, before she got a better look at me. A beat of tense silence passed, where she looked at me and Papyrus. "Why don't. You two. Come in" She ground out at last.
Papyrus eagerly followed her inside, and I stuck close behind him, fearing for my life.
Inside the house, It was actually quite cozy. There was a large sword, a wooden table, and a piano all in the large space. It was much nicer than what I expected.
Remind you of someone?
'My brother is different' I shot back in my head, as Papyrus gave the bone gift to Undyne under the pretense it was from me. She went, and dropped it into a drawer filled with others just like it. 'Well, at least she keeps them'
"So, are we ready to start?" She asked Papyrus. He smacked himself upside the head.
"Whopsie dopise, I just remembered! I left the oven on!" He said, before he looked at the two of us. "You two have fun!"
He then promptly ran up and smashed through a window, causing me to jump as glass shards slid across the floor. And with that, I was left alone with Undyne. She held me under a piercing glare.
"So, why are YOU here? To rub your victory in my face? To humiliate me even further?" She asked, crossing her arms. "IS THAT IT!?"
I shrank back, shaking my head "no". She backed off a bit, snorting.
"Then why are you here?" She asked, thinking it over herself. She then jumped as the proverbial lightbulb went off in her head. "Oh, I get it. You think I'm gonna be friends with you, huh? Right!?"
Say Yes. Now.
"Yes" I muttered, stuck between a demanding voice in my head and an angry fish lady. She relaxed again.
"Really? How delightful! I accept!" She said happily, though I sensed extreme sarcasm. "Let's frolic in the fields of friendship! NOT! Why would I EVER be friends with YOU!? If you weren't my houseguest, I'd beat you up right now!"
I continued to cower, knowing I was probably not back at full strength yet, soulwise.
Be patient. She won't kill you
'Why should I believe you!?' I thought, backing up more.
"You're the enemy of everyone's hopes and dreams! I WILL NEVER BE YOUR FRIEND!" She proclaimed, as she glared harder at me. "Now get out of my house!"
I was just about to obey the command, before Papyrus' voice came out again.
"Dang! What a shame... I thought Undyne would be friends with you." He said, turning Undyne's attention away from me. "But I guess I overestimated her. She's just not up to the challenge!"
And with that taunt, he'd left again, leaving an angry fish lady in his wake.
"CHALLENGE!? PAPYRUS, WAIT!" She shouted after him, but he seemed to have mastered Sans' apperating skill in the past few days, because he was GONE. "Darnit!"
She turned back to me, and I was still scared to death.
"He thinks I can't be friends with YOU!? Fuhuhu! What a joke!" She said, as she stared me down with a grin. "Listen up, human! We're not going to just be friends, Oh no, We're going to be BEST FRIENDS! Got it!?"
"Yes" I whimpered, scared by her intensity. Guren had never ONCE been this intense over something like this. He was usually depressed, or just didn't care, in more recent days. Maybe it was because he was content? I didn't really know.
Undyne seemed to calm a bit, putting her hands together.
"Why don't you have a seat?" She asked pleasantly, and I was half convinced she was bipolar at this point. But I accepted the invitation, lest I invoke her wrath again. "I'll get you something to drink"
I simply stayed still out of fear as she went into her fridge. She pulled out an assortment of items, and set them out on the counter in a straight line.
She then pulled out a spear and hurled it at the table, cracking it in two. I jumped at the impact.
"DON'T GET UP! YOUR THE GUEST, SIT DOWN AND ENJOY YOURSELF!" she ordered, as I moved slightly. I stopped, and stared like a deer in the headlights. "Uh... Why don't you use that spear to pick what you want, I'll bring it to you"
I shakily pulled it out of the table, and pointed it at what looked like tea. Undyne put her hands together in delight.
"Ah, yes, Golden Flower tea. Just give me a moment here" she said, before she got around to fixing the tea. I sat in an uncomfortable silence as she prepared the tea, before she brought it over, warning me it was hot. I gave her a small thank you, and took a sip.
It was scalding, but actually pretty good. Chara made a noise of contentment in the back of my mind.
I remember when dad used to make that for us...
I was unable to respond to the strange comment, as Undyne had started talking.
"You know, it's funny you'd pick that one... Golden Flower tea... It's king Asgore's favorite" She muttered, looking into her own cup. "You know, you kind of remind me of him... You're both total weeinies!... Sort of..."
I tilted my head, interested in what she had to say. She looked up at me.
"You know, I was a pretty hotheaded kid. Once, when I tried to prove I was the strongest, I tried to fight Asgore" Undyne droned, gently fiddling with her cup. "Emphasis on TRIED. I. couldn't land a single blow on him. And worse, the whole time, he refused to fight back. I was so humiliated..."
I took another sip of tea, as I was enamored by her tale.
"Afterwards, he apologized and said something goofy. "Excuse me, do you want to know how to beat me?". I said yes, and from then on, he trained me. One day, during practice, I finally knocked him down. I felt... bad. But he was smiling. I'd never seen someone more proud to get their butt kicked. Long story short, he kept training me, and now I'm head of the Royal Guard, so I'm the one who gets to train dorks to fight! Like, uh, Papyrus..." Undyne trailed off, looking down into her teacup for a couple seconds before she looked up again. "But, um, to be honest... I don't know if... I can let him into the royal guard. Don't tell him I said that! He's just... Well... It's not that he's weak. He's actually hella strong! It's just that he's... too innocent and nice. I mean, he was SUPPOSED to capture you, but ended up making friends with you instead. I could NEVER send him into battle! He'd get ripped into little smiling shreds. That's part of why I started teaching him how to cook. So he could possibly do something else with his life..."
She looked up just as I put my now empty cup of tea down. I'd been super enamored by her tale, and I had lost track of time. She smiled at me.
"Oh, sorry, I was talking for so long, you're out of tea, aren't you? I'll get you some more..."
No more than five minutes later, we were standing outside of Undyne's burning house after the "cooking lesson" took a bad turn. But she was smiling at me, with genuine kindness. Despite the fact her house had burned down, we had bonded quite well. I now understood her a lot better, and vice versa.
"We'll have to hang out again some other time. Just not here" She said with a sheepish grin. "In the meantime, I'm gonna go hang with Papyrus. So if you need me, drop back by Snowdin. I think there's a ferry you can take near Alphys' lab in Hotland. and if you're really in trouble, just call Papyrus. I'll be there too, so we can talk. Good luck, Lloyd"
And with a wave, she took off down the road, back in the direction of Snowdin town. I smiled, as I turned back in the direction of Hotland, eager to continue my journey.
So, I haven't updated for a good while. And I have a good reason: I had a full on mental breakdown/collapse. NOT pretty or fun. I was crying almost every night and I was constantly filled with terror of my own mind. I'm very immersive in writing and TV shows, and my hippocampus, the part of the brain that separates reality from thoughts, is kind of faulty, and so I get extremely immersed in whatever I see or read, and think about it for hours (and it's also helpful with writing). The problem with that is: I cannot handle ANYTHING scary. Or remotely dark (Guren is excluded from this camp now, and I don't describe his torture he went through), or else I get very set off and scared and continue thinking about something in an endless loop until my brain has to forcefully shut down. I usually stop moving because I'm so terrified. It's an extremely vicious cycle, and even the slightest thought of something scary can send me over the edge into the thought process. It even happened IN THE MIDDLE OF WRITING THIS VERY CHAPTER, and soon after, the mental collapse thing occured. No joke. I was in a lot of mental pain, probably enough for most people to commit suicide because it was so bad... Luckily though,I know how much pain I'd put the people behind me in, and I am now on the road to full recovery. Thank you very much for your patience, and I might not update again for a while.
Stay Kind, Ya'll
And remember, SUICIDE IS NEVER THE ANSWER
~Nightmare of BloodClan
And Beta Reader, SkittyKat501