You wave to Frisk as you meet them on the other side of the fog, sitting at your post. They just wave back and venture deeper down into the underground within Underground, also known as Waterfall.

Skipping ahead, you teleport to the safety bridge that catches poor unfortunate souls struck by Undyne's boulder "puzzle". As soon as your appear into reality, you hear a voice to your right, "I swore I saw something… Behind that rushing water…"

You jolt, eyeing the creep that whispered into your earhole, but it turns out to be just an echo flower. These things appear to be very sneaky. A common trait among the talking flowers.

"Another mystery, huh..?" you ponder, looking thoughtfully at the flower.

"Another mystery, huh..?" it murmurs right after you, in a quiet, soft tone that sounds nothing like the voice of Sans.

This leaves you feeling rather uncomfortable. Of course, these things aren't sentient but you still don't trust them. Your curiosity would kill you if you didn't give in. After a thorough inspection around the bridge, you notice a quick glint of light on a glass lens.

'Is this… Alphys' camera...?' Your bony palm meets your face. 'My god I totally forgot about those! No wonder I feel like I'm being watched! It's the cameras! They're all over the dang place!' Taking a step back you try to make it look like you've been merely washing your face. 'And no matter what's going on she has a chance of seeing it… We have to be careful.'

While you were busy searching, Frisk hopped across the water, easily avoiding falling boulders and disappearing behind the waterfall. No reason to stand in front of the camera any longer so you make another blink forward.

The tall grass swallows you, obstructing your view. You can only see the rock forest of stalagmites and the black void above you. Such a dark and heavy atmosphere might seem ominous to an outsider, but you've gotten used to these shady and silent shores of the glowing swampland. The grass blades slithering around are actually quite soothing. Though it also reminds you of something. Isn't this where Papyrus went to talk with Undyne?

A quick search reveals that, surprisingly enough, they are still talking, even if you've made it at the end of their conversation.

Shrouded by darkness, the armored figure looks like a heavy shadow. The voice, though muffled by the sharp teeth of the creepy helmet, is seeping with confidence. "I'll deal with them myself."

"B-BUT UNDYNE! YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT! YOU SEE… YOU SEE…"

"We need that soul, Papyrus! Don't you understand that!?" The powerful shout forces Papyrus to take a step back. Calming down, Undyne sighs deeply, her breath whistling through the gap of her helmet. "Look, you're just a trainee so this is none of your concern. Go home."

The silence is looming above the river, with only the soft rustling of the grass in the slight breeze.

The skeleton couldn't find anything else to say but: "...I UNDERSTAND. I'LL HELP IN ANY WAY I CAN."

As soon as his footsteps fall silent you hear someone else getting closer. Shuffling slowly, Frisk strolls forward, water dripping from their soaked sweater and a... tutu? Like they didn't look silly enough without it! Good thing it's pretty warm in here so they probably won't catch a cold. Though in a few moments catching a cold might be the least of their concerns. The angry fish guard is going to attack them and no matter how nimble they are, it's impossible to dodge with a soul pinned down by the weird green magic.

You have to think of something and soon, for if you don't come up with something the kid will die. And if that'll happen, then who knows who's going to come out of the Ruins next time and if that human will keep a promise or not.

First thing first - distraction.

"Ahem," you cough lightly, stepping out behind one of the wide stalagmites.

"Sans?" The element of surprise doesn't last long and before you know it Undyne is brimming with anger. "Where da heck have you been all this time!? Why am I getting information from a trainee before from an actual sentry!? AND WHY IS THE HUMAN STILL ALIVE!?"

"Hey-hey… Take it easy." You raise your hands in a seemingly relaxed manner. "I was spying on them but I'm not a warrior like you or anything."

"You useless, lazy- UGH! I'm SO going to fire you after I deal with the threat myself!"

"...can I at least finish my report first?"

"Ngah! Okay. Make it brief."

"The human is strong. Very strong." You say solemnly, cutting straight to the chase. "They have defeated every single monster they've encountered, including the guard dogs and Papyrus. But! They didn't hurt anyone. They could've but they didn't. They either ran away or did something to befriend everyone… I dunno boss." You aren't sure what you're hoping for, spilling your doubts to Undyne like that, but you can't contain yourself at the moment. "I don't know what to do with them. They seem harmless, innocent even…"

Even though you can't see her face you feel that Undyne is staring at you disapprovingly. "I expected as much from Papyrus, but you? I can't believe I have to explain to you the bare bo… basics. Warriors or not, we are the law. We put to action whatever the king orders and I'm sure he knows what's best. You don't doubt your king, do you?"

You shake your head before she gets angry again.

"Thought so! And you're right. They do seem both strong and harmless… But I won't be fooled by the candy wrapper of their disguise! I've seen how tough humans can be! Killing dozens upon dozens of monsters! This one totally can do it too!"

"Doesn't seem like they want to though…"

"It's a war, Sans. With freedom of our entire species at stake. There is no room for doubt… NOW GO! Make yourself useful! And I might change my mind about kicking your butt into the snow!" With that, she turns around and runs off clanking like a bunch of tin cans behind the car of a newly married couple.

'huh.' You hear Sans' humming. 'i don't think i ever saw undyne so reluctant.'

'Reluctant!? Seriously?'

'yeah. why else would she spend so much time rambling? that's not her style.'

Your experience had taught you to take Sans' words with a slight grain of salt. He once told you that all monsters are practically saints, which might not be an outright lie but the fact is that there are some rotten crabapples among them. You've seen it quite a few times yourself. A smug kid in shaggy clothes, caught pickpocketing by his greasy paw, Dogamy and Dogaressa holding two drunk brawlers from trashing Grillby's, as well as just general brutes and ruffians that care only about themselves. So all in all monsters aren't that different from humans. So is Undyne.

Yet… To take someone's life… It's not easy no matter how angry you are, no matter how important it is to you, to everybody. You've learned that the hard way.

'I guess that's true.' You shake your head pulling yourself from all the philosophical reflections. 'But I still have no idea what to do…'

One thing you can actually do is to follow Frisk, who passed you and Undyne safely. A little farther ahead it looks like they just met up with one strange group.

"Yo!" Exclaimed the tiny yellow monster very much familiar to you. "Hm… Haven't seen you before! My name's Kidd, but friends call me Kid for short! Ar-"

Someone bumped into the talkative dino. It's a black puppy in a blue striped shirt you saw hanging out with Kid a couple of times.

"Oof, dude, watch where you're going! You could've flopped!" A black pointy nose peeks under the huge flower seed that the pup carries on his head and twitches with timid curiosity. Its followed by a paw that waves shyly to greet the stranger. "It's my pal Coodie. It's his code name though and his actual name is even cooler, but shhhh! It's a secret! Right, Cood?"

The small dinosaur pushes Coodie with his head. The pup takes a wobbly step further, smiles stiffly and utters, "It is nice to meet someone with such a weird smell."

Frisk snickers and then looks inquisitively at the other shark-looking monster sitting in the corner and glaring at the human with huge eyes that flash with bright green in the light coming from the water.

"That's… That's Kat." Kid glances in the same direction, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. "She's not a part of our team, but we can't really make her go away so-"

"Pfft." The subject of the conversation interrupts him with a scoff. "Like I need your company, ya wimps! I'm outta here."

Then Kat struts past them, bumping Kid with her tail and jumps into the water, quickly swimming across the gap.

"Well… I guess we have a free spot in our trio then. You're looking for Undyne too, right?" The dinosaur monster asks, perking up. "She's the coolest! We're starting a fan club for her! You wanna join?"

Frisk nods, immediately accepting the offer much to Kid's excitement.

"Sweet! But before you can really join you have to see Undyne first! Once you'll see how amazing she's at beating up the bad guys you'll become her fan in a flick of a tail!"

You watch from the distance as the team of little bandits work together to create the flower bridges across the water, lively chattering about something. Though it's pretty much only Kid who does all the chattering.

As soon as the puzzles were solved, the dino and the pup run off, while Frisk continues to walk forward at their usual pace, not really trying to catch up to their new friends.

After another turn, their phone starts ringing.

'The game event again?' Even though you can't hear the conversation you're pretty sure it's Papyrus. Who else can it possibly be? 'That's messing with my head. Kid appeared almost the same way, except with friends, and now Papyrus is calling probably to ask them about the clothing they are wearing. And of course, they are telling him everything!' You can't hold back a groan as you see them nodding every other second. "How can I even help them if-? Wait… Wait! I have an idea! Ha-ha!'

Once Frisk is about to go farther you step out of the bushes like you just randomly bumped into them. The happy smile they give you makes you feel slightly uncomfortable, but you smile back, with the widest grin you can manage and ask, "Can I borrow your dress for a moment? I need it... for a friend."

'what's on your mind?' The curious voice in your head interrupts your scheming.

'Nobody has to die.' You smile, receiving a confused hum in response. 'That's the slogan of the game. I remember it now. And I'm going to follow it as best I can.'

'and that pink skirt is going to help how exactly?'

'You'll see!'

"Yo! Over here! Check this out!"

You couldn't set your makeshift plan into motion just yet, for the kids meet up once again before you could find the two little monsters. This time they are hanging out by the docks, where the blobby monster offers to ferry everyone across. You accidentally teleport so close that the kids stand almost next to you and you have to hold your breath, hoping they won't notice your presence.

"We get our pocket money like this," Kid whispers to Frisk in a stage whisper, picking up the golden coins tossed by the weird water monster, with the tip of his tail. "But shhh… Don't tell Kat, alright? She can't count yet but she loves to take stuff from us. Yeah… She's not nice... Do you think Undyne will beat her up!?"

"B-but she's your sister!" Coodie exclaims, almost dropping his coins on the ground, eyes wide with worry. "You would have to stand up for her!"

"Wait… You're right. Man, that would've been so awkward!"

Frisk takes their time looking at the tablets while the monster kids take another fun ride across the water. You grab this opportunity, nonchalantly popping up in front of them.

"Huh?" Kid's eyes blink in confusion, staring at the previously empty space, now filled with your bony figure. "Oh! I know you! You're from Snowdin too!"

"Yep." You don't really have much time to chat, so you just ask head first, "You want to meet Undyne, right?"

The dino takes the bait, tilting his head in curiosity.

"Well, what if I say that she'll definitely be interested in you if you'll wear this?"

Kid's enthusiasm dwindles right away as he stares skeptically at the tutu. "Seriously, dude? She's too cool to be interested in girly stuff! You're making stuff up!"

"Why would I lie? Just try it for yourself! What's the worst that could happen?"

"Well… I don't know…" His face reflects that he's torn between suspicion and curiosity, but only for a moment. "Alright!"

"Great! Let me help you with this."

As you expected, Undyne is hiding and waiting behind the pillars near the docks. She's so deep in concentration that she doesn't move, just like a statue, but such an illusion is deceiving for she immediately snaps at you as soon you materialize behind her back.

"Wow-wow! You sure are jumpy today!" The sharp point of the magical spear halts in front of your chest right against were your souls should be.

"Oh, it's just you." She mutters in disappointment, lowering her weapon. "How did you-"

"I'm here to tell you something very important."

Ignoring your interruption she nods for you to continue.

You shove your hands into your pockets, close one eyelid and utter with a painfully long delay, "What do you call a fish with one eye?"

"Ugh, really?" You hear an echoing groan. "You came here for THIS? What's wrong with you? Besides, that's SO OLD!"

"Okay. But what do you call a blind fish?"

She turns away from you in irritation, choosing to ignore your presence. It takes her a second to notice the movement of something yellow and pink running past her spying point.

"Undyne." You whisper through a grin.

"NGAH COME HERE YOU LITTLE-!" A whole bunch of blue spears materialize, filling everything around with a buzzing noise and a blinding glow.

Your mind clicks back into place. At this very moment, you realize that it was a bad, very bad idea. You might've pulled the kid out of danger but you just put Kid right into it.

"Wait!" You raise your hand in a feeble attempt to stop her, but it's too late, Undyne is already running forward with the speed and temper of a raging bull.

As she flies forward the impostor of a human, it takes a sharp turn and stands in the middle of the road. The fish warrior notices that maneuver and already expecting something to go wrong, slows down to a speed of a regular olympic gold medal runner.

Before they had done anything she would regret, you pop up between the two, standing like a very fragile but determined wall.

"Woooah, Undyne! It's really you!" Kid exclaims with excitement he can't contain, peeking from behind your back. "You weren't kidding, dude!"

"WHAT!? WHAT'S THIS KID DOING HERE!?"

"Little guy really wanted to meet you, so-" you mumble, trying but failing to cover up the kid and your behavior.

"Yes!" The dino nods so eagerly he almost falls onto his face. "I was looking for you everywhere! Are you looking for someone too? Can I help?"

"Uh…" Undyne's head swings left and right as she frantically checks around. "It's not safe here. There's a human on the loose. Go back home, immediately."

"A human?! Woooow, I wanna see it!"

Undyne's fleeting patience expires. She grabs Kid by the shirt that he's wearing and lifts him up, growling, "Home. Now." Then she drags him into the bushes, but before she leaves, she turns her head to you and hisses so furiously that your knees feel weak. "Pick your side."

"Well, that was… something," you mutter staring at the still shaking grass. 'Damn that was close… What was I thinking...?'

'that certainly was fishy ,' the voice of your ever present companion responds to your thoughts. 'when you sort it out let minnow .'

'Sans this is not the time…' you huff, hiding a chuckle.

'when it comes to punning you always have to carp e diem.'

'And now you're speaking Latin. You might as well speak Japanese for me to not understand your jokes.'

'what's "japanese"?'

You hide your face inside your palms and laugh.

For what it's worth, at least Frisk managed to pass this usually deadly area safely. The sense of danger forced them to keep on moving forward and to stop only when they ended up in front of the lake where they decide to sit down and catch their breath.

They aren't alone in here though.

The brown fin is drifting through the glowing waters, getting closer. It halts in front of Frisk and then the shark monster rises up and forward, placing sleek fins on the ground, one on the each side of Frisk. Two shiny eyes full of subtle contempt stare at them for a couple of seconds, before the monster grows tired of watching the human's poker face.

"What? Aren't you afraid of me? I'm sure you've heard plenty of bad stuff from those dorks about me." Not receiving any response, Kat huffs, "Don't talk much, huh? Hm… You aren't like my stupid brother and his wimpy friend. They always talk, always run around… that makes me angry." She pulls herself out of the lake and sits down, squeezing the water out of her striped white undershirt. "But you're quiet. I like that. Let's be friends."

It seems more like a command than a question, but Frisk nods anyway, stretching their lips in a light smile.

For some reason, Frisk takes off their shoes and dips their legs into the water. Both the human and the monster sit like this for a while, dangling their bare feet and watching the ripples swaying the lily pads and cattails.

"I like Waterfall. Wish we could live here instead of Snowdin. The water here is nice and pretty... Don't tell anyone I said that or I'll beat ya up," Kat grumbles and then suddenly gets up sniffing the air around Frisk. "And speaking of beating up…" Greedy, toothy smile spreads all across her face. "Ey friend. You've got gold, right? I can smell it in yer pockets. I need it. Give it to me. Or I'm going to take it myself."

Not thinking twice Frisk jumps up as well and holds up their stick in front of them. Unprepared for such a maneuver, Kat manages to walk right into it.

"Owowow! My snootle," she whines, covering her nose with her fin-like hands. "Rrr, I'm gonna get you for this!"

With a surprisingly soft and flowing gesture for such a bulky creature, the shark child summons a wave of water and sends it towards Frisk. Frisk stands, unflinching, as the glowing wall grows closer and then hits them, washing over their ankles and splashing over the ground.

"What? But! How!?" Kat huffs and puffs in bewilderment, but then recollects herself, letting out a deep sigh. "Well then. You have ws... wisa... wistanded my mighty attack. You're strong… So I will show you something."

She grabs Frisk' hand and drags them along the lake's shore, flapping her webbed feet on the sticky mud. When they came close to the clump of tall grass, she lets Frisk go and walks into the grass, disappearing from view. After a few minutes she steps out of it, holding a plastic trashcan.

" That's my secret pirate treasure chest." Kat holds up her stash with pride. "Pirates are the coolest! They take stuff because they can. That's what I do too. And that's what you do as well." Frisk shakes their head and that makes her laugh. "Ha-ha, don't protest, I know you do. Well… You've bested me, you're a better pirate than I am so you can have this treasure. Take it, take it. I'll collect it again. It's a fun thing to do." While Frisk scratches their head, thinking as to where to put all the coins, she keeps rambling, "You'll see I'll become the best pirate there ever was. And once on the surface, I'll be the captain of my own pirate ship! And then you can be my crew mate or whatever. How about that?"

The kid gives her a wide smile.

"Heheh. Fun, right?" She mirrors the smile back at them. "Ye. Well. See ya on the flipper side."

That youngster sure has a knack for making friends. It's been good so far, but the next part could be really dangerous. Maybe you can give them a slight advantage ahead of Undyne, maybe not. Probably worth a try.

"Hey, bird friend! Come here, I have something for you!" You crouch and beckon the yellow bird at the other side of the small gap between the two areas, "Everyone has to have a nibble now and then, especially if you're doing such a hard work, am I right?"

The birdie seems to pick an interested in what you have to offer. It flies closer to you and you give it a hot dog.

"Can you wait here for a little bit?" you ask, receiving a chirp in agreement.

Now to lure Frisk to the birdie!

With all of the money that the kid just acquired it's only natural they've decided to visit a shop.

"Wahey! If my eye doesn't let me down yet I've got a customer today!" Gerson exclaims as Frisk enters the cave that was converted into a store... or more so into a dump. "Is there anything that tickles your fancy?"

Frisk scrunches their nose looking at the piles of weird, hardly useful and hardly edible stuff.

"What? Sure it's junk, but it is pretty neat if I do say so myself! Wahah!"

They end up listening to all of the stories that the old turtle remembered at the moment but didn't buy anything and… did they just steal an apple from the counter?

'Naah, I must be seeing things.' You shake your head.

As Frisk presses on, they make it to the water, where the Riverperson usually appears but isn't here at the moment. Instead, the water starts boiling and none other that Kat jumps out of the water to stand before Frisk.

"So I've met that metal lady my brother is going insane about," she blurts out immediately, breathing heavily as if she had to swim here really fast. "She told me to be careful because there's a human around here. Haven't seen anyone else in the blue and pink sweater but you. So you must be that human, huh?"

After contemplating for a bit Frisk nods.

"Cool! You should tell me all about the surface pirates then. But first, we have to get that lady off your tail. Pirate buddies, right? Right. Leave that to me." And she walks off, singing something that sounds like: "Yarr-harr, yarr-harr you shall walk the plank!"

What a peculiar kid she is.

The rest of the Waterfall area passes by rather safely and uneventfully for the little human, but as you are about to celebrate, everything quickly gets out of hand.

The distinct, stale cave smell is the most noticeable here, at the bridge between the two areas, where the sweltering air from the Hotland collides with the damp breeze of the Waterfall. The stalagmites at the far away bottom are just like giant teeth, with the water flowing between them is like saliva in a gaping maw of a hungry beast that can't wait to catch and devour any unsuspecting prey.

Undyne is catching her breath at one side of the bridge as the kid stands in the middle of it, waiting for her next move. You should've figured that she knows the place too well and runs too fast but you had hope. Too bad it didn't pay off. You don't know if there are Alphys' cameras somewhere here or if Flowey is watching or not, but it seems like you have no other choice other than to rush to stand in between these two, no matter the consequences. Yet… something doesn't feel right. They are alone out there. Isn't there supposed to be-

A shout disturbs the silence before the fight, "Cood! Oh nononono!"

'What the..? When did these two squirts get past Frisk?'

"Somebody help! Please!" the panicked dino yells gulping down his tears, looking helplessly as his friend hangs by one paw at the edge of the bridge. "I can't help him!"

Not you, nor Undyne manages to react before Frisk, who jumps forward and pulls up the whining puppy.

"Cood, bro, you scared the scales off my hide! Why did you jump down there!?"

" Hic… I am s-s-sorry… I… I saw a bat and… And… I will be braver than this! I swear!"

The armored warrior takes a step back from the bickering children blocking her way across the bridge but recovers from the shock very quickly and starts to run, picking up the pace.

Step, another step.

Chomp.

A scream of confusion and anger echoes up and down the chasm. Blinded by anger, Undyne rushes forward while the ball of ferocity in a form of a shark monster latches onto her leg growling like a rabid bear.

"What? Sis!? What are you doing? Are you nuts!?" Kid yells, not believing his eyes, staring at his sister chewing on his hero's leg.

Luckily Frisk figures that it's the time to make a move, turning around and walking straight to Hotland, leaving you and two shocked monsters to look at this ridiculous chase.

Slowed down by the small but heavy child, Undyne is unable to keep up with Frisk. She throws a couple of spears at them and then fast, though careful, attempts to pry the angry ballast from her leg. When she finally succeeds in that, Kat drops and rolls under her feet in a last attempt to slow down the chasing guard. Even though she's hurt, Undyne still manages to jump over the living hurdle and limps forward with quite an impressive speed.

Yelling something incoherent, but highly frustrated, Undyne struggles to catch up to the runaway kid, but only manages to do so when they're already in Hotland. The heat does its job, sending her fainting on the bridge right above the searing lava pit. A few more minutes like this and one grilled fish will be served in the plate .

But Frisk doesn't wait for that. They notice the water cooler right away and get some refreshing liquid to Undyne, bringing her back to herself. The look on her face is everything from the leftover anger to confusion to pain, embarrassment, and defeat. She looks around as if trying to find the answer for what just happened and after noticing the empty cup in the kid's hand she backs away, turning around and slowly limping back into the coolness of her home area.

You exhale a sigh of relief. It went as well as it could've and you didn't even have to get directly involved.

The kid turns around and you smile, looking at their victorious, tired expression.

But the victory didn't last for long. Frisk takes a step and then stumbles, the cup falls out of their hands as they press their hand to their stomach. Under their hands, a dark spot begins to spread.

There's one single thought that rings in your mind, overcoming everything.

'B... Blood…'

You're paralyzed by something even stronger than horror.

'berry! hey! that's the worst time for a nap, pal!' you hear as Sans calls out to you, but all you can do is stare, watching the kid trembling and fighting to keeping standing upright. "come on, berry i really don't want to hurt ya, but... another death of this troublemaker will hurt you 'lot more.'

You feel an agonizing jab of pain, like someone hammered in a huge, hot nail into the back of your skull.

'gah!' Sans gasped in synch with you, 'i think i overdid it…'

'Why did you do that!?'

'the kid. they need you.'

'Oh crap…' You finally realized the full scope of what happened. "Oh crap-crap-crap-crap!'