Well, this had been a busy week.
For those unaware, on the week of this chapter being put up, I posted a short bit about what Sallie had been up to since Ryan left Snowdin - which I recommend reading first, but I don't think it's really required. Else I would have put it in this story - and the Chara story finally got an update after far too long, which I recommend reading too.
Alright, now that the self-plugging is done, I'll let you get back to it.
Ryan sat at the back of the narrow river boat with his head low and his knees tucked beneath his chin. His fingers cutting through the water as the boat lazily drifted through the slow-moving current, he watched his shimmering reflection stare back up at him. Had he always looked so tired? Blinking away the image, he came back to reality.
He had never seen the cloaked monster at the other end of the boat before that day, but he was thankful that he had at last. The monster's boat made getting back to Snowdin much faster and much easier than trying to navigate his way back up to the top of Waterfall.
The river monster wore its heavy cloak so that none of the monster itself was visible. It stood at the head singing softly to itself in a voice that sounded like several voices overtop one another.
They were not the only two on the boat. Papyrus stood triumphantly in front of Ryan, hands on his skeletal hips and staring ahead with one of the largest grins he'd ever seen on the monster. Ryan was happy his friend was there. It made being the presence of the boats other occupant a bit easier, especially with how the night had gone so far. In front of the skeleton sat Undyne, who looked to be as deep in thought as he himself was – and probably for the same reasons, if he had to guess. The fact that the monster had agreed to come along at all shocked him. He had seen this night going very differently, in the beginning.
...
"Oho, the human arrives! I was beginning to think you weren't coming." Ryan looked up at Papyrus and decided to leave out the fact that he almost had not.
"Do you really think this is a good idea?" He asked the skeleton instead, who nodded eagerly in response.
Ryan had been mulling over that question and several others since he began his walk back through Waterfall. What was he doing? That thought also kept pushing itself to the front of his mind. What was he doing? He was in over his head was what. He knew it, but had he really just kept his head down and let momentum carry him this far? And for what? A shot in the dark? A dream? He was more likely to die in the attempt. He had almost died several times already.
And now he was on his way to the home of someone responsible for one of those attempts on his life. He must be insane.
"Are you ready to hang out with Undyne?" The skeleton asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.
Ryan gave a wry chuckle. "I don't think one can ever truly be ready for something like that."
Papyrus had met up with Ryan in the cavern where he and Undyne had fought what seemed like a lifetime ago already. His friend did not seem to notice any of the aftermaths of that battle, but Ryan certainly did: cracks in the stone of the wall and the floor, craters and debris everywhere. The scariest part was that he knew most of it had been caused by him. Not wanting to wait for Ryan to develop cold feet, Papyrus started to lead him through the tunnels and caverns to Undyne's home. Strangely enough, the monster did not say much and Ryan retreated back to his thoughts.
He felt like he truly was stuck in a rip tide. One that he'd just have to grit and bear with until it dumped him out wherever it ended and there was nothing he could do to change things. Is this really what he wanted? He looked down at his hand. The fire sprung to life over his palm with almost no thought now. It was almost impossible to believe he had so much difficulty with it in the beginning. The flame shifted from orange to blue to green to purple. He let his mind wander as he watched the tendrils dance through the air and before he knew it the flame had taken the shape of Toriel again.
The statue of fire made his heart ache. Had it really only been a few months since he had seen her? It felt like years. But it had only been months. And he had gotten so far in that time. When he had first left the ruins, he could not even form a fire without a source, and now?
"I just need to get stronger." Ryan whispered to himself.
"What was that?" Papyrus asked over his shoulder.
Ryan let Toriel's likeness vanish. "Nothing." The skeleton shrugged and kept leading them further into a part of Waterfall he was unfamiliar with.
"Are you absolutely sure about this?" Ryan asked his friend once more when they arrived. Undyne's house was tucked in an out of the way corner of the cavern system, carved out of the rock to look like an angry fish.
"Of course. I have a plan to make you two great friends!"
Ryan shrugged as Papyrus began walking up to the front door. "Alright, I trust you."
Undyne had a small yard in front of her house. At the base of the cave there were racks of various weapons lined up next to each other. Resting on top of a large rug was a very familiar looking dummy. He steered clear of that. Ryan looked up at the house once more. It was uncanny how much it captured her intensity. "I'm going to keep my promise." He said to the likeness and surprised himself just how much he meant it. He realized then that he had to try, no matter what. He was done giving up half way through. Even if he had no way to change things, he would still get to the end of this. And the rest started here.
"Okay stand behind me." Papyrus told him before turning toward the door and giving it a knock. There was no immediate response, which Ryan half expected; no shouts, no explosions, nothing. "Pssst," The skeleton whispered as they waited, "Make sure to give her this." He held out what looked to Ryan like a large, bone shaped dog treat. It had a red ribbon tied around it, signifying it as some sort of present. Ryan's brain screamed against the logic, but Papyrus would know her better than him. Maybe he knew what he was doing.
He took the bone and stuffed it in his pocket just as he heard Undyne's voice from inside say, "Papyrus, I already told you I'm not in the mood for a lesson right now." The door slid open as if the fish's mouth opened. Undyne stood in the doorway unarmored, her muscular form covered by a black, full body glove. Her eye fell on Ryan instantly. "What are you doing here?" She asked.
"Undyne, you remember Ryan, yes?" Papyrus told her.
"I do." The soldier confirmed. Her eye did not leave Ryan, but he could not read any emotion from her expression. He was just waiting for her to tell him to get lost, or at least try to run him through with a spear again. He thought that she would refuse to see him so much that he almost turned and left before he realized she had invited them in. "Might as well." She added under her breath before turning to go back inside.
Papyrus followed his mentor, spinning in excitement. Ryan followed his friend nervously. The inside of the house was nothing close to what he had imagined. Fish patterned wallpaper covered the walls and the same patterned tiles he had seen before in Hotland covered the floor. There was a low table big enough for several people – or for a decent sized feast for one – with a few squat stools around it. Over to the side was a grand piano, open and clearly well-maintained. Along the back wall were several kitchen appliances in between sections of countertop. It was all far from the medieval castle/dungeon he had been expecting. The only thing that fit that description was a rather large double-edged sword hanging from one wall. The weapon held an incredible amount of detail. The blade was intricately carved with vines and what looked to Ryan like hydras. The hilt had been wound in silver, and the gold of the pommel and guard were sculpted into claws gripping heart shaped gems of different colors. It was definitely more of a show piece than a practical weapon.
As Ryan took it all in, Papyrus broke the silence. "Here, Undyne. My friend brought you a gift. On their own." He elbowed Ryan and he remembered the bone. He took the present out of his pocket held it out to her.
Undyne looked at it with a mixture of disappointment and met expectations. "Uh… Thanks. I'll just… put it with the others." Undyne walked over to a drawer and threw the bone into it. Ryan could see from there the drawer was full of similar bones. Papyrus gave Ryan a thumbs up as she looked away. The trust that the skeleton knew what he was doing was beginning to erode already. "So you mind explaining what's going on?" Undyne asked as she turned back to them.
The soldier's gaze took them both in this time, but the question was addressed to the skeleton, who responded "Whoopsy doopsy! I just remembered! I have to go to the bathroom. You two have fun!" The skeleton then proceeded to jump out the window, shattering the glass as he did. As Ryan stared in disbelief, Papyrus got up, brushed himself off, and ran away.
Undyne's full attention was now on Ryan, standing in her entry way. "So why are you here?" She asked him. She still did not sound or look particularly angry, but he knew the monster well enough know that that could still change at any moment. "You here to rub your victory in my face? To humiliate me even further? Is that it?"
Ryan shook his head, trying to push down his nervousness. "I thought we could talk." He told her honestly.
"About what?"
"About why I'm here, about what I intended and still intend to do, about the future of monsters and why I think killing me is a bad idea." He was surprised by how level his voice stayed.
Undyne's brow started to furrow; a familiar light came to her eye. She did not like that answer. "What, do you think we can be friends or something?"
Ryan nodded, deciding that staying honest was still the best course of action in the situation. "If possible, yes I would like that. I'd like to think we almost were friends at one point."
The monster burst out in laughter. "Really? How delightful! I accept." Ryan's second language was sarcasm, so he knew it when he heard it. "Let's all frolic in the fields of friendship!" Undyne's laughter stopped as abruptly as it began. "Not! Why would I ever be friends with you? If you weren't my house guest, I'd beat you up right now. You're the enemy of everyone's hopes and dreams. I will never be your friend."
Ryan held out his hands as a gesture of peace. "I'm no one's enemy. I've never hurt anyone, nor have I ever planned to."
"Snowy? The forest?"
"An accident, as I'm sure he'll tell you even now."
Undyne growled. "Even if I did believe you, that doesn't change the fact that you're a human and your very existence stands in the way of our freedom."
"That's right. I'm human, you're a fish, my current best friend is a skeleton, and there's all manner of other things down here. But we all have the same emotions and speak the same language, so why not get along? The surface ain't exactly a paradise anyway, and I should know."
His words only made her angrier. The monster visible shook with the effort to not run Ryan though. Instead, she pointed towards the door. "Get out of my house."
Just then, Papyrus reappeared in the smashed window. "Dang, what a shame." He said like he was reading off a script. "I thought Undyne could be friends with you. But… I guess I overestimated her. She's just not up to the challenge." And with that, he slunk away again. Once again, Ryan felt he gave the skeleton too much credit. He saw through what he was trying to do immediately. He knew Undyne was a very competitive person, but surely something that obvious would not-
"Challenge? What challenge? Darn it, Papyrus! He thinks I can't be friends with you? I could make friends with a wimpy loser like you any day!" Perhaps it would. "Listen up, human! We're not just going to be friends. We're going to be… besties." She said that in a much more intense way than that phrase was meant to ever be said. "I'll make you like me so much you won't be able to think of anyone else!" She laughed. And just like that Ryan found himself in another one of those situations where things were moving too fast. He thought about jumping out the window as well. "It's the perfect revenge." She went on, rubbing her hands together manically. Her manner then shifted effortlessly into calm and hospitable. She gestured to one of the stools by the table. "Why don't you have a seat?"
Ryan did as he was told. He had the sneaking suspicion his head may fall off his shoulders if he refused. "Comfortable?" He nodded. "I'll get you something to drink." The smile never left her face, but Ryan couldn't tell if it was forced or not. It definitely did not touch her eye. She laid out a number of items on the counter and gestured for him to pick. There was tea, sugar, oil, and other things Ryan could not identify from where he sat. He started to get up and look as a spear flashed in front of his eyes and split the table in half. He froze, waiting for life to inevitably leave him, before he realized he was unharmed. Or, at the very least, his head was still where it should be.
"Hey! Don't get up." She ordered him. "You're the guest. Sit down and enjoy yourself." Her tone brooked no argument. But she seemed to realize that that may have been a bit over board. Her smile was back and instant later. "Just point at what you want."
Ryan held onto his knees as he sank back onto the stool. It was all he could do to stop from shaking uncontrollably. "Um… tea, please." He said meekly.
"Tea, huh? Coming right up!" She grabbed a tea pot out of a drawer, filled it with water, and put it on the stove. "It'll take a minute for the water to boil." Neither of them spoke in the intervening time, though not from lack of effort on Ryan's part. He just could not think of anything to say. His mind had clicked over to survival mode and he was beginning to forget why he was there at all. Finally the tea pot started to whistle and she poured the tea into a cup. She brought it over to him and set it down on the broken table in a place it would not fall over. Then, she sat down across from him. "Careful, it's hot." She warned.
Ryan picked up the tea and blew on it. "It's not that hot. Just drink it already!" Ryan did so, carefully. It was good. Hot, but good. He would have liked some sugar, but he was not about to ask for some. "It's pretty good, right?" Undyne asked him. "Nothing but the best for my absolutely precious friend!" That one almost sounded genuine.
Undyne picked up her own cup and stared into it instead of taking a sip. "You know, it's kinda strange you chose that tea." She said after a minute. "Golden flower tea." Ryan nearly spit back up the sip he had taken. "That's Asgore's favorite kind. Actually, now that I think about it, you kind of remind me of him. You're both total weenies!" Undyne chuckled, but only for a moment. "… Sort of." She trailed off, seeming to become absorbed in her own thoughts.
Ryan decided this would probably be the best time to get some questions answered. "I've heard from a lot of monsters that's what he's like. Is it true he's also just sort of… vanished?"
Undyne sighed, staring into her tea once again. She swirled the cup in her hand. "Asgore's been… secluding himself in the castle more and more these past couple years. And recently he just hasn't left unless someone made him." She forced a laugh. "He tries to act so much like there's nothing wrong, but the pain of everything that happened to him is becoming unbearable. I guess that's the main reason I was hunting you zealously: I thought, maybe if we can get to the surface I can see Asgore smile for real again."
"You must really like him." Ryan commented.
"I look up to him. He's been like a father to me, all these years… You know how I met him? I tried to fight him. Emphasis on tried. As the hot headed kid I was, I was trying to prove I was the strongest, but I couldn't land a single blow on him. And worse, he refused to fight back! I was so humiliated. 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 beaming. I had never seen someone so proud to get their butt kicked. Anyway, long story short, he kept training me and now I'm the head of the Royal Guard. So now I'm the one who gets to train dorks to fight. Like, uh, Papyrus."
Ryan smirked. "And me, if things had gone differently."
The monster's smile slipped again and did not return. "I did offer you a spot, didn't I? A shame really. You had potential, kid, and I think you would have gotten along great with some of the guards."
"I already do, actually. Two of them are good friends of mine."
"What? Who?"
"Whimsalot and Froggit. I believe you have them stationed in the core."
Undyne's smile finally returned. "It would be them. I should have made that connection. The first thing they asked me was about any recent human sightings. I should have known they had something to do with you. They had more drive than any monster I had seen in a long time; almost as much as Papyrus. You just seem to get everyone on your side, don't you?"
"I seem to have that effect on people." Ryan took another sip of his tea. "A question, if you don't mind. Since we're on the topic of training, do you think I would stand a chance against Asgore, as I am now?"
"Ha! Not even close!" Undyne shouted. "You wouldn't last ten seconds against the king. You barely made it past me, and I was going easy on you… By the way, where did you go after that?"
Ryan took a breath. "I went to go see the king. Or at least I intended to…"
"You chickened out, didn't you? Ha! Better you did, or else you wouldn't be very alive right now. Heck, I bet you could barely stand toe-to-toe with some of my better trained soldiers." He knew that well enough. "Why would you have gone to him anyway? Even with your disguises, he would have known what you were immediately."
"I want to talk to him as well."
Undyne laughed once more. "There is no way in hell Asgore would listen to you! He would have killed you on the spot so we can finally be rid of this place. And to be honest with you, I'm still thinking about it myself."
"That's another question I'd like to ask you," Ryan said levelly, "why do monsters want to leave so badly?"
The monster's eye narrowed. "Do you really not know?"
"I'd like to hear your take on it."
Undyne scoffed at him. "We've been trapped here for a thousand years, trapped here by humans. Asgore's one of the last of us that was alive to have seen the surface. He told me that when we first came here, we tried to just be happy with what we had. We knew that if we tried to get out, the humans would just wipe us out for good. But then… they killed the king's son. Did you know that? And that tore it. Asgore has been collecting human souls to be able to obtain a power strong enough to beat the humans and take back the surface." The monster's anger then suddenly seemed to melt. "I used to think that was right… Hey, what's the surface like?"
The question caught Ryan somewhat off guard, he shrugged. "It's nothing to write home about. But then again, maybe I just take it for granted. To me, though, compared to the surface, this place is a paradise."
Undyne nearly choked on her own tea. "You're joking right?"
Ryan shook his head. In my entire time down here I've heard one complaint: 'It's a bit crowded.' Now, I've never been to the capital, but there must be, what, a few million monsters down here at most?" Undyne nodded. Ryan pointed at the ceiling. "There are seven billion people up there. And none of them get along very well. But everyone down here seems to genuinely care about one another, they hardly fight, hardly have disputes; you don't realize how good you have it."
"You might think that, but us monsters hate being cooped up down here. And we don't deserve to be trapped."
"I agree with you, you don't, and under different circumstances I wouldn't be standing in anyone's way of trying to get out. But you better hope that Asgore really does become all powerful when you do get out otherwise you will all be dead. I hate to say it, but you wouldn't stand a chance. Human's may not have magic, but they have things that are much worse…"
Undyne seemed to take what he said to heart, realizing he would have no reason to lie about that. Finally she spoke up with a smile back on her face. "So we both agree then: humans suck."
Ryan laughed. "I guess we do have some common ground after all." They both laughed at that.
"Humans may suck, but I think their history rules. Case and point: this giant sword. Historically, humans wielded swords up to ten times their size."
Ryan took another sip of his tea. "Actually, historically the largest swords people carried with any level of practicality were about six to eight feet in length."
She looked at him confused. "But I've read books…"
After a moment, Ryan interpreted the likely meaning of that. "Were these books hand drawn?" She nodded. "I see, in that medium people tend towards hyperbole." She seemed disappointed. "I mean, eight feet is still pretty big." He added. "You had to go into battle carrying someone else's sword on your backs and stand next to the guy who had your sword because it was too big to draw off your own back." He pointed to the sword on the wall. "That's still pretty cool either way, though."
She smiled at that. "Thanks. Alphys made it for me. It took a while to get all the proportions right."
"Ah, Alphys. Did she give you the books too?"
Undyne nodded. "Have you met her?"
"I have. I was in her lab when Papyrus first called to invite me over here. By the way, should I yell at him for the window?"
The monster shook her head. "I can't believe Papyrus jumped out the widow like that. Normally he sticks the landing."
"Yeah, I figured that would be normal around here."
She suddenly seemed sullen. "You know how Papyrus wants to be part of the royal guard, right? I don't think I can ever let him join. Don't tell him I said that! He's just, well… it's not that he's weak, he's actually pretty freaking tough. It just that…"
"He's too innocent and nice." Ryan finished.
"Right? I mean, look, he was supposed to capture you and he ended up being friends with you instead. I could never send him into battle! He'd get ripped into little smiling shreds."
Ryan put his cup of tea back down on the table, taking a moment to make sure it was balanced. "I'm actually glad we touched upon that. The main reason as to why I came here was to ask if you'd be willing to train me how to fight, like you've been training Papyrus."
"Like I've been…?" The monster's puzzlement was plain. "I've been teaching Papyrus how to cook."
"You're teaching him how to cook?"
"Yeah, I have been for a while now. So, you know, maybe he can do something else with his life. Oh, you're out of tea, aren't you? I'll get you some more." She stood up to grab the tea pot but stopped half way. "Why would you want me to train you?"
"So that I can survive an encounter with Asgore long enough to get him to listen to me."
Undyne sat back down at the broken table, tea forgotten. "Why?" She asked, staring him in the eye. "To what end?"
"To try to convince him of another way in going forth. Or to set him on a different course entirely."
"What other way? What course?"
"I don't know yet." Ryan admitted. "All I know is, even with the barrier destroyed and the power of seven human souls, your odds of survival are most likely very low. If I can't convince him that monsters would be better off remaining down here I hope that I can at least help him prepare some sort of defense so I can be sure you will all be safe up there. If I can have that, I'll even give up my soul to break the barrier. But I won't let everyone I've come to love down here run blindly to their deaths."
Undyne was unsure how to respond to that. "Wow… that's… really noble of you."
"If you call me a nice person, I will take that sword off the wall and run you through with it." Ryan threatened before he could stop himself.
Thankfully, it produced a laugh from the monster. "I take it back; you're way too feisty to be like Asgore. You're more like…" Undyne trailed off, her eye going wide. Suddenly, she stood up and slammed her arms down on the shattered table. "Wait a second. Papyrus, his cooking lesson, he was supposed to have that right now! And if he's not here to have it, you'll have to have it for him!" She jumped from the table onto the counter and kicked off all of the things that had been on it. "That's right!" She shouted from the counter. "Nothing has brought Papyrus and I closer than cooking! Which means that if I give you his lesson, we'll become closer than you can ever imagine!"
Her laughter was far too maniacal for the subject matter. "Afraid? We're gonna be best friends!" She jumped off of the counter over to him and grabbed him by the collar. She then dragged him back over to the counter. "Let's start with the sauce." Undyne stomped her foot on the ground and an array of vegetables and tomatoes fell onto the counter from God only knows where. "Envision these vegetables as your greatest enemy! Now, pound them to dust with your fists!"
"Um, I think a knife would be better…"
"Nonsense, I'll show you how it's done!" With a single punch, the vegetables became a liquefied mess that covered half the counter and the wall. Not surprisingly, Undyne looked like that was not her intention. "Uh, we'll just scrape that into a bowl later."
Ryan placed his hand over the mess, and with a light breeze, the pulped vegetables rose into the air. He floated them over to a bowel on the stove. "I can be helpful sometimes."
She nodded approvingly. "Now," she slammed down on the ground again and this time a large pot and a box of pasta fell onto the oven, "we add the noodles! Homemade noodles are the best, but I just buy the store-brand in the capital. They're the cheapest. Just put them in the pot." He did. "Alright, now we stir the pasta."
"Don't we need water?"
She shoved a finger in his face and looked at him fiercely. "Who's the teacher here? You keep quiet and listen. Now, as a general rule of thumb, the more you stir, the better it is. So, stir!"
Ryan took the wooden spoon that was shoved in his face and did as he was told. "Harder!" She shouted, and he tried to stir faster. "Harder!" His arm would not move any faster. She pushed him away from the bowl. "Let me do it." A spear came down from above and stabbed the pot to near oblivion. Ryan could swear he heard a deep voice go 'overkill!' somewhere in the back of his mind.
"That's the stuff!" she laughed. "Alright, now for the final step: turn up the heat! Let the stovetop symbolize your passion! Let your hopes and dreams turn into burning fire! Don't hold anything back!" Ryan searched around for the dial for the correct burner then put it on high. "Hotter!"
"It's on the highest heat!"
"No it's not, keep turning!"
Ryan did. As he did, he saw the bottom of the pot burst into flame. It was an electric stove. "Is that good?"
"No. Hotter!"
Ryan turned the dial around all the way again. The flames grew larger. "How high does this thing go?"
"Oh let me do it!" She spun the dial until the flames engulfed the entire stove. "See that's how you-" She was cut off by a loud bang. The pot, or perhaps the whole stove, erupted in a geyser of flame that quickly filled the whole room. Acting quickly, Ryan pushed the flames away from them and put them out as best he could.
The whole room was badly singed. So were they. Undyne looked at Ryan slightly embarrassed. "Man, no wonder Papyrus sucks at cooking." She said jokingly. The two took a second to stare at the destruction they had caused. "So what's next? Scrapbooking? Friendship bracelets?" She hung her head. "Oh, who am I kidding? I really screwed up, didn't I? I can't force you to like me, Ryan. Some people just don't get along with each other. Even down here. I understand if you feel that way about me. And if we can't be friends, that's okay. Because if we're not friends…" her face lit up again. "It means I can destroy you without regret."
If Ryan hadn't been so paranoid of something going wrong this entire time, the spear Undyne suddenly swung at him would have probably lopped something off. Luckily, he was able to duck it and jump back before she could take another swing. "I've been defeated, my house is in shambles, and I even failed to befriend you. That's it; I don't care if you're my guest anymore. I don't care what you said about the surface. One final rematch! All out on both sides! It's the only way I can regain my lost pride! Now come on, hit me with all you got!"
Ryan could see she was waiting for him to make the first swing, but he had other priorities. "Or, or, we could get out of here before the building collapses on us." He suggested.
Undyne seemed to finally take in the extent of the damage caused by the explosion. Ryan had been able to quell all of the open flames, but much of the walls and ceiling still smoldered and there were audible cracks of charred wood. She unsumoned her spear and nodded in agreement.
Outside the house's façade of an angry fish seemed to look more like it was in pain now. Ryan almost felt sorry for it. And as that thought formed the house suddenly burst back into flame. "I didn't do that…" Ryan mumbled.
Undyne was staring up at her burning house as well, not in anger as Ryan would have expected, but she seemed to be in deep thought once more. "Do you really think you'd be able to Asgore out of his slump?" She asked him finally.
Ryan shrugged. "That's up to you and whether or not you think you can train me to be strong enough."
After another agonizingly long moment, she nodded. "Alright, you have a deal, under the condition that if we do get to that point where you feel monsters are strong enough to survive on the surface and the barrier still stands, you will give up your soul so that we can go free."
Ryan nodded without hesitation. "You have my word. I've only ever wanted monsters to be happy. I'm surprised you agreed that quickly though. I had expected we'd have to fight at least one more time before I got you on my side."
Undyne was still for a moment, she seemed to be considering something. "You, know what?" She said. "I don't want fight you. At first, I hated your stupid saccharine shtick, but you remind me of someone I used to train with. Now I know you aren't just some wimpy loser, you're a wimpy loser with a big heart. Just like him…" The last words were not meant for Ryan's ears but he picked them up anyway. Undyne looked at her burning house once more. The flames now made it seem like the building was crying. She chuckled. "I'll make you strong enough to knock Asgore on his butt in less than a year. That'll show him.
"Listen, Ryan. If you and Asgore are fated to fight, just… promise me you won't try to hurt him, okay? Not that you probably could, but still. Knowing him, he probably doesn't want to fight at all, deep down. If you do manage to talk to him, I'm sure you can persuade him to help you. Maybe, eventually, some mean human will fall down here and I'll take their soul instead. That makes sense, right? Then we all win in a way. And if you do hurt him, I'll take the human souls myself and beat the hell out of you. That's what friends are for, right?"
Ryan chuckled. "I promise. I don't want to see anyone hurt." He paused. "Hey, Undyne, the person I remind you of that you trained with, it's not Papyrus, is it?"
"No, you're not nearly as bad. And I mean that in a nice way."
"Then who do I remind you of?"
Undyne smiled to herself. "No one you'd know. And it's a story I'd rather keep to myself."
"Fair enough. So, what now?"
The monster seemed to weigh the options. She looked around at the racks of weapons that filled the cave. "Well, we can't train here. How about we head to Snowdin? They should have the space."
"Um… maybe that's not the best idea." Ryan countered. "I didn't exactly leave there on the best note."
"Oh, right… Well, maybe we shouldn't go back there then."
"Yeah, they mostly likely don't want to see me."
"Actually," Papyrus said as he suddenly appeared in the mouth of the tunnel, "they should be just about ready for you now."
Ryan and Undyne exchanged confused looks before turning back to the skeleton and demanding to know what he was talking about.
...
The group stepped off the boat at the northern end of Snowdin Town. Papyrus and Undyne immediately went towards the town center. Ryan hesitated, standing back by the boat as his two friends went ahead. "We don't get many humans down here, you know, but we get one now and then." The hooded monster behind him said all of the sudden. "You're the first in a while, though."
Ryan was taken aback. None of them had told the monster he was human and he had donned his illusion once again in hopes to avoid further issue. The cloaked monster laughed, though it sounded more like singing, "Relax, child. I have no interest in starting any fights. I am just a simple ferry monster. You seek out a grim fate." The monster added almost as an afterthought.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"I can see it on your face. You carry a heavy burden, one you carry willingly though you know it will bring you much hardship and has brought much already."
"You can tell that just by looking at me?" He tried to smile, but failed.
"I can see a great deal. Your determination is your greatest weapon, human. Do not forget that." The monster said no more. The boat pushed itself away from the shore and floated away, leaving Ryan wishing he had some way to see the future.
"Determination, huh?" He said to himself, gripping the front of his shirt over his soul. "Maybe…" He undid the illusion before entering the town. There would be no more lies here.
A crowd had formed in the town square; practically everyone in Snowdin was in attendance. At the forefront, to no surprise, was Sallie's mother: the silently agreed upon voice of the town whenever one was needed. They all wore unreadable looks accept for her, who seemed to be weighing him as she always did. Sallie herself stood off to the side. She looked like she wanted nothing more than to run to Ryan's side, but she held herself back for some reason. Papyrus and Undyne stood under the tree closer to him than to the crowd. Many seemed shocked to see the blue fish monster there. Undyne was leaning against the trunk, her head down and her eyes closed. She almost seemed asleep.
Before Ryan could speak, Sallie's mother cut him off. "A lot of us wanted to hunt you down ourselves after that night." She told him. "And rightfully so I would think. But luckily my daughter cares about you enough to help us see a level of reason. Even young Snowy says that you were not the one who hurt him, although he is not exactly happy that you lied to him. None of us are." The monster paused, turning her gaze to those under the tree. "I see that you have brought the Royal Guard back with you." The words were obviously intended to be a barb towards Undyne, though to what end Ryan was not sure. "That adds some weight to what my daughter has told us. We have agreed to hear you out, boy. So? Let's have it."
Papyrus had explained to him what he and Sallie had been up to since he left. He knew they wanted to know what he planned, but first he felt he should get something out of the way. Ryan took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I know that I'm standing between all of you and freedom…"
"There will be none of that, boy. After everything, we could hardly ask you to give up your soul. And we do not hold that against you."
"Thank you. But know that I will do anything to help you all escape this place, if that is what you wish. Though, now that the truth is known, I feel like I should say something about the surface. You will find no peace or freedom there, only death."
"My daughter has told us as much already, and we have no cause not to believe her." Sallie's mother interrupted again. "We wish to know what you plan to do about it, if anything at all."
Ryan looked to Undyne. The warrior no longer appeared to be asleep. She looked up at the crowd and sighed. "As you all know, Asgore's mood has only gotten worse over the years. As it stands right now, if he saw Ryan he would kill him on sight no matter how many of us went with him to vouch for him. I intend to make Ryan strong enough to survive such an encounter with the king in the hopes that he will listen to what Ryan has to say once he's been tired out a bit. If the king agrees to stop hunting humans, Ryan has agreed to help strengthen us to be ready for the surface."
Murmurs began to filter through the crowd, mainly over doubts of making a human even stronger than them.
"And you trust him with this?" the older rabbit asked Undyne.
"Yes." She told her.
Sallie's mother nodded. "Then I suppose that will do."
Sallie finally ran over to Ryan and threw her arms around him, almost knocking him over in the process. Ryan noticed that tears streamed down her face and he felt a pang of guilt. Sallie's expression then went from joy to cold fury in less than a second. "Don't you ever leave like that again." She told him.
Ryan felt like laughing then. "I won't." He assured her.
"Know that this does not make up for lying to us, boy." Sallie's mother added, still standing in front of the crowd.
"I am sorry about that." Ryan told all of them. "But I saw no other way. I hope one day you can forgive me."
"It is not our forgiveness you need to earn, boy." The crowd parted; at the back stood Snowy. The young monster was half turned away from him, looking at the snow.
Ryan let go of Sallie and walked through the crowd to the small drake. He crouched down in the snow. "How's the wing doing?" He asked the monster.
"Fine," Snowy said curtly.
"I'm really glad you're okay."
"I thought we were friends." The young monster looked up at Ryan, anger in his eyes more than anything, with hurt close behind.
"We are friends." He told the monster.
"Friends don't lie to each other."
"Sometimes friends have to lie to each other to spare them pain."
"Papyrus said you'd say that."
"Well, he was right. Snowy, I didn't want to lie to you, or anyone. But, think about it, if you had known from the beginning I was human, would you have wanted anything to do with me?"
"No…" The monster admitted.
"Then, it stands to reason, that if I hadn't lied we wouldn't have been friends at all."
"I guess…" The monster's mood did not seem to improve, so Ryan tried a different tactic.
"Hey Snowy? What's a Snowdin monster's favorite cereal? Frosted flakes!"
The monster chuckled. "That was a trash tier joke, man."
"Well, you're the comedian, not me."
"And how about we keep it that way?"
Ryan nodded and held out his hand. "Still friends?"
Snowy held out his wing and they shook. "Still friends." The drake assured him.
Ryan stood back up as Snowy flew onto his shoulder. The town was still gathered around him, though more of them smiled than did not now. Sallie came up to him and took his arm, her mother stepped up behind her. "One more question, boy: what do you plan to do once you've 'strengthened' us?"
Ryan looked over everyone's faces; he had been hoping to avoid this part for as long as possible. "If I think that monsters reach a point where they would be fine on their own, and by that time another way to destroy the barrier has not been found, I will give my own soul to set you free." Ryan could feel Sallie's hands tighten around his arm. Snowy was looking at him in shock. The rest of the monsters' expressions barely changed.
Sallie's mother nodded. "You've given us a lot to think about. I know I for one am eager to see what happens next." With that, the crowd began to disperse, returning to their homes. Some of them spoke low to one another in small groups. The rest were silent.
When everyone was almost gone, Sallie asked what Ryan had expected her to ask. "You weren't serious about giving yourself up, right? Don't think for one second that I will let you do that."
"It will be a long time before monsters are ready to meet the surface. They might never be. I'm almost certain another way of opening the barrier will be found by then. Or, who knows, maybe I'll be able to convince everyone it'd be better to stay down here after all." The answer seemed to satisfy both of the monsters for now.
"I'm gonna head home, I think." Snowy said as he jumped off Ryan's shoulder. "My brother's probably having a heart attack right now. See you later?"
"Definitely." Ryan told the monster. He turned back to see Undyne walking up to him.
The monster gave him an approving nod. "We start tomorrow." She told him and then shouted over him, "Papyrus! I'm taking your shed!"
"Oh, o-okay." He heard the skeleton respond.
"Wait, I-" Ryan started but the monster had already walked away from him. "Where the hell am I supposed to stay then?" He heard Sallie clear her throat behind him. He turned to see her standing behind him, tapping the ground with her foot and giving him an impatient look. "Well, I guess I can't say no to that." He smiled, but the rabbit's look did not change. She grabbed him by the shirt and practically dragged him to her home.
Her mother met them in the door way. The older rabbit monster was back to weighing him with her eyes, arms crossed over her chest. Ryan looked back at her nervously. Might as well get this out of the way now… he thought. He saw no way of getting around it either. "I know you probably don't approve of me very much," he started. The rabbit raised an eyebrow. "Especially now, but-"
The monster reached out and grabbed Ryan's shirt sleeve between two fingers, cutting him off. She seemed to be inspecting it. "Did you lose the shirt I gave you?" She asked him.
Ryan looked away awkwardly. "Yeah, well… It turns out it's a little too hot in Hotland for layers." He gave the monster an awkward smile. Her weighing eyes went back to him again as she let go of her shirt.
"You will need a replacement then. In fact, you will need a replacement for everything. What you have on has seen their day and then some." The monster turned her back to them and started walking to the back of the store. "I will not have my daughter running around with someone who looks like a slob." She shouted over her shoulder before disappearing around a corner.
Ryan looked down at himself and saw what the monster was talking about. Dirt and tears covered his shirt and jeans as well as several scorch marks. He had not even noticed before then.
Sallie threw her arms around him once more. She smiled up at him. "Welcome home." She told him.
"Home…" He echoed, wondering if that were really true this time around.