Me: I felt like more Shamir / Gerson and Shamir/Undyne bonding was necessary. Don't kill me, I had no idea how to title this...
Shamir: Eh? Haven't we-
Me: Yeah, but it wasn't a training spar.
Undyne: I trained with the Guard. They're professionals, my Dad did bring them to a level. *supplexes a boulder*
Me: So, yeah, I thought you need to spar a little.
Shamir: That is because one time, I didn't get the chance to re-test her skills, right?
Me: Right you are...
Gerson: Wa ha ha! This is surely interesting...Wait, why am I-
Me: A little background fill for you, old geezer. Let's get this started.
Heroic Drabble...
Start!
WHEN MASKS FALL - BETWEEN HEROISM AND IDENTITY
Extra Drabble V
Gerson shook his head as he kicked his feet up the stand where he sold his goods and leaned on the sturdy, oak chair as sleep slowly took him. While he wasn't willing to do such things for Catty, this time - and only this time, wa ha ha! - he allowed the purple feline to descend in the secret training grounds to stay longer with Shamir, and remembered with a small smile the time when he used to be in love with a beautiful female turtle. Unfortunately for him, she was one of the victims of the First War between the monsters and the humans, and sighed as he closed his eyes, slowly mumbling her name,"Gertrude..."
Nobody knew just how much the old warrior tried to cover up the fact he was once in love - especially towards Shamir - as he didn't want the jaguar to repeat the same mistake he did during the war, when something terrible happened.
(Memory: Gerson, during the Human-Monster War)
"Gerson, you take the Delta unit and advance in the human territory." Ragoria said as she threw a small pin where the unit was supposed to be, "And I don't have to remind you that your feelings for Lady Gertrude may cloud your judgement as a warrior."
"Your Highness," the turtle commander said, placing a paw over his shining armor, "I shall not let anything befall the unit! And I am aware that Gertrude serves under the Delta unit's banner."
"As per her request, she wanted to keep you safe." Ragoria gritted a little through her teeth. "In any case, that event is in the past. She hasn't made another attempt upon Asrador since she met you."
"Ragoria?" Asrador's voice bellowed as he entered the Royal tent, "I thought you are still mad on Gertrude for what she did."
"No, Dorey. I'm not." the queen's voice said, as she softly caressed the male goat's face. "She learnt not to mess with a Dreemurr. And besides, Gerson is able to keep her in check."
"Sir." Gerson bowed respectfully towards Asrador, "With your permission, I will return to my unit."
(Later, during the battle...)
"Red, look out!" Gerson said to a young canine that was about to be squashed under a large branch, when the turtle promptly jumped to save her in the nick of time. "Young'in, I cannot look for your safety at all times! You have to learn to trust your instincts!" he said with a labored breath as the canine looked at him with worried eyes.
"I-I'm sorry, General. I'll be more careful." the canine placed her paw over the Delta rune. "Thanks for saving my-"
"Gerson!" a familiar voice called out to the turtle, from the direction of the woods, "G-Gerson! Help me!"
"Gertrude..."
"Gertrude!" the turtle's eyes narrowed in fury as he started walking in the direction of the voice, crossing the woods, defending himself from the arrows that the humans shot at him from the canopy, and kept yelling in hopes to hear her voice. "Gertrude! Where are you?!"
"Gerson..." Gertrude's voice was audible, yet weaker than before, making the turtle increase his pace as he kept deflecting arrows shot at him and eventually sending earth spikes in their direction. He wasn't going to let her die, of that much he was sure - he didn't want to lose her - yet the Queen's words eventually caught up to him.
"...your feelings for Lady Gertrude may cloud your judgement as a warrior."
Gerson eventually reached to a large clearing, where he could notice a turtle laying almost still, magical blood surrounding her, as well as a lot of arrows - he also noticed that she managed to take out a few enemies on her own - and rushed to her side, stepping in the pool of blood, even kneeling in it, as horror was written all over his face while holding her head on his lap. Her red eyes were staring in his dark ones, and smiled softly as she vaguely recognized the turtle she loved.
"G-Gers-son..." her weakned voice got to him, as he lifted her closer to his beating heart.
"I'm not going to let you turn to dust, you hear me?" Gerson's voice was wavering as he held her.
"I-It's t-too late..." her smile slowly faded, "Don't...don't blame...yourself...for...it."
Those were her last words before she turned to dust, leaving behind her beautiful cashmere scarf and a large green jewel she used to wear on her dresses, and the turtle warrior picked the two items with tears in his eyes. Then, as silent fury entered his eyes, he killed every human that laid in the canopy and walked away without taking any SOUL, and saved Red a second time from being killed, the canine offering to escort him away from the battlefield, seeing his grief.
"No. I want to keep fighting." Gerson said, breaking through the fog of war, "It's what Gertrude would've wanted."
(Present)
The turtle awoke to see Shamir before him, looking puzzled as to why his Master was crying, and shook his head as he tried to hide his pain. But the jaguar showed genuine concern for the old turtle, and leveled to his stature, his azure eyes staring in Gerson's healthy eye, his right paw on Gerson's shoulder - Catty's eyes widened as she didn't see such a side to Shamir before, but the jaguar softly waved her to go, as he knew that Gerson would not open up to someone else than a member of the Dreemurr family.
"Master Gerson? Are you alright?" Shamir asked as his eyes were scrutinizing the old warrior. "Sir..."
"I'm alright, Prince Shamir. No need to distress yourself over an old warrior's woes." Gerson gently took away the jaguar's paw.
"Sir, we're both warriors. And warriors share their woes of battle." the jaguar said, his voice wavering a little.
"Young'in...I can see the way you look at yer girlfriend, Catty. And I can also tell you'd be willing to die for her." the turtle began to speak, "And you'd be willing to sacrifice yourself to keep the Dreemurrs safe as well. I can see that by the way you hold your paw on the Delta Rune."
"Sir...I know that's not what you wish to tell me." Shamir said, noticing the turtle was toying around with his cane, as if uncertain if he could tell something.
"Look...not many monsters know, and those who knew are gone. I was in love with a very influent turtle monster, named Gertrude..." a thin line formed on the old turtle's face. "And...I did a grave mistake during the war. I..."
"She fought alone, and you were busy saving a young apprentice's life. You were too late to save her, and yet, you keep blaming yourself for the loss." the jaguar sighed, as he folded his arms, standing tall.
"H-How did you-" Gerson's eye widened at the accuracy with which the Prince understood his turmoil, only for Shamir to explain himself.
"I read it in one of Asrador's journals of the war. My father keeps them to help me understand the conflict better." the white-robed feline said, "I am by no means a detective. Though my knowledge is enough to help me with such a thing too."
"It's just...I do not wish to see you going through such pain, young'in." the turtle's honest gaze was affixed on the jaguar monster.
"Even if it would happen..." Shamir's eyes shifted their gaze to the ground, "I would still fight on, like a warrior would do."
"I...see." Gerson nodded.
For the first time in many months, the turtle felt that the jaguar was slowly, but surely, heading on a better path, and that he was able to uphold the Dreemurr name with honor. "Let's hope he does stick to it..."
(Two days later...)
(Music: Heartache Remix [Undertale's Toriel Fight] by GlitchxCity)
"Okay, prove yourself! Prove that you are better than the first time we sparred!" Shamir said, as his hind legs were digging deep in the humid grass, his swords reflecting Undyne's reflection, as she wore her battle armour, crafted by her fins for better mobility. His eyes were looking at her softly, yet he immediately narrowed them as if he was in a real battle, while on the other side of the battleground, Undyne's armour shone in the light given by the quartz crystals that were covering the entire Underground, and her red hair was gently ruffled by the wind as she summoned a blue spear, twirling it in a heroic fashion as her eyes were also narrowed on the jaguar before her.
While this was viewed as a training spar by most of the Royal Guards, Undyne promptly told Shamir that he has to hit her with everything he has, otherwise she wouldn't be able to learn anything new from him. A part of the jaguar was wrenching at the thought he truly had to use everything, but he also wanted to see what her progress was at this moment - after all, she managed to effortlessly pin him to the walls of Waterfall in a moment when he was defenseless - and laughed a little as the memory felt somewhat endearing, she tried to prove herself before him. But there was something else running as well within Shamir's mind, the fact that he had to see how the journey towards his teen self ended.
"The fire of the Dreemurrs lies within me. Young me was a solid proof of that..." Shamir thought as he tightened his grasp on the swords. "I almost feel my SOUL sinking at the thought I will meet my teenage self. I bet he's more arrogant than I am..."
"Let's get to it. I won't let you knock me down so easily!" Undyne said as she flashed a smile in the jaguar's direction, and then, with her signature cry, "NGAAAAAHHH!" she rushed towards Shamir with her spear and swiped it to the right, almost as if drawing half a circle in slow motion, an attack which the jaguar barely parried with one of his swords before making a backflip. Seeing that her attack was too easy, she clenched her left fin in anger as spears started to erupt from the ground, Shamir parrying one or two sets before one eventually pierced through his right leg, and the jaguar didn't even flinch at the wound, while the others' eyes were widened in shock as the feline limped a little, trying to keep himself steady.
"The pain is somewhat bearable-ack!" Shamir tried to keep himself focused, as he flashed a smile to his daughter. She was also concerned about that blow, but seeing her father taking it in the stride, it meant that he was trying to remain strong before her, as she noticed the feline coating his blades with lightning, and ready for the next attack. His injury prevented him from running as fast as he could, but he didn't care as he lunged towards Undyne with his electric blades, slashing to the left and right, forcing Undyne to parry swiftly with her spear, sending each blow to their respective sides as their eyes met. His eyes betrayed his inner fire and struggle to keep up fighting, while Undyne's showed concern and pride, and saw herself forced to summon a water shield, blocking one of Shamir's well-aimed vertical slashes, his paws soaked with water as it splashed at the contact.
Between breaths, the jaguar left out one of his powerful roars, that distrupted Undyne's focus for a moment before sending out a large volley of spears towards the feline monster, who managed to avoid a few of these before getting his arms cut by the spears in the process. He then retaliated with a set of Charger Shocks that zapped Undyne and made her grunt in pain, while deflecting a few lightning charges with her spear as the rest zapped nothing else than the wet grass of the training grounds. The Royal Guards were impressed with Undyne's progress, but she was sweating as she didn't expect him to actually listen to her wish, while Shamir was also proud of her progress, and the fact she was such a cunning adversary, making whoever enemy facing her have a difficult time defeating such a warrior.
More spears came on his way, and by the looks of them, they were sharper than before, forcing the jaguar to make backflips and parry them with his swords as his eyes squinted for a moment, his vision getting a little blurry. He then noticed her getting so close, as she started swiping to the left and right, making him dodge with difficulty as the swipes made two equal bleeding cuts on his face, and then aimed to impale him, when Shamir jumped on the spear and called out a Charger Shock while holding on the spear, zapping Undyne even further, her fins a little black than before. He then picked the spear and threw her with force to his left, in a thicket of bushes, making her fall unconcious for a while - he then wondered what got into him if he did that - and ran towards her, seeing that she was bleeding from the impact.
"Undyne!... Oh no, what have I-" he was about to say, when he noticed her smirking as three spears manifested themselves under the jaguar's legs, forcing him to jump in mid-air as his robes got cut on their lower side. "Cunning..." he thought as he landed a few paces back, a little wincing from the pain in his right leg, while Undyne shook her head and smiled, wondering why hasn't he used his most powerful attack until now.
But then Shamir realized that it was time to bring out the heavier attacks, and he focused half of what was left of his magical reserves for at least one Jaguar's Fury, closing his eyes as lightning started to dance around the metal. On the other side, Undyne prepared herself with a spear and a shield, standing in a position the Guard taught her, and waited for the jaguar's attack to land on her - which happened - but to his surprise, he noticed Undyne was covered by a large dome of water which was only barely touched by the Jaguar's Fury.
"The dome...it cannot be..." his eyes widened in shock at the way the shield was, and then a familiar voice piped in his head, "As you can use the fire shield, she can use her own water shield. You two are complete opposites, yet you get along so well. You both have such great potential hidden within you..."
(Music End)
"Wh-How did you manage it, Undyne?" Shamir asked, bewilderment present in his voice.
"Well, this position of the Guard had more to it than I originally thought! It's called the Spartan move, according to the Guard's records. But...I call it The Warrior's True Shield!"
"Ah well, it seems it works well for you." the jaguar admitted sheepishly.
"And for some reason, I think you can use it too..." the fish monster's eyes looked to the ground in shame. "I-I think we can call this a draw. We're both strong enough, aren't we, Daddy? And...I'm sorry for hurting your leg, are you okay?"
"Heh...I'll be fine." Shamir said as he focused on healing his injured leg, but his expertise with healing magic was not that good, and left a grunt as he could feel the bone splinter even more. "Go get Toriel for me. I-I can't heal my leg."
"You can do fire magic?" Undyne's eyes were widened with surprise, "So...there's really more to you than meets the eye, huh?"
"Yeah, you could say that." the jaguar bit his lip a little as he tried to keep himself from grunting anymore.
"Someone, get Queen Toriel right now. Tell her that Prince Shamir needs assistance." Undyne's short, but clear order reached Ribras, who went straight away to bring Queen Toriel, while she went to her father, and gently pat his head, as he looked with soft eyes towards her.
"Don't worry, Toriel won't hurt you if I explain what went on." he laughed nervously. "Though she'd be a little mad at this sight-"
Toriel looked at the scene before her with both surprise and slight irritation, advancing close to the jaguar who kept his right leg straight, dried blood surrounding the entry point of the spear. She instantly placed her paws over the large wound, mending his bone in place, while her red eyes scouring for any more injuries, and then noticed cuts over his arms and face which she healed with a soft kiss on his right cheek.
"There, dearest, can you walk?" the goat monster looked at her son with some worry, as Shamir tried to get back on his feet, still a little wobbly after his spar with Undyne.
"I'm a little exhausted, Mom. Don't worry." Shamir hugged his mother, gently resting his head against her chest. "I wanted to see how Undyne progressed, so...what better way than a little training fight?"
"Was it really necessary for you to get this injured, my dear?" she kissed the top of his head as they broke the hug. "I will heal her injuries too," Toriel said as she placed her paws over Undyne's burnt scales and various cuts. "There, all done, child."
"I didn't use fire magic against her, I promise. I swore I'd never use it for fighting...except for dire situations." Shamir said, placing his paw over his chest. "But I need to learn more about the healing properties. I don't want to be unable to provide some support to my friends and allies if they are hurt! And I want to remain in fighting form..."
"This truly deserves a new lesson in fire magic, my dear Shamir." Toriel nodded.
Undyne was looking at herself, as she was a little...jealous of how beautiful Lady Toriel was, and went back to dismissing the Guard for today, as the felines were surprised by the strength their leaders showed in the spar. While Shamir and Toriel were discussing something in the background, she slowly went back to the tent her father used as a command post and dropped her armour somewhere in a corner, before laying in the campaign bed - but both Dreemurrs noticed she was acting a little off after the battle.
"I don't know how to say this, Mom..." Shamir scratched the back of his head, as he looked towards the tent. "I often believe she doesn't think she's beautiful."
"Undyne wanted to prove yourself to you that she's as strong as you want to be," Toriel said, in her-ever teaching voice, "And yet, she doesn't have a female role model to look up to. Not saying that Catty couldn't help her out with her issues, but given the fact Undyne's also a warrior..." the goat monster said as she sat on a bench, inviting Shamir as well.
"But...I'm a man. What do I know about telling her the right words?" the jaguar fiddled with his paws, his gaze shifting from the paws to Toriel and back.
"Ah, my dear Shamir, well..." Toriel smiled serenely, "Do you remember that one time a monster girl rejected you because you weren't the same species as her?"
"Y-yeah..." the jaguar's eyes looked straight into his mother's, "I was sad..."
"And I remember we went out of our way to encourage you, to tell you that one day you'll meet someone just right? And here you are, with Catty!" Toriel kept smiling as she placed a paw over the jaguar's ones.
"Do you think I can be a good support in her times of need? I want her to grow a strong, independent woman one day..." Shamir said as his eyes looked towards the tent.
"Of course you can, you are her father!" Toriel said, as she looked at her son with pride, as she rose from the bench. "Now, be a good father, alright?" the goat monster smiled as she gently ruffled Shamir's fur, the latter murring at his mother's touch.
Shamir then dusted his robes as he walked towards the large tent that used to be "home away from home", as he heard his mother once saying, and entered with care, not willing to disturb his daughter's sleep. But Undyne was not sleeping at all, and surprised him by standing on the edge of the campaign bed, her eyes following him with curiosity as the jaguar decided to take a seat on the large ottoman, inviting Undyne to come next to him. At first, the fish monster was hesitant to join him, but eventually took a seat as she left out a heavy sigh - and Shamir knew she won't be breaking the silence, so he had to come up with something.
"...you are her father!" Toriel's voice rang in his head, as he looked at how distressed Undyne was, "Undyne's also a warrior..."
(Music: Undertale - Bergentrückung/ASGORE Reorchestration plays slowly in the background)
"Undyne..." Shamir said as he placed a paw over her fins, making her look in his azure eyes. "I want you to know I am here for you..."
"I know, Daddy..." Undyne replied with a small voice, "But...you can't really help me with this." she shook her head with sadness.
"And warriors share their woes of battle..."
"You believe you are, first and foremost, a warrior, is it not?" the jaguar softly lifted his daugher's head, who looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"I have to be a Royal Captain as good as you are-" Undyne says as her eyes narrowed in anticipation, before Shamir gently shushed her.
"No. First and foremost, you are my daughter. And you are a growing young girl..." the jaguar said as a smile formed on his muzzle, "...I don't want you being a warrior overshadow who you want to become in life. And that..." he hesitated a little, choosing his words,"I believe you wish to be a strong, independent young woman, who knows what is best for herself." Shamir scratched the back of his head in embarassment. "I'm not the best at this sorts of things, Undyne, but...know I'll always have your back. I will always support you, no matter what people may say, and whenever you doubt yourself..." he smiled sheepishly, "...You can come to me, and with what little experience I have...I will try to help you push through your issues. I promise."
"She looks as if I said something wrong. Damnit-" the jaguar thought before being cut off by a strong, yet tender hug from his daughter, Undyne. It seemed that his words were really reaching her, and he returned the hug with a little hesitation. "I truly hope you'll grow strong, and confident in yourself...The same I hope for Alphys too..."
"Thanks, Daddy...I know that must've been hard for you." Undyne beamed at him with a smile. "I'm glad I have a Dad like you, really. If you don't mind, I might talk to Lady Toriel and, maybe Catty, too. I think I have a lot to learn from both of them."
"I trust both will help you on your way. As will I." Shamir kept hugging the fish monster, and then gave her a soft kiss on her red hair. "Now, off you go, my dear. Alphys must be waiting for the 'Anime Night', as she called it."
"Yeah, she's been planning this for a good while. And Sans will crash at our place too." Undyne said, chuckling a little. "I've asked him not to ruin the couch as you sleep on it sometimes."
"Well, I won't be sleeping that much on it anymore..." the jaguar admitted, "I might take that large bedroom upstairs, after all...Catty might be moving in at a point."
"Oh, that would be cool!" the fish monster nodded. "Okay, bye Dad! And...thanks a lot."
(Music End)
As he watched Undyne walking away, Shamir smiled, satisfied that he followed his mother's advice - after all, Undyne had literally nobody else closer than Alphys, and while the lizard could've helped, at some time - both needed a parental figure to look up to, and the jaguar was the right fit for them, even if he sometimes didn't really know how to be a good parent. "I wonder if I'll be able to help my teen self, after all... My inner journey isn't over..."
Undyne's Encouragement.
I wrote this entry like this because I fancy it.
It is a very important day for me...
I helped Undyne gain confidence in her.
But that wouldn't have been possible without Mom's help.
She knows better how to be a parent.
And I strive to learn this as well...
"...you are her father!"
It still rings in my head.