October 21st, 2021: Qurairu
"You alright old man?" Undyne asked quietly as Gerson led her through the forests. She watched the old turtle in worry, ducking beneath low-hanging branches as she followed him.
His anger was long spent, and she knew that what was left was dangerous for an old Monster like him. She hoped she could help… she'd never had to deal with anything like this with her Gerson.
"Still kicking," was the reply, devoid of his usual wry smirk and lighter tones as he kept glancing at the mountains-relying on them alone to figure out where they were in relation to his goal. "Almost there," he added, more for her sake than his.
"Where are we going, anyways?" the fish-woman asked, looking around the place. "I've never been here before."
"A village-well, whatever is left of it now," Gerson replied as Undyne started to note a break in the tree line, with the turtle slowly making his way down toward it. Stepping out of the trees, they found themselves with grassy hills that stretched on for miles. The turtle turned, keeping his gaze on the mountain as he continued to slowly move, referencing their position.
Undyne frowned in confusion, but didn't press, instead just picking up her pace so she walked by the old turtle's side, knowing she'd get her answers eventually.
The turtle started to move about the hills, taking his time-with a thousand years of change, it was difficult to be certain of locations, but eventually, they came on a small dip in the hills-a tiny valley of sorts, where Gerson stopped on the rise, looking quietly down.
A thousand years, there was nothing left-except for the unexplained amount of stone, most of it worn down by the centuries.
Something had been here, at least.
Quietly, he moved on down, his gaze seeing something else from long ago.
Undyne cast her gaze about, trying to see what Gerson was seeing. She had a few guesses as to why the turtle had brought her here, and she clenched a fist in anger.
Those cheating bastards. Bad enough that Chara pulled that stunt in the Underground but… losing the war because of it? If any of them were still alive, I'd kill them myself!
The turtle roamed between the two areas full of rubble-perhaps what would have been the main road, finally stopping at the last bit on his left, slowly kneeling, a hand shuffling through the stones before he simply picked one up, holding it quietly.
The woman hesitated for a moment, debating, before stepping forward and putting a hand on the elderly Monster's shoulder.
"Gerson?" The turtle blinked, slowly looking back up to her.
"You wanna talk?" Undyne asked gently. "Or is it better if I go stand over there somewhere and stop bugging ya?"
"...it's not the most pleasant story," was his response.
"I can handle it, old man." Undyne assured. "The question is, can you?"
The turtle was silent for some time, slowly settling himself, before finally patting the spot next to him. "Have a seat, Urchin."
The warrior complied, settling herself next to the turtle like she remembered doing so many times before… even if it was technically a different one this time. She remained silent, knowing he would start when he was ready.
"Long ago…" the turtle murmured softly. "Before the Underground...before the war, the very start of Asgore's rule...this was a village. Nothing much, just two rows of homes, and a 'town hall' if you could call it that. ...but it was my hometown. It's where I grew up, where I met my wife...where we had our son."
Undyne sucked in a breath through her teeth, already putting together where this was going.
"Amichai...was a handful...you'd think as a turtle monster he'd be slow for trouble…" Fondness was in his eyes. "He got himself into everything...though despite all of that, a good heart. Wanted to be like his father...and he strived for it. He was a sentry for our village when the War came…
"I went to the front lines, he stayed with the village-not experienced enough for War. We were a little village in the middle of nowhere-we had nothing to offer a reason to attack. We didn't build armies, or train monsters with magic...we had no resources. What could my boy possibly have to worry about?" There was a smile-but it was grim, his hands closing into tight fists as he trembled.
"They got attacked anyway, didn't they?" Undyne's voice was trembling from suppressed anger. She tried to keep it under control, she didn't want to explode and interrupt Gerson but…
The turtle lowered his head, a soft sound of grief escaping the ancient warrior. "I find my village in shambles, homes on fire-and I found survivors. My wife among them, but...my foolish boy didn't run. To give others time to run, he fought back…
"All this time...he was young, he wasn't meant for War...and I had to wonder what was racing through his mind. How scared he must've been when he stood against such odds, how alone…" The turtle was shaking. "And now...with what I know...was there a chance that he could have come out alive? How many could he have possibly struck down…" His face darkened.
"How many times did my boy die before they were satisfied?" The words shook, a soft sound escaping the turtle as grief overflowed.
"Gerson…" Both hands were on the turtle's shoulders now, and Undyne kept a tight grasp on him, showing her support… even if there was nothing to say.
"...we were dissolving into chaos…" he managed. "Nowhere was safe, we were frantic. There wasn't time to stop. Or time to grieve. I was sent back out, and my wife...she couldn't cope. Our boy was gone and...how much longer till I met my match? ...she Fell Down… I didn't know until it was far too late.
The turtle gave a ragged sigh. "A thousand years or more...I thought I would have all the time in the world to be with them…" He shook his head.
"A thousand years without the one you love…a thousand years wondering who your boy could have been..."
"Gods, Gerson… I'm so sorry. You deserved so much better than all that." Undyne scooted herself so she was partially behind the turtle and hugged him to her, ignoring his uncomfortable shell.
"Cheating bastards," she couldn't help but growl. "How dare they start something like this, and then just redo everything until they got what they wanted?"
The monster gave a long wavering sigh as a response. "Cowards," he managed. "The whole lot of them." Too afraid to accept consequences, while the monsters had been scrambling, hoping to make it to the next day.
"Ignoring consequence… that's no way to live." Undyne shook her head, her ponytail flailing behind her. "If anyone other than your Frisk gets that power, I'm gonna stick their head in a bucket till they understand not to be an idiot with it."
There was a choked sound of amusement.
Undyne grinned a little at the knowledge that she'd made him laugh. But she quickly sobered up again.
"I'm sorry, Gerson. But at least your Frisk's just trying to help, right? And you don't have to worry about anything from our side… that power got abused with us too, but Chara can't do it anymore. You're not gonna have to deal with cowards like that ever again."
"Praise the gods…" he murmured softly. "Neck Warmer's got good intentions, and they try, but at the same time...I rather the power wasn't there to tempt those who wield it."
"Yeah." Undyne agreed. "Whose idea was that thing anyway? Don't they know how easy it is to be abused? If I could get rid of it altogether, I'd do it in a heartbeat."
"The dragon?" Gerson guessed. "Seems to be a source of a lot of grief these days."
"The one in the Abyss?" Undyne frowned at that. "That got taken over by that… corruption thing? Wasn't he just like… a guardian of souls? You'd think if he was strong enough to make the power he wouldn't have gotten his ass handed to him like that…"
Gerson shrugged. "If he didn't make it, he probably knows whoever did, at the very least."
"Good thing we're planning to go down there then, huh?" Undyne relaxed her grip on Gerson, pulling away from him a little. "Probably not anytime soon though… Tori's got a lot on her plate and we're really gonna want to be prepared before taking that thing on. But we'll make sure it happens, and then maybe we can get some more answers."
"We certainly have time on that," Gerson replied. "With it buried and all…" He turned slightly, a faint smile showing through, despite the sadness in his gaze.
"We'll get you all through this," Undyne promised. "Our side's ready to give you guys all the help you can handle!" A broad grin suddenly split the fish-woman's face. "Our Frisk certainly seems to be enjoying the perks!"
Gerson snorted. "I'm worried about the amount of perks he's going to get at his rate."
"Maybe so!" Undyne laughed. "I mean, he's already been with Fiona longer than anyone else… maybe he's finally ready to settle down!"
"Better hope so," Gerson mused. "Grillby's protective of his niece."
"Maybe he'll smarten up, eh?" Undyne pulled back fully, watching the turtle. "You okay?"
He nodded. "I feel better for telling," he assured.
"Heh. Brings back memories, doesn't it? Listening to my Gerson's stories was my life for years. Really shaped how I grew up. Probably wasn't that much different here."
"Our Undyne was kinda stuck with me," he murmured with a smile. "Practically drowned her with them."
"Good thing we got gills!"
A genuine laugh escaped the old warrior. "A very good thing!" he agreed.
"Speaking of…" Undyne threw a glance at the old turtle. "Alphys and I are gonna take Alexander down to the beach on my side to visit mom in a couple days. You interested in tagging along? Might even see about getting our Gerson down there and you can swap stories or something if you want."
There was a pause, and then a wise old smirk. "...I might take you up on that offer."
"Great! I'll make sure to set it up then! And you might be able to get an early start on getting a new starry-eyed kid on your lap… if my Gerson doesn't beat you to it!"
"I don't know, I'm fast for a turtle," Gerson stated as he slowly rose to his feet.
Undyne stood as well, patting his shoulder gently.
"May the best geezer win!" She grinned at him cheekily.
He kept his grin, feeling better now. The hurt might have been renewed, but he could accept fate again. He may have lost them...but there was a bigger family he had fallen into, and he was needed there.
Author's Note: Forging Rifts is a year old, so there's a bonus chapter for the anniversary~
