Chapter 28: Confrontation
Navigating the next few sections of Waterfall was quite frustrating, as the puzzles there were tedious to the extreme. Both involved having to light up very dark corridors to find the way forward, and Frisk found themselves getting lost more often than not. Adding to their fortune was a group of Moldbyggs sleeping in various areas, getting startled and attacking whenever they got too close, even- especially- when it was accidental. At one point they took a wrong turn and wound up in a completely incomprehensible little cave that they hesitated to call a town, as it had no buildings and the only inhabitants were some kind of cartoonish white canine/feline hybrids named Temmies. These monsters spoke in extremely disjointed sentences, sounding like the average human four-year-old, and there was something about their cheerful but vacant stares that gave Frisk the creeps. They didn't spend much time there, to say the least, leaving the Temmies to their own devices (of which there were very few; they didn't seem particularly smart).
Finally, after what felt like hours of walking in the dark, they made it to a lighter section of the cavern. The familiar moist dirt was underfoot again, and the path branched into two directions once more. Frisk took the right route, only to come to a dead end with a small patch of tall grass on the side.
"Well, great. Just have to go back-"
"Behind you," a menacing voice growled.
They spun around to find themselves being stared down by Undyne again, still clad in her full armor. She had a magic spear ready and pointed it straight at them, not moving. Frisk didn't have to look back to remember that they were cornered. Suddenly, she started to speak.
"…seven. Seven human souls. That's how many we need before King Asgore Dreemurr… becomes a god. With his power, he will destroy the Barrier and take back the surface world, subjecting the humans to the same torment we've all had to deal with for so long."
Frisk was frantically thinking of a way to escape. They were too intimidated, it seemed, to use their Save File, so that option was out for the time being. Now, they were all alone with Undyne.
"…six. We have six souls already. All we need is yours. Understand, human? This is your only chance at redemption for us. Give it up… or I'll tear your soul from your body."
"Crap! Has she killed six people?! Did they all die here?!"
She leveled the spear and charged straight at Frisk, who squeezed their eyes shut.
"Wait, Undyne! I'll help you fight!"
The sound of her footsteps abruptly stopped when a loud rustling and a voice came from nearby. Frisk opened their eyes to see Kid standing directly between the two, evidently oblivious to what was going on. He smiled widely at the human.
"YO! You did it! Undyne's RIGHT in front of you! You've got a front-row seat to her fight, Frisk!"
His excited chatter died down, and he looked back and forth in confusion.
"Wait… who's she fighting- ow!"
Undyne had grabbed him by the cheek and was marching off with Kid in tow as he wondered aloud if she would tell his parents where he'd been. With the coast clear thanks to that lucky break, Frisk backtracked and took the left path. Fortunately, it didn't lead to a dead end but rather a bridge over a steep drop to the cavern floor below. They hurried across, only for a familiar voice to call out to them just as they reached the other side.
"Yo, hold on a second!"
"Kid? Where'd Undyne go?"
The lizard monster ran up to them, smiling bashfully. He clearly wanted to say something.
"So… I'm not supposed to be here, but I have to ask… you're a human, aren't you, Frisk?"
They didn't answer, but they hardly needed to. The look of sad understanding in Kid's eyes showed them that he knew. It was clear that neither of the children wanted to be in their current situation.
"Man… I should've guessed it… Undyne says I have to stay away from you. So, like, does that make us enemies or something? B-because I kinda suck at making those…"
Frisk didn't know what to say. Their mouth was incredibly dry at the moment due to stress.
"I have an idea… yo, say something mean so we can hate each other."
They just shook their head at him, fighting the sudden lump beginning to form in their throat.
"So I have to, then? All right, I'll give it a try… I… I hate your guts."
Saying it clearly made Kid feel worse than he already did, and Frisk wished for all the world that humans and monsters didn't need to be fighting. They could have been friends with him… if only.
"Man, I'm… I'm such a turd… guess I'll go home now."
He dejectedly turned around and began walking away, but his foot snagged on one of the boards in the bridge. Kid fell and grabbed onto the edge with nothing but his teeth at the last second, dangling his legs toward the abyss below. A look of absolute terror flooded his eyes, and frightened whimpers squeaked out from his mouth. Before they could react, Undyne showed up at the other end of the bridge with a spear in hand, beginning to stomp across.
"Oh no… what should I do?!"
Despite the overwhelming circumstance, Frisk was able to focus their thoughts enough to realize what was happening. Undyne didn't seem to be in much of a hurry, and while they could have run off while she was traversing the bridge… their thoughts turned to Kid, hanging on for dear life. After all that had happened, they saw him flailing about in an attempt to swing himself to safety, but his grip seemed to be failing. In that moment, they understood what to do. He likely didn't have the same death-defying ability that they did, so there really was only one thing to do for him. Frisk dashed forward and pulled Kid up onto the bridge. Undyne had stopped walking, taken aback by the snap decision.
"…Frisk…" he whispered, seemingly stunned that they'd rescued him. They grinned at the lizard monster.
"Don't worry about it. You've helped me out already."
Kid nodded and turned to face Undyne with a shaky glare.
"Y-y-yo… dude… if you wanna hurt my friend… y-you'll have to go through me first… got it?"
She stared at the two for a second, as if she didn't quite believe what was happening. Undyne's spear vanished, and she walked the other way back into Waterfall. Kid looked like he was ready to faint with nervousness, while Frisk was touched by his action. She could have easily forced her way past, yet somehow the small lizard had dissuaded her from continuing the hunt for the moment.
"…she's gone," Kid said after a brief silence. "Yo, you really saved my skin just now."
"Didn't I already say you've helped me out? Of course I'd help a friend."
He blushed a bit, chuckling with the human.
"I guess being enemies was just a nice thought," Frisk continued. "Will you be okay going home now? Your parents must be worried sick."
"You're probably right… I'll be on my way then."
They nodded and gave him a thumbs-up. "See you around, yo."
"Definitely! But… will you be okay? I don't think you've seen the last of Undyne…"
Frisk knew he was right, but didn't want to scare him.
"Don't worry about me, I've already escaped her a few times. This'll be easy. Oh, I know! Take a look at this."
They showed Kid their phone number as an official friendship offering.
"You can call me in a little while, and then you'll see that I'm fine!"
He positively beamed.
"Yo, that's a great idea! I'll be sure to remember it. Take care of yourself, Frisk!"
The two parted ways once again, with the human traveling across the bridge and into the last part of Waterfall. Now, with the support of yet another new friend, they would make it past Undyne and continue on their way. Their soul swelled with energy in response to the courageous feeling in them.
[SAVE FILE UPDATED]
Frisk was filled with Determination.
