Nemo felt his blood turn to ice as he heard movement behind them. He turned and the humans saw the all too familiar sight of an armored Undyne approaching them. "...Seven." She said. Seven human souls. With the power of seven human souls, our king… King Asgore Dreemurr… will become a god. With that power, Asgore can finally shatter the barrier. He will finally take the surface back from humanity… and give them back the suffering and pain we have endured… understand humans? This is your only chance at redemption. Give up one of your souls… or I'll tear it from your body."
Nemo stares at the armored monster. "Hey Frisk, what's that over there?" Asked Nemo as he pointed to the right.
"Huh?" Asked Frisk as they looked away long enough for Nemo to flip Undyne off with one hand while using the other to prevent Frisk from falling.
Undyne said nothing and instead opted to summon a spear before closing the gap. First with a walk, then a sprint, but just before she could skewer them, something came from the grass where Frisk was looking. "Undyne! I'll help you fight!" Cried the Monster Kid proudly. He then realized the situation. Sort of. "YO! You did it! Undyne is RIGHT in front of you! You've got front row seats to her fight!" He then started to look around in confusion. "...wait. Who's she fighting?"
"Well…" Said Nemo as he looked away awkwardly.
Undyne then stepped up, grabbed the side of the kids face and dragged him off. "H-hey! You aren't gonna tell my parents about this, are you?" He asked worriedly.
"...He'll be fine." Said Nemo as he and Frisk watched the pair go. He then looked over and saw another path. "Let's go." He then walked to the start of the path and went down the path.
They didn't get far before reaching a large number of Echo Flowers. As they walked, they overheard the flowers speak. "...hmmm… if I say my wish… you promise you won't laugh at me?" Said one.
"Of course I won't laugh!" Said another.
"Someday, I'd like to climb this mountain we're all buried under. Standing under the sky, looking at the world all around… that's my wish." Said a third.
Laughter came from a fourth before saying, "...hey, you said you wouldn't laugh at it!"
"Sorry, it's just funny… that's my wish, too." Said Flower five.
Nemo looked at the final flower. "Nemo." Said Frisk softly.
"Hm?" He hummed in response as he looked up at them.
"A sign." They said as they pointed out another wall carving.
"On it." He replied as he went over to the sign.
"However… there is a prophecy. The Angel… The one who has seen the surface… they will return. And the underground will go empty." Read Frisk.
"What?" Asked Nemo in confusion. "Like a human? Is that what they're talking about?"
"I'm not sure, but it also said that the Underground would go empty because of them, what does that mean?" Asked Frisk.
"Go empty… I don't think I like the implications there." Said Nemo as he turned and continued onward. Soon after they reached a bridge. "Get down, it's dangerous to carry you here." Instructed Nemo.
"Ok." Said Frisk as they got off his shoulders after he crouched down. Once they were clear, they started to cross the bridge. They were almost across when they heard a familiar voice.
"Yo!" Said Monster Kid from behind them. They turned to see him about halfway across the bridge. He slowly walked across until he was just in front of them. "You, I know I'm not supposed to be here, but… I wanna ask you something… man, I've never had to ask anyone this before… umm… you… you're humans, right? Haha." Nemo closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. His silence said it all. "Man! I knew it! …well, I know it now I mean… Undyne told me, um, 'stay away from that human.' So, like, ummm… I guess that makes us enemies or something. But I kinda stink at that, haha. You, say something mean so I can hate you? Please?"
Nemo sighed and crouched down to him. "Kid. Go home." He said simply.
"Yo, what? So I have to do it? Here goes nothing… yo, I… I hate your guts." Said Monster Kid.
"I don't want to fight, please just go home." Said Nemo as he looked at the ground.
"..Man, I… I'm such a turd. I'm… I'm gonna go home now." Said the Monster Kid. He then slowly backed away before turning and started running across the bridge before tripping and falling over, only being able to save himself by grabbing the edge of the bridge between his chin and neck. "Yo, w-w-wait! Help! I tripped!" Cried the kid. Nemo then spotted Undyne approach from the opposite side of the bridge.
"Ok, no need to get involved, Undyne's here, she can help him, Frisk and I can just run while she's distracted." Thought Nemo… as he ran to the kid and pulled him up by his striped shirt. "Reckless idiot." He muttered as Undyne stared at them.
Monster Kid stared at Nemo before turning to Indyne as she came closer. "Y… y… yo… dude… if… if y-you wanna hurt my friend… you're gonna have to get through me, first." He said nervously. Undyne could only stare as she took a few steps backwards before turning and walking away. The kid then turned back to the humans. "She's gone… yo, you really saved my skin. Guess being enemies was just a nice thought, haha. We'll just have to be friends instead… man, I should REALLY go home… I bet my parents are worried sick about me!"
Nemo gave the Monster a small smile. "Take care of yourself kid." He said.
He nodded before turning to walk away. He didn't get far before turning for one last goodbye. "Later, dude!" He said. With that the Monster Kid departed.
Nemo then walked over to Frisk. "Let's go kiddo." He said.
"Right." They said. Together they walked away. As they walked, Frisk said, "I'm glad you helped him."
"Yeah, same." He said as he wrapped a hand around Frisk's shoulders and held them close. They then noticed a star near a path that went into a cave. "Awesome, let's heal up so we can head out."
They made their way to the star, but before they could reach it, a voice rang out. "Seven."
"For f*cks sake." Thought Nemo as he and looked up to see Undyne standing above the mouth of the cave with her back to them.
"Seven human souls, and King Asgore will become a god. Six. That's how many we have collected thus far. Understand?" She asked as she turned to look down at them. "Through one of your souls, we will have the seventh and final soul, and this world will be transformed. First, however, as is customary for those who make it this far… I shall tell you the tragic tale of our people." Said Undyne as she turned and looked into the distance. "It all started, long ago…" she then paused before looking at them. "No, you know what?! SCREW IT!" She shouted, surprising the humans. "WHY SHOULD I TELL YOU THAT STORY? WHEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO DIE! NGAAAHHH!" She then tore off her helmet revealing her fish monster face and flowing red hair underneath.
"Woah." Said Nemo. "That escalated quickly."
"YOU! You're standing in the way of everybody's hopes and dreams! Alphys's history books made me think humans were compassionate… BUT YOU?" She shouted as she pointed at Nemo. "You're just a remorseless criminal! You wander through the caverns, attacking anyone in your path. Self-defense! Please. You didn't kill them because you had to. You killed them because it was easy for you. Because it was fun for you."
Nemo went rigid at her words. He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles went white and his hands would've bled if it weren't for the fact that he'd chewed his fingernails off. "Hey! That's not true! He only did it because-!" Said Frisk as they tried to defend him.
But they were cut off when Undyne shouted, "Shut up! I don't want to hear it from you, it's not like you did anything to stop him." She looked back at Nemo. "Do you think it was fun when I found out…? Lesser Dog, who wanted nothing more than affection… was dead, because of the whims of a pair of humans? No. But your time's up, villain! You won't hurt anyone else. A knight in shining armor has appeared. And all the pain you inflicted on the fallen... every hope, every dream you've turned to dust… she's gonna send right back through her spear! NGAHHH! I'll show you how determined monsters truly are! Come on! Step forward and let's end this!"
Nemo grit his teeth as his hands shook. "Frisk?" He asked calmly.
"Ok." Said Frisk as they walked over and placed their hand on the star. Nemo felt that feeling of warmth return, but paid it no mind as he focused on the challenge ahead and approached the mouth of the cave.
"That's it, then…!" Shouted Undyne. "No more running away! HERE I COME!" She then summoned a spear and leapt down at him as his soul manifested. She landed on the ground in front of him with a loud thud. She then swiped her spear at him. Doing so caused his soul to turn green, and move over to his left arm. His soul became larger and transparent as it attached itself to his arm like a shield. He looked down at it with a raised eyebrow before looking at Undyne. "En guarde!" She said. "As long as you're green, you can't escape! Unless you learn to face danger head-on… you won't last a second against me!"
Suddenly a small white square of light appeared around Nemo, and he realized that he couldn't move from that spot.
"Well… crud." Thought Nemo. Suddenly three spears manifested and flew straight at him in a straight line. Nemo reacted quickly, raising his soul shield to block. He noticed that just before a spear would strike his shield, it would turn red. Upon reaching the shield, the spears vanished. The square around Nemo vanished as Undyne flashed him a menacing smile. He growled as he ran up and punched her.
But she barely flinched. "Not bad! Then how about THIS!?" She shouted. Nemo moved back as the square reformed. Two spears from the front, two from the left, and two from the right. Nemo moved quickly, stopping each spear in its tracks. Then Undyne drew a finger across her neck as the square vanished. Nemo used his current position to his advantage. He quickly moved his right foot to where his left was currently and then brought his left foot up for a side kick into her stomach. "For years, we've dreamed of a happy ending... " The white square returned. Left, right, left, right, two from the left, two on the right, and one from the back. Nemo was quickly able to block all of them. As the square vanished, Nemo used the momentum of turning around to increase the power of his uppercut, which landed directly in the jaw of Undyne, who was towering threateningly.
Only to groan and hold his hand as his hand throbbed in pain. "Why is your jaw harder than your armor?" He groaned.
"And now, sunlight is just within our reach!" Continued Undyne.
"Why does nobody ever ask my questions?" Wondered Nemo with a flat look. The square then came back. "Crud." Front, right, back, left, front, right, back, left, four from the front. Nemo groaned as the second right one grazed his side, fortunately he managed to block the rest before the square faded. "That the best you've got fin head?" Said Nemo with a smirk.
"I won't let you snatch it away from us!" Said Undyne.
"Ok, she's obviously not gonna respond until after she's done with her rant." Thought Nemo as the square came back up. Left, two up, right, two front, left, front, back. All blocked. He then watched Undyne suplex a large boulder just because she could as the square vanished. While she was standing up, Nemo jumped up and planted a foot into her face before using it as a springboard to put some distance between them.
"NGAHHHH! Enough warming up!" Said Undyne.
"That was the warm up!?" Thought Nemo as the square returned. One from the right, then the front. Two came from the back and right at the same time, and Nemo misjudged their speeds and the both struck him, one catching his shoulder while the other put a small cut on the side of his face. That wasn't all as four more came from each direction, fortunately Nemo managed to block these, next thing he knew his soul was white again and he lacked a shield as a spear came flying from his left. "Crud!" Shouted Nemo as he pressed his back against the far end of the invisible wall the square created. He sighed as the spear flew past. He turned his attention back to Undyne before charging Undyne and punching Undyne again.
"Heh… you're tough." She said. She then started creating spears under Nemo's feet before having them burst from the ground to try to run him through. Nemo moved quickly to dodge them. Unfortunately he wasn't fast enough as one of them struck the side of his leg. Nemo grit his teeth as Undyne towered threateningly, before punching her in the face again. "But even if you could beat me…" More spears came from the ground. Nemo did his best to dodge, but one managed to hit him. Next thing he knew his green soul shield was back. He decided to get creative and used his shield for a killer backhand. Not that it did much better than his bare hands. "No human has EVER made it past Asgore!" The square was back. Front, back, front back, front, front, back, back, front, back. The spears were getting faster as the second to last front struck him in the back. Nemo was in so much pain that he was starting to see spots, and he was starting to lose blood. He shook his head and charged at Undyne, who was on the ground, pounding her fists as he brought his foot up, which connected with her jaw. "Honestly," She said, "killing you now is an act of mercy…!"
The square returned. Nemo noticed a slow moving spear from the left, and was confused by its speed, until spears from the other three directions came flying at him, two from each direction, he moved fast and managed to stop them before the spear on the left reached him, which was also blocked. The square vanished once more as Nemo struck her again. She was quiet as she summoned three spears on the left, then three on the right, a front, a back, and another front that tore through his other shoulder. As Undyne pointed heroically at the sky, the square vanished, giving Nemo the chance to deliver a roundhouse kick to her stomach. "So stop being so d mn resilient!" She shouted.
"Oi, watch your language in front of the kid." Wheezed Nemo as the square came back. Back, right, back, back, right, back, left, front. They came fast, the one on the left grazing his stomach before his soul returned to normal just in time for him to jump out of the way of a spear from the left. The square vanished as she flashed another menacing smile at him, before getting punched again.
"What the #ell are humans made of!?" She demanded. Spears started appearing in the air at multiple angles, and Nemo lacked a shield.
"Running time!" He shouted as he moved around to avoid the spears, but it wasn't enough as one of the spears tore through his leg and destroyed his knee. He let out a choked cry as he hit the ground, breathing heavily.
"Nemo!" Cried Frisk worriedly. Nemo tried to force himself to his feet, only to collapse on the ground as it felt like his knee was on fire. He breathed heavily before looking at his smaller companion, then Undyne. It was then that he made a choice.
"FRIIISK! RUUUN!" He shouted as loud as he could.
"W-what!? No! I can't leave you!" They cried back.
"Go now! I promised her I'd protect you, I won't let her kill us both!" He shouted as Undyne approached him. Frisk put their hands over their mouth and cried before ultimately running away, past Undyne and into the cave. She made no move to stop them. Nemo's breathing was ragged as Undyne reached him.
"I'm impressed, you decided that the life of your companion was worth more than your own." Said Undyne.
"I promised… that I'd protect them…" Wheezed Nemo.
Undyne looked down at him. "...We already have six souls… an eighth will do us no good." She said.
Nemo looked at her. "What are you getting at?" He asked.
"After I take your soul, I will fulfill that promise in your stead." Said Undyne. Nemo looked at her with wide eyes before letting out a chuckle. "What's so funny punk?"
"Can't believe I'm feeling gratitude to the person who's about to kill me, that's all." Said Nemo.
"Don't act so shocked, we may be enemies, but I'm not heartless, that child doesn't have the dust of monsters on their hands like you, I'm willing to spare them." Said Undyne.
Nemo let out a chuckle at that too. "Thank you… Undyne." He said.
"Whatever, rest in peace punk." Said Undyne as she summoned a spear, held it over Nemo, and sent it straight into his heart. After that, the world became dark, darker, yet darker.
Page 19 End
