Nemo inhaled sharply as he took in his surroundings. His leg was fine, he was standing, Undyne was still on top of the cave, and he was still alive. "What… happened?" He asked as he looked at his own hands. "Did I… die?" He asked himself. He groaned as something rammed into his side. He looked down to see Frisk holding onto him, shaking. "Frisk?" Asked Nemo in confusion as his brain tried to catch up with everything that just happened.
"N-Nemo…!" They cried. "I-I was so scared! I thought I had lost you for good! I thought I couldn't bring you back!"
Then it dawned on him. "You used your power to take us to before I fought Undyne." He said. Frisk only nodded their head. "Geez kid, I'm sorry." He wrapped his arms around Frisk and held them tight. After a moment, he parted from them. "Well, I guess I only have one thing left to do now."
"What is it?" Asked Frisk as Nemo turned to the cave.
"Win." He replied as he approached the same spot as before.
"W-wait! But she'll just kill you again!" Said Frisk.
"No she won't." Said Nemo. "After all, I promised that I'd be the one to get you out of here right? Can't do that if I lose here."
"That's it, then…! No more running away!" Shouted Undyne as she leapt at him and his soul manifested. "HERE I COME!" Once on the ground, she waved her spear at him and Nemo's soul became a green shield once more, who cracked his knuckles in response. "En guarde!"
Nemo took the initiative, running up and punching her in the jaw with his right hand. But Undyne barely flinched. "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!" Then the white square appeared, then the three spears. Nemo blocked them all with ease. The square vanished as Undyne drew a finger across her neck. He then ran up and threw a side kick into her stomach, barely even earning a flinch "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, blocking all six spears. Undyne was bouncing impatiently as the square vanished.
"Deja vu." Mumbled Nemo as he used his other arm to punch her.
"For years, we've dreamed of a happy ending... " Said Undyne as the white square returned. Left, right, left, right, two from the left, two on the right, and one from the back. He moved quickly, halting the advance of each spear before he could get a repeat of how the fight ended last time. While the square faded, Undyne pointed heroically at the sky. Nemo used his other leg to hit her with a roundhouse kick, ignoring the pain he felt each time he struck her.
"I can't tell which is tougher, her skin or her suit." He thought with a wince.
"And now, sunlight is just within our reach!" Said Undyne. The square then came back. Front, right, back, left, front, right, back, left, four from the front. Memories of the last fight let him react to each spear in time to block them all. He moved in to attack once more with another punch, and hardly a reaction from Undyne. "I won't let you snatch it away from us!" Said Undyne as the square vanished. Left, two up, right, two front, left, front, back. All blocked.
Think fast fins!" Said Nemo as he kicked her again.
"NGAHHHH! Enough warming up!" Said Undyne.
"Here we go." 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 this time, he got the timing right, blocking them all with ease. Then his soul returned to normal as he ran forward to avoid the spear. He then leapt into the air and planted his foot into Undyne's face. "Frisk! Run!" He shouted as he jumped off and over Undyne. Frisk's eyes widened as they realized his plan. Together they took off and ran through the opening. Unfortunately, despite how fast they were, Undyne was faster.
Suddenly Nemo's soul was green again. "Cruuud!" He shouted as he held his shield up to Undyne.
"You won't get away from me this time!" Said Undyne.
"Look Undyne, I don't want to fight you anymore, just let us leave!" Said Nemo.
"Honestly I'm doing you a favor." She said as the white square returned. Front, back, front, back, front, front, back, front. Nemo blocked her spears, one after pointed heroically at the sky as the square faded. Nemo saw his opening and kicked her again. "No human has EVER made it past Asgore!" The square was back. Slow spear on the left, that meant- Front, right, back, front, right, back, block that left! Nemo sighed as he evaded injury this time. Undyne flashed a menacing smile as the square vanished. Nemo ran up to her and did a kick so high that the bottom of his shoe made contact with her chin. "Killing you now is an act of mercy.
Fast ones from the left, fast ones from the right- Nemo groaned as one caught his side- front, back, front. Undyne supplexed a boulder and Nemo took the opportunity to stomp both his feet on her stomach before jumping away, but she got up barely even hurt. "So stop being so d mn resilient!" She shouted as the square returned. A blur of spears at all ends, one managing to catch a shoulder and another struck part of his free arm. Then his soul was white once more and he jumped back from a spear from the side before he and Frisk, who'd been standing there the whole time, bailed.
"Running, running, running!" Said Nemo as she caught up to them. The pair didn't get far before his soul went green and Undyne was towering over him threateningly.
"You've escaped from me for the last time!" She shouted. Nemo backhanded her with his shield. "Alphys told me humans were determined…" She said as the square came back. Right, left, right, left. Then a yellow spear came at him from the right, but it was slower and backwards. Then, just before it reached him, it was suddenly behind him and coming point first straight at him.
"Geez!" Shouted Nemo as he spun and blocked the spear. As the square vanished Nemo then jumped and did a flying kick at Undyne before using her to jump away.
"I see now what she meant by that." Said Undyne. The square was up. Now she was mixing yellow spears in with her attacks, fortunately Nemo was able to keep up. The square vanished as Undyne flashed another menacing smile. He moved quickly to elbow her in the jaw. "But I'm determined too!" Square. Normal spear from each direction. Blocked. Yellow spear from each direction. Blocked. Square vanished. Nemo stopped focusing on her other action and attacked again. "Determined to end this, RIGHT, NOW!" Square, more spears, both normal and yellow, but they were all blocked. The spears paused for a moment and Nemo saw the opportunity to Nemo attack again. "...RIGHT NOW!" The square returned and more spears came, one of which caught Nemo, but he didn't focus on that as he heard the wind howling in the background. The square vanished and he punched her once more. "...RIGHT...NOW!" She shouted. The square came back and the spears came at blinding speed. Nemo groaned as he failed to block some and they pierced his body, he stumbled, unable to attack. "Ha... ha..." The square returned. A swarm from the left, then more on the right. Blocked. The spears paused and the square vanished long enough for another attack.
"NGAHH! DIE ALREADY YOU BRAT!" She shouted. More spears came at him, some of which weren't blocked. Nemo was seeing spots again and was worried that his luck had run out when his soul turned white once more. He ducked under the spear from the side before he and Frisk took off running and spears went flying at them as they ran past a "WELCOME TO HOTLAND" sign. Suddenly their phone was ringing, and Nemo pulled it out to answer, only to notice that Undyne stopped running when he pulled out his phone. He raised an eyebrow at her and stopped before answering the phone.
"Hello?" He asked.
"HEY IT'S ME!" Said Papyrus. "I WAS JUST THINKING… YOU, ME, AND UNDYNE SHOULD ALL HANG OUT SOMETIME! I THINK YOU WOULD MAKE GREAT PALS." Nemo looked down at the phone, then over at Undyne.
"You don't say." He said drily.
"LET'S MEET UP AT HER HOUSE LATER!" Said Papyrus. He then hung up. Suddenly Undyne was standing over them.
"Stop running away!" She shouted.
"...No." Said Nemo as he and Frisk took off. They went through an entryway and found themselves in an area full of tall rocks over lava. Nemo didn't have time to be concerned as they ran past another sentry station that Sans was snoozing at, which made Undyne stop to glare angrily at him as they crossed another fake bridge. The two stopped for breath once across, and saw Undyne slowly walk to them.
But just as she reached the end, she mumbled, "Armor… so… hot… But I can't... give up..." Before collapsing.
"Uh…" Said Nemo as he looked at the downed fish monster. "Crud." He looked around and saw a water cooler. He ran over and grabbed a cup and filled it with water before running to her. He then poured the water on her. "She's a fish, they like water, right?" He thought.
After the cup was empty, Undyne was still for a moment before standing up. She looked around in confusion before looking down at him. She said nothing as she walked away. Nemo groaned as he fell/sat down. "Paaain. I'm in pain. Pain, pain, pain." He groaned.
"Are you ok?" Asked Frisk worriedly. Nemo tilted his head back to look at them without actually getting up before lifting both hands into the air and pointing at his bloody and torn clothes. "Oh, right."
"C'mon," Said Nemo as he slowly stood up, "let's just keep moving."
"Ok." Said Frisk. The two then made their way to the west and soon found themselves at another glowing star. Frisk proceeded to grab the star, and the feeling of warmth came and Nemo's wounds were healed.
Speaking of warmth. "Holy cow it's hot out here, where are we?" Asked Nemo.
"I think it's called Hotland." Said Frisk.
"Ah, yes, that explains it." Said Nemo as he reached up and took his scarf off before tying it around his torso like a sash. Then a thought occurred to him. "Say, wasn't Sans back there? At that sentry station?" He asked.
"I think so, I'm pretty sure I saw him while we were running from Undyne." Said Frisk
"Let's go say hi." Said Nemo.
"Alright." Said Frisk. The two then made their way back the way they came, past the water cooler and over the fake bridge. But when they reached the sentry station, it was sans a Sans.
"Huh, guess he left." Said Nemo.
"Maybe he took a shortcut?" Suggested Frisk.
"I mean, I guess?" said Nemo. "Whatever, let's head back, and keep going."
"Ok." Said Frisk.
They crossed the bridge for a third time, and made their way back to the star. From there they had three options, go North, to the path the guards blocked, South, or East. "Any preference?" Asked Nemo.
"Let's go right." Said Frisk.
"Right." Said Nemo as they made their way South. Suddenly they were in a water area with a hooded person standing on a floating boat. "What the?" Asked Nemo.
"Tra la la. I'm the riverman Or am I the riverwoman…? It doesn't really matter. I love to ride in my boat. Would you care to join me?" Asked the Riverperson.
"This seems sketchy." Thought Nemo.
"Sure." Said Frisk.
"Surprising no one." Thought Nemo with a flat expression.
"Where would you like to go? Snowdin? Or perhaps Waterfall?" Asked the Riverperson.
"I guess… take us to Waterfall." Said Nemo.
"Then we're off." Said the Riverperson. The duo climbed onto the boat as it began to float down the stream. As they floated, the Riverperson spoke. "Tra la la. The waters are wild today. That's good luck…"
Nemo was tempted to ask what they meant by that, but before he could, they arrived at their destination. "Come again some time. Tra la la." Said the Riverperson.
"Thank you." Said Frisk. Together they made their way up the path and found themselves in front of that old turtle monster's shop.
"Wait, why are we here? We're supposed to be leaving the Underground, what good is coming back to Waterfall going to do?" Asked Nemo.
"Aren't we gonna visit Undyne?" Asked Frisk.
"Oh." Said Nemo as he recalled their brief phone call with Papyrus while Undyne was chasing them. "Right. Wait, we don't even know where she lives." Said Nemo.
"I think I might know." Said Frisk as they went left.
"What?" Asked Nemo in confusion as he followed them. Next thing he knew, they were back in that quiet area with one of the stars. "Why…?" He asked. Instead of an answer though, Frisk made their way up one of the left paths. Nemo blinked before chasing after them.
Lo and behold, they were now standing in front of a fish themed house, and in front of the door was Papyrus. "How did you…? He asked in confusion.
"I just kind of… knew." Said Frisk.
"Whatever." Said Nemo, deciding not to question it. They then made their way to Papyrus. "Hey there Papyrus."
"I ASKED UNDYNE IF WE COULD ALL HANG… BUT SHE SAID SOMETHING WEIRD. SHE SAID SHE WON'T HANG OUT WITH A MURDERER. BUT… HMM… I DON'T REMEMBER MURDERING ANYONE… THOUGH I AM A PRETTY BRUTAL KIND OF GUY. THEN SHE SAID SOMETHING ABOUT WANTING TO… FIGHT SOME KIND OF BAD GUY. BUT SHE SEEMS VERY… WEAK FROM SOMETHING. SHE STEPPED OUT AND COLLAPSED IN THE DOORWAY. SO I'M JUST WAITING HERE IN CASE SHE NEEDS ME. SINCE SHE HATES BEING WAITED ON HAND AND FOOT. I THINK WE'LL HAVE TO HANG OUT LATER…" Said Papyrus.
Frisk looked over at Nemo in concern, throughout all of this, he hadn't said a word, his face didn't even change, just staying at the same neutral expression. Then he smiled and said. "Sure thing Papyrus, we'll see you around. C'mon Frisk."
"O-ok." They said. The pair turned around and walked away. Once they went around the corner and out of Papyrus's sight, Nemo stopped and leaned against a wall with a sigh. "Are you ok?" They asked.
"She's right you know." Said Nemo. "I'm a murderer."
"N-." Said Frisk.
"No. Don't. It doesn't matter." Said Nemo as he stood up. "I can't change the past, and I still have a promise to keep. Let's get back to Hotland."
"Ok." Said Frisk as they followed him.
"I have to keep moving forward, no matter the cost. I have to get them out of here." Thought Nemo as they made their way back to where the Riverperson was waiting.
"Tra la la. Care for a ride?" They asked.
"Yeah." Said Nemo.
"Where will we go today?" Asked the Riverperson.
"Take us back to Hotland please." Said Nemo.
"Then we're off…" Replied the Riverperson as the humans climbed aboard the boat. The duo suddenly felt the boat rise higher revealing a pair of legs.
"What the…?" Said Nemo. The boat then began to gallop, creating large pillars of water behind them with each step.
"Tra la la. Temmie Village… the room before the darkening lantern room." Sang the Riverperson.
"...What?" Asked Nemo.
Soon after the duo reached their destination and the boat sank back into the water, hiding its legs once more. "Come again some time. Tra la la." Said the Riverperson.
"Sure…" Said Nemo as he and Frisk stepped off the boat.
Page 20 End
Chapter 3 End
DUALTALE