:):

We're almost halfway through Waterfall and the tension is steadily building!

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When it Rains

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"Undyne?"

"Yeah, dude?" The blue fish lady responded after a short moment. She had once again zoned out during their weekly cooking lesson. Something was definitely bugging her right now but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Where Are The Tomatoes?" Papyrus asked as he looked around the messy counter. How could they make pasta without tomatoes? Perhaps she had planned on them making a creamy alfredo today. The skeleton's expression became conflicted. He loved pasta, but only when it was smothered in delicious tangy sauce.

"Oh, uh, right! We're gonna use some canned sauce this time. I didn't have time to get fresh ingredients today." Reaching up into the cabinet, the Head of the Royal Guard rummaged around. "Ah, here it is." She grinned as she grabbed a large can. "Now where's the can opener... Oh! right." She cackled as she produced a bright glowing spear.

Papyrus stared down in slight horror at the mauled can of tomato sauce. Undyne was being even more destructive than normal today. She was on edge about something but he wasn't about to ask. Taking the can, Papyrus poured it into the large pot on the stove as he tried to figure it out by himself. It was safer that way!

Undyne wasn't the only one acting weird, the tall skeleton realized as he grabbed a long spoon. Dr. Alphys was also acting strange. There was usually a near constant stream of updates on her social media page, but lately it had become mysteriously quiet. "Have You Spoken To Dr. Alphys Lately?"

*Crunch*

The pathetic brittle nature of the dried spaghetti was no match for Undyne's brute strength. Releasing a forced laugh the fish lady loosened her grip slightly, letting a few pieces fall to the floor. "No, have you? HAVE YOU?"

Flinching, Papyrus held up his gloved hands in a placating manner. "Well, No. She Hasn't Posted Anything New In Awhile, So That's Why I As-"

"I think she's ignoring me!" Undyne exclaimed as she dropped the broken pasta into the pot angrily. "She won't pick up the phone and when I send her texts, it takes FOREVER for her to respond. And it's usually just a one or two word reply!"

"Maybe She's Just Busy." Papyrus tried to reason. "Have You Tried Visiting Her At Her Lab?"

"No..." Undyne flushed slightly and looked away.

"Would You Like Me To Accompany You?" The grinning skeleton offered.

"NO!" Undyne's face flushed even deeper. Whether it was out of anger or embarrassment, only she could be sure. This was so ridiculous! She should just march right over there and demand to know what's up! She should... but...

An awkward silence stretched on for an incredibly uncomfortable twelve seconds before an invigorating melody rang out. Snatching up her phone with more force than was necessary, Undyne looked to see who was calling. The fish lady stared down at the screen in disbelief. It... It was Alphys!

"H- Hey, Alphys! It's been awhile!" Undyne mentally cursed herself for stuttering. How uncool! It was only cool when Alphys did it.

Papyrus cocked his skull slightly. He knew it was rude to listen in on his friend's conversation but the look on her face was ...disturbing. What could Alphys have said? Did something bad happen?

"I understand." Undyne said, her voice eerily steady. "It won't get far."

Tucking her phone away, The Head of the Royal Guard directed her full attention to her friend. "Sorry, Papyrus. We'll have to do this another time." She apologized. "You should head straight home."

"What Did Dr. Alphys Say?" Papyrus asked worriedly. "Is Something Wrong?"

"Nah." Undyne grinned. "Everything's gonna be fine. I'm going to make sure of it!"

...

Together, the two children quietly beheld the strange horned statue they found sitting in a room further into the cave system. Water dripped from the ceiling directly over its head making it appear even more forlorn. Was this really a statue? It looked so real. Almost like someone had just sat down and then turned to stone somehow.

"They look kind of sad, don't you think?" Fearia asked, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"I wonder who they're supposed to be?" The monster child replied. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone like that in the history books from school."

"You go to school?" The little girl asked as she turned to her friend. He looked smarter already for some reason.

"Well, duh. Everyone has to go to school. It's like some kind of stupid rule. ...Wait." Turning to the snow bunny kit, the boy's eyes widened. "You don't?"

"I'm not allowed." Fearia shrugged before putting on a smile. "But it sounds fun!"

"Fun? Try boring." The lizard boy complained. "Why aren't you allowed to go? Is it because you're too young?"

"Uh uh, it's because I'm..." An abomination... The small child closed her mouth in an instant and looked away dejectedly as the words echoed inside her mind. "I... uh..."

"I get it." The monster kid smiled as he nodded in perceived understanding. "The school's near Hotland. For a snow rabbit, that must be really unpleasant. Heck, even Undyne hates it there. It kinda sucks. They should have the school directly in the Capital. Come to think of it... Why don't they?"

"Have you been to the Capital?" Fearia asked. She was quite sure she'd heard of this place somewhere before...

"Only like a million times." The monster kid bragged as he began to make his way out of the room. "That's where Undyne goes to report to the King."

Walking past a basket of colored sticks, Fearia followed after the knowledgeable monster. Leading the way, Poff happily splashed in as many puddles as he could while the ceiling began to leak steadily onto their heads. It almost felt like it was raining. "What does she report?"

"She's the Captain of the Royal Guard." The boy reminded. "So, you know, like official guard stuff. Like finding humans! That's official business, y'know."

"It is?" Fearia frowned. "Why?"

"Duh! Human's are the bad guys!" The boy couldn't believe she had asked that. Seriously, what rock did she live under until now? "That's why we have Undyne to protect us."

The little girl slowed her pace as she contemplated those words. Sure, she hadn't met very many good humans, but she still didn't think of herself as a bad guy. Frisk wasn't a bad guy! ...she couldn't say the same for her father though... Because of him, she couldn't quite bring herself to defend all of humanity from this boy's harsh accusations.

Walking through the falling water droplets, the monster kid grinned. "Man, Undyne is sooooo cool. She beats up bad guys and NEVER loses. If I was a human, I would wet the bed every night... knowing she was gonna beat me up! Ha ha."

"Hey!" Fearia objected loudly as she hurried to catch up with him. "That's gross!"

The lizard boy only laughed obnoxiously at the disagreeable snow bunny kit. Her sulky expression along with her puffed out cheeks was just too much.

After a bit of quiet with only the sound of imitation rain to fill the silence, the boy decided to fill the empty space with a story. "So, one time. We had a school project where we had to take care of a flower. The king - we had to call him "Mr. Dreemurr" - volunteered to donate his own flowers. He ended up coming to school and teaching the class about responsibility and stuff. That got me thinking... YO! How COOL would it be if UNDYNE came to school!? She could beat up ALL the teachers!"

Feaira silently stared up at the boy, her eyebrows scrunched together slightly. Was he serious?

Flushing a little, the boy chuckled in spite of himself. "Umm, maybe she wouldn't beat up the teachers... She's too cool to ever hurt an innocent person!"

A smile formed on Fearia's face at hearing this. Undyne sounded really great. Like a fairytale hero! "I can't wait to meet her."

The boy beamed down at the little bunny kit. "You won't be disappointed!"

...

Amber eyes widened in wonder as the small rainy corridor opened up to reveal an unbelievably vast cavern cathedral. This was beyond belief! How did a place this ginormous exist under a mountain?

Off in the distance, a massive castle loomed. Fearia had never seen a castle so grand in all of her life. That could be because all of the castles on the surface were riddled with battle scars or had just been completely demolished. But, in truth, the real reason was because she had never been allowed to leave the village... Until recently that is.

"Amazing..."

"Yeah, it's pretty awesome..." The monster kid agreed as they stared at the impressive scene for awhile. "One day, I'm gonna go there and check it out."

"Can I come, too?" The little girl asked hopefully.

"Sure!"

After a long walk through the massive cathedral, the two children finally reached the other side. The narrow tunnel that they ducked into almost felt claustrophobic in comparison, though it wasn't much different from most of the cave arteries they had already traversed.

Another basket of colored sticks awaited them in the next area. Fearia eyed them curiously. She still didn't know what they were. The wooden sign probably had an explanation carved into it. If only she could read the dumb words! But alas...

"Yo, this ledge is way too steep..."

"Hm?" The little girl's attention was redirected to her friend. He was standing next to an inconveniently high ledge. That was definitely going to be a problem. How would they get up?

"Hmm..." The monster kid contemplated aloud. "Yo, you wanna see Undyne, right...?"

"Uh huh?" Fearia didn't see where this was going. Of course she wanted to see Undyne. She had to!

Kneeling down, the boy gestured for her to come over. "Climb on my shoulders." He offered. "I think you'll be able to reach. -Oof! H- hey!" He cried out as Poff shamelessly used him as a step ladder. The small white dog easily made it up in two impressive leaps. Plopping his fluffy butt down, he waited patiently, tongue lolling out of his mouth in a happy display.

Being much more careful than the naughty dog monster, Fearia climbed onto the boy's shoulders. "Okay." She said as she held onto him as he slowly stood back up. Reaching out, the small child grabbed the ledge and clambered over. That hadn't been as much of an obstacle as she had thought. "easy peasy" as Sans would say.

Looking over the side to her friend, Fearia held out her hand. Wait... Realization struck as her hand sunk a little. "How are you going to get up here?" He didn't have any arms! How had she forgotten? Quickly, the child scanned the area for some kind of solution, but there was none.

The monster kid chuckled apologetically as he stepped away. "You go on ahead. Don't worry about me. I always find a way to get through!" Flashing her a reassuring smile, he turned and quickly exited the room in search of a different route.

"But..." Staring at where he had just been, Fearia felt a frown tug at her lips. Had he just left her here? In the middle of a deep dark cave? Alone...? Poff snuffled the little girl's messy auburn hair before giving her cheek a lick, his fluffy tail wagging a mile a minute. Well, she wasn't really alone. But still...

Not too far away, a healing star glimmered in the dim light, beckoning the child over. Sitting down next to it, Fearia decided that this was a great time to take a small break. She was exhausted and hungry. And now she was also unpleasantly damp and cold. The warm winter outfit she was wearing probably wasn't meant to be soaked through by rain. It wasn't drying off that quickly either. Probably due to the high humidity in Waterfall. Shivering, the little girl curled up next to the magical star.

Maybe she would take a short nap...

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Never fear, Poff is here! :)

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And in the next chapter, we'll all see why that's a good thing...

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Thanks for reading!

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Sheii Bae~