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Thank you, everyone, for the wonderful reviews!
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This chapter, uh... the title says it all...
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A Thorn In Your Side
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Stepping into the Judgment Hall, Asgore was surprised to find his Royal Captain leaning against one of the large pillars. Cradling her injured arm that was now bound up in a sling, the young woman had her head down in a state of repose. Was she sleeping?
"Undyne?" Asgore hadn't been necessarily quiet as he approached, but still the suspended captain made no sign that she had heard him. So, she really was sleeping. Sighing, the King shook his head tiredly before trying again to get her attention.
Snapping out of her pain killer induced nap, Undyne awoke with a start when she heard her name being called. Nearly falling over, she was caught by a large furry hand. "Whoa... hey!" She greeted the King awkwardly. "I wasn't sleeping."
That was the least believable lie he'd heard so far today, Asgore thought to himself dryly. "Undyne, you should be at home resting. What are you still doing here?"
"I couldn't just leave!" Undyne protested loudly. "I needed to be here so I could help. What if the human gave you some trouble?"
"That wasn't necessary, Undyne." Asgore frowned slightly. "If I might remind you, you're off duty for the next two months."
"But-"
"As for the human." Asgore continued, unimpeded by the fiery woman's complaints. "Fearia will be staying in the Underground for the foreseeable future and she is not to be harmed."
Undyne felt as if a bucket of ice water had just been dumped over her head as she stared at the King, dumfounded. "W-what?"
"This might be the perfect opportunity for you to try and understand humans a bit better." Asgore smiled as he gave his Captain a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Who knows, you might even make a new friend. But first, I think you should start with an apology."
"You... want me to apologize...?" Undyne felt her eye involuntarily twitch with barely contained rage. "To the human?!"
"That would be the appropriate thing to do." Asgore nodded before giving his captain a stern look. "However, if you do happen to speak with the child, please try not to frighten her again. She is very young."
Undyne grit her sharp teeth together furiously as she watched the King walk away. She could not believe this! How had that tiny human managed to fool even Asgore? This wasn't right... What about the barrier? That runt was supposed to be the Sixth soul. They would only need one more afterwards. So, why was the King letting it live? What made this human so special? No matter how much she tried, Undyne just couldn't seem to understand.
Turning, she glared towards the King's garden. If the human was still there, she was going to get some answers...
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Leaving the Judgment Hall, Asgore privately mulled over his decision as he walked towards his house. He didn't regret sparing the child but he did worry how the other monsters would react. Fearia's importance was something only he and a few others would understand. There simply weren't that many monsters left who could remember a time before the barrier. Nearly everyone presently in the Underground had been born here. Just like Undyne, they knew nothing of the Surface or of humans. So, how could he expect them to understand that not all humans were bad?
It would take time, but he hoped that little Fearia would eventually be accepted for what she was. She, after all, had no problem accepting monsters so maybe, in time, she would be granted the same kind of courtesy. Perhaps introducing her gradually would be the best course of action. Until then, it might be wise to keep her safe and well away from crowded places.
Arriving back at his house, Asgore was rather perplexed when he spotted the old gnarled tortoise shell sitting rather obtrusively inside his living room. He'd nearly forgotten he had invited his old friend to stay with him for a day or two. With an empty cup of tea and an open book on the floor, it appeared as if the elderly monster had made himself right at home. Asgore gave the old tortoise shell a sympathetic smile. Poor Gerson had tried so hard to stay awake until the human arrived, but he just couldn't quite make it. For his age, it was admirable he had even made it till midnight. He'd tell him the good news later when he woke up.
For now, Asgore left his friend to sleep while he headed further into his house. Opening a door he hadn't opened in years, the large goat monster entered into his son's old room. Everything was how he had left it all those years ago. Back on that terrible day... Looking from his son's bed, Asgore's eyes traveled across the room to the other bed. A sad expression appeared on his face as he was reminded of exactly how fragile human children were. As hard as they tried, none of their healing magic had been enough to save poor Chara.
Pushing his nagging fears aside, the kindly goat monster looked through the large wardrobe filled with children's clothes. It was as he had expected, both Asriel and Chara had been just a tiny bit bigger than little Fearia. Still, he was sure they would fit her better than what she was currently wearing, and maybe in time they would fit perfectly. Until then, these would have to do. He vaguely wondered if she would like green and yellow. Perhaps a different color was more her preference? Either way, there would be more than enough time to ask her about this later on.
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"Do you think if I asked real nicely, Mr. Asgore would give me a spare Delta Rune?" Fearia asked as she peaked underneath the sheet draped over an unused throne. It was placed off to the side and had gathered a modest amount of cobwebs. Who's was this?
"dunno, kid, why not give it a try." Sans answered tiredly as he tried to muffle an unexplainable yawn. What? Did she think just because Asgore was King, he had Delta Runes just lying around his house? She probably did. Eh, he'd let her believe it... Sans didn't have the heart nor the energy right now to tell her otherwise.
Keeping an eye light on the curious child, Sans sighed to himself as she started to disappear under the sheet. "you know... i bet he'd be less likely to give you one if he catches you messing with his stuff." Lifting an eyebrow bone, the skeleton smirked in amusement as the tiny human instantly popped back out from underneath the sheet.
"I- I wasn't messing with his stuff!" Fearia lied as she guiltily stepped away from the unused throne. "Don't tell him... okay?"
"what's to tell?" Sans shrugged with a grin as he looked away. "i didn't see anything."
"Yeah, right." Fearia giggled in good humor as she left the thrones and waded back into the golden flowers. He was probably right anyways and she definitely didn't want to get into trouble. Looking up, the little girl studied the light coming through the crystals overhead. "Is that sunlight? Does this mean we're really close to the Surface?"
"it might be sunlight." Sans replied casually as he looked up towards the cracks in the ceiling as well. "i wouldn't really know. but we are close to the surface. this room is probably the closest place in the underground. you can even hear the birds overhead."
"You can?" Fearia listened intently for a moment before a small frown fell in place. "I don't hear any birds..."
"huh...?" Sans' grin lessened slightly as he finally noticed the distinct absence of chirping. That's odd... He must have been too preoccupied or too exhausted before to have noticed, but now the silence was almost deafening. Actually... it wasn't complete silence. There was an extremely high pitched trill in the air, almost like a long dog whistle before it changed to a different frequency. What the hell was that? "that's strange."
"I'll tell you what's strange." A new and unexpected voice growled from behind them.
Turning, Sans felt his grin go flat when he spotted the recently suspended Captain standing in the doorway. She looked even more angry than she had before, which was saying something. This was not what he needed right now. Getting into an unwanted altercation with Undyne was something he'd really rather avoid if he could. Especially if it was in front of the kid.
Stuffing his bony hands into his jacket pockets, Sans gave Undyne a passive-aggressive grin as he subtly stepped in front of the child. Even though she was a few feet away, the gesture was clearly understood. Back Off. "undyne, pal, did you happen to speak with asgore recently?"
"Yes." Undyne acknowledged with a cold glare as she took a step closer. "And he told me the strangest thing..."
Fearia felt a chill run down her spine as she took a few steps back further into the garden of flowers as she watched. Undyne looked really, really mad right now. Why did this woman hate her so much? Was it just because she was human or had she done something wrong? Maybe she had accidentally offended her in some way. Whatever it was, she was totally willing to apologize for it!
Quietly backing away from the volatile situation, Fearia was truly thankful that Sans was here right now. She didn't know what she would do if she was alone again like how she had been back in Waterfall. At least with her friend here, she didn't feel quite so vulnerable. But still, it was wise to keep her distance. Just in case things got scary.
The little girl was so preoccupied with trying to stay well away from the angry fish lady's rapidly flaring temper, that she hardly noticed when something wrapped around her wrist. It was only when she received a harsh tug, did she finally look down in confusion. What she saw, chilled her right down to the bone. Staring back up at her from among the multitude of innocent golden blooms, was a face she'd hoped never to see again.
"Heya there, buddy, it's been awhile, hasn't it?" Flowey asked, a friendly smile in place. "Didja miss me?"
Sans felt his irritation grow as he tried to calmly reason with the Captain of the Royal Guard. "look, if you have a problem with his decision, why not talk to him about it?" The skeleton suggested tiredly. He was fairly certain Undyne wasn't a real danger to the kid at this point, but her very presence was contentious right now and that was putting him on edge. Did she come all the way back here just to vent at him?
"I DO have a problem with his decision!" Undyne shot back. "Why would he decide to keep the human alive? Without its Soul, this puts us no closer to breaking the barrier. We need that Soul!"
Narrowing his eye sockets slightly, Sans glared up at Undyne. "nobody's taking the kid's soul." He stated icily, rejecting the suggestion outright. "i don't give a damn about breaking the barrier. not if it means she has to die for that to happen. it's not worth it."
Undyne deflated a little upon hearing his words. She just couldn't seem to understand his attachment to this human, but it was becoming quite obvious that arguing some sense into the Judge wasn't something that was likely to happen anytime soon. She felt like she had somehow woken up in an alternate universe where nothing made sense anymore!
Drawing in a deep breath, Undyne released it slowly as she finally relented. She wasn't going to win this so she might as well try and understand it. "Fine... If Asgore says it can stay, then where's he going to keep it? Even though it's small it's still a human."
"she is going to be staying at our place." Sans answered simply, emphasizing the pronoun as he did. "the kid really likes paps, so asgore said it was okay." He grinned as he gave a casual shrug.
"Wait." Undyne furrowed her brows in disbelief. "He's allowing it to walk around free? But-"
"she's not as dangerous as you think she is." Sans interrupted with a slight roll of his eye lights. "why not try talking to her?" He suggested as he gave a small nod of his skull, gesturing behind him.
Undyne frowned grumpily before looking past the annoying skeleton towards where she had last seen the human. Not immediately seeing the tiny creature, the Captain squinted as she scanned the garden of flowers. "I don't see it." She finally admitted after a few seconds of searching.
Feeling his grin lessen, Sans turned slightly to look over his shoulder. Despite not wanting to take his eye lights away from the impulsive Captain, he couldn't seem to quell his growing concern. Not seeing the small child either, he quickly turned around. "kid?" Receiving no reply, the skeleton's worries intensified.
"Maybe it's hiding." Undyne shrugged as she continued to scan the area. "That's what a smart human would be doing. Then again..."
Sans didn't reply to that as he walked over to the garden. This wasn't like her at all. She would have at least answered him by now. Something wasn't right, he could feel it in his bones. Spotting movement in the tall overgrowth of blossoms, the skeleton's eye lights zeroed in on the location. A second later, he saw a tiny hand waving wildly in the air before grabbing hold of a large golden flower and disappearing with it back out of sight. "kid!" Sans gave a frantic call as he waded into the sea of flowers. "hold on, i'm coming!"
Bewildered, Undyne rushed after him. She didn't know what the hell was going on but she could understand the fear in his voice. The human must be in trouble. Was it being attacked? By what?
Teleporting before he was even half way there, Sans reappeared in an instant next to the flailing child. Something was wrapped around her neck and her face wasn't the right color. Identifying the problem immediately, the skeleton dropped to his knees and grabbed hold of the prickly vines. They were ridiculously tight! Summoning a sharp bone, he severed the plant at its source. Now loosened, Sans quickly unwound the length of vine from around the little girl's bruised and bleeding neck.
Gasping in desperately needed air, Fearia wheezed and coughed as she tentatively touched her sore skin. A moment later, her face scrunched up and sobs of anguish began to pour out of her injured throat. That felt just like her nightmare! She thought she was going to die for sure! Feeling her small body being lifted from the ground, Fearia latched onto the soft warm jacket that she was pressed into.
Sans felt awful as he held the little girl close. How could he have allowed that to happen? He took his eye lights off of her for not even two minutes and something almost strangled the poor kid. Right behind his back. Glaring, he carefully looked around for whatever had done this. He knew he hadn't killed it. That weed was still here somewhere...
"What the hell happened?!" Undyne called out as she tried to make it over to them as quickly as she could. "Is the human oka-!?" The fish lady's question was cut short when she felt something wrap around her leg right before it was yanked out from beneath her. Falling face first into the garden of flowers, the Captain was temporarily put out of commission as her shoulder exploded in pain.
Hearing Undyne scream, Sans turned to see what had happened, only to have something small and hard collide with his skull. That freakin' hurt! Before he even had time to react, two more pellets shot at him in rapid succession, hitting him in the same exact place.
*Crack*
Sans felt his eye lights go out for a short moment of stunned silence before his left eye socket ignited with blue and yellow light. Summoning a pair of blasters set to offence, he was one second away from teleporting them to a safer location. Unfortunately, it was a second too late. Looking down, Sans was shocked to see vines slithering like serpents up his tibia, anchoring him to the ground. Not stopping, the thorny vines quickly surged up his body before winding around an arm.
"Hands off, ya Smiley Trashbag." Flowey sneered up from the nearby flowers as he yanked the skeleton's arm away from the tiny human. "I found her first, and you know what they say..." A twisted smile spread across the flower's face as he wrapped his vines around the small child. "Finder's keepers..."
"i don't think so." Sans said as he tightened his hold on the terrified child with his free hand. Glaring directly down at the yellow flower with the fiendish face, the skeleton gave a vicious grin as his blasters took aim. "stay right there, ya nasty weed." One blinding flash of light later and the vines ensnaring them fell slack.
Hearing the blast, Undyne forced herself back to her feet as she looked around in alarm. "What the hell are you shooting at?!"
"undyne, get down!"
Instinct taking over, the Captain ducked just in time to save herself from a direct headshot. Barely catching a glimpse of the speeding projectiles, the fish lady's eye widened as she quickly assessed the situation. They were up against something she had never seen before, and whatever it was, it was very strong.
Crouching, Undyne looked over to the Judge and was struck by what she saw. Holding the tiny human protectively, the skeleton was trying to pull off a tangle of twitching vines from around the small creature's waist. What was most alarming, however, was the large crack that had appeared on the side of his skull. Something had hit him hard enough to break bone.
Feeling the ground move from underneath her, Undyne dodged out of the way right before a vine could grab ahold of her leg again. "What are we fighting?!" She needed as much information as she could get. The sooner she knew, the better she could adjust herself to the enemy.
"it's a flower." Sans answered as he threw the last of the vines away from the child.
"A flower?" Undyne looked around the garden, her brow creasing in frustration. "You gotta be kidding me... Which one?!"
"it's the one with the face." Sans tried to explain. "i'll be right back, i need to take the kid away from here."
"You're not going anywhere!" Flowey growled as his vines shot up from the ground beneath the skeleton's feet and latched onto the child once more. "At least not with what's mine."
Targeting the half singed flower, Undyne summoned a spear and let it fly. Summoning another a second later, she grabbed it with her free hand and charged towards the strange plant monster as fast as she could. She didn't have her heavy armor to protect her, but without it she was at least twice as fast.
Dodging the first spear, Flowey barely had time to escape underground and away from the fish lady's brute strength. He hadn't expected her to be so quick. Maybe he should have broken her leg instead of just tripping her. Maybe he still could. With this new interference, it was becoming even more difficult to get what he wanted. Why couldn't they have just kept yapping for another minute or so. He could have gotten the brat's Soul and been gone by now. This wasn't how he had planned it!
Oh well...
He had more than enough power now to deal with these two idiots. At least for a little while. He needed to hurry, though, before it wore off. Drawing more magic from the assortment of fractured Souls he had absorbed, Flowey pulled out all of the stops. Feeling his roots fan out from underneath the entirety of the room, he let his vines creep up the cavern walls and hang down from the ceiling as he rose up from the center of the garden. Face becoming monstrous, Flowey let out an eerie psychotic laugh.
"What the hell is that...?" Undyne asked as she stared up at the enormous flower.
"I'm you're worst nightmare..." Flowey grinned maniacally as he snapped a vine around the stunned Captain, knocking the wind out of her and ensnaring her body in a constrictive grasp.
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Who saw this coming?
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In the next chapter...
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Sheii Bae~
