"...Hello?"
She was in a void. Nothing but darkness no matter where she turned. And nobody but herself in this vast expanse of nothingness.
"Hellooooo?" she called again, just to make sure no-one else was there.
To her surprise, she got an answer this time.
"H...help..." a tiny voice squeaked. A very weak, high voice, like that of a young child, echoed across the void.
"Hello?" she called again, hoping for another response. "Anyone there?"
"Help..." the voice pleaded again, somewhat stronger than before. This time, she could pinpoint the direction it was coming from; just up ahead.
"Don't worry. Just keep talking and I'll get there!" she told them.
"I...I need help...Please...Save me..."
As she drew nearer, she saw a tiny, white light. Was that the person in distress?
"I'm coming! I'm coming, I'll help you!"
She ran across the darkness, now, until she was directly in front of the tiny, glowing orb of light...What was this?
The light dimmed, revealing it to be...
A small, white inverted heart, quivering in midair where it floated.
A monster SOUL...?
All of a sudden, the light of the SOUL began to fade, and it lowered to the invisible ground.
"Help...!" it rasped once more.
"No...No!"
She tried to grab it, but it just phased right through her hands like a ghost. In no time at all, it had disappeared beneath her feet.
"No, you can't...no...Come back...please..." she called.
*But nobody came.
She tried to walk away, feeling defeated, only to find that she couldn't move her legs. Ginger looked down; they were tied and secured with winding vines coming up from out of the inky ground, and they began to wrap themselves higher up around her and tighten, threatening to constrict her like a hungry python.
And a familiar-looking being popped up out of the ground.
"...Oh, no..."
"You were TOO LATE," Flowey snarled, his giant, malicious grin larger and nastier than ever. "You don't get it, do you? In this world, it's kill or BE killed. And you're in TERRIBLE danger right now! And there's only one way to escape!"
"Tell me, or I'll chew through your vines with my own teeth if have to!" she threatened.
"If you don't wake up, they'll get you. They'll ALL turn on you! Nobody really cares about you! Now, wake up...Wake up..."
"Wake up...? Is this a..."
"Come on...Open your eyes..."
Flowey's tiny, oozy voice suddenly began to change into something a bit more...harsh, yet genuine, and everything before her began to fade into white.
"It's almost time to..."
The words grew more muffled, but the voice grew ever more familiar.
"COME ON...YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME NOW!" she heard once more, before everything around her disappeared.
I won't leave you...
...
"HEY! IT ACTUALLY WORKED!"
"Gyah!"
Ginger awoke with a jolt, and leapt up onto her feet in an instant and clenched her fists, her fight-or-flight instincts kicked fully into overdrive. Her vision still swimming, she turned her head this way and that, until right when it began to clear, she saw a familiar-looking image of white and red. She blinked, and her eyes finally processed the picture properly.
"Papyrus?" she acknowledged. He had his arms crossed over his front in defense, apparently fearing that she might attack in her confusion.
"AH, YES, HUMAN!" he confirmed, his voice just as welcoming as ever. "I FIGURED YOU'D BE SOMEWHERE NEAR BY, SO I DID SOME SEARCHING, AND NAPSTABLOOK DIRECTED ME TO YOUR POSITION! RIGHT HERE, SNOOZING JUST OUTSIDE BLOOK ACRES! AT FIRST, I THOUGHT YOU WERE A ROCK, YOU WERE SO STILL, BUT WHEN I DREW NEARER, IT DID INDEED TURN OUT TO BE A DOZING HUMAN HIDING BENEATH A CLOAK!"
"You know-Oh, jeez..."
Her head and eyes suddenly felt extremely heavy, and her vision began to blur again. Her legs threatened to cave in on her if she didn't strive just a bit harder to stand.
"ARE YOU ALRIGHT, HUMAN? YOU SUDDENLY DON'T LOOK SO WELL...MAYBE WE SHOULD WAIT TO DO THIS ANOTHER TI-"
"No, no, it's fine," she assured him, the sensation beginning to fade. "Just got a little light headed, is all. Probably had something to do with being woken up like that, heh..."
"OH...MY APOLOGIES, HUMAN. I-IF I'D KNOWN THAT WOULD HAPPEN-"
"Chill, dude. I'm fine. Just..."
She stretched her arms over her head and shoulders until her spine made an extremely satisfying *crack,* to which she let them go limp.
"Just gotta wake myself up a little more, that's all."
"HM...MAYBE I SHOULD HAVE SUGGESTED SPAGHETTI TO HIM..."
"To who?"
"OH! A FRIEND OF MINE CAME ALONG AND OFFERED TO HELP ROUSE YOU FROM YOUR SLUMBER! HE JUST LEFT! HIS METHOD OF DOING SO WAS...ODD, I WILL ADMIT. MOST OF THE TIME, HE WAS WHISPERING THINGS INTO YOUR EAR; THINGS LIKE 'HELP ME,' AND 'YOU'RE IN DANGER.' STRANGE, ISN'T IT?"
"A...friend?" she questioned. "What, uh...What was his name?"
"OH, HE AND I ARE CLOSELY ACQUAINTED! HE POPS IN WHENEVER I'M FEELING DOWN AND LONELY AND CHEERS ME RIGHT UP! PLEASENT LITTLE THING! ERM... 'FLOWERY,' I THINK HIS NAME IS, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT!"
She tensed. Sans' warning from their visit to Grillby's came back to her.
"he said that sometimes, when no-one else is around...a flower appears and whispers things to him. flattery, advice, encouragement...predictions. weird, huh? someone must be using an echo flower to pull some sort of prank on him...just keep an eye out and tell me if you see anything like that, alright, kid?"
She knew all too well the identity of the flower. The next time she saw Sans, she'd be sure to notify him about this.
"Well...I'll admit, that explains a lot."
"DOES IT, NOW? WELL, I SUPPOSE THAT'S A GOOD THING, ISN'T IT?"
"Yeah...But, anyway, you know Napstablook?"
"HOW WOULD I NOT? I SEE HIM ALMOST EVERY TIME I COME AROUND HERE! A BIT OF A RECLUSE, BUT A VERY NICE FELLOW; HE SAYS THAT HE'S A BIT INTIMIDATED BY UNDYNE, BUT HE'S ALSO ALWAYS SAYING HOW MUCH HE'D LIKE TO BE FRIENDS WITH HER!"
"Next time you see him, tell him that's a bad idea," she joked.
"OH, PISH-POSH! SHE'LL COME AROUND! AS A MATTER OF FACT, THAT'S EXACTLY WHY I CAME TO ROUSE YOU! IT'S JUST ABOUT TIME TO HEAD TO HER PLACE!"
"Really?" she asked, wringing her hands in a nervous fashion. "Oh, boy...Well, guess we should go on and get it over with, I guess, huh?"
"FOLLOW ME, HUMAN!"
She tailed behind the skeleton as they headed up one of the northern paths, and smoothed herself down as she did so; she wanted to at least look presentable, even if she looked better than Undyne no matter WHAT state she was in.
The sound of someone vigorously playing the piano loudened, and they approached the house; it really DID look like its owner somewhat, sporting scales, fins, sharp teeth, a tail, and even the two windows on either side of it were shaped like angry eyes.
The funny part, though, was that it somehow managed to be easier on Ginger's eyes than Undyne's face.
Despite the elaborate exterior, it was a small house; smaller, even, than Toriel's home in the Ruins, maybe by a good half.
The skeleton approached the toothy, vertical door and cordially wiped his boots on the fish-bone welcome mat. Ginger removed her messenger bag, took her cloak off again and stored it away, trading it out for her blue-and-purple-striped sweater to conceal her still somewhat damp shirt before slipping the pack back on.
It was then that she noticed Papyrus was holding something in his gloved hand.
"What'chu you got there?"
"OH. THIS?"
He showed it to her; it looked like one of the bones left over from his attacks, a little red, satin bow wrapped around its middle.
"JUST A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR UNDYNE!"
"...Really?" she confirmed, curiously raising an eyebrow. "A bone. Wrapped in a satin bow. For you're..."
She cleared her throat.
"Female friend, huh?"
"I BRING THESE TO HER ALL THE TIME! SHE LOVES THEM!"
The sly smirk returned to the human's face yet again. And this time, he could see it, unlike all the other times it'd formed over the phone with him.
"Oh, REEEEAALLY?" she drawled, now out-and-out waggling her eyebrows.
"OF COURSE!" He was oblivious. "WHAT KIND OF FRIEND WOULD I BE IF I DIDN'T SHOW MY APPRECIATION FOR HER?"
"'Friend,'" she quoted with her fingers. "Uh-huh, suuuure...Nothing more than friendship going on here."
"HUMAN, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"
"Oh, forget it," she finally deflated. "You're not gonna admit it, so I won't pry."
"I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE INSINUATING, HUMAN," he said plainly. "BUT ANYWAY, I'M GOING TO SEE IF SHE'S READY. GET BEHIND ME!"
Ginger stepped behind the skeleton, easily concealed by his towering form, and Papyrus briskly rapped his knuckles on the door. The clanging piano music stopped, and just a few moments later, the teeth slid apart, and the young human tilted her head slightly to better see the captain.
Her face didn't look much different, but she looked a might smaller without her armor; she was slim, yet muscular, not unlike the human despite her superior height, and in place of the heavy panoply there was now a snug-fitting black tank top, denim leggings and a set of rusty colored boots.
"Right on the money, Papyrus!" she greeted, her jagged, toothy grin now oddly genuine. "Ready for your extra-private, one-on-one training?"
"OH, YOU BET I AM! BUT BEFORE WE GET STARTED, I HAVE SOME GOOD NEWS! A FRIEND OF MINE WANTED TO TAG ALONG THAT I'D LIKE YOU TO MEET!"
Uh, oh...
"Oh, really!" she exclaimed, her smile growing even bigger. "Well...I wasn't exactly expecting that, but hey! Changes things up a bit and makes it interesting, right?"
"MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY!"
"So, uh...Where are they?"
"OH, SHE'S RIGHT BEHIND ME! GO ON, INTRODUCE YOURSELF!" he told the guest, looking back at her and winking his eye socket. Ginger gave a shaky thumbs-up and tried to pair it with a prepared smile, but the expression came off as more of an anxious grimace.
He stepped out of the way, and the fish monster extended a murky cerulean arm to shake, her eye squinted with excitement.
"Well, hey there!" she greeted, finally opening her eye all the way. "I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting bef-"
And THEN she saw what she was really looking at, and her ecstatic smile contorted into her own, up-turned grimace, the muscles of her face and neck tightening up. She inhaled through her clenched teeth with a sharp hissing sound, and diverted her eye toward the skeleton.
His gaze darted from Undyne to Ginger, then back again. He was the only one who was genuinely smiling. She looked down at the human again; her expression was deadpan.
"Yeah, me neither."
The captain's tense face softened slightly, and she finally breathed out.
"...Why don't you two...come on in?" she strained, and they complied, Ginger refraining from making eye contact with her as she entered through the door and focusing more on her surroundings.
She hated to admit it, but the interior of the house was actually pretty cozy-looking. There was the piano she'd been banging her scaly fingers on-she was willing to bet that she could play it better than her-a door, probably leading into her bedroom, big purple-striped area rugs, a large kitchen, a small table and stools...
A giant, seven-foot sword leaning against the wall.
"Sweet Hoole..." she muttered at the sight of it, immediately shuddering at the thought of her using that to dismember her.
"OH! UNDYNE! I BROUGHT YOU SOMETHING!" he stated, showing off the ribbon-tied bone, which she took.
"Oh. Uh...Thanks, man," she said to him, rubbing the back of her head in an awkward manner. "I'll go put it with the others."
She approached one of her kitchen drawers, which turned out to be holding a vast collection of Papyrus's gifts...All bones. Ginger raised an insinuating eyebrow again.
"AND THAT'S NOT JUST ANY BONE! THAT'S THE VERY LAST ATTACK I USED IN OUR BATTLE! MY FRIEND HERE PICKED IT OUT HERSELF! ISN'T THAT RIGHT?"
"Uh...Y-yeah?"
What? I didn't...You know what, just roll with it.
"So...You ready to get started, Papyrus?" the fish asked him.
"WHOOPSY DOOPSY! I JUST REMEMBERED!" he answered. "I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM! YOU TWO HAVE FUN!"
Undyne gave him an odd look.
"Wait, but we don't-"
Too late.
The two others watched, Undyne in simple confusion and Ginger in wide-eyed bewilderment as he jumped out the window, shattering the glass and disappearing.
They looked at each other. They were alone. Together. In Undyne's house. With that giant sword sitting just a few yards away waiting to be used. The situation didn't lean in the human's favor very much.
"...So..." Ginger started, darting her eyes about and tapping her fingertips together. "...He's a cool dude, huh?"
"Zip it," Undyne snapped, her eye narrowing as she pointed a finger. "Why did you come here? To rub your victory in my face some more? To humiliate me even further?"
"...Not exactly...But now you've put the idea in my head."
"Then why'd you bother taggin' along with him in the first-...!"
She paused.
"Wait...I know what it is," she sneered, baring her teeth again. "You want to be FRIENDS, don't you? You thought that you could trip me up with your little goody two-shoes shtick and things would be all hunky dory. Isn't that right?"
"That was the idea...But it wasn't mine, it was his."
The beast glanced at the broken window where Papyrus had fled the scene from. This was HIS idea?
Honestly, I should have expected this from the start, the way he is... she said to herself.
"My personal thoughts?" the human continued. "I'm standing in front of the same fishwife that tried to kill me in cold blood, and I'd rather succumb to your huge-tailed sword against the wall than call you my friend."
"Really?" she remarked, approaching the weapon and reaching for it. "Well, now YOU'VE put an idea in MY head. Don't mind if I do."
"I'd like to see you try," the human answered, reaching in her bag for her bow and arrows.
"DANG! WHAT A SHAME!"
They both halted the retrieval of their weapons to look out the window, where the skeleton was looking into the house from.
"I REALLY THOUGHT UNDYNE COULD BE FRIENDS WITH YOU, HUMAN," he fake-lamented. "...BUT I GUESS I OVERESTIMATED HER ABILITIES. IT SEEMS SHE'S NOT UP TO THE CHALLENGE. I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN SHE WOULDN'T SUCCEED...OH, WELL. WE TRIED!"
And he vanished from the scene yet again.
"Challenge!? Wait, Papyrus, come back-!"
She was too late to stop him.
And it was just that that Ginger realized the underlying genius of Papyrus's plan as it began to unfurl in her mind.
...The reverse-psychology card...I LOVE it...!
Undyne turned back toward the human, a twisted grin pasted across her face, her eye flashing an almost insane glow. Ginger rose her hands in defense and leaned back.
"Ha...Ha ha. He thinks I'm not up for it? He thinks I can't make friends with YOU?"
"...Apparently?"
"HA! That's a laugh!...Listen up, human," she growled, pointing again. "He's wrong. I can make friends with anyone. ANYONE! ESPECIALLY some wimpy loser like you! Now listen here. We're not just gonna be friends."
"We're not...?"
"Oh, no. We're gonna be-"
The beast grabbed Ginger by the shirt and drew her right up to her own face, just inches away, and the human could see the insane flash in her single eye glow brighter.
"-BESTIES."
"Too close."
She didn't even hear her.
"I'm gonna make you like me SO damn much, I'll be the only thing you THINK of anymore! I'll be in your head! All. Day! LONG! Fuhuhuhuhu…" she snickered, letting go of the human and clenching her fists. "It's the PERFECT REVENGE!"
"Well, now you just spoiled your plan."
"DOESN'T MATTER! I'LL MAKE IT WORK NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU THINK YOU KNOW!"
We'll see about that...
"Ha ha! Heh heh, heh heh...Heh...Well, then! Why don't you have a seat at the table right over there?" she offered, cordially motioning with her arms towards said table.
Ginger, though still tense, complied, sitting down on the stool and resting her arms on the table, resting her elbows on it and putting her head on her folded hands, trying to ignore the apprehensive pit forming in her stomach.
It definitely wasn't hunger this time.
"Comfy? Good. Now! Can I get you something to drink?"
"Uh..."
"I take that as a 'yes'! Hold that thought."
She dashed to the kitchen and lined up several different boxes and bottles along the stove and countertops. Ginger could see writing on the labels, but it was too far away from where she was seated to make out clearly.
"'Kay! All set! What'd you like?"
"Um..." she hesitated, moving her legs to get up and examine her options. "Let me have a loo-"
*SLAM!*
One moment, she was getting up to take a look at the things on the counter, and the next moment, the table had been completely cracked in half by the spear Undyne had thrown at it. Ginger's arms were thrown up in front of herself in a defensive position, and she stared at the fish monster, wide-eyed.
"HEY! DON'T MOVE FROM THAT SEAT! YOU'RE THE GUEST! YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TO LIFT A FINGER! SIT DOWN AND ENJOY YOURSELF!"
Ginger couldn't emit anything coherent, she was in such a state of shock.
"Erm..." the monster uttered. "How about you just point to what you want with the spear, huh?"
"Like hagsmire, I am! And what? Take MORE damage!?" she spat.
"Oh, heh...I see where you're getting at. No, as long as you grab it by the handle, you should be fine."
"And why should I trust-"
"JUST TAKE THE DAMN THING."
She didn't argue back, but shot Undyne a poisonous glare as she hesitantly grabbed the length of the spear in her hand.
It actually didn't deal any damage. It felt strange in her grasp, though; it was a solid object, but at the same time, the magic energy that composed it felt as though it would only hold itself together as long as its maker allowed.
"Good! Now, you know what to do!"
The human hissed out a sigh, her attention first diverting to the yellow bottle set on the stove. She squinted at it; it turned out, the bottle itself wasn't that sickly yellow color, but rather the liquid inside of it.
"Oh, what, the soda?...Actually..." Undyne noted, scanning over her houseguest's seemingly disgusted expression. "You don't seem too enticed by it, yourself. Well, guess what!? I hate the stuff too! It's so sweet it makes me gag. It rots your teeth, it rots your brain, it even rots your fighting spirit!"
"...Then why do you have it in your house?" Ginger asked.
"Huh? Oh, well, I..."
Her cerulean facial scales developed a somewhat violet hint with all the blood rushing to them. She looked everywhere but at the human.
"...For other people, in case they like it."
Ginger smirked.
"For, uh...Papyrus, maybe?" she guessed.
"Well, I guess; he doesn't think the stuff's that bad, I don't think."
"Mmmm-hm..." she finished, holding back a laugh. As much as she disliked Undyne, it was a rip making sly fun of the situation. "Well, what's in the green container?"
"That's the hot chocolate. Not as sweet as the soda, so I can take it. On it!"
She went over to the container and screwed the white cap off of it...Only to find that it had nothing inside but a few unusable, powdery crumbles.
"Oh...It's empty," she remarked.
"Oh..."
"Ah, I remember why I never got anymore. Asgore kept getting the marshmallows stuck in his beard. And it was a hassle to work with anyway."
"...The king?"
"That's right!" she confirmed, displaying obviously ingenuine pleasure. "You get a gold star! Eh...Not literally. But anyways, there ain't none of that."
The human sighed; was she doing this all on purpose just to annoy her?
"Then what's in the box?"
"Tea; got PLENTY of that stuff, that's for sure. You want me to go ahead and whip some up?"
"...Whatever. As long as we can get this over with."
"Oh, COME OOOOOON, buddy!" she exclaimed, plastering a huge, fake smile on her face. "This is FUN, RIGHT? You're having fun, RIGHT?"
"What do you think?"
Undyne finally deflated with a low grumble of a sigh; as much as she despised the human who had spat on her pride and rubbed her victory in Hotland right into her face, she agreed with her; this wasn't going in a favorable direction, and it was obvious that both of them couldn't wait for it to be over. Ginger's spear dissipated into thin air, and she set everything up on the stove; filled the kettle with water, got the mugs ready with the bags, and brought the sugar bowl over.
"Heh...Uh...It'll take a minute or two for the water to boil. How much sugar, huh, pal?"
"First off, don't call me 'pal.' None of this is going to work. Give it up. Stop. If you're accomplishing anything, you're making me want to get out of here even more."
"...I don't appreciate your pessimism," the fish snarled, a fake smile still pasted across her ugly face. "I'll have you know, I'd beat you to a bloody pulp right now if I didn't think Papyrus was off watching us from somewhere. And if he's the one who brought you here, that can only mean one thing; he's finally made another friend in this dump. As much as I want you dead and your body skewered on my sharpest spears, and as much as I told him that you're a danger to everyone down here and that he should stay as far away from you as possible, it's clear that he still made friends with you anyway...And if I kill you, it'll break his fragile little heart."
Her gnarled tone softened with her last sentence.
"And I'm not going to do that to him."
"Do you see now, why I bothered saving you from dying of dehydration in Hotland?" the human remarked. "Not for your sake. For his."
Undyne didn't say anything in response, but she did give the human a strange, angry, albeit somewhat agreeing look.
"...And second."
"What now?"
"...No sugar."
"...Hm. Fitting for someone like you. Heh heh..."
"I assume you take yours the same?"
"I'll have you know I have my tea with a good half a spoonful of sugar!" the fish snapped back. "And considering the implications, that means I'm sweeter than you'll ever be! I'm the sweetest, most humble person anyone could ever hope to be friends with, and you should be GRATEFUL!"
"Oh, the irony..." Ginger sneered.
"Wha...You. You MADE me walk into that!"
"Sort of? I don't know, but you just humiliated yourself pretty badly."
Undyne's face began to grow red with fury, and Ginger could have sworn she heard her fuming...
But the whistling sound turned out to be coming from the tea kettle on the stove instead. The monster turned to see the steam rising up out of it.
"Oh. Heh...Water's done! Now it just has to steep some!" she announced, another toothy grimace of a smile spreading across her face. She grabbed the pot and poured the hot water into the two mugs over the teabags, the essence of the dried flower petals steeping into the liquid, swirling about as they mixed in with the water. Soon enough, the liquid in the mugs had gone from crystal clear to a deep shade of yellow, and the sweet aroma wafted through the small house. The ugly creature brought the mugs over to the broken table, placing one before the human, then bringing her own to the other side of the table and sitting down with a bit of a huff.
"Careful with that. It's hot."
Ginger shrugged in acknowledgement of her warning, then looked at the mug; it was blue, like the fish's scales, albeit somewhat brighter, and without the greenish tint. The angle of the snapped table made the tea inside of it threaten to spill out.
"It's not that hot, ya huge baby! Just drink it already!"
Undyne's sudden outburst snapped the human out of her daze. She looked up to see that the fish was taking a good, long swig of her own drink to prove her point...only to cough and breathe in a long, unsteady breath through her open mouth after she swallowed it, bringing a hand up to her neck.
"Burned your throat, didn't you?"
"Shut up," she croaked.
The houseguest swirled the drink around in her mug for a few moments, blowing on it until steam ceased to rise from it. Finally, she took a cautious sip...
It was still just a bit hot, but other than that it wasn't half bad. It was quite a bit different from the Sea Tea that Gerson made; it was milder, not quite as earthy, lacking the salty hint, less bitter...And just a tad bit more sweet.
"I'll admit, you're good at something."
"It's pretty good, huh? Nothing but the best for my absolutely PRECIOUS friend, right?"
Ginger rolled her eyes, swishing her drink around in the cup to cool it just a bit more.
"Ha...But, anyway. It's, uh...kinda funny you chose that tea."
She paused from bringing the mug up to her mouth and directed her gaze towards her.
"Why?"
"Golden Flower tea..." the fish monster mused. "That's Asgore's favorite kind. In a weird way, you're actually starting to remind me of him."
"Because we should both be feared and respected for our authority over our people?"
"NO, YOU IDIOT!" she corrected, slamming her open palms against the table, breaking it even more. "You're both TOTAL WEENIES!"
"I'm a total weenie. After confronting you fully armed and loaded, engaging you in battle, and winning when you collapsed from heat exhaustion...That makes sense."
"You ran away the first chance you got!"
"Because I KNEW I couldn't last too long against you without stopping!" she defended. "I might be a seasoned warrior, but you've still got a lot more experience than me. Let alone more raw strength. That wasn't cowardice. That was tactical. And it worked."
"So, you ADMIT you're a scrawny weakling!"
"I'm not even going to argue with you anymore..."
"Can't think of a comeback, huh? Pathetic...Just like him."
As much as Ginger would have liked to pretend she wasn't even there, she found herself lending an ear.
"You know...I was a pretty hotheaded kid. One day, to prove to everyone that I was the strongest, I tried to fight Asgore head on, without any warning...Emphasis on 'tried'. Little five-foot me couldn't land a single blow on him! Which was a surprise, considering how many other kids I beat up back then...Including OLDER ones. And what made it even worse? The whole time, he was just playing the defensive card; he didn't fight me back at all!"
"...And HOW old were you then?"
"Like, twelve or something. Pushing thirteen, maybe..."
...My age, huh?
"Jeez...Hyperactive, much? And I thought my brother was bad..."
"Can it," she snapped, downing another gulp of her own tea, refusing to acknowledge that it was too hot to put in her mouth without scalding some part of it.
"So when I finally stopped, HE apologized and said something goofy. 'Excuse me,' he says. 'Do you want to know how to beat me?' Well, as you might expect, I answered in the positive, and from that day on, he trained me for the battlefield...Fast forward a few years. Just before I was finally approved for the Royal Guard. One day, during practice, I finally knocked him down. I never thought I'd actually do it. I thought I'd feel proud of myself, but I felt...bad. It was weird...But him? He was beaming. I'd never seen someone more proud to get their butt kicked. Heh...Long story short, that was what got me into the Royal Guard...And now I'm at the very top of it! And now I'M the one training wimpy dorks to fight!...Like, uh, Papyrus, you know?"
Ginger was in the middle of another sip of her tea when she rose her head at the mention of the skeleton. She swallowed slowly, still eyeing the fish, then put her drink down on the cracked table before resting her head on her folded hands again, both of her eyebrows slightly raised and a tiny indication of a smirk on her face.
"...And how's that coming along?"
"Well...To be honest with you, I, uh...don't think I can ever let Papyrus into the Royal Guard. Do NOT tell him I said that! It'd crush him! It's just...The problem isn't that he's weak. Because he's not. In fact, he's actually pretty freakin' tough! It's...He's just so innocent and nice, you know? I mean, look. He was supposed to capture you. MAYBE kill you. But look what happened. He ended up becoming FRIENDS with you...And then he had the audacity AND the guts to lie to me about it, apparently...And I actually fell for it. I'm not sure whether to be furious or impressed with him...Put me down for furiously impressed, I guess. But anyway, that's what he did. I could never send someone like him into battle! He'd..."
She calmed some again, looking down in a somewhat depressed manner.
"...He'd get ripped into little smiling shreds," she finished. "...So, that's why I started teaching him how to cook, you know? So, maybe he could do something else with his life...Something that isn't as likely to get him killed out there, you know?"
"...You really care about him, don't you?"
Undyne raised her head to look at the human now; her remark wasn't snappy or sneery, rather surprisingly genuine.
"I guess...that's the one thing we both have in common, huh?" she admitted. "We both care about him a lot. Look, he might be a giant, naïve, dork, but...he's the best friend I ever could have asked for. And God save the poor bastard who tries to do anything to hurt him. That includes you, ya hear, human!?"
"Wow...You really do care about him."
"Yeah...Yeah, I do."
She looked up at the human again. For a brief flicker of a second, there was a spark of respect between the two opposing forces.
...But it was gone as soon as the fish monster caught sight of a sly grin growing wider across the human's face, and she waggled her eyebrows yet again.
"You know," Ginger said in a teasing tone of voice. "He's always telling me how much he likes you, too. And how much I remind him of you...He won't admit to anything, so it looks like I'm gonna have to ask you."
"...Ask me what?" the captain asked skeptically.
"Have you considered, uh...kicking it up a notch with him?"
"Huh...?...Wait. You mean-"
"Mmmm-HMMM," she confirmed, letting her sly smirk show a few teeth, making it look even more cynical. Undyne's eye widened in disgust.
"ME? And PAPYRUS? Good GOD. That's...It's not like that."
"That's what they all say."
"Well, do they all say 'I have my eye on someone else'?"
"Aw, Glaux dangit," the human uttered. "He's gonna be disappointed, you know? All those bones he gave you were all given in vain."
"No. He's not. Because he already knows about it. Even if I HATE that he does because he teases me about it."
"Ugh...Whatever. I, personally, see a lot of chemistry."
The last word make Undyne's cerulean face go somewhat puce again.
"...You've got a sick sense of humor, you know that?" she retorted. "I get a better kick out of Sans' brand of humor is better than yours. Which is saying something. You obviously don't know anything about me and my interests."
The fish tipped her mug up and let what was left in it flow down into her mouth. Ginger glanced off to the side, thinking of a way to get the verbal upper hand again.
"Maybe not a lot, but, uh..."
The mention of San's brand of humor-paired with the sudden urge to watch Jurassic Park III again when she next got the chance-put another idea in her head...
"I, uh...do know what you're favorite kind of dinosaur is."
Undyne failed to swallow her tea properly, and had she not raised a tight fist to her lips in time, would have spat it out all over the place. Her now bulging eye threatened to pop right out of her skull, and her blush went from dull puce to bright magenta in an instant. Ginger stared, obviously not having expected this reaction.
"...What?"
She shrank back as the monster gave her an odd, analyzing look. It was almost as though...she realized that the human didn't know something the captain thought she had. Undyne's conveyed look of shock softened some, and the blush on her face slowly faded as she spoke.
"...You do, huh?" she asked. "Well, then...What IS my favorite kind of dinosaur?"
"A...Tea Rex. Heh heh heh..."
"Oh. Heh...Yeah...That. Spending too much time around Sans, huh?"
"You can never spend too much time around him. Heh heh..."
There was a period of silence between them after that. It wasn't long until the monster's eye widened in realization.
"...Wait. Papyrus...His cooking lesson...He was supposed to have that RIGHT NOW!"
"Oh, no. Guess he shouldn't have disappeared like that. I'll go-"
"SCREW IT! HE'S NOT HERE, SO GUESS WHAT!? YOU'RE GONNA HAVE IT FOR HIM!"
"...What."
"NOTHING has brought Papyrus and I closer together than cooking! If you have his lesson for him, THIS MIGHT JUST WORK OUT!"
"Undyne, that's not-HEY!"
Before she could even process the whole situation, the fish monster had her by the arm and was dragging her over to the kitchen, sweeping all of the drink containers onto the floor to clear the countertops.
"Fuhuhuhuh...Scared yet! This is gonna make us the BEST OF FRIENDS!"
"UNDYNE, YOU'RE CUTTING OFF THE BLOOD CIRCULATION TO MY ARM!"
Finally, she let go, then flung the fridge open and returned to the counter with an armful of vegetables-along with a stray banana-dumping them on the counter.
"Let's start off with the sauce! Envision these vegetables as your worst enemy, then pound 'em to a pulp with your fists!"
"Lady, you're sprinkin' deranged! How is this-"
"JUST DO IT!" she interrupted. "OR ARE YOU A WEAKLING!?"
"...So that's how you want to play..."
The human clenched her fists, then sent them down on the tomatoes, splattering the red juice of them all over the place like the blood of the enemy she saw them as.
"...How was that, huh?"
"EPIC! THAT'S HOW IT'S DONE! NOW! My turn...!"
The monster drew her own fist back and sent it flying into the pile of vegetables. More of the juices came splattering across the room, and upon the impact, one of the tomatoes spat its innards right into Undyne's face, painting the blue scales red.
"...Uh...We'll just scrape this into a bowl later, you hear? For the time being..."
She faced the stove, pulling out the spaghetti box and putting a pot of water on the burner.
"We're gonna take care of the noodles! Aw, homemade noodles are the best! BUT I JUST BY STORE-BRAND! THEY'RE THE CHEAPEST! NGAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
"STOP MAKING MY EARS BLEED!"
"I'M SORRY! WHEN I FELL PASSIONATE ABOUT SOMETHING, I GET LOUD! HA! Ah...Uh, just go ahead and put them in them in the pot, 'kay"
Ginger brought a hand up to her ear as she grabbed the box of uncooked spaghetti and tore it open.
"...All of it?"
"Every last bit!"
She complied, dumping the noodles into the pot, then double-checking to make sure none of them were stuck in any of the corners...which there weren't.
"Awesome! Now take this!" the captain hollered, shoving a spoon into her face.
"Time to stir the pasta! As a general rule of thumb, the more you stir it...THE BETTER IT IS! Show me what those sticks you have for arms can do!"
"With pleasure," the human snarled, grasping the spoon even harder and plunging the end of it into the pot, hastily circling it around.
"Is that the best you can do! Come on! Stir harder."
And she did.
"Harder, darnit!"
She wasn't giving up.
"HAAARDEEER!"
Now she was circling the spoon four times every second. It was the best she could do, and although she didn't say it, Undyne actually noticed that Ginger's arms weren't exactly sticks for someone her age. Even still, however...
"UGH! Just let me do it!"
She grabbed the spoon out of the human's hand and tossed it aside, letting it clatter onto the floor, and she summoned another spear and bashed in the pot with it to further mix the spaghetti. Although it was more successful at destroying the pot more than it was at stirring the pasta. But she didn't seem to care.
"Alright! That's the stuff! And now, human! For the final step! Time to turn up the heat!"
"...Where's the firewood?" the human asked, glancing about in search of fuel for a fire.
"DEAR, GOD! IT'S LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN A STOVETOP BEFORE!"
"Because I HAVEN'T!"
"What!? JEEZ, you're stupid! But if I can't give you brains, I can at least get you pumped! Crank up the knob! Make the steam rise! Let the stovetop symbolize your passion! Let your hopes and dreams turn themselves into a raging flame! Crank that baby to the right and don't hold anything back!"
Ginger complied, albeit somewhat hesitantly, and turned the knob on the stove towards the right. She saw the black burner beneath the damaged pot began to glow red.
"I think that'll do-"
"THAT'S PATHETIC! Make it hotter!"
So the human kept turning the dial towards the left; now there were orange flames licking the bottom of the pot.
"Come on! Hotter!"
The flames rose higher.
"Hotter!"
"Now they turned a fierce yellow, and rose as high as the pot.
"HOTTER, DARNIT!"
Ginger could feel the intense heat pouring off of the stove fire as they completely swallowed the pot of spaghetti. She caught a tiny glimpse of blue among the red and yellow flames as they rose even higher and grew even hotter.
Yet it still wasn't enough for Undyne.
"HOOOOOOTTEEEEEERRR!"
The flame was the size of a small bonfire now, and the human felt like she'd been drawn right into the flames of hagsmire. Something inside the oven, just beneath the stovetop, made an odd noise.
"...Wait," the fish monster realized. "That's too-"
They heard something snap, and despite having never used an oven before in her life, and not having any idea how they worked, Ginger knew what was about to happen.
And she dove into the corner in front of the fridge and ducked for cover just in time. The entire house was washed in blinding light from the explosion in an instant, and a wave of heat, nearly as intense as the heat rising from the magma rivers of Hotland, spread throughout the entire area.
When the light finally dimmed and the hellish heat wave dulled, Ginger unshielded her face and looked about.
Everything was an absolute wreck.
The electricity in the house had gone out, and almost everything was on fire to some degree; the countertops, the stove, the rugs, the vegetables they'd planned on using. The only things that looked salvageable to a degree were Undyne's massive sword and her piano.
She unsteadily stood to her feet, her eyes now glued onto the fish woman standing at the stove, who hadn't reacted quickly enough and ended up taking the explosion head on. Her scaly face was seared to a crisp, and the air about her smelled, predictably, like burnt fish. Nonetheless, she barely even looked stunned.
"Ah...Well...I guess it's no wonder Papyrus sucks at cooking so much, huh?"
Ginger didn't say anything; she just ogled at the creature, dumbfounded as to how she was still alive from the blast, let alone standing and acting like it was nothing.
"...So, now what?" she continued. "Scrapbooking? Friendship bracelets? Card games?"
"..."
Undyne finally noted the human's face; it was a contorted mixture of confusion, shock, disgust, and contempt...It was pointless.
"...Oh, who am I kidding?" the monster groaned, bringing a hand to her face and massaging the space between her eyes. "I can't FORCE us to be friends. Some people just don't get along, no matter how much they have in common or how much they try to make it work. That's just the way it is...Sorry to let you down, Papyrus..." she mumbled, still convinced that he was somewhere near, watching the events unfold. "...As for you, I...understand if you feel the same way about me."
"...It looks like we've finally reached an agreement...To disagree," she finally answered.
"Well, if we can't be friends, then...that's fine. Because if we're not..."
All of a sudden, Undyne conjured up a spear in her hands, the sadistic, toothy smile returning to her face.
"Then that means I can destroy you without regret! PAPYRUS, COVER YOUR EYES!"
The human gasped, then reached for her bow, only for the monster to wave the spear in her direction as soon as she reached her hand back there, threatening to plunge it right through her unguarded chest if she dared to inch her hand any closer to her weapon.
"I've been defeated...My house is in shambles..." the beast criticized herself as she stepped forward, her smaller opponent backing away. "I couldn't even befriend you. Well, that's it. I don't care if you're my guest anymore. I don't care if you're Papyrus's friend. I'm going to end this once and for all! One final rematch! ALL OUT ON BOTH SIDES! IT'S THE ONLY CHANCE I HAVE TO REGAIN MY LOST PRIDE! SO COME ON!"
She finally lowered her spear, giving the human the fair chance to claim her own signature weapon. Ginger realized this, then pulled her bow and an arrow to strike with.
"...Hit me with your best shot!" the fish snarled.
And she fired away.
Undyne ducked beneath the arrow right when it whizzed by, and it embedded itself within the wall. The human didn't look so surprised that she missed.
"That was pathetic!" she screeched, getting right up into her houseguest's face. "Put that thing down and fight me like the trained warrior you claim to be! I WON'T BACK DOWN UNTIL YOU-"
She was interrupted by a sudden blur and knock against her face. She looked back up at the human; her arm was held back, and her palm open.
"...What." she uttered. "...Did you just slap me?"
"Why? Did I finally knock some sense into you?"
"You...open-handedly slapped me across the face like a parent correcting some bratty kid...When you're COMPLETELY capable of throwing a punch."
"...Do you honestly think Papyrus wants to see his best friend get beat down?"
"...Heh...You know what?"
Undyne let her spear fade away, then stood tall again.
"...I actually don't want to hurt you, either. For the same reason...Don't get me wrong, I still hate your guts, but...The way you hit me just now, it...reminds me of him. You just can't muster the intent to kill me, can you? As much a I hate to say it, you're not just the wimpy loser I thought you were..."
"...So, you're finally coming to your senses, huh."
"Yeah. You're a wimpy loser with a...sort of big heart, I guess...! Even if you don't show it. Heh...You know, you're starting to remind me of someone else, now."
The human raised an eyebrow again in curiosity.
"...I was like that when I was your age. I gotta keep my fighter's physique, but...Whenever someone needs me, I'll be there for them, you know what I'm saying?"
"Yes...I know what you mean," she answered with a small nod.
"...Heh...If it weren't for him, I'd have beat you senseless long ago...But regardless, that doesn't necessarily mean I should, you know? Look at what you've managed down here. So many people are siding with you. You've made so many friends. Not just Papyrus, but SO many other monsters are rooting for you to get out of here. If I killed you, then...What would I be doing to them? Wouldn't I be the one crushing all of their hopes and dreams, then?...And now that I think about it, what'd that do for MY reputation!?" she realized. "Look...From where this is going, it seems like you and Asgore are destined to fight. But, knowing him...he probably won't want to, you know? Talk to him, ya hear me? I'm sure he'll let you go back home. At some point, another human's gonna fall down here...one that won't be quite so eager to make friends. And I'll take THAT one out and take their SOUL instead. Makes sense, right?"
"...Fair point."
"Thought it was. Oh, and if you DO decide to hurt Asgore for some reason," the monster continued. "I'll take the six human SOULs myself, cross the Barrier, hunt you down and BEAT THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF YOU."
"That won't happen," Ginger promised, raising her arms in defense again.
"So...for the time being, I guess you could say that we should at least not kill each other. We don't have to be chummy, but...It's for their sake. Not ours."
She hesitated for a moment, then finally extended her scaly arm with an exasperated huff, an embarrassed hint of violet returning to her face.
"Whadaya say, punk? Truce?"
The human rose her arm, also somewhat reluctant to meet the fish halfway, but this would at least maintain order.
"...For now."
She met Undyne's open hand with her own, and they shook like civilized folk...Although both of them discreetly wiped their hands on their pants to rid themselves of the other's physical contamination as soon as they finished.
"...Now, let's get the hell out of this burning house."
...
"Well, uh...I guess that was kinda fun?" the beast decided, dragging her piano out the door and bringing it a safe distance away from the flaming house. A few of the music sheets that'd been resting on top of it fluttered to the ground.
"...I've experienced worse," Ginger admitted. "Not that I'd do this again, though...How's the piano?"
"A little seared in the back, but still in good shape. As long as it still works..."
She grunted as she lowered it onto the ground.
"So, since this place isn't exactly habitable anymore, I'm gonna go crash at Sans and Papyrus's for now. You?"
"Well, I guess I'll be headed to Hotland soon. I'll need to catch another break, though; this was a lot more, uh...draining than I thought it'd be."
"Gave you a workout, huh? Well, guess who's still up and at it, ya wimp? I think I'll go challenge Papyrus to another snow-wrestling match when I get there, get my blood pumpin' some more. Ha! Oh, and one more thing; if you're goin' to Hotland, you'll have to pass through the lab. That's where Dr. Alphys lives. You might have a run-in with her, so just a heads up. Don't know what she'll make of you comin' over unannounced."
"Dr. Alphys...I've heard some things about her from Papyrus. You know her?"
"Well, yeah, I know her. DUH."
Ginger noticed the puce tint returning to her face, but she decided to ignore it.
"What's she like, huh?"
"Well, she's super smart, I'll tell you that. You know the fridge I had in there? She modified it so that it HEATS up food instead of makin' it cold. Monster food doesn't spoil, so it can be kept hot for as long as you want and it never goes bad. Pretty genius idea, ain't it? She also knows a lot about your history; shows me human history movies and books all the time. As much as I hate you humans, I got to admit; your history's WAY cooler than ours down here. At least you guys have cool animations to show it instead of boring plaques hung up all over Waterfall! UGH! Makes me jealous! But I digress. We were talkin' bout Alphys, right?"
"So, she's a brainiac, huh? Interesting...What's she look like?"
"Looks? Uh...Well, she's short stuff, I'll give you that. Shorter than you, even. Buck teeth, bright eyes, sort of, uh...round."
She scratched the back of her head in an embarrassed fashion.
"Heh...She's really cute," she mumbled, too low for the human to fully hear.
"What'd you say?"
"I said she's really cool! She's awesome! Aside from Papyrus, she and I are, like, besties!"
"Oh...Well. Do you think she'll, like...try to kill me?"
"I don't...think so? You'll see when you get there, I guess. Seein' her try to kill you WOULD be pretty entertaining to watch, though."
"Ugh...Don't you have to go to Snowdin?"
"Aw, shut your mouth. I challenge you to an arm wrestle next time we meet, ya hear?" she retorted as she turned away.
"You're on. These STICKS I have for arms can do more than just throw punches!"
"We'll see about that!"
"And one more thing," Ginger added. "For the record..."
She lifted her shirt up to expose her abdomen, displaying the curved, pink line going diagonally across it.
"...Where'd you get that?"
"On the surface; several score miles from this place. I got pretty lucky. If my opponent had dug just an inch deeper, my intestines would've spilled out onto the ground. Killed that son of a cuss just a few moments later. Went right for the throat, broke the skin then tore it out with my own hands...Now that you've seen it, do you believe it?"
"...That's actually pretty brutal," Undyne admitted.
"And then I smeared his blood of my face and sounded off the rebel yell."
"Okay, THAT part's complete and utter bullshit."
"Yeah, it is...Just wanted to see if you were smart enough to tell."
"Ah, shuddup. I'm out of here. See ya later, punk!"
And the fish monster bolted off, bound for the Riverperson's ferry.
"Hey, next time, you have to tell me how you lost lefty!"
"Sure! I'll tell you when hell freezes over, okay!?" Undyne called back.
"The hagsfiends are gonna need some scarves, then! HA!"
The Captain of the Royal Guard disappeared, and Ginger let her legs give way, letting herself drop onto the ground and wiping the sweat from her brow; Hotland could wait just a little while longer. For now, she had to catch another break. Even the more than hour-long nap she'd had earlier hadn't prepared her for this.
...At least I'm still in one piece," she grumbled.
She eyed the piano; she was a bit tempted to try and play it, but she might end up stuck there for longer than need be if she tried to teach herself how to use it, let alone try to produce a better-sounding noise than what Undyne made when she played it.
So she did something else instead.
She dialed Papyrus.
"YOU HAVE REACHED THE GREAT PAPYRUS! MAY I ASK WHO IS CALLING?""
"..."
"...HELLO? IS ANYONE-"
"Alan."
Laughter. That joke would NEVER get old.
"I, ah..." she huffed, her sides cramping up from all the cackling. "Just called to give you a heads up; Undyne's on her way to your place. Are you, uh...there?"
"I'VE BEEN HOME FOR A BIT! SORRY IF YOU FEEL LIKE I LEFT YOU IN THE DUST; I JUST DIDN'T WANT TO INTERFERE ANY MORE THAN I HAD TO. AND YOU SOUND LIKE YOU'RE IN ONE PIECE! DID EVERYTHING GO AS WE HOPED?"
"Uh...Not exactly, but I guess it could have been worse. I'll be heading to Hotland here in a little while. I need another break."
"ANOTHER ONE? DIDN'T YOU JUST HAVE A NAP BEFORE WE WENT THERE?"
"I did. But even that wasn't enough for what was to come."
"DEAR ME...WELL, SHE CAN GIVE YOU A BIT OF A WORKOUT AT TIMES, NO?"
"That's exactly what she said..."
"SHE'S ON HER WAY HERE? SHE'S NOT, UH...MAD, IS SHE?"
"At you? I don't think so. But she did say something about 'snow-wrestling,' or something like that. Don't know what that is."
"OH, NO...I DO! I HATE YO CUT THIS SHORT, BUT IT SEEMS I'M GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE CERTAIN PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES BEFORE SHE GETS HERE SO SHE DOESN'T END UP WRECKING ANYTHING...OR ANYONE, FOR THAT MATTER! HOW ABOUT YOU CALL ME BACK WHEN YOU GET TO PAST THE LAB WHERE DR. ALPHYS LIVES?"
"Sounds like a plan. Looks like I'm probably going to meet her, you know?"
"OH, REALLY? WOWIE! SHE'S A LOT DIFFERENT FROM YOU AND UNDYNE...BUT THEY STILL GET ALONG VERY WELL, YOU KNOW? NYEH HEH HEH HEH..."
"Hey. Now YOU'RE at it with the snarky laughter? What's up, huh?"
"OH...NOTHING, LIKE YOU ALWAYS SAY," he answered.
"...Touché, Papyrus."
"WELL, SEE YOU LATER! I'VE GOT TO GO MAKE SURE THE COUCH IS SECURELY FASTENED TO THE FLOOR. NYOO HOO HOO HOO...!"
There was a beeping sound, and he was gone. Ginger put in another number, just on a whim, hoping she'd answer.
One ring...Two...Three...
*Nobody picked up.
"...Come on, Toriel. I at least want you to know I'm okay so far," she moaned. But there was nothing she could do about it but hope she'd answer back someday. She let the rest of her form fall onto the ground, and she looked up at the twinkling rocks in the dirt ceiling. It was a relaxing image...which was good for what was to come.
Pretty soon, she would have a laboratory to go to.
And as much as her nerves were acting up, she was still ever filled with DETERMINATION.
A/N:
...
...What?
What are you looking at me like that for?
PSHHH.
Yeah, I ship Undyrus! Sprinking normies...
People can have different preferences, rite?
...AAAAAAAnywaaaays, I think that turned out the way I wanted it to...Albeit EXTREMELY LONG. What's the number of words in this chapter?...
...
...
...My God.
It's...
IT'S...
It's over NINE THOUSAAAAAAAAAAAAAND!(old joke, i know)
Oh, by the way, I added a bit more to this chapter as of the beginning of 2020. More specifically, the part about Ginger semi-bragging about her scar.
Well, if everyone's still here, hope you're enjoying so far anyway! :D