Have you ever wanted to go someplace so badly, that you wished so hard for it, that you actually ended up there?
I have. Plenty of times. All my life really. And not just for one place but multiple places.
I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who wants to do so either.
This... is not one of those times.
I'm sure most people who woke up from their sleep to find their body aching and laying in a pillar of light shining down on a patch of yellow flowers and realized what it meant would be absolutely thrilled.
But not me. I knew what it meant. And unlike most others... this was the last place I wanted to ever be.
It took me a while to get moving. Just... considering my options, you know? I'd often debated with myself what would I do if I ever found myself in the Underground from Undertale, you know? I just... never could decide what to do.
But now... it seems I have no choice.
Slowly, I got up, moving slowly as my back half protested most movements. I considered whether I should avoid monster food. It would heal me, but there was a theory bandied about that it was humans eating monster food, putting that little bit of monster magic in them, that prevented them from crossing the barrier in the first place.
I thought about it, but then decided it didn't matter. Frisk used a bandaid as a heal item didn't she? So it might not matter at all. But even in that case... No. I might need all the help I can get for what is to come. Well, depending on the circumstances. Maybe I'll get lucky and the Underground'll be abandoned, cause Frisk and Asriel already saved the day?
A short trip down a carved out tunnel and through an ancient decrepid arch put paid to that though. I sighed as I spotted the larger than usual yellow flower in the next patch of them, in yet another shaft of sunlight from the roof of the cave. I wondered for a moment if I could climb out, but no. It's too high. And I don't fancy my chances of finding wood to make a ladder before reaching Snowdin.
But I digress. I can already see Flowey looking at me curiously. He hasn't moved from his spot, kind of blinking and staring in surprise. I sighed. Well, might as well get this over with. Walking over, I raised my hand. "Hi there."
The flower blinked. "Well, uh, hi! Howdy! I'm Flowey! Flowey the Flower! Boy I've never seen an adult human before. I was pretty surprised! But you don't seem surprised to see me! There a lot of talking flowers up on the surface where you're from?"
I sighed and shook my head. "No, none that I'm aware of."
"Well, golly that's too bad. Well you must be new around here. Allow me to show you things work around here, ok?" Flowey asked with a surprisingly disarming grin.
Following his words, Flowey did... something. It felt like a weight in my head, then all of a sudden I could see it. The Undertale fight screen. It didn't overlay itself on my vision or anything, but it was like I could see it in my head. Abruptly I could feel a pulsing in my chest and there was a glow. I looked downward and blinked at the sight. A red heart. A blood red heart. I frowned slightly at the sight.
"Don't be alarmed, this is just how monsters down here say hello!" Flowey said, waving his leaves reassuringly. "This is the magical confrontation system! It allows for monsters to see each other's SOULs! You know why? To spread LOVE of course! And we do so with these little white friendliness pellets!"
Next to Flowey on the battle screen as well as slightly above and around him for real, a bunch of floating pellets winked into existence.
"Try and catch them all!" Flowey said, and with a wave of his leaf, the three pellets flew in my general direction. I only had to take a single side step to the left for all of them to miss.
"Hey buddy, you missed them, you should-" Flowey started, only for me to interupt.
"Isn't it my turn? That's how it works right?" I asked sharply.
Flowey sweated, but then a moment later, regained his demeaner slightly. "Yes. Yes! You're right, it is your turn! Go right ahead!"
I nodded, noting as I opened my mouth that the menu options for me immediately selected ACT and TALK automatically. Interesting.
"Flowey. Just a head's up..." I started walking forward till I was right in front of him and crouched down to look him in the eye. "I already know what's going on here. I know about the battle system. I know about Level of Violence. I know about Execution Points. And I know who you are, Asriel Dreemur."
Flowey seemingly went pale. "How do you-"
"It's still my turn," I bit out, glaring at him. He promptly shut up, shivering slightly. Considering a glance at my stats showed them to be glitching and fluctuating between 1 and ninety nine, I couldn't say I was surprised. Well, I was, but not at his reaction. I'm not sure I want to know what that means for my mental state exactly.
When Flowey seemed not about to interupt, I continued, "I also know about your philosophy. Kill or be killed, right?"
He gulped and nodded.
"Lucky for you, I don't subscribe to that. But for your sake, I will give you one warning. Attack me, and I will defend myself. And if that means that you die? So be it."
There was a tense silence as I stared Flowey down, ready to lunge forward and grab his stem to rip him out of the ground if so much as a single pellet appeared, turns and battle system be damned. After a moment he broke the stalemate by diving into the ground, the battle system declaring that Flowey ran away, before the weight disappeared from my head along with the overlay.
I then took a deep breath and sighed.
"Sorry about that Chara," I muttered. "I know he's your brother in all but blood, but he's been trapped in an insane situation that's pushed him to the edge of his sanity, and there's more going on than you know here. Case in point, I don't know if you're actually here or not to hear me speaking to you, but if you are... For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I meant what I said. If something attacks me, I reserve the right to defend myself. That could mean that some monsters may die. After that, I'm leaving. I do not want to be here. Being here has forced on me a moral dilemma that I never ever wanted to have to face."
"And what dilemma is that?"
The heavy feeling from before occurred once again, and I looked up to meet the face of yet another being I had hoped to never see again.
"Toriel Dreemur. An honor to meet you, your majesty," I said, bowing slightly. My back still hurt, but I'm pretty sure adrenaline was letting me push past that at this point.
Toriel, the self exiled Queen of the Monsters of the Underground, narrowed her eyes at me slightly. "You have me at a disadvantage...?"
"Matthew Black." I introduced myself, hesitating for a moment, then adding, "Unwitting dimensional traveller."
"And what brings you to the Underground, Mr. Black? As it sounds as though you would rather not be here?" Toriel asked, her hands hidden in the sleeves of her royal vestments, something of a cross between a robe and a tabbard with long voluminous sleeves encasing her limbs, her grey nubbed horns sticking out from the fringe of where a person's hair would be, but on her, her fur just got a bit shaggier, her red eyes eyeing me with distrust.
"Honestly, your majesty? I wish I knew." I stated, holding my hands out to the side before letting them drop with a huff. "Last I checked I was back home in bed and the next thing I knew I was waking up on top of a bed of yellow flowers, feeling as though I'd fallen and hit the ground. Hell of a back ache, but nothing I can't handle."
"I see," the Queen stated noncomittally. "And having found yourself here, you wish to leave? Nothing more or less?"
I opened my mouth to answer, before shutting it with a click and looking down slightly with a sigh. "That's the question isn't it. Now that I'm here, what do I want to do?..."
I pondered it for a moment before shrugging. "A couple years ago, if I were asked that question, my answer would have been that I'd want to meet you all, to make friends, and hang out. Spend time together... maybe listen to a few snail facts... Maybe even try a slice of cinnamon butterscotch pie. But now? ...I don't know..."
A few moments passed in silence, before Toriel cleared her throat slightly. "You seem to know me a bit better than I would have expected, Mr. Black."
I nodded. "Yeah. Back where I'm from, the very events I've started down on, falling into the Underground, meeting Flowey, and then yourself? It's like its straight out of a storybook. One that I'm very familiar with. Only in that story, the one you met was a little girl named Frisk. Though she was written in such a way that it really felt like the one seeing the story was the one meeting you all. Frisk went on to meet you all, make friends, form close bonds with many Monsters, and eventually through a series of unlikely events, managed to save the Underground, break the barrier, and free the monsters, her DETERMINATION seeing her through to the end without needing to harm a single monster, though Asgore did need a bit of smacking around to get him to see reason first."
Toriel snorted softly at that little bit.
"At least, that's one version of the story. It was a choose your own adventure kind of story, you know?" I said, trying my best to couch it in terms she would understand. "Depending on what you chose Frisk's actions to be at certain parts of the story, different things could happen. The path I chose saved the Underground, allowing me to stay true to my convictions and achieve what people call the PACIFIST run. Even got you and Sans to open up and tell each other puns face to face instead of through a door."
Toriel started at that, and looked at me in some surprise.
I shrugged. "Dimensional traveller remember? I wasn't about to tell you all this without offering at least a bit of proof. Otherwise I'm just some crazy human spouting nonsense."
Toriel nodded slightly, studying me for a moment, before responding. "I believe you. So what happens now?"
I blinked. "Wouldn't that be up to you? I just want to go on my way and leave the Underground. Will you let me pass?"
"How does defending yourself to the death fit in with your convictions to stay true to a, PACIFIST run, was it?" Toriel countered.
I didn't say anything for a time, unsure if I should answer. I was still debating with myself, before Toriel sighed.
"I see. Perhaps in another life then, with this 'Frisk' character, maybe we may have been friends. Maybe I could even trust you to pass through the Underground safely. But as it stands, I cannot trust you. I am the caretaker of these ruins, and though I'm in exile, I am still the Queen and I will protect my subjects."
"Don't make me fight you," I requested, torn.
Toriel shook her head. "I will not make you do anything. But I will protect my subjects. What actions you take are your own!"
As she said this, her hands left her robes and waved about. A wave of fireballs then lashed out and shot forward with a wave of her hand, forcing me to dodge as best I was able. Luckily seeing the battle screen actually made that easy as it gave me an alternate view of the attack. If just going by the front it would look like a wave of fire, but from above, I could see that the fire travelled in a wave pattern. It was more than a bit hot, but I was able to just maneuver myself through the line of fire.
Catching my breath, I barked out, "STOP THIS! I DO NOT WISH TO FIGHT YOU!"
"I will not allow you to harm my subjects!" Toriel shouted back, waving her hands forward as if to clap them together and a wall of flame from either side of her shot towards me in a wave that definitely would have turned me extra crispy without the battle system. As it was, I knew what to do from the game, and I dodged forward, then backwards as she flung forward wave after wave of fire, her teeth grit in determination.
She really intends to kill me, I realized. At that point, I snapped.
"FINE! HAVE IT YOUR WAY!" I yelled, charging forward through the pattern of the flames. Technically it was still her turn, but it seemed the battle system was ready as it abruptly switched to me and auto selected attack. I swung my fist forward, Toriel frozen in shock or by the magic of the system, I don't know, but I punched with the determination to put her down and end the fight with a single blow if possible.
Well, a single blow is right. It... dropped her health to zero. I... hadn't actually intended for that, but I hadn't just been blowing smoke out of my butt when I said I might kill to protect myself. RNG is like that. Heat of the battle and all that. I knew I might kill accidently, but at the same time... I had hoped that maybe this might not happen... And for Toriel... of all people...
All of this flew through my head and more as I grasped Toriel as she collapsed somewhat on herself, and me with her as my legs gave out. I still held her upright though as I grasped her tunic by the shoulders, shaking.
"Damn it, Toriel... I didn't want it to be this way... I didn't even want to be here..."
Toriel's paw lifted up to rest on my upper arm, her eyes searching mine. "You truly... mean that... don't you?" she half asked, half stated. I felt tears falling from my eyes as I met hers, watching as the edges of her fur seemed to destabilize and fall, drifting slowly away. Her other hand came up tremulously and her paw came to rest on my cheek.
"Whatever pains... trouble you... that make your heart and SOUL ache the way they do... I hope you find it in yourself... to SPARE my fellow monsters... when the time comes... I hope you find... peace..."
With that last word, Toriel fully destabilized, the white of her soul uncovered and trembling in the air, before falling apart like the rest of her and disappearing into the air.
I... don't know how long I sat there on my knees. Holding bits of dust in my hands, my body covered in a fine layer of the stuff.
Eventually though, I reached forward and scooped up as much as I could carry in both hands, and carefully, trembling, stood up. I then walked back the way I'd come till I stood at the edge of the yellow flowers I'd appeared on. What were they again...? Daffodils? No, buttercups. That's right. Buttercups... Biting my lip, I did my best to scatter the ashes upon the flowers. It was the least I could do. Especially considering...
I squared my shoulders as best I could and turned away. I would likely not be able to acquisce to her dying request. How I wanted to, but I would not die for her. And if my experience playing Undertale holds true, the Monsters of the Underground would be fighting to kill, in the hopes I would be easy to take down and get my heart. The last SOUL needed to break the barrier. Everyone would be aiming to kill. And in defending myself, I would respond in kind.
It took me about an hour to find my way to New Home. An hour in which I already found myself unable to keep to Toriel's desires. Some fought, and ran away, but others... others would not stop. And they perished. And I gained more dust upon myself. I had attempted to brush it off at first, but after the first three, I stopped trying. It didn't matter. More would just get on me anyway. Better to wait until I had gotten out entirely.
To my surprise, I did not see Flowey before the exit from the ruins. I thought I might've caught a glimpse of him, but I couldn't be certain as the last clear spot where he showed up in the ruins was clear when I got closer.
Now at the doors, I paused and considered my options. It only took me a moment though that I realized I had no idea what to do, so I simply decided to push forward. DETERMINATION and all that rot, right?
It took a bit of effort to push the door open, especially with a layer of snow in the way, but as soon as I was through, I stepped out, and the door started to automatically close behind me. I let it. I had no interest in stopping it.
Once out in the snow, I glanced over at the bush to the left of the entrance. I knew it contained a camera, but after a moment I dismissed it and walked down the path flanked by what appeared to be petrified trees. Pausing, I walked over and snapped off a branch. Brittle. So much for making a ladder, not that it mattered as the door had slid shut with a final sounding thud behind me. No going back that way. At least not without figuring out what mechanism would allow the door to be opened from this side anyway.
The cold's not that bad. I actually had something of an affinity for it. I'm not too comfortable in the heat. Ironic considering I've lived in the tropics nearly my whole life. It's too bad though. This place... I had hoped it would maybe feel a bit like christmas. The music certainly made it feel cheery in the game. But here, there's no music. Just a bit of a howl as the breeze moved through the trees and snow fell from somewhere above in the dark. And with the trees, it felt more like I was in... dead woods. It just felt... dead.
Shivering, and not from the cold, I hurried along. Best to get past this and move on. If only it were that easy though. I heard a snap behind me from a twig I stepped over. A glance back showed it to be broken. I huffed a breath out of my nose and turned back forward to keep going, though keeping my ears peeled and my attention sharp for that feeling of heaviness that triggered the confrontation system to appear.
As I walked down the snowy path between the dead wood trees, I collected a dusting of snow to go with the dust, and I both paid attention to but didn't acknowledge the rustles and sounds nearby.
Eventually a wooden bridge came into sight. As I approached, I became aware of the sound of footsteps behind, following me. It was creepy, but I persevered, not increasing or decreasing my pace.
As I reached the edge of the wooden bridge, one that had what looked to be something of a fence built shoddily onto it, but with spaces wide enough for a grown man like me to pass through, a sharp voice called out from behind.
"Hold it."
I stopped, doing my best to keep my limbs from shaking and waited. I heard the steps behind me come closer until they stopped right behind me. There was a pause, before the voice spoke again.
"Turn around."
Slowly, I turned around, looking down to find myself looking into the blue hood of a fairly short person, unable to see much as the hood was shadowed, the white fur lining obfuscating it further. I couldn't see anything. Well, except for a single blue orb in the same spot where a person's left eye socket would be.
We stared at each other in silence for a few moments, before he spoke up.
"Is that any way to greet a new pal? Shake my hand."
His hand, a bony hand and arm revealed, stuck out, and I grasped it. Immediately a loud fart noise, almost comically loud in the stillness of these woods ripped out. Far louder than it had any right to be.
After a moment of awkward silence, the figured chuckled. "Hehehe... the old whoopie cushion in the palm trick. Works every time."
He then lifted his boney hands and lowered the hood, revealing his friendly seeming grinning skull at me, the blue orb gone, but his right eye socket still somehow closed. But not his left, I was careful to note.
Sans the Skeleton. The Guard. The Hot dog vender. The Judge. I grit my teeth at that and turned away, just as he seemed to be getting ready to say something, and I continued across the bridge.
He didn't say anything as I walked away, though I swore I could have heard him mutter, "Sheesh, tough crowd... didn't even laugh at the joke..."
There wasn't much to say for the rest of the path to Snowdin. I didn't make any stops. Didn't stop a few monsters from trying to intercept me, and I gained a bit more dust on myself, but thankfully the majority ran rather than try to stick it out. I also ended up purchasing some nice cream from a vendor along the way. It was a nice message in the package. 'Do your best! You're sure to succeed!' I snorted at the irony of the statement. My best at what exactly? The blue bunny selling it seemed a bit nervous around me. Can't imagine why. Couldn't be the dust of the dead on me could it. I couldn't help but note him hastily packing up and dragging his cart away as I left. Not right away though, just after I'd gotten a certain distance away. Figures.
Then came the time for the encounter I was both looking forward to and dreading the most.
"SANS! Do my eyes decieve me?! Is that... a HUMAN!?"
"Nah bro, that's a rock..."
Looking to my left, I noted a rock to my right off the path that did have an uncanny resemblance to a short squat person if you tilted your head and squinted.
"Oh." Papyrus said, disappointed.
"Maybe next to the rock?" Sans suggested nonchalantly, his hands deep in the pockets of his ever present jacket.
"Next to-" Papyrus asked, confused, before his gaze caught on the rock next to me. He turned his head between it and me several times quickly, before snapping to Sans, and sighing. "Is that... a human?"
Sans looked at me, then back at his bro, then back to me. Then he shrugged nonchalantly. "Yup. Looks like it."
Papyrus, after a moment, seemed to regain all his previous enthusiasm. "Really?!"
"Yeah bro, that's a human," Sans said, nodding.
What followed was papyrus literally leaping for joy, pumping his fists in the air and crying out 'YES!' over and over again.
"FINALLY! I WILL BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD!" Papyrus turned to me, his tone cheerfully enthusiastic, especially compared to his brother's. "Human! Prepare yourself! For I, the Great Papyrus, will be capturing you! For you see! I have scattered all along the way fiendishly clever traps! That you will be sure to fall for! And once I have captured you, I will turn you over to Guard Captain Undyne! Who will be so impressed that she will have to make me a member of the Royal Guard! I will be great! I will be stupendous! I will finally have... friends?..." Papyrus drifted off for a moment before shaking his head. "A-After that!... Well... I'm not sure what comes after that. But I'm sure it will be very important! Perhaps you will meet with King Asgore? I'm sure he'll love to share some tea with you!"
I couldn't help but crack a smile slightly at that. Dang it Papyrus... He doesn't quite sound like skeletor, but it's enough that I can't help but at least be somewhat amused at the loveable goofball, despite the circumstances.
After a bit more banter between he and his brother, the two took off, disappearing as the air seemed to waver for a moment, causing me to blink, and then they were gone. One of Sans' shortcuts maybe? Or something.
Making my way along, I found a number of puzzles, each about as childish as I remembered, and all of them fairly easily solvable. Well, except for the tile puzzle, but to my surprise, that still became a pink path despite somewhat expecting otherwise. After the two had left, I checked the machine, curious, only to find it had a warning light on and a display saying that it was defaulting to diagnostic mode. Heh. It does look more than a bit worn. Wonder when the last time Alphys was out this way to run maintenance?
Once past that, there were a few more traps of a sort, like a plate of frozen spaghetti to consider. No bright yellow save points I could see though. Not sure if that means I don't have the DETERMINATION for it, or if they were only visible for the game, and the flavor text for each save point was more literal in regards to how the save system works.
Then there was one last major confrontation with Papyrus before reaching Snowdin, on the final bridge there. I had to kill several of the dog guards to get there, none of them backing down. I tried to do the petting and holding still trick with the dog who couldn't see movement, but turns out he could smell the dust on me. Same with the two married dogs, who did not see me as a puppy or let me close enough to pet them when I smelled so much like death.
Papyrus though... he pressed a button and activated a whole bunch of traps, some of which made no sense and others so over the top as to be picked straight out of a B-movie supervillain lair. There was even a dog hanging from a rope. Poor Toby. Still, Papyrus decided not to use it out of some sense of sportsmanship, and I got to the town of Snowdin mostly unmolested after that. Mostly. I did pick up one more coating of dust unfortunately.
Shaking my head, I continued on and passed into the town, picking up some more food with my monster gold, making good use of the large pockets on my black cargo pants since I didn't have a phone to potentially access an inventory system. I did enjoy the cinnabunny, ignoring the scared and wary looks the townsfolk were sending my way. I noted one particular small orange lizardlike monster without arms watching me from nearby the christmas tree in the middle of town, seemingly more curious than afraid if his expression was anything to go by.
Past the last house out of town, the snow seemingly started to pick up, becoming something of a white blizzard, before a silhoutte appeared in the snow and stepped out of it, revealing itself to be Papyrus, whom I nearly was able to see eye to eye with, but despite everything he's still a touch shorter than I am. Not surprising considering I'm pretty tall myself.
"Human! You shall go no further! For I, the Great Papyrus shall capture you!"
I stared at him, then looked down. My fists clenched and shook. "Please don't do this Papyrus..." I said softly.
"But I must, human! I must fulfill my lifelong dream to join the royal guard!" he answered, proving that he had better hearing than I thought, considering the wall of white behind him. I wonder how he's doing that?
I smirked for a moment, sadly. "Not interested in being friends, Papyrus?"
Papyrus was silent for a moment. "No offense, human, but... you're kind of weird. You must be a great afficianado of puzzles like myself, but you also have all that dust covering you. Still, I the great Papyrus do see much potential in you! If you desire to be friends... No. No, I cannot. I must fulfill my dream!"
I was unable to look at him then. "Will you kill me, Papyrus?" I asked, softly.
There was silence for a moment. Then, "Wh-what? Are... Are you suicidal, human? No I will not kill you! I only intend to capture you! Why would you ask me to do that?!"
I chuckled hollowly at his misunderstanding. Still...
"Well... you're not wrong in a way. But that's not what I meant. This world glitches sometimes, did you know that? People don't intend to hurt you, but they do. Sometimes they even kill you... over... and over... and over again. Then you find out later that's not how it's supposed to go. That you're just lucky." I fell silent for a moment, Toriel's face passing through my mind's eye. Lucky indeed...
A moment of silence passed, before I continued. "But you're not like that, are you Papyrus? No... you never killed me. Not once. I had to fight to get past you... over and over and over again, but you never killed me. No... instead you saw fit to just beat me within an inch of my life and drop me into your shed. Over a dozen times. In a game that's not such a big deal. Even with 1 health you can move around as if perfectly fine. But in real life... 1 health point for a human would be crippling. I may even bleed out internally and die in your shed. Is that what you want, Papyrus? Do you plan to hurt me so badly? It may not have the same impact since I'm an adult, so what about a child? Would you repeatedly beat a child to within an inch of death, Papyrus?"
"I-I don't know what you-" Papyrus said, falteringly.
"Because you did," I interupted him, my eyes snapping to his and glaring. "Over... and over... and over again."
There was silence for a moment, the white wall of snow behind Papyrus faltering as a blue tint gave way and it fell.
I resolutely stepped forward and past the skeleton, but paused only a moment to say, "Find another way to fulfill your dream, Papyrus. Despite everything, I'm still rooting for you. Or don't. You don't have to be a royal guard to find people who love you. But if you keep down this path, keep trying to become a royal guard? Someday you'll find out that there are some things worse than death. And killing them... killing them would have been a mercy."
I then continued on, leaving the likely confused skeleton behind.
It was to the sound of trickling water that I stepped into Waterfall. It echoed eerily in the twisting caverns of this place, much less open space than Snowdin, while the snow from before gave way to water. I followed a river for some distance.
Still, it was more solemn than I expected. It filled me with trepidation. I knew who I might face here. I felt torn. Should I tempt to ghost through this place? Would it matter?
Shaking my head, I continued on. The familiar puzzles and nostalgia mixing with the ambiance, but tainted heavily by the weight of getting here.
The first monster to spot me and rush my way put paid to the idea of sneaking through, and I ended up with yet more coats of dust to go with the others. Yet still more ran away. Part of me wanted to chase them down, but I ignored it. There would be no point.
It was at a wooden boardwalk that a blue glowing spear smashed into the wood point first right in front of me, causing me to jump back, startled, before narrowing my eyes and grabbing the shaft and wrenching it out of the wood, only to have it flicker out in my hands.
I narrowed my eyes as I looked carefully around. "TOO COWARDLY TO FACE ME DIRECTLY, CAPTAIN?" I shouted.
I heard a noise to my left and looked that way as a figure in dark metal armor jumped across the water to land on the boardwalk in front of me, a spear appearing in their hand which they then turned to point my way.
"No one calls me a coward!" the figure's voice seethed, muffled under the armor.
I scoffed. "I call it like I see it, Undyne. So how about it? How many children have you killed? You seemed pretty gung ho about it the last time I came through here. You wouldn't remember it of course, but I remember. I remember each and every time you killed me. What was the body count up to? I lost count. And a number of those were from you stabbing me in the back. Those aren't the actions aren't the actions of a hero, Undyne. They're the actions of a coward."
Undyne tensed, her armor creasing, before she reached up and pulled off her helmet, letting it fall to the wayside to glare at me. "I don't know what you're talking about, human. I've never killed anyone. Yet my magic feels the truth of your words. It makes no sense. Explain!"
I was silent for a moment, considering what she just told me. She could sense truth in what I say? Is that the magic of the confrontation system? No wonder Papyrus seemed so confused.
The silence must have gone on so long that Undyne made a threatening gesture, pointing her spear at my face. "I said, explain!"
I frowned angrily. "What's there to explain? You're a murderer and a coward Undyne. You chased a seemingly defenseless child from here all the way to Hotland, terrorizing them then slaughtering them over and over until you only backed off when I proved I wasn't an enemy when I rescued a child monster from falling off a rock bridge, then poured water onto your face and neck when you overheated and collapsed by the water cooler. And that was despite the number of times you stabbed me in the back. Tossing me a spear to give me a chance? Don't make me laugh. Frisk was a child. Would you throw spears at a monster child, claiming that giving them a spear to defend themselves made it fair? THERE WAS NOTHING FAIR ABOUT THAT SITUATION, UNDYNE! THERE WAS NOTHING FAIR ABOUT WHAT YOU DID! AND THERE IS NOTHING FAIR ABOUT MY BEING HERE NOW, GOING THROUGH THE SAME EVENTS AS BEFORE, ONLY WITH THE ADDED PERSPECTIVE OF REALIZING WHAT YOU DID! WHAT YOU ALL DID!"
I panted as Undyne faltered back, as if pushed by the force of my words. I barely noticed though. I was beginning to crack. The pressure from this situation, the deaths on my hands, and the sheer unfairness of this situation were getting to me. And that was just a small part of the problem. I fought to reign my feelings until I felt somewhat in control.
I forced myself forward. Walking towards Undyne, who faltered for a moment, her face a rictus of confusion and guilt, before she shook her head and took a stance against me. I didn't stop though. "Will you kill me, Undyne?" I asked. "Will you stab me to death, a seemingly defenseless unarmed human? I know you want it. You all do. My SOUL. The last SOUL needed to break down the barrier. You want to be free. But let me ask you this Undyne. Do any of you deserve it?"
I continued past, my whole body shaking. With fear? Adrenaline? Barely repressed violence? I didn't know anymore. That Undyne didn't stop me didn't make it stop.
It wasn't the last time I would see her either. Occasionally I would see her in the shadows. Stalking me. Other monsters would attack. I would dodge and retaliate. A very few ran away rather than attack. Most died. And all the while my execution points and level of violence stayed glitched, occasionally changing between characters, numbers, and symbols. But it all resulted in the same. Monsters generally died to just one single punch. I didn't even have to put much strength into it. I didn't know how to feel about that. Their hits still hurt though. Whatever was wrong with my level of violence didn't translate to my health. I was just as flimsy and prone to injury as any normal person. Fire burned, wounds bled, and everything hurt, some of the more eshoteric attacks doing so in ways I'd never even felt before, much to my chagrin. I'm now something of a connoisseur of pain. Joy.
Eventually I reached the stone arch jutting over the path that served as the crossing point between Waterfall and Hotland. And there at the top stood Undyne. She jumped down and landed in front of the arch, staring me down.
I came to a halt, staring at her.
She met my gaze, her face a rictus herself, before she shook her head. "I won't pretend to know what you've been through. I've had time to think and while I'd like to think I'm not capable of what you've said, I can't deny it. We're one SOUL away from freedom. Would being that close blind me, all of us, that badly? I don't know. Maybe you're right. Maybe we don't deserve it. But I do know this. You are our enemy. You've already killed dozens of us, and if I don't stop you, you will kill dozens more. As Captain of the Guard, it is my duty to stop you."
She then brandished her spear and pointed in my direction, the resolve in her stance and eyes firm. I sighed and nodded. "Agreed. From one soldier to another, I can respect that. And as long as that's why you're fighting me, I can respect that too. For those reasons, I will fight you, and I won't hold back. Stand strong, Undyne the Unyielding, because I will show you no mercy."
There was a beat of silence, the weight of the confrontation system pressing on my mind. There would be no spear for me. I would have to dodge. And a moment later as the first spear was thrown my way, dozens more appearing midair to fly in my direction, I did my best to do just that. Again, the battle system came in handy, giving me the ability to see from an alternate perspective where there were gaps in the chain of attacks that I could just barely step through.
I would not allow this fight to drag on though. That would be my undoing. So quickly I pressed forward, darting towards the captain, who brought her spear to bear as I rushed towards her, attempting to dodge the thrust, but only succeeding in it burying in my side instead of my chest. My hit faltered because of it, but like before, even a glancing blow was enough.
Undyne fell back, and I lurched, grasping the spear in me as it pulled from her grasp, only for it to flicker and fade a moment later, leaving a hole in my stomach. I desperately grabbed a cinnabunny and stuffed it into my mouth, my eyes never leaving the fallen warrior as, unlike the others, she began to seemingly melt. The relief as the hole closed as I swallowed the monster food was palpable, but I knew the fight wasn't over yet.
I stared her down, ready at a moments notice to throw another punch. Undyne noticed this and chuckled weakly. "I think... this fight's over... punk..."
I snorted. "Never let it be said that I let my guard down around Undyne the Undying."
Undyne snorted as bits of her began to flake away. "Pretty sure... that moniker... doesn't fit here..." she said, her form continuing to ebb away. "Still... thanks punk... and for... what it's worth... I'm sorry..."
Finally she went still, and her form finished destabilizing, turning to dust as her soul shattered and drifted away. I was silent for a moment, before I sighed, wiping my face and subsequently the tears staining my cheeks. "Damn it, Undyne..."
I stayed still for a moment, then bent down and scooped together as much of the dust as I could carry in my hands. I then passed through the arch, the heat beginning to become almost unbearable, but still I persevered, passing the digital billboard welcoming people to Hotland, then the water cooler standing on the edge of the cliff overlooking the light of lava far below.
I continued on to the metal building built into the rock and passed through the double glass doors keeping the worst of the heat out of the Underground Laboratory. Stepping inside, I paused as I looked around. No Alphys. Odd. And unfortunate. I was going to give her the ashes to spread on Undyne's most precious things, but with her unavailable...
I considered for a moment, then used the escalator to go to the next floor. There I found Alphys' bedroom along with her anime collection, sitting on a shelf. I looked over it for a moment, then scattered the ashes over the shelf. That done, I gave the shelf a moment of silence, then on a whim, I saluted, then turned and left.
Or at least that was what I intended, only to be startled by the sight of Mettaton behind me.
"You're an odd one, aren't you," Mettaton's mettalic voice spoke from the speaker on the front of its box like chassis. "You've killed so many that Alphys ran ahead to evacuate everyone. But if they don't fight, they have no need to fear you, do they?"
I shook my head. "You're right there. I just want to leave. But if they attack me, I will defend myself."
"So you've said, to many monsters," Mettaton stated. "And what of me? Would you fight me? Do I not deserve to be free?"
I regarded the robot in silence, considering, then again shook my head. "Funnily enough, you have less death on your head than the others. I've seen what you do to others who failed the challenges you staged at Alphys' behest. It was all just a show. Even if I failed, you would have let me past. Though of course, the seeming threat of death didn't help. When I went through, I had every reason to believe you would kill me, just like the others. And threatening me with bombs and walls of fire, then a tile puzzle where Frisk, was electrocuted, a large number of times, followed by a fight with you? And any fight with you directly did result in death. But not me. You never actually managed to kill me. Not until you discarded Alphys' charade and fought me in the main elevator up to New Home. At that point I died quite a few times. So yes, you killed me Mettaton. You are just another monster in this prison, like the others. Do you know what would happen if a child got stuck in a prison where I'm from?"
I waited a beat to see if he would answer. When he didn't, I responded. "Nothing. The majority of the time, nothing would happen. Granted, the guards would generally never let it happen in the first place, but as bad as some people are, not even most people in a prison would harm a child. Not unless they were the absolute worst sort. But those people wouldn't have the chance. We lock them in maximum security. And they're generally in line to be executed. Though we at least do it humanely now. Quietly slipping away in your sleep. One little shot, and you just fall asleep. Used to be you were fried via an electric chair, but even that proved too barbaric to people, even for use against mass murderers and rapists. Certainly never something you'd do to an innocent child."
Mettaton was quiet for a time, then he wheeled out of the way, subdued. "I've unlocked the quicker path up to New Home. If you go back the way you came, you can reach it and leave. If it will prevent more monsters from dying, I can at least do that much."
I nodded slowly. "Thank you."
I then took the down escalator, pausing only to look back up at Mettaton, who was watching up from the balcony. I then turned back to the door and left.
True to Mettaton's word, the path just outside that lead to a metal shaft heading upwards that was blocked off by an electrified barrier was now clear. Not only that, but after I exited the elevator, I didn't run into a single monster. That's not to say I didn't see any. New Town was more like a ghost town, but I could still see some eyes staring through the cracks in doors and around corners, darting back as I looked in their direction. I suppose this is similar to what a genocide run would feel like. Except I'm not hunting anyone down.
The path was clear. I almost began to feel hope that the nightmare was over. But it wasn't to be.
It was into the judgement hall that the bells tolled. Where between one step and the next, one blink and the next, he appeared. I felt the weight of the confrontation system fall upon me, halting me. But rather than a battle screen, there was nothing. But still the weight held me.
I stared at the skeleton, furious. Before he could even open his mouth, I bit out, "Don't."
Sans mouth shut with a click, and his eyes narrowed.
"Don't you dare open that mouth and presume to judge me, Sans. You of all people, of all monsters do not have the right."
Sans eyes narrowed further. "It's my job."
"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!" I screamed at him, stomping forward, before stopping and taking a deep breath. I looked down and clenched my fists.
"I've had a lot of time to think you know? About what happened. About what you all did to me. To Frisk. To Chara. I just wanted you all to be happy you know? I didn't want to ruin your happy ending, so I never picked the game back up and played it again. But I missed you guys. I loved you and wanted to spend more time with you, in any way that I could. So I started looking into other people's experiences, seeing what they said, what they found that I didn't. Though I shied away from those who completed the game for the sake of it, even if I learned what they learned from it too.
"And I read fanfiction, and analysis', and theories, and all sorts of things. Because I loved you. I loved you all. But it's like someone said. The more you learn about someone... learn them down to the tiny most detail, you can either love them... or you grow to hate them.
"For me, it's kind of both you know? Part of me loves you desperately. But several people put it into perspective. And I began to realize, you know? Just how messed up what you did was. What it must be like, to die. Repeatedly. That all of you... not a single one of you were innocent in this. The only monster down here who didn't kill me was your brother, and instead he beat me to within an inch of my life several times. If that's what the most innocent among you is guilty of, what does that say about the rest of you?
"I've had a lot of time to think about this. And it doesn't add up, you know? Six children. Someone down here had to have killed them. Who might that be? Any of you could have done it. Ironically though, the most likely person to have done so... was you. You who were so willing to tell a small child to their face that if a mother figure hadn't made you promise not to, they would have been dead where they stood, just as soon as they exited the ruins. Tell me, Sans. Did Toriel, the Queen make you promise not to kill me? I'm not sure how that's possible. Did she just ask you to spare the next child to come out a while ago as a preventative measure? A tentative hope that maybe, just maybe, the rest of this place would be just a tiny bit less cruel?
"No Sans. I deny your right to judge me. We have a saying back home. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. So don't you judge me, Sans. Don't you dare."
Sans was silent. Despite the weight, I made to move past him. I was a good distance away when his voice stopped me.
"What's stopped you?"
I paused, looking back over my shoulder, furrowing my brow.
"What?"
"I can feel it you know," Sans said, not turning around, but I could still hear him loud and clear somehow. "It's the magic of this place. The Judgement Hall. I can feel your rage. Your anger. Your pain. It's enough to burn the entire Underground to ash several times over. Yet you haven't. I certainly can't stop you. I don't think anyone could. So what is?"
I looked forward, contemplating how to answer. After a moment, I responded.
"Thou shalt not kill." I stated.
"What?" Sans asked, baffled.
"It's a core tenant of my beliefs. Of who I am. I always felt torn, about what I would do if I ever ended up here now. I debated with myself long and hard. Surely you deserve to die for what you've done. Surely it would be worth it to protect the people who will die in the future. After all, it only takes just one of you to kill a human, and then steal their soul, something that I consider sacrosanct, and become so powerful that no one could touch them. Surely it'd be worth it to stamp you out to protect even one person from the sheer inevitability of that outcome. But... it's not my place to judge. I'm not without sin either. That job falls to someone else. Someone far more perfect than I am. So no matter how angry, no matter how much I tell myself it would be for the betterment of this world and the safety of others that you all die, I remember those words. Thou Shalt Not Kill. And I walk away."
"And the monsters you've killed?" he asked.
"It's a basic inalienable right that a person be allowed to defend themselves. Even if that means someone dies." I replied.
Sans was silent for a moment, then he snorted. "I can't tell if that's hypocritical or not. Still, it seems there is at least some goodness in your heart. I won't apologize. I doubt you want to hear that from me anyway."
"You're right," I said, turning away and continuing forward. "I don't."
Up until this point, I hadn't taken a single detour. But I did here. Past the Judgement Hall, I paused before the chamber of the king, and took a side path and stopped before six coffins. They're all so small... child sized.
I clenched my fists and forced myself to turn around. I then marched back the way I came and continued on down the path, barely noting the many buildings in the cavern here where the monsters lived. Then finally I came to the King's house. New Home. It's almost an exact copy of the old home where Toriel lived. I squeezed my eyes shut at the sight of the empty arm chair in the living room and continued on. There was a chain barring the way down stairs to the garden. But I could easily step over it. But before I did that, I had one last thing to do.
Stepping into the first room in the hall, I opened two boxes that were placed haphazardly on the floor. Inside one, I found a heart shaped locket. In the other, a sharp knife. I looked at both, debating, then sighed and reached in, taking both and putting the locket on. It felt... appropriate somehow. In a way I couldn't really define. They're both Chara's after all. I didn't want to think too deeply about why I would have sought them out, even if a part of me knew.
I was only slightly surprised when magic actually barred me from stepping over the chain. Not that it mattered. The note taped to it pointing out the location of the two keys in the kitchen and hall made it simple to fetch and unlock the way. Down the stairs and down the hall. I think I spotted Flowey, but every time I turned to look closer, they were gone. No one else was around though.
Past the door I found myself at the garden. I was only slightly surprised to find Asgore wasn't there. Taking a deep breath, I continued on to the tunnel and paused before the barrier. This close it was multicolored and hard to see past, becoming more translucent the closer you came. And there he was. The king himself. He turned to look at me, his face inscrutible.
"So you're the one I was warned about. The one who's come to kill me."
I frowned, but stayed silent. I'm not sure who would have warned him of that, but... he's not exactly wrong. I do have to kill him to leave. I looked down at the knife in my hand, then sighed.
"Honestly? I don't know what to do here. I'm just... tired, Asgore. The only ones I've killed here are those I had to defend myself against. Which feels like near everyone at this point... But with everyone's eye on the prize, the last soul needed to leave the Underground... it's hard to blame them. Who doesn't want to be free?"
"If you are not here to kill me, then why are you here?" Asgore asked, lowering his trident slightly.
"That's just it though. You need a monster soul to leave the barrier, or so I've heard. Honestly, if seven living humans created the barrier, I have to wonder if I could channel six souls to break the barrier, then release them to their final resting place. Where they should be." I said, glaring at the end.
"And then?" Asgore asked.
"I... don't know." I said. "I think I'd rather test to see if I can leave the barrier without killing anyone, since I don't think anyone's ever had the chance to try. But that still leaves the matter of the souls. You want to be free. I get it. I do. But every single one of you by this point have proven that you deserve to be down here. If I had the option, I would free the souls, step out of this barrier, then seal it further so that no one can ever get in again. But that's not an option. So all that's left to me is bad choices. But... I will be releasing those souls."
"I won't let you," Asgore warned.
"Try to stop me and I will defend myself."
"You misunderstand. I don't have to let you do anything. The souls are safe where they are. I simply have to do nothing. I wouldn't be so foolish to attack you at this point. It is obvious I would lose to your demonic strength. I need only wait. Humans age. You will eventually die. Then at that point I can use your soul along with the others to break the barrier and leave. Maybe go someplace far away. Away from the humans, but still on the surface."
"A place like that may not exist, depending on what it's like on the surface, but that's neither here nor there. See, you just threatened my immortal soul. You have intent to harm me, even if only in the future. I will not allow you to hold me here until it is safe to use what you have no right to touch. So it is in my best interest to kill you now rather than play your waiting game. Not that you really ever needed to. It's ironic really. Toriel said it best once upon a time. You could have taken a single soul, gathered the rest outside the barrier, then broken it then. And it would've been done. But you didn't."
"What's your point?" Asgore asked.
"No point. Not really. This whole thing has been pointless really. Why am I even here? What does this serve to accomplish? Killing you here means the only one left that could potentially lead these people is Sans, Papyrus, and Alphys. Oh, and Mettaton I suppose. I can only imagine what the Underground will be like with him in the lead. Probably make sure everyone's in his fanclub or something. Could be worse I suppose."
"So that's it then. We will fight. And one of us will die. Perhaps I had hoped for a nice cup of tea, but I guess that was too much to hope for."
"I won't let you touch my soul. Ever."
Asgore nodded. He then slammed the butt of his trident into the floor. The six souls were revealed from their compartments in the floor. We stared each other down for a moment, then both of us seemed to swing our weapons at each other at the same time. The knife bit into his side as I stilled, allowing the blue trail of the trident to pass.
He then stumbled over, falling to his knees, staring in shock for a moment. Then in but a moment, Asgore fell over and collapsed into dust. His heart shuddered, but I grabbed it quickly, then slashed the knife against the containers of souls, allowing them to go free. They caused the barrier to flare as they passed through, and with only a moment to spare, I passed through the barrier as well.
After that, I followed the tunnel. It was dark.
Eventually I paused, and sighed, before turning around.
"Hello Chara."
There she was. I didn't know what I expected, but seeing her in a familiar adult form...
The smirk on her face grew knowing. "I learned a lot from you, you know. Did you really expect me to appear any other way?"
I sighed. "No... I suppose not. So what happens now?"
"Well... In a way, I said it once, and I'll say it again. You and I are different. I'll stick with you though. I don't know how you got here, but I can at least help you try and get home again. I'm sure we'll find the way in one of the worlds out there. I can open the way for you."
"And what happens to this world?" I asked.
"The world?" Chara hummed thoughtfully then shrugged. "Nothing, I suppose. It goes on as it will. The Underground however..."
Quick as a flash, Chara turned around, knife in hand, which I realized was no longer in my own. A bright beam of red light shot from the knife, seemingly encompassing and carving away the whole mountain. After the dust settled, nothing was left but a crater, and the cave entrance we once stood in had become a small hill.
"Thou shalt not kill," she quoted. "You may be beholden to that. But I'm not. And their sins upon me were as great as they were you. But don't worry, partner. I'm not so willful as to go against your wishes. I'll follow your lead."
I stared at her silently, before sighing and nodding. "Let's get out of here."
"Gladly."
