Chapter 20: The Start of the End

Given the choice of stepping forward when ready, Kia made sure to talk to Frisk. After the SAVE point disappeared, Kia grabbed Frisk's shoulder to stop them from facing Undyne with a resigned face. Crouching down to their level, Kia looked into their eyes. Kia gave a small smile as she combed some of their mussed hair out of their face before sighing, looking away from them. Kia looked back up when she could speak again. Frisk had placed their little hands on Kia's forearms, where her hands were resting on both of her child's shoulders.

"Frisk. I will BATTLE Undyne."

Kia moved her hands to still Frisk's as they tried to sign a protest. Their bell went silent. Kia started to rub circles on her child's impossibly small hands. Kia cleared her imaginary throat.

"Undyne is strong, and while you, yourself have strength unlike any other, I know that it won't enough against her brute force. Please, I- I won't be strong enough to continue if you are not with me. I don't want to be on the side lines again and just watch as you get hurt or worse when I know I can protect you. I won't be able to take it. Not –breath- not again. Please, let me protect you."

Kia fell silent as Frisk withdrew their hands from her grasp as they gasped for breathe to keep from sobbing. Angry tears slid down their cheeks anyways. They began to sign jerkily.

'And what if something happens to you!? I don't want to see you die! Not again…'

Kia paused in confusion. She … died? Before? When? Kia shook her head to dispel such ludicrous thoughts. Kia gave Frisk her smirk.

"Alright, if you don't believe me, then stay behind me. I'll protect you while you guard my back. Deal?"

Frisk nodded in DETERMINATION. Kia nodded back grimly. Kia stood up and hopes that Frisk will forgive her.

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As a rule, Sans didn't like doing much effort, at all. But, he had the job of being a Judge. The job entitles him to watch, listen, and make a decision with everything he knew.

Admittedly, he knew a little about Kia from observing her and her journey with Frisk. The most obvious clue to her personality was that she was very protective of Frisk, and she was caring. She gets flustered easily outside of her comfort zone. She is strong, but what the sins she has weighs down on her shoulders, mind, and SOUL. She was overly cautious and a little paranoid about everything she encountered. And, depending on the circumstances, she could be both patient and impatient.

When he first saw her, he had immediately saw her LV and her HP. He knew of course from previous runs with her genocidal kid that The Ruins could not provide that much LV for her to take, so he had assumed she was a mad genocidal maniac on the surface and somehow reproduced a deceptive little monster.

During their BATTLE, he had noticed that his Karma reduction wasn't activating when she was hit. That raised an alarm bell in his mind. Without it, he couldn't win with his one pointer hits. His endurance couldn't last against her kid, it most certainly would not last against her if she had fought him seriously. She didn't FIGHT back. The evidence suggested that she should have, but she didn't. Then she spoke to him about wanting to only find Frisk and leave with them peacefully, he could be as confused as he wanted to be.

There was also the deal he had made with her. So far he hadn't done squat on his end, but she didn't look too bothered by it so far. It put him on edge since he didn't know what to make of her nonchalance about the important stuff she herself prioritized. Well, other than helping Frisk, Kia hasn't exactly done anything wrong, so to speak, during her time in the Underground. Then her paranoia and cautiousness about everything else was not helping him, at all. He didn't understand at all.

Sans leaned back on his slippers casually as he watched both the Lady Skeleton and the human step forward to face Undyne. Sans' brow bones furrowed in thought and confusion, he could only assume that Kia understand that BATTLEs against a Monster is a one on one affair, unless the Monsters decided to even the odd with more numbers on their side. Why is she stepping forward with Frisk?

The wind blowing through the cavern was howling, so he couldn't hear what they were saying. Getting closer would only get him spotted. He watched the reactions and waited. Undyne stomped her foot on her perch indignant. Kia apparently said something very calmly and blandly. It just pissed Undyne off. Undyne shouted loud enough for him to here.

"I WILL NOT TOLERATE TRAITORS! PREPARE YOURSELF!"

Sans sighed. Kia was human with unfortunate unknown circumstances that make her look like a monster.

The BATTLE started, without Frisk in it. Sans blinked. So that was it. Kia wanted Undyne's entire focus on her, so Undyne wouldn't attack Frisk. Frisk was pounding at the barrier with angry fists. Undyne attacked. Kia's crack and weak looking SOUL turned green. The FIGHT began.

Sans stood and watched.

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Kia smirked in weak humor was she avoided Undyne's attacks. Step, dodge, swerve, graze, block. Kia kept an eye on her status.

KIA LV 41 HP 53/320

Kia brought up the borrowed spear to block Undyne's heavy attacks. Her HP was extremely low since she only had a nap at DJ Ghost's house and she hasn't eaten anything in a very long while. She needs to focus on staying alive.

Since the beginning of the BATTLE, Undyne's fit of anger turned into rage when she glanced over Kia's statistics. Here was this monster protecting this human. It was humanity's fault everyone is suffering in this dark hole of despair. The Lady Skelton named Kia had an LV she has never seen so high before and yet refusing to raise her HP by eating. It was an insult not to face her properly in BATTLE! The monster was willing to live and die for the little human in the way of everyone's Hope and Dreams. This female skeleton was a traitor of the Underground, and she must die or be defeated for her to get to the human SOUL behind her, so everyone can be free.

Undyne hit harder. She moved faster. Kia's health was slowly climbing down. Finally, Kia ate some food to restore her health. She had every intention of staying alive for Frisk. For Frisk, she needed to live long enough to ensure their safety. Kia ate her perfectly preserved pasta and stuffed the used container back into bag.

KIA LV 41 HP 100/320

Right in front of Undyne's eye, a swirl of red misted magic and Dust created a mini tornado surrounding the Lady Skeleton she was fighting. What was going on? This doesn't usually happen when eating something. What was in that pasta? When the magic died down, Undyne took a step back in shock and even hotter rage. There stood right before her was another human. Taller, muscled, and older, but a human none the less … and there was something wrong with this human.

There were bits of flesh still missing in gray indents or completely missing like how her hands were still phalanges. This human's SOUL looked like it could shatter any moment with how cracked, splintered, and sick it looked. Undyne will need the child's SOUL, but as she glared into the focused fleshy eyes of the older female human. Undyne saw her DETERMINATION in protecting the child.

Undyne knew about how pathetic her defense was, so she attacked more passionately. Fight. Fight! FIGHT! But her attacks were parried, dodged, and avoided. This older human kept giving her MERCY. This human wasn't FIGHTing her. How DARE she! This was their DEATH BATTLE! They should trading blows until one of them wins and the other dead or defeated!

Using the last of her turn, Undyne powered her most powerful spear to throw at the human and end this. Roaring, Undyne catapulted her javelin towards the defending human. Her eyes widening before narrowing in focus, she dodged the spear immediately.

Kia didn't get to press the MERCY button. She remembered the little thumps of her child's fists battering themselves against the BATTLE's Barrier. Those protests were right behind her when she dodged that spear. Turning in a pivot, Kia ran for Frisk's petrified body outside of the BATTLE barrier. Their squinted eyes open wide with terror at the incoming destructive javelin.

Kia ran past the glowing projectile, ignoring Undyne's shouts. Undyne had made the magic too strong to retract. She hadn't meant to attack the child before finishing off the older human. But even so, the older human should not be running away from her. It was cowardice. The barrier can hold, hopefully. Undyne charged after Kia. This was going very wrong, very fast.

Kia skidded in front of the position Frisk was behind the Barrier and faced both the speeding javelin and the charging Undyne behind it. Kia held out her hands.

Kia knew that she didn't have time to sign something to Frisk. The Barrier prevented any sound escaping the BATTLE, so she couldn't warn or shout at Frisk to run. Kia firmed her feet just before the javelin struck her!

Her hands clasped around the shaft of the spear with a death's grip, but it was no use. It slid through her fingers like wood against a sandpaper. The javelin pierced through her abused SOUL, her thin shirt, her human bones, her crumbling heart, and her back. Then, finally, it had enough power to slide slowly through the barrier.

It hadn't even nicked Frisk's SOUL, but it was so close to ending the terrified eight years old life still trusting their mom to protect them. Frisk relaxed slightly that immediate danger to them was averted , but stressed and worried for their mom as they noticed how she stopped it. Kia's flesh crumbled away. She was a Skeleton Monster again. She was still alive. She just made it with HP to spare, kind of. She smiled through a coughing fit around the spear. Wait, why was it still here?

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The overly charged spear exploded in a magnificent explosion. It destroyed the BATTLE's Barrier thus ending the FIGHT. Undyne had stopped just within range and flew back into the cave tunnel they were fighting in front of. Her arms crossed in front of her on instinct to protect herself. Sans, watching a safe distance away, closed his eye sockets in resignation. Two human have died today - ! make that one … ish.

Kia had collapsed to her rump and knees, her hands limp on either side of her in the dirt. She only had one point of health left, but what did it matter? The sound of glass breaking and cracking sounded behind her. She turned slowly before stopping. She didn't want to see. She didn't want to see the light in their eyes fading. She didn't want to see their form become limp. She didn't want to see her child die.

"M-mommy," the broken whisper behind her jolted through her mind as she turned around anyways. Just in time to see the light in their eyes fade, their form going limp, and their death in her eyes as Frisk's SOUL shattered right next her collapsing SOUL.

Kia's eye sockets were bleared as she reached desperately for Frisk. She gathered her child in her boney arms and shook them gently. Tears streaming in waterfalls onto the prone chilling cheeks of her child, Kia sobbed loudly, disgustingly, and despairingly.

"No, no no no no no, please wake up! Please wake up! WAKE UP! I CAN'T LOSE YOU TOO!"