Behind Closed Doors: Chapter 15 - Rivers and Lilies, Oh My!
After that short sentimental moment, you release the hug and think. "So, what's after Waterfall.. or.. 'in' Waterfall?" Toriel's head turns to the skeleton brothers, adding a comment after your own. "Ah, yes! I have not been there in such a long time.. has anything in particular changed since..?" She trails off with a small amount of sorrow in your voice, and before she can continue on her thought train you add on to change the subject. "Yeah, dangers, shortcuts, anything?" Sans and Papyrus both think for a second, the taller rubbing wrapping his thumb and index finger around his respective 'chin'. "HM... WELL, YOU SHOULD EXERCISE GREAT CAUTION, AS UNDYNE'S HOUSE IS IN WATERFALL AND SHE PATROLS THERE VERY HEAVILY. NO DOUBT GETTING BY HER WILL BE A CHALLENGE IN-AND-OF-ITSELF, NOT TO MENTION THE MONSTERS YOU HAVE YET TO BEFRIEND. THAT WON'T BE A PROBLEM FOR YOU, OF COURSE!" He ends that comment with a smile, and you can't help but respond in turn with your own. "Of course not." Toriel adds, seeming to be brighter than just before. "Manny is a very smart, funny, and clever human. Perhaps even Undyne can be swayed by his compassion?" Sans glances to the side and stays quiet, before adding. "i, uh... don't think that'll be the case in this scenario. undyne's kind of, really into her job, and i mean really into it. but hey, you can't know unless you try. she's stubborn, passionate, strong and fast, so i'd definitely rule out a flat-out battle."
Politely, you stay quiet only to listen and learn. As Sans finishes you nod your head a little seriously. "...Noted. So, Mister-Shortcut, know any quick ways through? It sounds like I should just avoid Waterfall all together." The short skeleton waggles his index finger and makes an "ah ah ah," sound, continuing with. "it's not the destination that matters in this case, kid. it's the journey." your mouth straightens and your brow furrows along with it in frustration, but your head turns to Toriel with a straight face as she adds. "Well I believe that Manny will do a fine job." To lighten the seriousness of the situation you playfully bump your head against Toriel's upper arm and lazily whine. "Mooooom, you're embarrassing me!" Everyone at the table offers a light-hearted chuckle, before Papyrus stands up abruptly. "OH! I HAD ALMOST FORGOTTEN. I MADE YOU A SECOND LUNCH, IN CASE YOU GET HUNGRY!" He walks into the kitchen and pulls a tupperware out of the fridge. It has a fork taped to it. "Alright, alright." Knowing you can't just refuse food from him you take it and smile gratefully. "Thank you, Papyrus. But, uh.. where am I going to put this?" Sans expression turns to one of thought, and he shortcuts away before coming back several seconds later with a backpack. "this oughta do the trick." Your eyes roll before glaring at Sans with both frustration and a smirk. "Jeez Sans, you couldn't have walked like, thirty feet?"
"what? oh, heck no. i think those stairs are up to something." You stare in confusion before getting the pun, and in sync with Papyrus you stand up and walk towards the wall. "What..?- oh CHRIST." You place your hand on it and lean with a groan as Toriel's howl of laughter floods the house. A couple more minutes pass before they all accompany you to the land-bridge separating Snowdin Town and Waterfall, and before you leave, you turn back and wave. "Toriel, I'll come back to visit within the next day, okay? You better count on that!" You say the last part with a serious tone, before point to the skeleton brothers as well. "You two too!" Sans stares down at his shorts and tugs on the baggy fabric, before yelling back. "but i'm not wearing a tutu!" You loudly groan and march off in mock-frustration, but even Sans knew that as you continued on there was a smile plastered on your face. Oddly enough, Papyrus seems to say something to Sans and Toriel, before coming the same way, but taking a different route. You can only wonder before he disappears and you're left alone with nothing but your resolve.
The snow gradually weakens in volume until you're on solid, rough cave flooring, and the sound of gentle-to-rushing water is the only present noise. The only reliable source of light seems to be the crystals in the walls, and the various fungi growing along the riverside. You come by an empty sentry stand and another one of those glowing stars and reach out, tilting your head upwards and sighing as the calming energy surges through your being. You take in the memory of this room, and what has happened. As you open your eyes, you're oddly not feeling the sense of determination, but something more instinctual; Resolve. The pure resolve of surviving and continuing on despite your past. You shake off the feeling and continue, wading through the base of a waterfall and stumble upon some reeds. Upon hearing footsteps on the ledge to your left you panic and dive into them, staying deathly quiet until you hear a familiar voice..
"H-HELLO, UNDYNE! I'M HERE WITH MY DAILY REPORT ABOUT THE HUMAN I I-INITIALLY CALLED YOU ABOUT YESTERDAY.." To hear Papyrus stutter is an odd and unsettling thing. You attempt to raise your head just 'barely' above the reeds, but you can't make out much in the darkness overhead. You manage to see the sheen of what may or may not be armor, but you can make out Papyrus' silhouette. He looks hunched over? A rough voice is muffled by something making it difficult to understand, but listening to Papyrus at least clues you into some vague idea of what they're asking about. "W-WHAT? DID I FIGHT THEM? OF COURSE I DID! I FOUGHT VALIANTLY, YOU CAN EVEN CHECK OUT THE SCENE OF BATTLE AT THE ENTRANCE TO SNOWDIN-" The figure takes another heavy step towards Papyrus and the voice continues, blunt sounding and really cold. "W-WHAT? DID I.. CAPTURE THEM? W-WELL, NO.. B-BUT UNDYNE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO HURT THEM! YOU SEE-" Their head bobs with one final step, but you feel the slam of their foot from down where you are and a chill flows up your spine, and you can hear the anger in a final, louder statement. "Tell me EVERYTHING you know. That's an ORDER, PAPYRUS." The sound of Papyrus whimper saddens you and you hear shuffling before Papyrus responds in a sad and quiet voice. "I UNDERSTAND. I.. I'LL HELP YOU IN ANY WAY I CAN." You watch in horror as Papyrus bolts off, and as you attempt to lower your head back into the reeds silently your wrist causes a loose stick to snap. The figure quite literally jerks their body towards your direction and they loom over the cliff edge, summoning a blue, glowing spear and holding it in their hand behind their head, ready to throw. The entire time you've been holding your breath and trembling in absolute dread, terrified at what may happen if you're caught. After thirty or so seconds, the spear dissipates into the air and they stand up, backing away from the reeds.
Five minutes pass and still you refuse to move, but after the sixth you shakily crawl from the reeds and glance around in paranoia and fear. You pull out your phone and dial the number Papyrus gave you during the idle chatter at their table and call.
*Ring . . . Ring . . .
...(It goes to voicemail, but gets interrupted mid-way)
"HELLO..? HUMAN? ARE YOU ALRIGHT? HAS ANYTHING HAPPENED?" Papyrus sounds extremely worried but you swiftly start to speak to him in a panic, whispering in a low volume. "Papyrus, oh my fucking god I'm so scared, was that Undyne? I was in the reeds below and I heard her talking to you and I just want to go home oh my god please help me I'm so scared-" The voice on the other line interrupts you as you frantically blabber. "MANNY, MANNY! IT'S GOING TO BE ALRIGHT, I PROMISE. I'M GOING TO OF COURSE HELP YOU, BUT IT WILL BE TRICKY. YOU JUST HAVE TO TRUST ME, ALRIGHT?" The only sound he can probably hear is your hyperventilating, but you manage to calm down after a minute. "Y-Yeah.. Yeah okay, I trust you-you Pap." You can't help but stammer, and as he reassures you one last time before hanging up you're again left alone with nothing but your instincts. You stand back up and find another glowing star ahead of you, reaching out desperately for the calming energy that it emits. Rather than calming, you have a sense of dread looming over you and you nearly jump out of your skin when you hear a quiet voice behind you. "W-Whoa, dude.. did you see how she was staring at you?-" You flinch and slam your back against the wall and gasp silently before realizing that it was that little kid from earlier. "Oh Jesus, kid! Don't scare me like that!"
"Aw gee, sorry dude, but that was... awesome!" The kid smiled bright and continued to ramble on about how lucky you were that you had 'someone that was so cool's attention. He races ahead of you while yelling how he was going to watch her be heroic, but even you think that's a bad idea. A kid? Alone? Here? "Wait, kid! Don't run!" You can't help but shout and run after him. He leaps over a few lilies before they sink, disappearing from your sight. It takes about eight minutes before you realize what the sign means when it says "Bridge Seeds". A few puzzles and an odd Phone-call from Papyrus asking what you were wearing later, you stumble upon a room with large, blue solitary flowers. Could these be those 'echo flower' things Sans was talking about? As you approach one it sways very subtly to and fro, the sound of two soft and happy children's voices filling the room. It causes another to respond in turn with a different part of the apparent conversation about wishing to see the real stars. The idea doesn't seem sweet to you... it seems heartbreaking. The notion that most if not all monsters have not seen the stars for potentially thousands of years.. You sigh and walk up to a dead end with a flat wall, glancing around to see if it was the right place out of confusion, but end up bumping the rock with your elbow. It was a hidden door! As you pass through there are more plaques on the wall.. each more depressing.
The plaques seem to commemorate a philosophy on why humans attacked and feared monsters, the power of monsters, the human SOUL, and what were to happen if a monster takes the power of one followed by a crude yet horrible illustration of a beast-like humanoid. You walk to the end of the boardwalk, but the small piece you stand on breaks off and floats towards the other side. Out of reflex and shock you wobble on your feet, waving your arms to maintain balance before you make it to the other side and sigh as you jump onto the stable surface.. You finally decide to take a small break before continuing onto the next area. You haven't gotten far, but that initial first encounter with Undyne stuck with you.. how cold, swift and seemingly cruel she was. As you sit down for the moment your head turns upwards to the crystals on the ceiling. It's... odd, they actually 'do' kind of look like stars. Under your breath you whisper a quiet wish to yourself, as ridiculous as it seems.
"...I wish to get out of here safe, and help free these people.."
I'm thinking around Chapter 20, I'll do a nice little extra bit where the characters you want answer questions that you inbox me! Other than that, I'm hoping everyone enjoys the story!
-RampantMemory