Behind Closed Doors: Chapter 18 - Setbacks
[Trigger Warning: Child-Abuse, Physical and Verbal]
The air between the two of you is horrid, thick and deathly still. You turn to see the figure emerge into the Echo Flower's illumination, reflecting back from their thick knight's armor and helmet. You turn to face them only out of instinct, staring like a deer caught in headlights. Without hesitation Undyne summons a spear and gets into a combat-like stance, pointing it towards you whilst taking slow, thunderous steps. "No where to run, human. You may as well kneel and give me an easy shot." Through that voice booming through the metal helmet you can hear the not-so-subtle note of pleasure as the Captain of the Royal Guard speaks. Finally, you muster the courage to fully turn and face your soon-to-be captor. The carefully polished armor reflects the light of both the flower and the spear. Undyne abruptly stops and without pausing begins to speak.
"Seven."
You pause and in your confused and fearful state manage to stutter out a response. "P-..Pardon?" The knight-like figure stands up straight and slams the base of their spear into the ground. "With the power of seven human souls, our king... King Asgore Dreemurr, will become a god." From the fervor in Undyne's tone you can tell just how serious she is before she continues. "With that power, our king can shatter the barrier so that we can re-take the surface from humanity.. and give back the suffering and pain that we have endured for so long.." You wince at the venom-laced statement Undyne finishes with, and as they notice they point the spear at you with one hand. "Understand, human? This is your only chance of any type of redemption. Give up your soul.. or I'll personally tear it from your body." Without warning she draws the spear back and squats once more before rapidly taking small, tactical steps towards you. Your heart is practically in your throat as she approaches, and as your SOUL starts to leave your body for the impending battle it quickly slinks back in once a figure jumps between the two of you. It's... that kid?! AGAIN?!
The reeds to your side part as Monster Kid hops in between the two of you, facing Undyne before running around the Captain in circles. "YO, Undyne! Can I help you fight, huh? I promise I won't get in the way! Come on, I'm tough too!" As he circles around he pauses and glares at you seriously, seemingly trying to hint as something. During all of this, Undyne's shoulders slightly slouch and she tries again and again to grasp the energetic kid.. It takes a few seconds longer than you hope but you get the hint as the kid gives you a slightly more frustrated glare once he gets behind Undyne again. Your pupils narrow at your only escape chance and you suck in a breath between your teeth, bolting to the left of Undyne and past. Before the chase can begin it seems the kid continues blocking their way as you turn your head back. The last thing you see is the kid being pinched by the cheek and dragged away.
An abrupt splash brings you back into shin-deep water but you continue hurriedly wading through, ignoring the echo flowers mumbling past conversations and not even pausing to read the plaque. You come across a thin bridge and pause in fear, starting to walk across before hearing an abrupt "Yo, wait up!" behind you. The kid is back again. "Thanks for catching on.. I, uh.. need to ask you something." Through your panting you nod silently. "Sure, kid.. thanks for saving my a- bacon, there. What's up..?" Monster Kid looks conflicted, turning his head to the side before asking. "If you're a human, that makes us enemies, right..? Undyne said 'Stay away from that human. They're incredibly dangerous.', so... man, I kind of suck at this.. Say something mean so I can hate you?" The request makes you smirk in surprise and you glare at the kid before responding. "Seriously? Come on, we don't have to be enemies. Undyne may be cool but you're allowed to like who you want." The kid seems more conflicted after you say that in a kind tone. "Aw, so I have to do it? Jeez, here goes nothing..." The kid pauses and seems to think seriously before inhaling and abruptly saying in a 'kind-of' raised angry voice.
"I... I hate your guts!" ...You have to admit, credit for trying and all but it seemed way too forced. Afterwards the kid seems incredibly torn. "Geez... I... I feel like a turd. I'm just gonna... I'm gonna go home..-" The kid turns and abruptly bolts off before slipping and gripping the bridge with his chin and tail. "Y-YO, WAIT! HELP! I TR-TRIPPED!" You couldn't even get any words in before he turned to attempt to run, and at that moment Undyne blocks the end where you came from, barricading it with spears. "KID, HOLD ON!" Without warning Undyne starts heavily stomping towards you and you see the kid's chin move bit-by-bit with each heavy footstep. You bolt forwards and grab him by the head, pulling him up with an adrenaline-filled groan before succeeding. You sit on your hands and knees, panting in relief and exhaustion from earlier as well. The kid stands between you and the Captain. He's shaking like a leaf, but he brings one foot forward and speaks. "Y-...Y-Y-Yo...! If... if you w-wanna hurt my friend, you're gonna have to get through me, first!" The complete opposite of what you expect occurs. Instead of Undyne forcing the kid out of their way, they take a step back, then another, before retreating?! The kid turns with a grateful smile. "You really saved my skin, dude..-" You abruptly hug the kid and close your eyes. "You're an idiot, you know that, right?! Don't ever terrify me like that again!" You pull from the hug and grasp the kid by his shoulders as you say that.
The kid seemed a little off put when you yelled that, and before he can say anything you chime in this time. "...Go home for now, kid. Thank you for saving me, but I wouldn't forgive myself if you got hurt." A smile comes to both of your faces as you stand up and you offer a playful shove of the kid's head. He stumbles back and laughs before crossing the bridge back. The last thing he does before getting out of sight is turning back and shouting. "Good luck, dude!" As he disappears you continue forward and across the bridge. Another short one leads you to the mouth of a large cave, and you can see a figure standing silently on top.. one that seems all 'too' familiar.
Undyne.
You can't make out anything but the shadowy, bulky figure on top before they turn around and step into the light. "Six. Six human SOULs. That's how many we have-"You manage to muster up courage, and anger, and interrupt. "FUCK you!" There's a small pause before you hear insult in the response. "...What?" The fact that it didn't even cross their mind infuriated you further. With another foot forward you point upwards at Undyne. "FUCK you, you prick! You couldn't even think to save the kid first? Your heavy-ass footsteps almost made them fall!" Undyne seems to take a small step back, before stepping forward again. "You think I couldn't have saved the kid, and killed you at the same time?" Undyne raises a hand and summons a few hovering magic spears before aiming them at you. Instead of firing them though, Undyne slides down the large slope in her armor and lunges at you, managing to tackle you. Both your souls rush out of your body and the figure rips off their-... her helmet?! An abrupt slam of a fist to your left cheek is enough to cause your vision to blur and your ears to ring. "Trust me, that would'n't have been a challenge, punk!" Another punch before you grasp her right hand and try resisting. You see your SOUL begin to glow a dark, reddish-orange color before looking back to your assailant to see her rip her hand from your grasp. The hand quickly grasps your throat and squeezes violently tight, cutting off both blood and air. Despite your heart pumping faster you feel light headed, and the image of the person over you seems familiar... too familiar. A memory floods your mind as you feel yourself close to losing consciousness, and just before you lose it you see your SOUL blink faster and faster. Undyne's grip loosens slightly and even she looks up in confusion. "What're you up to, punk-" Her voice is interrupted with a blinding orange light that even you raise your hand to block. The immediate area around you is nothing but an orange light before you realize you're not alone. You and Undyne are both standing about four feet from each other before she grasps you by your shirt and violently lifts you. "I don't know how you got out from under me, but-" You seem just as in shock, grasping the wrist raising you into the air effortlessly before you both hear a small, stifled voice. "P...lease, mom.. I'm.. sorry.."
The light around the both of you gradually begins to fade until you're both in an oddly, orange-toned kitchen. There's glass, broken bottles and chairs scattered across the floor, and in the corner of the room is a figure hunched over a small child, choking them with one hand and holding a small green bottle by the neck. Undyne instinctively lowers you in surprise and stares between you and the two figures. You know this place... this.. this memory. But how are you experiencing this again? Instinctually you tremble and slam your back against the fridge and completely ignore Undyne and focus on the other figure in the room..
... Your mother.
"Where the FUCK did you hide my booze you little jackass!?" She squeezes the small child's throat and violently slurs that sentence at you. Well... younger you. You remember vividly this scene all too well... your legs flailing underneath her weight, the beating you got for this. "I... I hid it because it was making you more sick, mom... please.. I-" You were only six at the time, and all you knew was that your mom's 'special juice' made her act different than when she wasn't drinking it.. you knew something was off so you flushed it. "Where. IS. IT?" You sink to the floor and curl up, watching the horror as your mother shook your younger self so violently. Through her grip, your younger self managed to stammer out. "I... f-flushed it down-"
"YOU WHAT?!" She interrupts you and screams in rage, raising the green bottle and slamming it against the side of younger you's head. You remember the feeling... the sharp but dizzying feeling.. The entire kitchen seems to get visually blurry and your mother's screaming as well, before the orange light shines brighter again and consumes the kitchen.
With a violent *BANG* you both fly away from each other, Undyne backwards and you skidding further across the ground. You're trembling and attempt to scramble away but it feels like you just ran a marathon.. You barely manage to roll over and look over to Undyne, who has a short, blue glowing dagger in her hand. "What... the hell, was... that...?" She seems to be just as exhausted, but you see your SOULs both out before hers turns.. blue? She notices as well before her eyes widen, and she flies into the wall with a heavy-sounding THUD before you collapse. Your vision starts to blacken and fade and with a final turn of your head, you see three blurry figures heading your way. One blue, one red, and one purple.
Sorry it took so long for this one. Finances have not been kind and I'm trying my absolute hardest to find time to write. I enjoy it very much knowing at least a few people like the story. Thank you all for caring, I promise I'll always try to give you something to look forward to!
-RampantMemory