Chapter 9
After going through a room full of glowing mushrooms and a room full of lanterns that made the place dark until you touched a glowing lantern, I came to an area that was very dark and I kept moving until I could hear something and I saw the lights turn on again. "Behind you..." said the voice, me seeing it was an Echo Flower... and it spoke in Undyne's voice. I then looked behind me and saw Undyne right there and her looking at me intimidatingly.
"Seven. Seven human souls," she said, me frowning as she then spoke again. "With the power of 7 human souls, our king, Asgore, will become a god, and with that power, he'll destroy the barrier... and we'll breach the surface world and give the humans back all the suffering they inflicted on us," Undyne said, me frowning at her.
"So you think that killing innocent children is okay? Because that makes you no better than the humans that killed the prince," I frowned at her, Undyne growling at me afterwards.
"Don't you dare talk to me that way, you human scum! Your soul will be perfect for destroying the barrier!" Undyne said as she then took a battle stance and I simply smiled at her.
"You couldn't be more right. But sadly, I'm not going as a corpse," I frowned at her, Undyne growling and about to charge at me before someone appeared that I really hoped would be nearby.
"YO! I'm here to save you, Mute!" Monkid exclaimed as they jumped out of the nearby grass and stood in between me and Undyne, making the very imposing brute suddenly lose her intimidation factor.
"Thanks for the save, Monkid," I said with a smile.
"You bet, Mute," they smirked at me... but then Undyne simply groaned and grabbed Monkid by the cheek and dragged them away from me and off into the distance, me smiling as I then went forward, seeing a way had opened up to the north. I then went that way and came across a room with numerous Echo Flowers, each one saying something different. Almost like a passing conversation... and it was basically them wishing that they'd see the stars on the surface and that they shared the same wish. It made me real sad, but I made a promise. I'd shatter the barrier and save everyone down here. I then went across a bridge and then I got stopped by someone behind me.
"Hey..." Monkid said from behind me and I saw they were a bit upset.
"Is something up, Monkid?" I asked them.
"Well... Undyne said that she's gonna tell my parents that I sneaked out of the house... and that she'll tell them to keep me there until you're captured... unless I end our friendship..." Monkid said, me sighing at that.
"Well... think about it, Monkid. What would you want to do?" I asked, Monkid frowning at that. "Because if it were up to me, I'd be friends with you even if my mom forbid me from speaking to you. So what's your choice?" I smiled, Monkid smirking at me widely.
"I'm gonna keep being your friend! Yeah, that's what I'll do! I'm gonna go tell my parents I made friends with a human!" Monkid said widely as they then tried to run off, but they tripped and I gasped, seeing that Undyne appeared as Monkid had to hold onto the bridge with their teeth! I gasped as I felt something happen inside of my purity soul. I felt the powers of Justice and Bravery emerging from me to save Monkid! I rushed over to Monkid directly in front of Undyne and picked them up and got them back to the safety of the bridge.
"Whew... that was too close... you need to be careful about where ya run, Monkid. That would've been a nasty fall," I smiled at them, the little kid giggling at that as Undyne then looked at Monkid and tried to approach us. But Monkid looked at her and stood in between us.
"Yo, Undyne! If you wanna get to my best friend, you'll have to capture me too!" Monkid exclaimed with courage, Undyne backing up at that and her simply leaving after that... by jumping off into the distance.
"Yo, Monkid," I smiled at them, getting their attention. "That, my friend, was super cool!" I smiled, Monkid gushing at that.
"Y-Yo, you really mean it?!" they asked with a smile.
"You bet I do! Standing up to the captain of the Royal Guard to protect your best friend? That's one of the coolest things I've ever seen a kid do! You go home and tell your parents about how awesome you were, okay, scamp?" I smiled at them.
"Alright! I'll do just that!... But I do gotta be careful about the bridges. Note to self, from now on, walk across bridges," Monkid smirked.
"Right. You better get going before Undyne changes her mind," I smiled.
"Right! You stay careful, Mute. Undyne's got a nasty attack that'll keep you from running away if she hits you with it," Monkid warned.
"Thanks for the tip, buddy," I smiled as I then went ahead and into an area that had wind rushing through it from the surface. And then I got to a very large cave entrance with a mountain atop it. And guess who was at the peak of that mountain? None other than Undyne herself.
"Seven human souls. That's what we need. Six is what we currently have. And with your final soul, Mute human, then we will finally take the world back. So I don't understand why you won't surrender..." Undyne frowned.
"~Maybe I want to live!
My soul I'll never give!
I'll be everyone's friend
Until the very end!~" I sung in a battle cry song, Undyne growling at me at that as she then looked at me angrily.
"But first, human, allow me to tell you the tragic tale of our people. It all started long ago... when... wait, you know what?! SCREW IT!" Undyne exclaimed as she then yelled loudly consecutively. "WHY SHOULD I TELL YOU THAT STORY WHEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO DIE?! NNNNGGGAAAAAHHHHHH!" Undyne shouted loudly as she then took her helmet off and then smashed it into scrap! And soon after, she then looked at me with an intimidating glare and I finally saw her face. She was a fish person with fins on her cheeks, scales for skin, colored blue, and having a missing eye that was hidden by an eye patch.
"Human! You are the enemy of everyone's hopes and dreams! I'm tired of you running away from me, like convincing that kid to stand in my way so you could escape again!" Undyne exclaimed angrily. "And I hate that goody-two-shoes shtick that you keep doing! 'Oh, look at what a difference I'm making, hugging random strangers!' Well, you know what would make everyone feel better? IF YOU WERE DEAD!" Undyne exclaimed, me frowning at that as I then sung again.
"~If my very existence is crime,
then I will keep running until the end of time!
I'm not giving up, I'll never fight back!
So tough luck for you, Undyne, but I'll dodge all your attacks!" I sung, Undyne growling at that angrily.
"THAT TEARS IT! Here I come, you bitch!" Undyne exclaimed as she then dove down to me with her spear in hand, me then feeling my Patience kick into overdrive as I waited for Undyne to be inches away from me before I then grabbed her spear and managed to use my own strength to fling Undyne behind me, which I could tell surprised her.
"~Catch me if you can!~" I smirked as I then ran ahead and I could feel Undyne's footsteps slam into the ground over and over again as I then got a call on my phone and I answered it.
"Yeah? You've reached Mute..." I puffed out as I got to a very hot-looking place filled with lava and I saw Sans sleeping at a sentry station. I simply kept running until I saw that Undyne was tuckering out, near a large tub of water with paper cups.
"A-Armor... so... hot... b-but... I can't... give... up..." Undyne said with a cough as I then heard Papyrus on the other line.
"Hey, I think that you should join me in visiting Undyne, Mute! I'm sure you'll both get along great!" Papyrus smiled as Undyne simply fell to the ground and looked like she was suffering from heat stroke!
"Y-Yeah, sure, I can do that... gotta go, Papyrus," I said as I hung up and simply went to Undyne and removed her armor as carefully as I could, seeing she was lightly dressed underneath and that she looked to be overheated. I could see steam coming from the inside of her armor as I opened it up. I immediately rushed over to the water jug and got at least three cups of water and I then poured them in her mouth until she finally got up on her own, Undyne gasping as she looked around for a bit before then looking at me. "You're welcome," I simply said, Undyne looking at me with shock as she then looked at her armor and saw the steam coming from it.
"You... You saved me... why?" Undyne asked in shock.
"I made a promise to a friend soon after I arrived down here. I'd never attack or kill anyone. Even if they actively want me dead. And I couldn't let you die by overheating. That just doesn't sound like a very noble way to go out," I smiled at her as she then simply got up and walked ahead of me, stopping a few feet later and sighing.
"Your kindness is contagious... and I hate it... but I admired that strength you showed with that first attack I did. Not a single human has been able to counter that attack before you... how'd you do it?" Undyne asked.
"I don't know myself," I admitted. "But like I said before, I'm not going to fight anyone. But if you're willing, I could be your friend," I smiled at her.
"Friend? Peh, don't count on it, Mute. I'm going back home. I have an appointment to make," Undyne said, me smiling as she then went backwards through the way she previously came, me noting Sans was still sleeping. Once Undyne was out of earshot, I then went to Sans and poked him on the head, waking him up instantly.
"whuh? oh, it's you, mute," Sans smiled at me after I woke him.
"Yeah, it's me. So did you talk to your colleague yet?" I asked him.
"dang... almost forgot about that. thanks for reminding me, mute. while i do that, you should do something else for a bit. i need at most ten minutes to talk to her," Sans smiled.
"Well, I'm gonna go visit Undyne's place to try and befriend her, so that should give me more than enough time," I smiled at him.
"sounds perfect. and just so you know, i heard the river person is off of their break. go to the pier near the laboratory up ahead and ask to be taken to waterfall. that's a quick way to undyne's place," Sans said.
"You got it," I smiled at him as I then went to where Sans said and I saw a hooded person that looked like they could be the grim reaper, but then they spoke in a sing-song voice.
"Tra-la-la. I'm the River Person. You want to join me in my boat? Destinations are Snowdin, Waterfall, and here," the River Person said, me smirking at how they sounded feminine.
"Take me to Waterfall, please," I smiled at them.
"Then we're off," they smirked, me then getting on the boat and smiling as I saw that we actually moved quite quickly on the water. "Lalala... be careful of Hawaii," they said, me giggling at how random that line was. We then got to the dock in only two minutes and I smiled at them.
"Thanks for the trip," I smiled at them.
"Anytime," they smirked at me... I think. Their face was completely covered. I then went to the west and found Undyne's house in the area with Napstablook's and saw that it was actually shaped exactly like a fish head. And Papyrus was right there in front of the door waiting for me.
"Oh, great! You actually came! This is gonna be so fun!" Papyrus smiled widely at me.
"Of course. I have quite the tale to tell about what happened while you called me earlier," I smiled at him.
"Okay, stand behind me and give her this when you get in there. She loves 'em," Papyrus smiled as he handed me a bone with a red ribbon on it. I smirked at that and nodded as Papyrus then rung the doorbell and the door opened up by the teeth opening up and down. And Undyne was on the other side in her lighter attire.
"Hey there, Papyrus! Ready for our super secret, one-on-one training?" Undyne smiled.
"You bet I am! And I brought a friend!" Papyrus smirked as he then moved out of the way and I smiled as Undyne started to talk with her eyes closed, slowly opening them as I stood there.
"Hi there! I don't think that... weee..." Undyne said before she then held that word for quite awhile, just out of pure shock.
"Hi there, Undyne," I smiled at her with a bashful blush.
"Uh... why don't you two come in?" she said bluntly, her then letting us inside and me then looking in the place and smirking at how cozy it looked. Though I did note there was a piano and a sword as big as Undyne was.
"Here, Undyne. A gift from me and the Great Papyrus," I smirked as I gave her the bone, her smiling at how I said that.
"Thanks... I'll put it with the others," she said as she then put the bone in a drawer full of them. "So, shall we get started?" Undyne asked with a smile.
"Whoopsie-doopsie! I just remembered... I have to go to the bathroom! Take care!" Papyrus smiled as he then did the most hilarious thing yet. He jumped out of and broke the window! That made me smile and I started to laugh silently at that.
"So... why are you here, Mute?" Undyne asked, me smiling at that.
"I thought I'd visit you to see how you were faring since our 'battle'... and by battle, I really mean our little game of tag," I smiled, Undyne snorting at that.
"Hmph, like I said, I'm not a fan of how contagious your kindness is. But I do admire you in a strange way. Almost like you're so dedicated to being nice to others... so what should we do then?" Undyne asked.
"Well... how about we sit down and have a chat? I want to tell you some stuff about me and I'm sure you've got some stuff to share too," I smiled.
"Oh, okay, sure... uh, just sit down and I'll get us some tea made," Undyne smiled, me smirking and doing just that, sitting at the table as Undyne made some tea. It didn't take too long, since Undyne used fire magic to cook it very fast. It was done in only a minute and she then put the cup of it in front of me and she sat on her side of the table with her glass.
"Thank you, Undyne," I smiled at her.
"Yeah... sure... so, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Undyne asked.
"Well... I actually wasn't lying earlier when I said that you couldn't be more right about my soul being the one to destroy the barrier. See, I have a secret that I've only told a couple others after I discovered it... I even sung a duet with the person who helped me discover it," I smiled.
"Really? Go ahead, show it," Undyne smirked.
"Alright, and like I said, no one should know about this. You are not the only one down here who wanted me dead," I said as I then focused my magic on my soul again and I showed my soul to Undyne, her spitting her mouth full of tea across the table and at my face, me wiping it with my hands as Undyne looked at it in pure shock.
"A... A... A soul of purity?" Undyne asked in shock.
"Yep. And the one who told me of how powerful this soul is? He's pretty freaking tough himself," I smiled.
"Who could that be?" Undyne asked.
"Apologies, but he said if I reveal to anyone who he was and what kind of power he had... he said, and I quote 'I'm gonna have a bad time'. And to be honest, I'd rather keep having a great time down here," I smiled.
"Yeah... so you think your soul is gonna be enough to shatter the barrier?" Undyne asked.
"That's what that guy said... he said that a soul of purity is not only the rarest soul in humans, but it also has the combined might of all the other 7 soul colors. He said that the colors were red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple. Basically the colors of the rainbow," I smiled.
"Yeah, that's right. And your soul is just like the rainbow. It's honestly kinda pretty to look at," Undyne smiled.
"Yeah, I agree. So you promise not to tell anyone? Like I said, there's another person down here who's very mean and nasty, mostly because they keep trying to kill me and spy on me. They want my soul for themselves and, last I checked, if they got my soul, It'd be very unpleasant, because they have a saying that the Underground is a world that follows the logic of 'kill or be killed'," I said, Undyne frowning at that.
"Oof, that's a big fat lie right there. Sure, I capture humans so Asgore takes their souls, but even then, though their bodies are done for, the souls themselves are kept at his place. He even talks to them on occasion," Undyne said.
"Sounds like what Papyrus said Asgore was like. And apparently Asgore's nickname is King Fluffybuns? How the heck did he get such a non-intimidating nickname?" I smirked.
"Well, it happened long ago, like, back when Chara was still around and I was a kid. The queen was giving a speech with Asgore. And when she gave the control of it to Asgore, she didn't realize the mic was still on and she said "Your turn, Fluffybuns." And the crowd erupted in laughter, followed by the queen shortly after. Asgore then got all serious-like and shushed the crowd before then addressing everyone. "Attention everyone. I, King Fluffybuns..." And the rest is ancient history," Undyne smirked, me smiling and giggling at that as I drank my tea and smiled at how sweet it tasted.
"Sounds like they were really in love at one point... well, another secret I have is... well, I met the queen earlier. She saved me from that bad monster I talked about earlier. And she was hesitant to let me continue on through the Underground because of how she lost all the other humans to Asgore," I said with a small smile.
"So why didn't you decide to stay with her? There some kinda reason?" Undyne asked.
"Well... I made a promise to my mom when I left for a hike up this mountain. That I'd be home before sunset today, which means 6 pm at the latest, considering it's autumn. And I don't like breaking promises, especially to someone as kind as my mom. So not only am I going to find a way out of the Underground, but I made another promise to another friend down here. To free everyone with my powerful soul and be nice to everyone," I smirked.
"Heh, you got the nice part down pat, I gotta say," Undyne smiled as I then took another drink of tea and smiled at it.
"So what's this tea called? It tastes very sweet," I smiled.
"It's Asgore's favorite kind. Golden Flower Tea. It's based on his favorite flowers that he grows in his garden... the ones that sprouted soon after his son's ashes fell in his garden... kinda morbid, in a way," Undyne explained, me frowning as that only proved my theory about Flowey being the prince. His ashes were spread in the garden and the golden flowers sprouted from them soon after. And if Flowey somehow got some substance in him to give him awareness of his situation, he definitely didn't have a soul of his own anymore. So that meant that Flowey was the way he was because of him getting killed by the humans as well as his loss of a soul, therefore, the loss of all positive emotions.
"I think I can understand... Asgore probably misses his kid a lot... that's my morbid pun right there," I said, Undyne thinking about that before smiling widely.
"Haha, I get it. Because they're goats," she smiled.
"Yeah, I'm trying to beat one of my friends in the ways of telling jokes," I smirked.
"Sans, right? The lazy guy?" she asked, me nodding at that. "He's funny, sure, but he rarely does anything but laze about," she frowned.
"You'd be surprised what he'd be willing to do if something intrigued him enough. He's basically been watching out for me since I got down here, and I have no freaking idea why," I admitted.
"Neither do I," Undyne admitted. "So, are you good now?" she asked.
"Only if we can be friends," I smirked.
"Heh, fine, I'll be friends with ya, Mute. You're pretty nice to someone who tried to kill you a lot... so anyways, I have one question to ask before you go out," Undyne smiled.
"Yeah? What's the question?" I smiled.
"Well... if you happen to see doctor Alphys on your way to Asgore, can you tell her that I want to meet her at the dump today? I wanna... tell her something important," Undyne said, me smirking at that.
"Why don't we go together?" I smiled at her, Undyne smiling at my offer.
"You know what? You're not half bad with that line of thinking, kid! Alright, let's hitch a ride with the River Person to Alphys's lab!" Undyne smirked, me nodding at that as we then did just that and I had to wonder something that egged me on in the back of my head. Could Alphys be the colleague that Sans spoke about?