Chapter 7: Floaten Part 1
Two days earlier…
Frisk calmly breathed in the moist air. The grass was soft on her back, and the distant crystals glowed above. A gentle breeze in the air blew over her like a summer wind.
The area still had fog, although weaker. Here, it looked more like walls of clouds encircling the site rather than a blinding presence on every step.
In another situation, this would've been a moment of comfort. But here, there was only a looming dread with the knowledge that this wouldn't last.
The strong warrior stood erect and watchful beside the three children, hood down and looking silently into the distance, holding her Ashu-Tshuki helmet. Frisk looked at her, curious about how she stood so still like a statue. Not a noise came from her.
Mostly, she stared upwards, hands resting on the back of her head. The cavern crystals were starting to lose their charm. Now all she wondered was how far down they were.
And just how the mountain still stood while being so hollow.
A whole world just underneath humanity's feet.
And Frisk began to wonder. What next? Reminiscing about how much had happened the last few days, should she tell anyone? Could she tell anyone? Would she ever feel safe-?
"Frisk?" Flowey inquired. "You've not fallen asleep, have you?"
"Huh?" Frisk responded. "No, yeah. I'm fine."
"You've just been strangely quiet, is all," Flowey said.
"I'm fine," Frisk continued. "I think the stun thingy is finally going away."
"Alright, the five minutes are up, kids!" Undyne called. "You know the deal. Let's get going."
Frisk yawned and sat up slowly.
"That was five minutes?!" MK complained. "Barely felt like half."
"Sorry, kids," Undyne stated. "I'd love to stay and chill longer. But we'd best move ahead while we still have a head start from The Hunt."
"That might be the only smart choice we've made in a while," Flowey stated.
MK turned to him with a puzzled look.
"How come?" they inquired.
"Just saying," Flowey said as he rose up. "We are a group of idiots. Yes, including me. How much precious time did we waste creating that dumb pyre?"
"Undyne said we had time," Frisk said. "And come on. Don't tell me you didn't feel good about that. I saw the way you were smiling."
"Yeah…" Flowey awkwardly agreed. "But still. How long did we take those plants and pull those computers apart just to insult one paranoid maniac?"
"Undyne said we were way ahead," MK replied."
"Yes," Flowey said. "And, logically, that means we should keep being ahead of those bastards as far as we can. So yeah, we are idiots. Completely so."
Undyne chuckled nearby, and Flowey turned to her with annoyance.
"Come, now," the lady began, grinning. "It wasn't all stupid. They're probably all over there shitting their pants now and will be so for the next hours or so. Outside of kicking the drug business down a notch, it was a good distraction, as well as a good tactical attack. It will shift their focus from you kids for a bit."
Flowey visibly appeared to consider it all.
Only briefly.
"Still think I'm right," he said under his breath, shaking his head.
Frisk silently rose to her feet, putting her backpack on her back.
"Which direction?" she inquired.
"Oh, just over there," Undyne said, pointing to a hard-to-see road.
It was hard to see, even if there was no fog. It looked more like someone had rolled a bike tire in a single line across the field.
"How the hell did you notice that single string-thin stripe?" Flowey inquired.
"I have good eyes," Undyne said smugly. "This was also the direction I came from while heading towards Snowdin."
"Oh," Flowey said, feeling dumb.
"I've been here several times," Undyne continued. "A very subtle passage. A lot better than going the main road."
The group waited for no commands before they headed in the same direction.
"Psst, hey?" Flowey suddenly whispered to Frisk. "Was that a good idea we did?"
Frisk didn't know what to say. She was more surprised to hear him ask that in the first place. But Frisk didn't want to point it out either. Instead of words, she gave him a simple shrug.
That looked like a good enough answer for him.
"Hey, where are we headed, exactly?" Frisk inquired.
"There's a small town not far from here," Undyne said. "Where are you headed?"
Frisk was silent for a moment.
"Why are you asking?" she asked.
"Eh, just curious," Undyne said, shrugging. "Just curious about your goal down here, is all."
"Isn't it obvious?" Flowey asked. "We are heading towards The Barrier."
"Yeah, but I want to hear the human say it," Undyne said.
"Not a fan of how you say "the human", but ok," Flowey softly said.
"Home, I guess," Frisk answered simply. "Just out of here. Away from The Hunt, and get back to the surface. So, from what Flowey has told me, I suppose that means through the capital. And the big castle. Where the barrier is."
"Hmm," Undyne said, thinking.
"What?" Frisk interjected.
"Nothing," Undyne simply said.
"You don't think we have it in us, do you?" Flowey inquired.
"Oh, no, I have some faith," Undyne stated. "Humans are determined as hell. That is what I know. It's just-"
She remained silent.
"Forget it," Undyne continued.
"Yo, Frisk?" MK inquired. "Does that mean you'll be gone for good?"
Frisk thought about it. She hadn't thought about it before.
"I guess so," Frisk said. "I'm sorry, kid, I just… I have places to be."
"It's ok," MK said. "I understand. I'll live."
"I'll miss you, though," Frisk said.
"Yeah," MK said, looking down.
"Man, this turned depressing," Flowey interjected.
"Heh, way to ruin the moment," Undyne stated.
"Just think it's better to say our inevitable goodbyes when we actually get there," Flowey stated.
Something came up in Frisk's mind.
"Hey, Undyne," Frisk asked.
"Huh?" Undyne answered.
She turned around to look at Frisk.
"You were once Captain of the previous Royal Hunt, right?" Frisk inquired.
Undyne chuckled a bit.
"Indeed," she said. "But it wasn't The Royal Hunt back then. Nuh-uh, back then, it was The Royal Guard."
There was a lot of audible pride in Undyne's voice as she made that statement.
"Ok, what was the difference?" Frisk inquired. "Outside of you being the "good guys", I guess?"
Undyne smile slowly faded, and she turned thoughtful.
"I think calling us the "good guys" would be somewhat of a simplification," she stated. "In short, we were more like, erm, guards. Mostly my warriors just kept watch in certain locations around The Underground, partly for any ruffians or crime, but mainly to watch out for any human that came down here. There weren't many places for humans to get down here, so it wouldn't be that hard. Most of my guards just kept to their stations. I was the only one who regularly wandered about. Just my style, I suppose. And being a captain, that was my privilege."
"Huh," Frisk said, thinking.
"Gods, I'm making it sounds super boring, aren't I?" Undyne said, grinning. "Nah, Nah. It was a cool era of my life. I would be lying if I said no part of me misses that. But I suppose this vigilante business isn't that far removed."
"Yo, did you fight a lot of bad guys?" MK suddenly inquired.
"Did it?!" Undyne replied. "Heh, I was kicking the asses of bad guys all around! Still do! Just not "legally" anymore."
"What about humans?" Frisk inquired.
Undyne grin suddenly faded.
"What about them?" she inquired.
"You mentioned that The Guard mainly kept watch for humans," Frisk began. "And Flowey has told me several humans have come down here before. But what did you do with humans once they got down here?"
Undyne looked at her silently.
"You captured them, didn't you?" MK asked.
"Oh?" Undyne said. "Erm, yeah. T-totally. We just captured them."
"What then?" Frisk enquired.
"Erm," she began, scratching her neck. "I suppose it depended on the human. I-it wasn't for me to decide."
"Oh," Frisk inquired with concern. "Too much?
"Too freaking much," Undyne softly stated.
A discomforting silence came, one they all felt was desperate to be broken.
"What-?" MK began.
"So-" Flowey began at the same time.
"I-" Frisk began as well.
"Oh, erm, sorry," MK said.
"No, no, you go on ahead," Frisk said.
"Yeah, you first, kid," Flowey said.
"Erm, Undyne?" MK inquired. "What town are we going to?"
"Oh, it's called Floaten," Undyne said.
"Hmm, never heard of it," MK said.
"Eh, it's not that big," Undyne said. "Maybe more of a village than anything. And even smaller above the water."
"Above the water?" Frisk inquired.
"Yeah, a big chunk of it is under this giant lake," Undyne stated. "Most live underwater for stone houses. I once lived there with my parents, but then we had to move upwards due to work reasons. Let me tell you. It is beautiful."
"I can imagine," Frisk said. "So, I'm guessing a lot of fish folk live there?"
Undyne looked at her with a bit of a strange frown.
"Oh, God, was that offensive?!" Frisk quickly said apologetically.
"Hah, no, no, no," Undyne said. "I just thought that was a stupid question. Like, what kind of folk do you think would live there? Mammals?"
"Well, I am kind of stupid, sorry," Frisk stated.
"Eh, don't be like that," Undyne said. "I suppose there are no stupid questions."
"I'll bet," Flowey stated.
"Floaten…" MK muttered. "Wait, is that the town you grew up in?"
"It's the town I grew up in," Undyne said. "Maybe only thing it can be known for. And where my parents still live as well! Oh, damn. I just realised. I need to explain why I'm suddenly with a bunch of kids. Wanted kids, nonetheless, and do so in a way that makes sense and doesn't worry them too much."
"We don't need to visit them," Frisk said. "If it is too much issue."
"That, erm, would be kind of hard," Undyne said, looking awkward. "You see, I kind of… I live with them."
"You live with your parents?" MK inquired.
"Hey, kid, lots of adults do," Undyne said. "Geez. Have you seen the prices of apartments these days?"
"She has a point," Flowey said.
"Damn, different worlds, same problems," Frisk muttered.
"I-I don't look at apartments," MK said, a bit uneasy. "I'm just a kid."
Undyne sighed.
"You're right," Undyne said. "I'm sorry. But yeah, you see my issue."
"What happened to your old house?" Flowey asked. "The one shaped like a fish."
"You don't want to know," Undyne simply said. "Ok, it's not that bad. I'm just not in the mood to say it."
"What can we expect from your parents?" Frisk inquired.
"Eh, not much," Undyne said.
"Why not bring them along?" Flowey said. "We could always use more people on our journey, I think."
"Mmm, Nah," Undyne said. "My dad is not much of a fighter, and my step- oh, you were joking, weren't you?"
"Maybe," Flowey said. "But, oh! Here's another idea: maybe we should, at least, sleep several nights at their place. Maybe have some coffee and wait for The Hunt. Wouldn't that be swell?"
Undyne frowned.
"Is he always like this?" she asked.
The kids pondered that for only a few seconds.
"Pretty much," Frisk, MK, and Flowey all said.
Frisk and MK turned to the flower with a look of disbelief. Once Flowey felt the gazes and turned to look, he frowned.
"What?" he inquired. "Just because I'm a complainer doesn't mean I can't be self-aware of it?"
He turned back forward and sighed.
"If it makes you all feel any better," he began. "I'm going to try and "lessen" my complaining from now on."
"Ah, good," Undyne said. "Lost its charm when you first began."
"I don't know, you don't need to do it for our case," MK said.
"Oh, you like me complaining?" Flowey responded.
"I didn't say that," MK softly muttered.
"Honestly?" Frisk interjected. "After a while, I just got used to it. Or maybe I've just had far worse back at home."
"Ok, that explains a lot," Flowey replied. "Trust me, I want to be the "voice of reason", only I feel less like a "voice of reason" and more like that one voice at the back of your head that tells you to do things."
"Sorry?" Undyne inquired.
"Oh, you know," Flowey continued. "The one that you constantly have that goes like: "Go rob that person's pocket" or "Go throw this rock at this annoying dude", but you never follow through with?"
"Yeah, I can relate," Frisk said thoughtfully.
"Heh, who doesn't?" Undyne said.
"I've never had it," MK said.
"Really?" Frisk said.
"Erm, what?" Flowey said. "Not even once?"
"I just don't get why you should think about doing awful things you never want to," MK stated.
God, you're too lovely for this world, Frisk thought.
"What, never wanted to beat up some mean ol' teacher?" Undyne inquired. "Oh, sorry. Bad choice of words. Maybe have your teacher be beat up, rather?"
"Erm…" MK said, unsure of how to answer. "Erm, kinda? Maybe once or twice?"
"Yeah, that's the thing," Undyne said. "So… do you want me to go beat up your teacher? Because I totally can-"
"What- no!" MK said, sounding shocked.
Undyne chuckled.
"Yeah, you get it now?" she inquired. "It's a weird instinctual thing. We all have it, and we can't control when it arrives. No need to be ashamed."
"Instinctual?" Flowey said, sounding suddenly confused. "It's not instinctual, and I can fully control when it comes. What are you talking about?"
The others turned to glare at him, each with a different look of confusion and concern.
"Err… Flowey?" Frisk inquired. "Is there something-?"
"I'm kidding!" Flowey said, smiling and chuckling awkwardly. "Obviously."
Frisk, feeling like an absolute idiot, smiled back with relief. MK just shrugged.
But Undyne stared at him hard. Then Undyne grinned. Then she smiled.
And then she made a remarkably unique sound.
It was a loud, ugly howl of laughter like one would expect to come from the mouth of an ogress. The laugh only lasted a few seconds, but it was not something you could easily forget, and Frisk, in her shock, figured this was perhaps the most proper type of laughter for her.
"Thank God!" she said. "I thought you were a psycho or something! Ok, not really. But still."
Flowey stared at her as if he had witnessed a terrible crime.
"Damn…" he said. "Forgot about your laugh. And it wasn't even that funny even. What the hell?"
A few minutes passed, during which little of value was spoken. The grassy field slowly morphed into stone and moss, and the waters of the marsh began to turn into small streams.
"How much further?" MK complained. "My legs are getting tired."
"Oh, let me-" Frisk and Undyne said in unison.
They stopped and looked at each other halfway through reaching them.
"Do you want to-?" Undyne began.
"No, no," Frisk said. "Go on ahead."
Undyne shrugged, lifted MK up and put them over her shoulders in a piggyback.
"Woah," MK said with eyes wide open. "Yo, I'm riding Undyne!"
"Yeah, you are, kid," Undyne said. "You're going to make the other kids jealous, right?"
"Erm, not really," MK said with sadness. "None of the other kids know much or care about you. They think I'm weird for admiring you."
"Hmm," Undyne simply said with no noticeable emotion in her tone.
"No, no, they still like you!" MK said. "Kinda."
"Let me guess, they like Ashu-Tsuki?" Undyne inquired.
"Y-yeah, how did you know?" MK asked.
"Heh, just natural with kids," Undyne said. "Undyne is an old relic, while Ashu-Tsuki is a current, ongoing hero of all! Frankly, I'm more surprised I still have newer fans. Pleasantly surprised, of course. How old are you, kid?"
"Almost 14," MK said. "Maybe it's because my moms have told me tons of stories. The way they described you, oh man! I remember they said you could bench-press a table full of kids! Is that true?!"
"It was true," Undyne said with reminiscence. "But now? I can bench-press even more!"
She flexed her left arm a little bit.
"But they still like you, though?" Frisk inquired. "They just don't know it."
"Yeah!" MK said. "You're Ashu-Tshuki, remember?"
"I don't know," Undyne said. "I feel complicated about it. Let's leave it at that."
"Hey, speaking of," Flowey began. "Where did you get that silly name anyway?"
Undyne gave him a stare that signalled a wheel spinning in her head.
Then she chuckled while shaking her head.
"Oh, that is a brilliant story," Undyne. "Frisk? Human? You want to do the honours?"
Frisk turned to her with a confused look.
"Huh?" she inquired.
"Come on," Undyne said, grinning. "Ashu-Tshuki! My namesake! You've obviously heard of her, being human and all, right?!"
"I, erm," Frisk began, feeling immensely awkward. "I don't know who that is."
Undyne gave her a look like Frisk had suddenly started speaking in tongues.
"Are you kidding me?!" the warrior lady inquired with aghast. "Ah, come on. You're kidding, right?! Tell me you're kidding!"
"I-I'm not," Frisk explained, thinking hard. "I mean, it is somewhat familiar. But barely."
Undyne gave a dissatisfied frown.
"Kids these days," she muttered. "Ok. Let me tell you all a fun human history."
She made a cough like a person preparing a presentation.
"A long time ago, I learned of this one great human warrior," Undyne began, sounding as majestic as she could try. "Studying humans was, of course, a prerequisite to being The Captain of the Royal Guard. Know your enemy and all. Frankly, I hated humans."
"Erm, glad to hear that," Frisk stated.
"It was a long time ago," Undyne quickly said. "People change. But anyway, what I did not hate about humans at the time, let me reiterate- was their history. Oh, Frisk, I have to say, you people have an amazing history of such great warriors and heroes."
"I've never been a history buff, so I'll take your word on it," Frisk stated.
"Obviously not!" Undyne said. "Since you can't immediately recall one of my favourites. A human heroine and a saviour of the globe many times. None other than the great and the beautiful Ashu-Tshuki, The Moon Crusader! With her magic wand, she is a fighter of mighty castle-sized beasts and titans! And befriender of many others! She has gone to other magical worlds, and with companions of friendship, she is a crusader for the people! An icon to inspire others to goddess and greatness!"
Frisk glared at her with obvious doubt.
"Sorry?" she asked.
"Woah, for real?!" MK said, eyes glittering.
"Well, technically," Undyne continued. "She was only half human, being born by the Queen of the Moon. Yeah, there are magical semi-humans who live on the moon! Did you all know that?!"
"Yo…" MK muttered in astonishment. "No, I didn't. That sounds cool."
"I'm sorry," Frisk said, almost laughing in confusion. "But what the fuck are you talking about? All of this sounds crazy."
"Way too crazy!" Flowey stated. "Even by human standards."
"Well, maybe, but it's human history," Undyne said with pride.
"I… I don't know," Frisk said, grasping her head. "Maybe I've just missed some news about us having some sort of superhero. What kind of history books have you been reading?"
"Books?" Undyne replied, looking as if she was about to burst into laughter. "Heh, do I look like a nerd? Who said anything about books?"
"Erm…" Frisk began. "Wait a minute. Where did you learn-?"
"Hey, what is that?" MK suddenly said. "There are some buildings beyond the fog."
"Ah, we must be here, then," Undyne said. "Frisk, what were you saying."
"Erm…" Frisk began. "I don't know, I'll ask later. Maybe I don't know enough about my own species. Whatever."
"Indeed, all you've said sounds weird compared to what I've learned," Flowey said, eyes frowned in suspicion. "I think I'll pick you up on those stories too, Undyne."
"Oh, believe me," Undyne began. "I am just as excited for more convo."
As if on cue, the fog dissipated, revealing a large, blue lake. Every lake and stream the group passed by seemed to slither and snake their way into this large lake, plus a large waterfall in the distance by the edge of the caverns. The water was so transparent you could see what looked like either old ruins or houses underneath. Strange silhouettes seemed to swim under, some humanoid but others much more alien. Just beyond the lake, and huddled just up to the rocky walls signalling it as the cavern's edge, was a small settlement.
"Floaten, huh?" Flowey inquired. "No wonder I have so little memory of this place."
"Oh shit," Frisk said softly.
"What?" Undyne inquired.
"Nothing," Frisk said, smiling a bit. "I just finally got it. Floaten, heh."
Author's note coming soon...