9 left.

I strolled onto the wooden platform, trying not to feel intimidated. It stretched far ahead, branching into what seemed to be a maze of paths up ahead. I noticed my shadow just in time, stopping right when a blue circle appeared before me. A spear pierced straight through the circle, rising from below the planks.

Growling, I watched Undyne appear from a platform below us. She was back, and still too far for me to reach. It was yet another unfair battle. And based on how Chara reacted in every situation, I still wouldn't be strong enough to fight her anyway. Annoyed at the circumstances, I ran.

Chara resumed to instructing me as I made my way through the attacks. This time though, she also helped to direct me on the correct paths. I swerved and turned and avoided the blue circles. Undyne continued to follow me from below, never losing sight of me. Her attacks came in spurts, with sometimes 5 or 6 spears coming out the wood at the same time. Every once in awhile, I would jump right over the blue circles, in the hopes that I would reach the other side before the spears came up. My impatience earned me a few close calls, but my teamwork with Chara was far greater.

Winding around one last turn, I found myself on a huge clearing of the bridge. I raced across the whole thing in a diagonal direction, still somewhat managing to avoid the magic spears. There was only one more path left. Without further thought, I ran into that one.

The spears were still coming. Huffing, I kept going forwards until… I stopped. I couldn't go forwards anymore, as the bridge just abruptly stopped into a dead end. Even the spears themselves had stopped appearing, and it suddenly dawned on me that this could've been a trap.

Vainly hoping that I wasn't in any kind of trouble, I turned myself around and ran back. But I screeched to a halt once I saw a figure approaching from ahead. There were metal clanking noises.

It was Undyne. Somehow, she had climbed up to my bridge from down below. I sure as heck didn't know how she had accomplished that, but now wasn't the time to question these things. I had bigger problems on my hands now. Gritting my teeth, I waited for her to approach.

Already, plans were forming in my mind. Once she got close enough, there were a variety of things that I could do. I could stand there and wait for her attack before counter-attacking. I could rush forward and try to strike her, with some element of surprise on my side. I could even taunt her until she grew angry enough to lose her coordination. So many possibilities, so many things I could do. But they were all stopped by a simple thing…

Chara's glare. "Don't attempt anything stupid." She warned me.

I rolled my eyes. Maybe I would just stick with the counter-attack plan, in which I just stood there and did nothing as my enemy attacked first. Chara couldn't blame me for my retaliation, I would just be defending myself. Yes, she can't say anything against that.

Undyne was closer now. She was just a few yards away from me. I waited tensely, trying to anticipate her next move to create an effective counter-blow. Would she launch volleys of spears at me, or would she leap at me ferociously? I narrowed my eyes when she stopped. She was going to make her move now, I could feel it.

Then suddenly, spears pierced the sky and sliced through the wood on the bridge in front of me. For a moment, I was confused. She had completely missed me! Did she just fail an attack when her target was just meters in front of her?

Then the bridge trembled, and I suddenly realized that there was more to it than what it looked like to the eye. "No!" I charged towards Undyne, not caring about my original plan anymore. Already, the bridge was collapsing under me. Undyne was still standing safely on her side, one white beady eye trained on me. Resolve built up in me. I couldn't lose now. Not when I still had so much to live for.

In one last attempt, I jumped. I vainly reached forward to grab onto the ledge on which Undyne was standing on. My fingers only briefly brushed the wood before I was falling to my doom, into the inky blackness below. Just falling, falling…

I can hear whispers in my head.

It sounds like it came from over here… Who are you?

Oh! You've fallen down, haven't you… It hurts.

Are you okay? No.

Here, get up… My mind suddenly feels relieved; cleansed. Almost like I've been lifted.

…

Chara, huh? I startle slightly at the name, and I frown. It sounded familiar, like I had heard it before. But where had I heard that name from?

That's a nice name.

My name is-

I blinked awake and suddenly shot upwards into a sitting position. I was in a long cave corridor, and on another bed of golden flowers. To my right was a huge waterfall wall, and all around me were sparse planks of wood here and there. I had fallen, and I was… alive?

Suddenly, I remembered. Ha! Undyne's attack had failed! I was still alive! I beamed proudly, feeling confident at how I had fooled her plans. So that monster was weak and stupid! Just thinking on how the coward made me fall increased my anger, but I decided to bathe in my glory just a bit longer. But now, where was?...

I frantically searched until I heard a voice from behind me. "Looking for me?"

Squeaking, I quickly turned myself around. "Ch-Chara!" I sighed with relief. "You scared me a bit there."

She raised any eyebrow. "You survived."

"Yeah." I agreed. "And now I'm…" I hesitated. "Um… where are we?" I gestured to our surroundings as I picked myself up.

"The dump." Chara replied simply.

"Where there are trash hunks everywhere." I commented, hoping it wouldn't stink as much as it looked. "Won't this be polluting the water, though?"

"Why would you care?"

I blinked. "Good point."

Feeling a bit sore, I stretched my leg muscles a bit. Then I hopped from plank to plank until there were none left. To proceed, I would have to step into the water.

Sighing, I gently lifted myself into the murky stuff. Surprisingly, it wasn't that bad, counting out the fact that I was now wet all the way up to my waist. Groaning, I proceeded through the water and trudged past more heaps of trash. 7 left.

I managed to catch a break on an upcoming platform. I quickly climbed onto it, sighing when I felt my pants drip water. I was completely soaked. And to continue, I would have to step off and get soaked again.

Chara noticed my discomfort and rolled her eyes. "Just get on with it."

I eyed her disdainfully. "Easy for you to say. You just float above the water the whole time."

She grinned in response. "Well, you can't blame me for not wanting to get wet."

"Wet?" I exclaimed. "You're a ghost! You can't even get wet! I think."

"Either way, there's no avoiding it. You'll have to get back into the water to move on."

After a moment, I sighed in defeat. Chara was right. I hopped back into the water, sending splashes around me. Some flew towards Chara, but they went right through her. I narrowed my eyes. "See?" Feeling disgruntled, I turned myself around and moved onwards.

After a left turn and passing a ton (no, a skele-ton) of more junk, I saw a dummy. It was extremely insignificant, basically nothing compared to the rest of the trash, yet it still stood out somehow. Maybe it just reminded me of my first battle in the underground. Feeling curious despite its insignificance, I headed up to it to investigate.

Chara made a face. "What are you doing?"

"Teaching the dummy who's boss." Was my reply, and I gave it a little fist bump in the face. That was nothing. Huffing, I gave it a huge punch to the face. It leaned back considerably, and I felt satisfaction well up inside me. That felt better. Grinning broadly, I turned myself around and marched ahead.

I stopped when I heard splashing noises behind me. All of a sudden, the dummy appeared before me, rising from the depths of the murky water and leaving splashes everywhere. I spat in irritation when he got some on my face. Needless to say, I was slightly surprised at a dummy that could move on its own, but for the time being, I decided not to let it show. "FOOL!" He screamed. "You think you can hurt me?"

"So you're saying I didn't?" I challenged.

The dummy just smirked back. "I am a ghost that lives inside a dummy." Well that explained a lot of things. So there was basically nothing to be afraid of. Except the fact that I couldn't kill him. "My cousin used to live inside a dummy, too. Until… you came along!" His tone was accusing.

"So what? Shouldn't you be glad? If they're a ghost, that means I didn't kill them."

The dummy plowed on with its speech, seeming not to get the point to my statement. "Not only did your actions cause them to leave their home… but now all of their neighbors are gone, too!"

I frowned. There were others? "What neighbors?" I asked. Maybe we could clear this dispute up when he realized that it wasn't me scaring away the so-called neighbors.

"No." Chara stopped me, shaking her head. "The only way to beat him is to make him angry. That way, you can defeat him."

The dummy refused to listen to me. "Despicable. Despicable! DESPICABLE!" He continued to rant, his head steaming into a scarlet red. Steam rose off in little billowed clouds. "You're the worst person I've ever met! I've never been more mad!"

I decided to try Chara's advice. "Heh." I smirked, teasing him on. "So I guess that makes you the Mad Dummy."

"Guooooohhhh!" He screamed in rage, turning more and more red. He was starting to look a lot like a boiling teapot. "My mannequin levels are going off the charts!" But then in a flash, all his anger was gone. All his rage had disappeared. Instead, he just floated there, a confused expression on his face.

I narrowed my eyes, upset that he had recovered so quickly. Had Chara's plan failed? "What?"

"...?" The dummy looked down at himself, a bashful expression on his face. "This… This feeling…? Eureka." Realization suddenly flashed onto his face, and he smiled happily. I felt myself making a face at his sudden change in mood. "Eureka! Eureka!" He turned to me, no sign of violence anywhere. "Human. That moment of unbridled emotion. It allowed me to finally fuse with my body!"

"Really?" I smiled as I took the information in.

"I'm fully corporeal now!" He exclaimed excitedly. "My lifelong dream, realized! In return, I guess I won't stomp you. How's that sound?" There was a silly grin plastered onto his face, and I gagged a little. He looked ready to fall over.

"Heh." I chuckled, feeling my soul draw out. So he was letting me go? "I have a better idea. How 'bout in return, I get to stomp you? How's that sound?"

Before the dummy could respond, I gave it three kicks to the head. "Wipe that smile off your face!" I growled as he turned to dust. Apparently, head kicks were the most effective types of kicks. They always eliminated the enemy quickly. I would have to keep that in mind. I turned to Chara with a thankful glance. "Thanks for the tip. It worked."

"Of course." Chara gave me an approving nod. "We beat him. Now let's get out of nasty this swamp."

7 left.

Well, not for long. Even after all that, I was back in action. Ignoring some random houses that littered the side of the lake, I moved past them to find another random shop run by some weird old turtle monster. He was dressed up like an archaeologist, with magnifying glass and everything. He didn't look happy to see me, but he didn't chase me away. It was a good thing he didn't, or else I might've gotten rid of him like I had with all the others.

"Wa ha ha…" He cackled. His voice was hoarse, but still energized. "So ya came here. What a treat!"

"You got a problem with that, old man?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Watch your tongue, youngster! We don't allow any kind of foul language here!"

"Oh really?" I smirked. "Then what if I threaten to kill you? Will it still not be allowed?"

He narrowed his eyes at me knowingly. "I've lived too long to be afraid of something like you." He explained. "Wah ha… knowledge like that is the only reason I've survived so long."

I grumbled. "Well, that's because you're too much of a weenie to fight me."

"Eh? Fight you?" He looked to the side. "Nah… I'm not a hero. Never was. And b'sides, these bones aren't fit for fighting anyhoo. I know I don't stand a chance 'gainst you youngsters. But at least, I've bought time for the others."

"Time?" I questioned. "It doesn't matter how much time you give them. They're all going to be within my reach. I need to get stronger, and for that, I need to get ahold of every single one of them. You should know that much, at least."

The turtle sighed. "I'm no hero, but I know there's someone like that out there. Someone who's striving to do the right thing. I know it's true." He narrowed his eyes at me in warning. "Someone out there will strike you down."

"There's no one out there that can strike us down, so stop speaking gibberish." I turned myself around. "I'll be taking my leave now, old man."

He narrowed his eyes slightly when I used the word "us," but he didn't prod further. "Good riddance." He mumbled. When his back was on me, I snatched a couple of crabby looking apples. Literally. They were apples shaped like crabs.

Sticking my stash in my pockets, I went to the familiar box. The snowman pieces were still inside.

"Take them back out." Chara told me.

I frowned. "Why? The apples are good enough to handle the monsters around here."

"No, they're not." Chara insisted. "Listen to me. These will definitely help you. No more questions against it."

Grumbling, I emptied some of the Crab Apples from my pockets and took out the snow pieces. Chara had better be right. Carrying wet snowballs around someplace like the Waterfall was bound to make us run into trouble.

More monster fights came up as we proceeded. I was going to have to deal with those first. I dealt more kicks to the enemy. My theory proved correct when I noticed that head kicks were much more effective. My feet hurt a bit, and I was sure that after this long exercise, I would have the toughest soles in the entire underground.

When the path was dark, Chara instructed me to bop the blue mushrooms on the head. They always lighted up new paths for me, and I made my way through the grassy lanes. Some very conveniently-placed lanterns helped me out. It was good and easy. Not to mention that monsters really liked to hang out around the area for some reason, so it was perfect.

I was back in a dark passageway. Not being able to see what was in front of me, I stepped right back into the waist deep water. Cursing and flinging my arms around unceremoniously, I stormed forwards. And I was just starting to get dry too! Why did this area have to be so wet all the time?

The deeper I went in, the darker it got. Chara beckoned to me after a moment. "This way." She pointed to the left wall, where there was just darkness. I frowned at her, not understanding. "There's a path here." She explained.

I made my way over and realized that she was right. There was no wall, just a simple path. I had assumed it was a wall just because it was dark. Thank goodness Chara was with me to point these things out. Thankfully lifting myself out the water, I resumed to moving along the path.

Soon, the darkness had went away. I was now in a sparkly room full of blue flowers. Although I didn't want to admit it, it was actually very pretty. Chara seemed equally interested as we moved through them, pausing to whisper into some of them every once in awhile. I cocked my head in interest, but didn't question her. Sometimes, Chara was just weird. It was better to just accept it.

Determination. "We're close." Chara warned. Close to what though, she didn't clarify.

We were out of the area now, and there was no more water in sight. Smiling, I proceeded onto a long purple bridge. There was no shadow in sight, so I guessed that Undyne wasn't around to butt in. That was good.

I suddenly stopped when I heard excited footsteps behind me. "Yo!" Monster Kid called out to me. Stopping, I turned myself around. He slowly approached me, a wary look on his face. "Yo. Undyne told me to stay away from you. She said you… you hurt a lot of people." She finally told him the truth, huh?

I raised an eyebrow in question. "So?"

"...But, yo, that's not true, right!?" Was he really the dense? Sighing, I turned away for a moment to collect my thoughts on how to deal with the problem. "...yo...Why won't you answer me?"

"Is he useful anymore?" I whispered to Chara, giving her a side-ways glance.

"Nope." She confirmed.

"...then I can get rid of him."

"Yes."

"A… A… and what's with that weird expression...?" The Monster Kid stuttered nervously. He suddenly backed away as I advanced on him. "Oh… Oh man…" He mumbled. "Man, my h-heart's pounding right out of my chest…" So he finally realized the danger. "What would Undyne do?"

I took more steps toward him until we were just inches apart. If he was going to act like Undyne, the he might as well start breaking the bridge we were standing on. Except he couldn't. Because he was a weak monster. Yet at the same time, he didn't look ready to run away. That would be his own fault when his dust fell into the abyss.

"...Yo…" He said to me. "Y-you'd b-better st-stop r-right where you are…" I could barely take him seriously with him stumbling over every word. "Cause if you w-wanna hurt anyone else… you're…" He gulped, before straightening his back. "You're gonna have to get through me, first. A… And..."

"It's not like you're even blocking my way." I smirked as I interrupted his next words. "But suit yourself." My soul was drawn out to indicate the beginning of the battle. Monster Kid gave me a sweaty but determined stare. He was in the way. He was just easy XP. Once I was over with him, I could move on.

Grinning like an idiot at finally being able to get rid of him, I prepared to send him a kick to the face. Just one. It would be enough, I knew. His eyes widened as he saw me approach, and there was suddenly fear in his expression.

But when I had finished my kick, I realized that I hadn't struck my target. Growling, I spun to face the intruder, and realized it was none other than Undyne herself. My footprint now showed on her armor, and I watched her tremble. She had pushed the Kid away to take the hit herself, and now he was lying on the bridge not too far behind her. Shock was plastered onto all our faces as we each stared at each other.

Monster Kid was the first to speak. "U-Undyne!" He squeaked worriedly. "You're hurt..."

"Hurt?" She smiled gently at him. It was pretty unconvincing. "It's nothing. But next time, listen when I tell you to leave, okay?"

"Undyne! I…"

The fish lady's gaze grew sharper. "I'll take care of this! Get out of here!" Monster Kid flinched slightly at her tone of voice before quickly slinking away. My prey was getting away!

But now, there was a much more interesting sight before me. The one and only "great" Undyne was now wavering before me, barely keeping herself upright. "Heh… 'it's nothing'..." She sighed mockingly. "No… s-somehow, with just one hit… I'm already… Already…" Her hold on the world was loosening. "D… damn it…" Already, her legs were fading out. Ready to turn into dust. I had defeated her with one hit, with one kick to the head. Head kicks really were amazing.

I turned to Chara with a smirk. "Just what were you saying about Undyne?"

She growled at me. "It hasn't happened yet!" She insisted. "Don't get so cocky!"

"Papyrus…" Undyne's voice was wavering as well. "Alphys… Asgore… Just like that, I… I've failed you." Her form was almost completely indistinguishable now.

"It's what happens when you try to oppose me." I grinned. Then I turned myself around, ready to leave her dust behind.

"No, stop!" Chara warned me. "Don't turn your back on the enemy!"

"Why? She's already dying."

"No…" I stopped when I heard Undyne oppose my statement. "My body… It feels like it's splitting apart. Like any instant, I'll scatter into a million pieces.

"That's what happens to monsters when they die, hun." I still didn't turn myself around yet.

" But… deep, deep in my soul. There's a burning feeling I can't describe. A burning feeling that won't let me die. This isn't just about monsters anymore, is it?"

I paused before turning my head around slightly. "What are you talking about?"

"If you get past me, you'll… you'll destroy them all, won't you?" She took a slow, ragged breath. "Monsters… humans… everyone..." The quote was familiar to me, but I couldn't quite place where I had heard it from before. "Everyone's hopes. Everyone's dreams. Vanquished in an instant. But I won't let you do that."

"And how do you plan on stopping me, exactly?"

"Right now, everyone in the world… I can feel their hearts beating as one. And we all have one goal." A smile was plastered back onto her face as she pointed threateningly at me. "To defeat you. Human. No, whatever you are. For the sake of the whole world… I, Undyne," Her smile was larger than ever, radiant almost. How was she still standing? How was she still up? "Will strike you down!"

A flash of light blinded me for a moment, and I shut my eyes. When I opened again, there was a completely different-looking Undyne before me. Her eyes were fierce, her armor was elaborately pointy in some areas, and her hair was swayed wildly in the wind. There was also a huge heart on the center of her armor-piece. Not to mention that she didn't look ready to turn into dust anytime soon.

"The heroine appears." Chara grumbled. My eyes were wide with disbelief.

Undyne grinned menacingly in my direction, pointing her spear at my throat. "You're gonna have to try a little harder than that." She cackled confidently.

The real battle begins.

Dun Dun DUN!...