Chapter 29: Burn it all Down
"Are you sure this is the way back?" I asked.
"The river runs through this area. It's close by," Red replied. "I should be able to get you transport down the river, back to Waterfall proper."
Since the area wasn't familiar to me, Red was taking me to the fastest way back to the greater Waterfall area, so I could find Papyrus and Frisk. I had already called them, and we agreed to meet up by Napstablook's home, then we could try to see Undyne. I just needed to get there.
Red let me know that there was a way that everyone could use the river to traverse the lower Underground, something that I never heard of before. Must've come in sometime after I fell into the Void.
Pretty soon, I could see the river down an incline. Red led me to the water's edge, and I looked around, unsure of what I was looking for.
"So… what next?" I asked.
Red responded by giving a loud whistle.
"Okay, what does that do?"
"Signal them," Red replied, pointing down the river.
Something was approaching us out of the darkness, riding the water. As they appeared in the light, it became clear that it was a hooded figure, riding a boat.
The strange figure floated by us, and as the boat magically stopped in the water, they turned towards the two of us.
"Tra la la. I am the Riverman," the figure told us, in a monotone, cold voice, hard to discern their gender. "Or am I the Riverwoman...?" I felt a chill down my spine when she said next, "it doesn't really matter, does it, Chara?"
I took a double take. Did they... know my name? How? Did I meet them before?
Before I could answer, Red spoke up (apparently missing what they said), "Riverperson, my friend here needs to get back to the Waterfall community."
I turned to Red. "...Um, Red, something's... strange about them."
Red nodded. "Don't be rude, the Riverperson freely gives monster rides across the river, helping them reach different areas of the Underground. If anyone can get you back to Waterfall, it's them."
"Yes, tra la la. Humans, monsters, flowers… And what are you?" the Riverperson asked me.
"I'm… a human," I replied.
"Perhaps," they said, as their cloak shifted open. "But also, you… are a traitor."
Suddenly, their arm shot out, as they summoned a magic weapon. It was a long magic bone, not unlike one of Papryus's, with a large curved blade made up of light-blue magic welded to the top of the bone, making a terrifying-looking scythe, pointed right at me.
"Woah, wait!" I called out.
"Do you remember what you did? Everyone you cared for, abandoned," the Riverperson said.
"What! I-I never abandoned anyone!" I said. But there was a part of me that questioned if that was true. Those friends I couldn't be there for, who were now lost...
"You can't be trusted... beware of the man who speaks in hands, ...and the woman who came from the other world... They'll bring nothing... but pain."
I was beginning to think another fight was coming, and was getting ready to summon my own magic, when Red pulled me back, and stepped forward, sword ready.
"Stand down! I don't know what problems you have with Chara or any other human," she said. "But she is under my protection, Royal Guard Red. You give anyone else the kindness of traversing the lower Underground, so I want you to show her the same. She has somewhere important to be. ...But if you bring harm to her..." And she summoned her sword, pointing it back at the Riverperson.
The Riverperson lowered her own weapon, then dispelled it. "Very well. I will pass on judgment... for now. Tra la la."
I turned to Red, concerned. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"I've... never seen the Riverperson act like this..." Red admitted. "...But it's just one ride, so... I'm sure you're fine?"
"...You're not coming with me, are you."
"I'm sorry, I have to go back to patrol. But Chara, please, be safe."
I nodded, and went in to shake her hand, when she rushed for a hug. One I returned quickly.
Red then let go, and turned back to her patrol route, while I spun back to the Riverperson.
"...Let's just get this over with," I exclaimed.
I climbed into the boat, and it began to move on its own. I figured that the Riverperson must've used magic to move.
At first, the ride was quiet. Then I decided to try to be cordial. They didn't like me for some reason, and I kind of wanted to know why.
"So... how long have you been boat riding?" I asked.
"I love to ride in my boat," the Riverperson replied. "I don't love having those like you in it. Tra la la."
"I'm sorry about that... But why do you hate me? Something tells me it isn't because I'm human."
The Riverperson provided no response.
Moments later, we approached a small shore leading into a cavern. It took me a moment to recognize the place, but it was a small area near the Waterfall community, right in front of Gerson's shop.
We floated by the shore, and I leapt off. "Hey," I called back. "You should consider being a bit nicer, if you take monsters across the river. Just saying."
"...And would you... be kind to someone that you hated with all your heart?" The Riverperson replied, before floating away on their boat.
This time I had no response, not that I had the time to say anything.
Well, right now, let's just find Papyrus and Frisk.
Papyrus barely had the chance to say a word before Frisk and Toby came running up to me.
"Oh, thank goodness, you're okay!" I said, as Firsk hugged me, and Toby jumped up on me, trying to lick me.
"OHO! CHARA ARRIVES!" Papyrus announced. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE FOUND FRISK, AND BROUGHT HER TO SAFETY!"
"Thank you," I replied.
As we agreed, we met by Napstablook's farm. From here, Papyrus would take us to Undyne's place.
This was all well and good, but something else came to mind. "Say, did you see a monster kid on the way? I kind of had to leave him behind..."
"ACTUALLY, YES. HE WAS CLIMBING UP, TRYING TO MAKE SURE FRISK WAS OKAY," Papyrus explained. "HE SAID HE NEEDED TO GO HOME, SO WE MADE SURE HE COULD HEAD OUT ON HIS WAY."
Wow. That kid is dedicated. But it was good to know that he was okay as well. Things were too hectic at the moment when Papyrus called, so he slipped my mind. Besides, I had no idea if Frisk was okay, while Monster Kid was.
"ANYWAYS, ARE YOU READY TO HANG OUT WITH UNDYNE?" Papyrus asked.
"Well, I do want to talk to her about..." I trailed off. It was hard to say that I almost burned her to death in rage. Not my finest moment.
"WELL, I HAVE A PLAN TO MAKE YOU TWO GREAT FRIENDS!"
...I don't know about... friends, at this point, I thought. But an apology was needed.
Frisk shrunk back behind me, looking nervous. I could tell she was nervous, and I didn't blame her. After getting killed by her, and forced to Reset countless times, I'd be uneasy too.
"It's okay, Frisk. We owe it to try," I told her. "Now, Papyrus, take us over."
"OF COURSE!" And Papyrus guided us to a nearby area of the community.
Undyne's house... well, I shouldn't have been surprised. It looked like an angry fish, the windows resembling eyes looking forward in rage. The door looked like a set of shark teeth. It even had fish-scale-like walls, large fins on the side, and a fin-like mohawk on the top heading down the back into a tail that wrapped from the back to the front, off of the right side.
I could also vaguely hear the sound of a piano being played inside.
"Wait... does Undyne know how to..." I sounded, wondering if she was the one playing
"OKAY! STAND BEHIND ME!" Papyrus interjected. As we did so, Papyrus leaned to me to whisper, "PSST. MAKE SURE TO GIVE HER THIS!" He lifted up a bone with a ribbon on it. "SHE LOVES THESE!"
I grabbed it, and looked at it skeptically. Now, I didn't know Undyne very well, ...but something told me this wasn't Undyne's thing. Unless she liked breaking them.
Papyrus then knocked on the door. The sound of the piano stopped. Alright, it's time.
It took a few moments, but the teeth door opened up, and there she was. Undyne.
She looked to still be recovering from some of her burns, but besides that, she seemed fine, having switched to a casual black tank top and jeans.
"Hey, Papyrus," she exclaimed upon seeing the skeleton. "Sorry, this isn't a good time. Did you need something?"
"WELL-" Papyrus replied nervously.
"Is this about what happened earlier?" Undyne asked.
"UH, YES! YES IT IS!" Papyrus responded. "AND I BROUGHT A FRIEND!" And he stepped to the side, allowing Undyne to see us.
Undyne smiled, "uh, hi, I don't think we've..." Then she realized who she was talking to... me, Frisk, and Toby.
Silence hung in the air.
"...Okay, you know what. Why don't. You guys. Come in," Undyne said through gritted teeth.
Papyrus followed behind looking around nervously.
Well, it's a start, I thought.
"Let's go," I informed Frisk, guiding her and Toby inside.
The inside of Undyne's house was... actually quite quaint. Fish-patterned wallpaper and a few purple rugs on a blue and yellow tile floor. There was a kitchen space along the back wall, including a sink, oven, and a fridge in the right corner, as well as a door in the back left corner. She had a table on one of the rugs, a random giant sword on the floor...
...And a piano, confirmation of what I heard.
"CHARA, THE GIFT," Papyrus whispered.
"Oh, uh, yeah," and I pulled out the bone. "A gift. Papyrus says you like these...?"
Undyne's expression was blank. It was clear she knew what this was. "Uh... thanks. I guess..." She grabbed it, saying, "I'll, uh, put it with the others."
Lo and behold, she put it in a drawer filled with even more of the same bone, including the ribbon.
As Undyne closed the drawer, she took a deep breath. "Listen, Papyrus, I am sorry for lashing out at you. But did you bring the human just to prove a point?"
"NO- I JUST... THOUGHT YOU COULD BE FRIENDS..." Papyrus replied.
"Friends...!?" Undyne growled.
"UH, WHOOPSY DOOPSY! I JUST REMEMBERED! I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!" Papyrus panicked. "YOU THREE HAVE FUN!" And then he just... jumped out the window, right through the glass, scattering shards across the floor.
Everyone still in the room was silent.
Then I broke the silence with, "I'm fairly certain that skeletons, or any monster, really, don't need bathrooms..."
"Right..." Undyne replied, turning to me. Suddenly, her rage came out as she said, "so, you're here to try to be friends, huh? Why, so you can rub your victory in my face? To humiliate me even further?"
"If I wanted to be your friend, then why would I try to humiliate you?" I countered, maybe with a bit too much annoyance. Then I took a deep breath and said, "but I would like to apologize, for what happened."
"Really? How delightful! Apology accepted. Now let's all go frolicking the fields of friendship! ...NOT!"
"Well, you didn't have to be rude about it," I mumbled under my breath.
"Why would I EVER be friends with YOU!?" Undyne continued. "If you weren't my houseguest, I'd beat you up right now! You're the enemy of everyone's hopes and dreams! I WILL NEVER BE YOUR FRIEND."
"Well, sorry for trying to apologize and be nice!" I countered.
Then I felt a tug on my shirt, and Frisk was looking up at me, giving me a hard look. It seemed she wanted me to try harder.
Wow, I wonder what changed. Was it her Determination?
Whatever the case, seemed I wasn't the only one who wanted to keep us from fighting again. Well, kind of.
"DANG! WHAT A SHAME..." Papyrus called out from the broken window. "I THOUGHT UNDYNE COULD BE FRIENDS WITH YOU. BUT I GUESS... I OVERESTIMATED HER. SHE'S JUST NOT UP TO THE CHALLENGE." Then he left.
I was about to question what that was all about, and wasn't he supposed to help? But then Undyne cried out, "CHALLENGE! What!? Papyrus! Wait a second...! Darnit!"
A challenge... I noted in my thoughts. Undyne doesn't back down from a challenge. Papyrus, you genius skeleton! However, I wasn't completely convinced this was a good thing.
Undyne then turned back to us. "He thinks I can't be friends with YOU!? Fuhuhu! What a joke! I could make friends with a wimpy loser like you any day! I'll show him" She then pumped her fist. "Listen up, humans. We're not just going to be friends. We're going to be... BESTIES! I'll make you like me so much... You won't be able to think of anyone else! Fuhuhuhu! It's the PERFECT REVENGE!"
Me and Frisk turned to each other and nodded. She was... intense, but we could work with this. "All right, we accept the challenge," I told Undyne.
"GREAT! Now... Why don't you have a seat?"
Frisk and Toby went to sit down, while I looked around a bit. "...So, should we be worried about the broken glass?"
"...No, it's fine," Undyne replied. "Though I can't believe Paps leapt through the window like that."
"Yeah..."
"Normally he NAILS the landing!"
"Wait... this happens often!?"
Undyne provided no further response.
I decided to find a stop at the table, and inquired about her big ol' sword. "So, Undyne, where'd you get a sword like that?"
"Oh, a friend of mine, Alphys, she made that for me," Undyne explained. "Humans suck, but their history... kinda rules. Case and point: This giant sword! Historically, humans wielded swords up to ten times their size. RIGHT?"
Wait, what? I thought.
"Uh, I mean, I'll admit that I don't... know much about being humans, despite being one myself, but that sounds... dubious at best," I told Undyne.
"Pfft! You Liar!" Undyne replied. "I've READ Alphys's human history book collection. I know all about your giant swords... Your colossal, alien-fighting robots... Your supernatural princesses... Heck, look at yourself! You've got MAGIC! There's no way you're gonna fool me!"
"Trust me, I am the exception," I said, though I already could tell that this wasn't a fight I was going to win, so I decided to let it go, and sat down. Sometime, maybe I could introduce her to Wingding's history collection, and correct her properly. But it wouldn't be easy...
"You two comfortable?" Undyne asked, and both me and Frisk nodded. "I'll get you something to drink." She went to grab several items, and spread them out across her kitchen counter, within our view. "All set! What would you like?"
I made a move to get up, but I had only nudged a little bit when Undyne, in a snap movement, tossed one of her spears at the table, breaking it in half!
"HEY! DON'T GET UP!" Undyne shouted, looking unnerved. "YOU'RE THE GUEST! SIT DOWN AND ENJOY YOURSELF!" Then she calmed down, realizing that she overreacted... "Um, why not just point to what you want? You can use the spear!"
"O...kay... then..." I sounded, as Frisk pulled the spear out, and pointed it to... Undyne?
"...Are you... hitting on me?" Undyne sounded. Frisk just wiggled her eyebrows, and the fish monster gave back a questioning look.
"Hey, Frisk, what about that?" I noted, pointing to a yellow bottle, although, it didn't look... great. Frisk aimed the spear at that, and Undyne responded.
"Oh, soda?" Undyne replied. "...Actually, even though you pointed to it, you don't look happy... Heh, that's fine! I think soda's gross, too!"
"Eh, it's the flavor that's not appealing," I reasoned. "But yeah, I can understand if you don't like it."
"It rots your teeth... It rots your mind... IT ROTS YOUR FIGHTING SPIRIT!"
"So, wait, why do you have it, then?"
No response.
Then I noticed something I'd like. "Frisk, how about that one?" And she pointed to a green cylinder.
"Oh, you want some hot chocolate?" Undyne responded.
"Oh yeah! I LOVE chocolate," I explained.
"...Wait, wait, I just remembered... That container's empty..."
"You kidding me," I said flatly. No one kept me from my chocolate.
"Well, I stopped getting it because it was always a hassle... Asgore kept getting marshmallows stuck in his beard."
That hit some heartstrings. I remembered that happening when I used to live with him, so long ago. Even still...
"So, why not let the marshmallows melt into the cocoa first," I offered. "Or use something else, like whipped cream. You could even go without."
"'Go without!?'" Undyne exclaimed.
"Yeah, I wouldn't go without either. But there are other options..." I sighed. "Okay, what do you have?"
"Hm... tea," Undyne offered.
"Tea, huh? Okay, do you have golden flower tea?"
"Of course! Coming right up!" Undyne grabbed, washed, and filled a small kettle from the sink, and placed it on the stove to heat up.
"It'll take a moment for the water to boil," Undyne stated as she clasped her hands together.
As we waited, I looked back over to the piano. We hadn't brought any attention to it as of yet, but at the thought of my old life...
"Excuse me, Undyne?" I spoke up. "Could I... check out your piano?"
Undyne raised an eyebrow, and said, "sure..."
I got up, and walked up to sit at the piano.
"So, one time, Alphys's... uh, friend? Came over. All he did was lie seductively on the piano... And fed himself grapes. I don't really like that guy. But I admire his lifestyle."
"Sure..." I replied, only half-listening. I brushed my fingers over the keys, before playing a few notes. "It's in good key," I noted.
"You play the piano?" Undyne replied.
I didn't say anything, letting my answer come from my actions. I began to play. Almost instinctively, I played my favorite song...
Slowly, the melody came to life, a bittersweet song, writing a story of the past. And as I played, I felt the world melt away, in a sense, as all I could see... were memories of the past.
Memories of my time with Wingding, and his family. Of the days before that, when I was still in a happy family with the Dreemurrs, when I didn't hate Asgore. When Asriel...
When Asriel was still alive.
...I got so absorbed in the song, I didn't realize...
I had started to cry.
When I finished the song, I was sobbing.
Frisk had come over, worriedly trying to get my attention.
Undyne, too, had changed her demeanor, surprised to see someone react this way to a song they were playing. "D***, Human, are... are you okay?"
"...Sorry, I... I-it's my favorite song, but it... it reminds me of old times..." I stuttered, as I tried to get my tears under control.
Undyne was silent for a moment, before taking a deep breath. "Okay, fine. Come with me." She helped me up, and guided me to the door in the corner.
Frisk ran over, looking worried, but I told her, "it's okay, I'll be fine." Then I followed Undyne.
Passing through the door, I found it led to Undyne's bedroom. And of course, her bed had the same fish theme as the main room.
Undyne sat me on her bed, and asked, "okay, so what's up? It's not often a song makes someone upset."
"...It's... it's a song that I used to play with my brother," I told her. "But why do you care? I thought you didn't like humans..."
"Aren't we besties-"
"I know you're just pretending," I injected. "Trying to win Papyrus's challenge. But me... I just wanted to set things right..."
Undyne sighed, and sat next to me. "You know, that song sounds familiar."
"It's called 'Memory'," I told her.
"Oh... Oh! Asgore likes that song too," Undyne realized. "Actually, I think it makes him sad, too..."
"Can't imagine why."
"You know, it's strange... You remind me a lot of him. You like his favorite song, his favorite tea..."
I clenched my fist. I didn't like being compared to him...
Then Undyne said, "and you're both TOTAL weenies!"
That snapped me back. Did she just call me a "weenie"? After what I did to her?
"...Sort of."
Okay, good save.
"Y'know, I was a pretty hotheaded kid," Undyne said. "Once, to prove I was the strongest, I tried to fight Asgore. Emphasis on TRIED. I couldn't land a single blow on him! And worse, the whole time, he refused to fight back!"
"...Yeah, that sounds like him..." I sounded quietly.
"I was so humiliated... Afterwards, he apologized and said something goofy... 'Excuse me, do you want to know how to beat me?' I said yes, and from then on, he trained me. One day, during practice, I finally knocked him down. I felt... bad. But he was beaming... I had never seen someone more proud to get their butt kicked."
I don't know if Undyne noticed... but thinking about all this... made me depressed.
"Anyway, long story short, he kept training me... and now I'm the head of the Royal Guard!" Undyne finished.
"You know..." I spoke up. "I... didn't like you since we first met. Something happened... and I... It's hard to explain, but the fact you wanted to take us down... It wasn't about me, but Frisk... You see, my father... he betrayed my trust. I had to go into hiding. One day... I met someone, a kid. A human kid, ...and I tried to help her. But then she left, all on her own, and... it didn't end well for her."
I couldn't very well tell Undyne that my father, or rather, my adoptive father, was Asgore himself, and the kid I met was the first human to have their Soul taken. But Undyne seemed to catch on to how I was feeling.
"Honestly, I never liked humans, even though I am one. But, something about these kids... I was that kid once, I suppose. And I just... don't want them to get hurt, like I did."
"Well... all I want to help monsterkind, give them the freedom they deserve!" Undyne replied.
"Well, I'm not sure if violence is the way," I told her. "All of these dead kids, it's going to come back to bite you, badly. Then again, I haven't exactly had success in coming up with a different way to free the monsters myself. I guess... right now, all I think we can do is have everyone be their best selves."
"That sounds nice..." Undyne said. "I guess... some of my guards, that's what I'd want from them..."
"Like Red? Or Papyrus?" I questioned.
"Well, Red... She's a good kid, you know. You might think she's a bit too soft for a Royal Guard... but for one reason or another, the Guard's kinda the only family she has. That place where found her, where we fought, ...I assigned her over there so she WOULDN'T have to fight you... It's funny if you think about it... Her fear of making and losing a human friend felt pretty silly to me... But then again, here we are."
"She's... interesting. But she needed a friend," I replied. "Very similar to Papyrus, in some ways."
"But Papyrus didn't know what was really going on. Not until recently. ...You told him, didn't you?"
"You figured out it was me, huh," I said. "Honestly, I felt he was being kept in the dark because of his innocence. But I think he would've figured it out sooner or later. I just... didn't want him to get caught up in something he wouldn't want to be a part of. I never intended to ruin his dreams."
"Yeah... to be honest... you're right. He's just... well... I mean, it's not that he's weak. He's actually pretty freaking tough! It's just that... he's... He's TOO innocent and nice! I mean, look, he was SUPPOSED to capture you... and he ended up being FRIENDS with you instead! I could NEVER send him into battle! He'd get ripped into little smiling shreds."
"Then... why don't you try to encourage him to do something else?" I asked.
"I have. All of this, it's part of why... I started teaching him how to cook, you know? So, um, maybe he can do something else with his life."
"So, you're the reason Papyrus likes cooking. I bet he thinks it'll make him a better guard."
"Yeah..." Undyned sighed. "You know... that tea is probably ready by now. Let me get you some."
Undyne got up to leave the room, before stopping. "...Wait a second. Papyrus... His cooking lesson... HE WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE THE RIGHT NOW!"
I blinked. That was his training? OF COURSE he'd think cooking would make him a better guard!
"And if HE's not here to have it... YOU'LL HAVE TO HAVE IT FOR HIM!"
Before I say anything, she grabbed me and pulled me back out into the main room, startling Frisk as I was pushed by the counter, barely able to keep my footing. The crazy fish woman jumped onto the counter and ran across it, knocking everything onto the ground.
"That's right! NOTHING has brought Papyrus and I closer than cooking! Which means that if I give you his lesson... WE'LL BECOME CLOSER THAN YOU CAN EVER IMAGINE!"
"U-um, Undyne, you know..." I tried to speak up, but Undyne interrupted.
"Fuhuhu! Afraid!? We're gonna be best friends!" she explained, pounding her fist into her other hand.
Frisk meekly walked over, concerned about what Undyne was doing with me.
"Ah, kid, you're here, excellent!" Undyne bellowed. "You can join in! Now, let's start with sauce!"
I tried to speak again, but Undyne stomped her foot, and then... tomatoes, carrots, and a banana fell from the ceiling, scatting on the counter in front of us.
"Envision these vegetables as your greatest enemy!" Undyne told us. "Now! Pound them to dust with your fists!"
This is how she teaches Papyrus? I thought, remembering what Sans said about his brother's cooking. No wonder he's struggling to make something edible.
I gave a quiet sigh, and "punched" a tomato by nudging it with my fist, knocking it over.
"YEAH! YEAH! Our hearts are uniting against these healthy ingredients!" Undyne exclaimed. "NOW IT'S MY TURN! NGAH!"
Then uppercut punched ALL of the food so hard, they burst open and scattered their juices all over the counter and up the wall.
"...Uh, we'll just scrape this into a bowl later."
"Uh-huh," I sounded. This wasn't going to end well, was it?
"But for NOW!" Another stomp on the ground, and a pot fell onto the stove, along with a box of noodles. "...We add the noodles!"
"I suppose we do..."
"Homemade noodles are the best!" Undyne went off. "BUT I JUST BUY STORE-BRAND! THEY'RE THE CHEAPEST!"
I looked over to Frisk. I was concerned the volume of Undyne's voice would bother her. But she seemed alright, eagerly watching us "cook".
"...Uhh, just put them in the pot," Undyne then said, calming down... just a bit.
I just rolled my eyes, and dumped the noodles in the pot.
The empty pot.
"Alright! Now it's time to stir the pasta!" Undyne exclaimed.
"Um... Undyne, there's no-" I tried to tell her, but she just kept going.
"As a general rule of thumb, the more you stir... THE BETTER IT IS!"
Okay, note to self, try not to eat this, I mentally noted.
"Ready? Let's do it!"
So I began to stir... the still-hard noodles.
"Stir harder!"
I sped up a bit.
"HARDER!"
Okay, a little more.
"HARDER!" Undyne bellowed.
Geeze, what do you think this will solve, I thought I kept "stirring".
"Ugh, let me do it!" Undyne groaned.
...And a magic spear came down to stab the pasta several times, ruining the pot. But... at least it was still... mostly intact.
"Fuhuhuhu! That's the stuff!" Undyne chimed up. "Alight, now for the final step: TURN UP THE HEAT!"
I mean, this would've been the FIRST thing I did, preferably with a water-filled pot, then add the noodles and stir, but okay, let's just let it all burn now. Besides, Undyne was on a roll now.
"Let the stovetop symbolize your passion! Let your hopes and dreams turn into burning fire!"
Yep, just let it all burn.
"READY? Don't hold anything back!"
Now, at this point, I was just tempted to use my fire magic, and literally burn it down. In my eyes, it was all a disaster anyway. But I wasn't that vindictive. Yet.
But as leaned over to inspect Undyne's oven, I was surprised by the monstrosity I found myself in front of. This was the most advanced oven I've ever seen! It at least had the most obvious and necessary features an oven would need, but...
I started turning the dial for the burner the pot was on, ...and it didn't seem to have a stopper.
"Hotter!" Undyne called out.
I kept spinning the dial, and the stovetop kept getting hotter. Fire even started up from underneath the pot.
"HOTTER, DARNIT!" Undyne shouted.
I kept going. The fire was blazing now, and I was thankful that as a fire mage, I was resistant to catching fire...
But needless to say, the magic option of burning things down was clearly no longer necessary.
Frisk began to step back, wisely keeping away from the ever-growing flames, Toby barking at the impending inferno.
"HOTTER!" Undyne burst out.
"I can't even see the pot anymore, through all these flames!" I countered.
"Ugh, let me do it!" And Undyne took over, spinning the dial to the top that I never would have guessed it had at this point.
Undyne turned to me, a wide grin on her face, ...not seeing the massive size of the flames now, just to say, "See!? This is how you-"
BOOM!
So... there we were, staring at a ruined pot, a ruined oven, standing in the middle of a burning house.
...This sounded like the beginning of a joke. Too bad I didn't have one.
For a short moment, there was only the sound of crackling flames.
Then Undyne sounded, "ah."
"Ah," I sounded back. "...You know, it's a good thing I'm a fire mage." Then I turned to the fish woman, seeing her entire front covered in black ash.
"Yeah..." Undyne replied, as she brushed off the ash.
"Honestly, I was half expecting this to happen," I admitted. "H***, I was just going to burn it all down myself. But... the explosion... and the lighting your house on fire... not part of my plan."
"...Man... No wonder Papyrus sucks at cooking."
"...Right."
More silence.
"...So, what's next!?" Undyne spoke up. "Scrapbooking? Friendship bracelets?"
I just gave her an annoyed look.
Finally, Undyne got that hint. "Oh, who am I kidding. I really screwed this up, didn't I?"
"You think?" I replied exasperately.
"I can't force you to like me, human. Some people just don't get along with each other. I understand if you feel that way about me."
I paused at that. I had forgotten the whole idea of this was to try to overcome our disagreements, and become friends. At least, that's what Papyrus wanted.
But now...
"And if we can't be friends... then that's okay," Undyne continued. "Because... if we're not friends..."
Oh, boy.
"IT MEANS I CAN DESTROY YOU WITHOUT REGRET!"
Undyne summoned her spear, as I felt the familiar tug on my Soul.
Was she seriously going to fight me now!?
"I've been defeated... My house is in shambles... I even failed to befriend you. That's it. I don't care if you're my guest anymore."
Apparently, yes, she was going to fight me.
"One final rematch! All out on both sides! IT'S THE ONLY WAY I CAN REGAIN MY LOST PRIDE!"
"A-are you sure you want to do this? Now!?" I countered.
"YES! NOW COME ON! HIT ME WITH ALL YOU'VE GOT! NGAH!"
Fine, you crazy spearwoman! I spun back, and swung forward, hitting her in the stomach. No magic, just pure force.
...Except my strength was FAR below Undyne's. The most I did was nudge her a bit. She was still standing strong.
"What... That's the best you can manage?" Undyne sounded. "Even attacking at full force..."
"Well, there's no reason to use fire magic... There's already lots of flames around us," I replied sarcastically. Although, I was right to a certain degree. If things got out of hand, I might just make things worse.
"...You just can't muster any intent to hurt me, huh?"
That gave me pause, but at this point...
"Yeah. You might be a little... misguided, and judgemental, but by now, I can tell you're a good person. ...You just need a little practice showing it." And honestly, I believed that.
Undyne was silent for a moment. She then said, "Heh, you know what?" She dropped her magic spear, as it faded away. "I don't actually want to hurt you either. At first, I hated your stupid saccharine schtick. ...And on the other hand, you did almost burn me to death."
"I'm a bit... complicated," I said.
"Right? But... The way you hit me right now, it... Reminded me of someone I used to train with. Now I know you aren't just some wimpy loser. You're a wimpy loser with a big heart! Just like him..."
"Well, I'm not that wimpy..." I mumbled, but I let the point slide.
"...Listen, human. It seems that you two are fated to fight Asgore. But knowing him... he probably doesn't want to."
Yeah, I know...
"So, talk to him," Undyne continued. "I'm sure you can persuade him to let you go home. Eventually, some mean human will fall down here... and I'll take THEIR Soul instead. That makes sense, right?"
"Well... as long as it's not a kid," I remarked, and the two of us laughed.
"Oh, and if you DO hurt Asgore... I'll take the human Souls... Cross the Barrier... And beat the hell out of you!"
"Duly noted," I said. But in my head, I could only think about how... Undyne didn't know everything about me. What happened between me and the Dreemurrs. In this one case... I didn't know-
"Heh, that's what friends are for, right?" Undyne finished, interrupting my thoughts.
"Yeah, that's what friends are for," I solemnly replied, but Undyne didn't notice.
"Fuhuhu! Now let's get the h*** out of this flaming house!"
Outside, we watched as the flames slowly consumed Undyne's home. Somehow, with how the house used to look like an angry fish face, it now looked like it was crying after eating something way too spicy.
"Well, that was fun, huh?" Undyne said.
"That's one way to put it," I said, and I stood next to Frisk, using my healing magic on her. We were in that burning house for so long, the poor girl was sweating like nothing else. I was concerned that if he stayed in there for just a few more minutes, she would've suffered from heatstroke. Toby was fine, and now barking up a storm at a dummy by Undyne's house. Actually, it looked kind of familiar...
"We'll have to hang out again another time...!" Undyne continued. "But, uh, somewhere else I guess. In the meantime, I guess I'll go hang with Papyrus."
"I guess... you're going to need a place to stay for a while," I noted. "Papyrus is a good guy, though I don't know how you're going to able to stand Sans's puns."
"Oh, he's annoying. You know how he's a sentry. I'm always catching him slacking off, or sleeping... But his results are JUST good enough to not fire him. Well, except for recently. He didn't tell me ANYTHING about you. Just scraping by with the bare minimum every time... I guess it's kind of impressive...?"
"Maybe. I happen to know their father. He's actually a close friend of mine," I told her. "Knowing what he's up to, I bet you he's keeping his sons in line."
"Wait, you know Pap's dad?" Undyne replied in surprise.
"Yeah, I do... But, the last time we talked, it wasn't... pleasant. I guess you're not the only person I need to apologize to."
"Did he also try to kill Frisk?"
"No, but he strongly suggested something like it," I responded, almost laughing. It wasn't funny, but I couldn't help it. Then I had a thought. "Actually, he lives right here in Waterfall. We'll have to backtrack a bit, but we could go see him right now."
"Well, good luck with that," Undyne replied.
"No, you don't what I'm saying. I'm saying that perhaps my friend could let you stay with him. I can't promise anything, Wingding is... slow to trust, and likes his isolation. But it's worth a try."
Undyne pondered this for a moment. "I mean, I would get to meet Pap's dad. Papyrus is so tough, so his dad could be even tougher!"
I thought back to the fight between Undyne and Gaster back in the last timeline. He mercilessly put Undyne on her butt. And I didn't even that would change this time around.
But it was a plan. "So, you're on board?" I asked.
"Yeah, let's do it! Show me the way!" Undyne replied excitedly.
"Okay, but it's going to be a long walk. We need to head to the rainy path."
"What!? That's my FAVORITE SPOT! Let's go!" And Undyne rushed ahead.
I smiled. She wasn't so bad, once you got to know her. It reminded me of Wingding, when I was first trying to be friends with him. I just hoped he would be okay with this.
Author's Note: I am SO sorry for taking this long to get the next chapter out! This ended up being put on a priority lower than a chapter for a different story, one I very much intended on finishing, ...but had a hard time getting into it. That story, "Ultradimension: Big Nep and Smolgear", is on hiatus now, which was the plan from the start. But THIS story isn't going anywhere, I promise you that!
So, game-wise, this would be the end of the Waterfall Arc. But... I've got a little more for Waterfall in this story. Call it the Waterfall Epilogue, of sorts. It's time to go see Gaster! He has yet to have a presence in Book 2, despite being a main character in the story in Book 1, so I'm excited.
So, mostly, I just got to bring up some little things. For instance, Papyrus bringing up what happened with Monster Kid (loosely) after the events of Chapter 26. Papyrus being involved could also allude to MK's interest in the skeleton shown later...
The most important little things are during the hangout, like how Undyne instead tries to talk to Papyrus after having lashed out at him earlier (but don't worry, it's Papyrus, he'll be fine), or how she talks about both Papyrus AND Red. Just a couple of things to address the changes to the original story.
But this does lead into the big change, Chara playing the piano in Undyne's house. It has been established that Chara (and Gaster) can play piano, but there hasn't been much of a chance to showcase that in Book 2, safe for the time in Chapter 22 where Chara kind of accidentally solved the piano puzzle.
So I came up with this, Chara playing "Memory" (a.k.a. His Theme) on Undyne's piano, and she gets upset because of the memories she's reminded of. Since Undyne is trying to be Chara's friend at this time, she takes pity on her, and has a more... private conversation with her. Honestly, I was looking forward to this.
And now, Undyne is going to meet Gaster (for the first time in this timeline, as they battled in Book 1). I'm expecting this extra ending to the Waterfall Arc to take about three chapters, with one of them being shorter. With all that said, look forward to that, and see you guys then!