Chapter 26: Confrontation on the Bridge

"Yo!" the Monster Kid called out.

Great. Just great. I'm on a bridge, one I knew was HIGH above the ground, and I just wanted to get off. And once again, this guy finds us. And here he was, at the worst possible time.

"U-um, can I step back, and off-" I started, only for the Monster Kid to talk over me.

"No, wait, don't go!" he interrupted. And now he's not letting me leave.

The Kid walked up to us, saying, "yo, I know I'm not supposed to be here, but... I wanna ask you something."

"Is that all!" I replied, a little too loud, but could you blame me at this point?

"Woah, sorry, I-" the Monster Kid sputtered. "Uh, calm down... I need to know." And there was an awkward pause. "...Man, I've never had to ask anyone this before... Um... yo- you two, you're humans, ...right?"

"Y-yeah," I said, with Frisk nodding in agreement. She grabbed my hand, trying to pull me back off the bridge, but the Monster Kid stepped forward. He couldn't cut us off, the bridge wasn't wide for him to slip past us. But I could tell he didn't want us to leave.

And I was already antsy as it was.

"...Y... you just figured that out, huh?" I joked. "Um, could I-"

"Hahahah," Monster Kid laughed. "Man! I knew it! ...well, I know it now, I mean... Undyne told me, um, 'stay away from that human.' So, like, um... I guess that makes us enemies or... something?"

No, I thought, unless you want us to be. Or you won't let me GET OFF THIS D*** BRIDGE!

"But I kinda stink at that, haha... So, say something mean so I can hate you? Please?"

Oh, he's giving me one amazing reason to tell him off.

But then I felt Frisk's tiny hand grab my shirt.

...No. I had to prove to Frisk that kindness was the right way. I... I could swallow my fears for the moment.

"No, kid, no need for that," I answered him.

"Yo, what? So I have to do it?" he replied. Before I could stop him, he gave it a try. "Here goes nothing... Yo, I... I hate your guts."

I gave him a nervous eyebrow raise.

"Man, I... I'm such a turd," the Kid admitted. "I'm... I'm gonna go home now."

He began to step back, and turned around (to my relief). But as he was about to leave, a shadowed figure appeared from the other end of the bridge, stepping into the light.

"Un-Undyne!?" Monster Kid exclaimed, stepping back as the armored monster stepped onto the bridge.

F***, I thought.

Monster Kid began to stutter, ...as his foot hit some loose boards on the bridge.

He fell, but managed to catch his chin on the side of the bridge. "Yo, w-w-wait! Help! I tripped!" he managed to cry out, before slipping further and barely managing to catch onto a board with his teeth. Without arms, he had no hope of pulling himself back up...

F***! I began to rush over to the Monster Kid, completely ignoring Undyne's presence.

But I looked down at the Kid, kneeling to grab him... I couldn't ignore the chasm below.

We were so high up...

And I was beginning to panic.

"I... I..." I sounded, trying to reach for him, but not quickly.

"Hey!" Monster Kid cried the best he could through his teeth. "Come on!"

The board shifted, and he slipped further down, just out of my reach.

"This is too high! I can't!" I cried out.

"Use your magic!"

"U-uh... I-"

I couldn't finish my sentence, and the bridge gave way, and I slipped forward. I might've been fine, but I freaked out and tried to turn to get a grip on the platform, ...but instead, I slipped further, and fell off myself, hitting Monster Kid in the process.

Both of us fell into the chasm, and I screamed as we fell, but amidst the panic, I heard Monster Kid yell, "yo, use your blue magic stuff!"

Without really thinking, I grabbed the Monster Kid in my arms, and focused my Blue Soul magic, just like he said. I had no idea what I was doing, just whatever might help in this situation.

My eyes were clenched tight, as I could feel the magic empowering my soul.

I braced for a hard impact, and then... stillness.

For several seconds, I was too scared to open my eyes, thinking I was still going to die. But slowly I opened my eyes...

...And found that we were hovering about a foot above the ground, upside-down, the Monster Kid still safely in my arms.

I dropped my blue magic, and we dropped to the ground. I hit my head and got a bit of a headache, and possibly a nasty bump on my head. But overall, we were fine.

I let go of the monster kid, as he got up, and happily exclaimed, "thanks! You saved me."

"Yeah, sure..." I was still freaking out internally by what just happened. And I couldn't believe it.

I just fell from a high height, and saved myself and another with my Blue magic. I should've known I could've done that. I always used Blue Magic for similar things, like making far jumps. I tried not to think about my fear of heights so much, but it never came to mind. It was good to know now, and also a little embarrassing.

"You okay...?" Monster Kid asked.

"Yeah," I said, catching my breath. "Listen, I really hate heights. And you were kind of... keeping me stuck on the bridge."

"Oh... yo, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"It's okay," I replied. Then I realized something... "I need to get back up there! Frisk is in danger! Undyne will-"

As I said that, I looked up, and saw a dark shape fall from the sky. Quickly after that, it landed a few feet from us with a heavy slam, a painful cry, followed by angry groaning and muttered profanities.

"...Jump right after us, and leave her alone," I slowly finished in disbelief.

Undyne slowly got up, finishing up her cursing, and asked, "you okay, kid?"

"Y-yeah," the Monster Kid responded.

"Good... And you, human..." Undyne slowly turned around.

"Um, yeah, sorry about this, but I need to-" I responded.

Monster Kid cut me off, and said, "Go! I'll stop her," and stood between me and her.

"Wh-what..."

"GO!"

Without another word, I made a mad dash in the other direction. I looked back to see Monster Kid facing up to Undyne.

"Y- y- yo... dude. If... if y-you wanna hurt my friend... you're gonna have to get through me, first!" Monster Kid exclaimed, mustering up all of his courage.

The bravery was admirable, but Undyne simply walked up, picked Monster Kid up, and set him down at her side, and before he could get in her way again, Undyne stormed past him.

And, DANG, she was fast for wearing such heavy-looking armor.

But I wasn't going to forget that kid's courage. Someone worthy to be called "friend".

I ran and wove in between the rocky pillars as Undyne closed in. I was happy Monster Kid at least distracted her for a bit, giving me a head start, but my chances of escape were getting slim.

I was glad Frisk wasn't here, as I was cursing up a storm as I heard the heavy pounding of Undyne's armored boots.

Then suddenly... RING! RING! ...Followed by the sudden ceasing of the pounding of Undyne's footsteps.

I looked back, and found Undyne had completely stopped. "Well," she said, "that's your phone, right? ANSWER IT!"

I nodded and pulled out my phone. I heard Papyrus on the other side.

"HEY, CHARA! WHAT'S UP!? I WAS JUST THINKING... YOU, ME, FRISK, AND UNDYNE SHOULD ALL HANG OUT SOMETIME! I THINK YOU WOULD MAKE GREAT PALS! LET'S MEET UP AT HER HOUSE LATER!"

"Um, sorry, now's REALLY not a good time to bring this up," I said, looking by at Undyne, now stomping her foot impatiently.

"OH, I SEE..."

Then I thought of something. "Um, actually, speaking of Frisk, I kind of left her alone, by accident, on a bridge near the end of Waterfall, close to Hotland? I feel bad about leaving her alone. Would you mind if I asked you to find her, and I'll meet up with you later?"

"YES, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, CAN DO THIS! I WILL NOT FAIL!"

"Thank you. I really need to go, bye!" and I quickly hung up, and turned back to Undyne.

"Are we good?" Undyne asked.

"Yeah." And I didn't wait for her response, as I immediately summoned some condensed fireballs, and sent them straight towards Undyne, exploding in her face.

While she was distracted, I ran in the opposite direction. And immediately after this, I could hear the pounding pick up again.

"THAT WAS A CHEAP TRICK!" I heard the angry monster shouting.

We swerved around a corner, and I could see a small tunnel. I got an idea, but not a good one. But it was the best one I had right now.

I summoned some fireballs and condensed them, ready to burst. As I passed the mouth of the tunnel, I sent them upward. They blew up the top of the mouth. Collapsing the tunnel behind.

I looked back to see the tunnel fully caved in, blocking the way in.

That was good, as Undyne couldn't follow me through that. But there was also no way out. At least not in that direction.

It was risk, but one worth taking. Now here's hoping there was an opening on the other side.

Despite being presumably safe, I didn't stop running. I ran through the tunnel, before I had to take a sharp turn, ...and found myself falling on my butt, and sliding down a slope.

At the bottom, thank goodness, was an opening out of the tunnel, leading... to an open, dark plain, with white dandelions scattered about, their seeds floating through the air.

...And I was alone. There wasn't much of anything around here, except for more dandelions. I could see the castle in the distance, and something else below it. The CORE, Gaster's magic generator. I knew it all too well.

I needed to find a way out of here. That was my goal right now. Find my way back. Hopefully, Papyrus will find Frisk, and then I could meet back up with them. And furthermore, I hoped to do this before Undyne found me again.

Should I walk along the cliffside? Or maybe farther in the field?

If I stayed along the cliffside, I had an easy way to stay out of sight if Undyne was looking for me over the cliff, but she could also drop right on top of me if she caught me.

But if I went out into the field... one, I had to basically head in one direction if I intended to find anything, and two, unless I found a lower incline or pit or something, I'd be exposed. Undyne could find me easily. On the other hand, I could also see her in the distance. No advantageous position on either side, an even playing field.

Through the plains it was, I suppose...

And so, I walked through the dandelions and the darkness. I didn't use my fire magic to light the way, because it could make it easier for Undyne to find me. That, and with all of the seeds flying around, I might accidentally light the dandelions on fire, and that would just be a mess.

As I walked along, I felt... anxious. I couldn't pinpoint why. Perhaps I was worried about what would happen if I encountered Undyne. Or if Frisk was alright. Or maybe I was still feeling the effects of my fall earlier, and the well-being of Monster Kid.

Those were all reasonable possibilities. But soon I realized, it was none of those. It was the now... as if something...

I heard a shuffle and spun around. Many dandelion seeds were flying through the air, higher than they should be, as if someone had rushed from that spot, picking up the wind and sending the seeds to scatter through the air.

And with this, I was officially tense. I began to look around as I continued on, trying to find out what that was...

Then I saw the movement of something to my side. But I couldn't make what it was before it disappeared from my sight again.

"Okay, who's there!?" I called out, summoning a fireball, dandelions be d***ed. "Undyne!?"

"No," a soft voice spoke behind me. "Not Undyne."

I spun around to find a figure hidden by the darkness, and a red cloak. The figure was short, shorter than me, maybe the height of a twelve-year-old.

"Greetings, human," they said.

Author's Note: Man, okay, sorry this took so long... I intended to do two chapters for this story, instead of doing a chapter for Smolgear, like I would usually do alongside this story. But then I decided to make it three chapters, so I could cover the whole finale of Waterfall (well, it's a finale if you consider the hangout with Undyne as an epilogue, so we're not done quite yet).

Well, it took a bit to finish the third chapter, because life got in the way, I started another project that I was trying to work on at the same time, and I guess I got a bit burnt out...

And I just got a new PC setup! Which is awesome, but I was waiting to finish the setup until I got my second monitor, ...which was supposed to be a day or two BEFORE I was supposed to review these chapters.

But I'm here now, so let's go. All three chapters will be up on the same day!

Now, as for this chapter, yay, Chara fell off the bridge! (That probably sounded exciting, but it really isn't.) Besides having a chance to REALLY play with Chara's fear of heights, this was actually planned because... Book 1 ended with the Undyne fight. Sure, we missed the beginning of the battle, and things changed with Chara's and then Gaster's interference, but still, we all knew that for Frisk and Chara, this was something they were getting ready to relive. ...So, I wanted to do something different.

We'll see what happens next chapter, which again, should be up in a few minutes, but I'm wondering if you can figure out what will happen before you read the next chapter. Because, if you have figured it out, you can tell this isn't something that I came up with myself. I've been thinking about this for quite a long time, and now I can finally write it out.