Chapter 28: Spear of Justice
"No more running away, then? Fine," I said, with an undertone of displeasure. Red turned to me with a bit of surprise, as I walked right toward her.
"You've run into her already, haven't you," the hooded girl said, as she began to follow.
"You... could say that."
Then, as we were close enough to Undyne, Red stepped in front of me, stopping both of us. "Captain Undyne, can we talk about this-"
"I'm sorry you had to be here... Red... I really am," Undyne told her calmly. "You're dismissed. I can handle the human."
"But-"
"Red! You know what must be done."
Red hung her head.
"It'll be okay," I told her. "Go."
"I-" Red started, before she stopped, and left.
As I put my attention back on Undyne, I could feel my anger begin to boil.
And Undyne put her attention on me.
"Seven," she said. "Seven human Souls, and King Asgore will become a god. Six. That's how many we have collected thus far. Understand?"
"Yeah. You just need one more, right?" I replied.
"Through your seventh and final Soul, this world will be transformed. First, however, as is customary for those who make it this far... I shall tell you the tragic tale of our people. It all started, long ago..."
Silence.
Then... "...No, you know what?" Undyned sounded.
"SCREW IT!" she then shouted. "WHY SHOULD I TELL THAT STORY, WHEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO DIE!? NGAH!"
Suddenly, I felt a burst of magic, forcing me to look away briefly. When I returned my sights to Undyne, she had removed her helmet. As if she was trying to be dramatic, she turned away from me, before turning her head, her eye glinting as it locked onto me.
As she turned back around, I saw that face I saw back then, before the Reset. She was a humanoid fish, with long red hair pulled into a ponytail, flowing in the wind. There were red fins where a human's ears would be, and eyes with black vertical irises and yellow sclera. Well, eye, as she wore an eye patch over her left eye, while wearing red eye shadow on the other. She also had shark-like yellowed teeth, and no nose.
And she was somehow both angry and smirking.
"I'm the one who's going to die!?" I shouted back, unimpressed. "You think I'm just going to stop and lie down, so you can kill me and take my Soul!? As if!"
"Well, it's you, or the other human!" Undyne countered.
Consider my anger officially boiled over. For the second time I've met her, she wanted to threaten a mere child.
"Actually, both of you deserve to die! You're standing in the way of everybody's hopes and dreams!" Undyne continued. "Alphys's history books made me think humans were cool... With their giant robots and flowery swordswomen."
"What are you even talking about!?" I heard her talk the same nonsense in the previous timeline.
"Don't you know? I suppose not! Do you think can play hero? Saving that kid, just so you can run from me again! Convincing him to stop me? Oh, and let's not forget the wimpy goody-two-shoes-schtick! 'Ooh, I'm making such a difference by hugging random strangers!'"
"'Goody-two-shoes-schtick!?' At least I'm trying to keep everyone from doing something they'd later regret. Like killing children!"
"You know what would be more valuable to everyone? IF YOU WERE DEAD! That's right, human! Your continued existence is a crime! Your life is all that stands between us and our freedom! Right now, I can feel everyone's hearts pounding together! Everyone's been waiting their whole lives for this moment! But we're not nervous at all. When everyone puts their hearts together, they can't lose!"
"You know what, enough of this nonsense..." I growled, as I summonsed several fireballs and blasters.
Undyme seemed impressed. "You know magic? But you're a human. How?"
"A redheaded kitsune," I sarcastically replied. "Now, I'm done messing around. Let's go!"
The monster smirked. "Now, human! Let's end this, right here, right now. I'll show you how determined monsters can be! No more running away! HERE I COME!"
Undyne then leaped off of the cliff, magic spear in hand, and slammed onto the ground, piercing it with her weapon. In doing so, she released a wave of magic. I watched as my Soul came out, now encased in a green glow, seeping through the cracks from the Void.
I knew this magic. Her Green Soul magic. I just needed some form of kindness from her to make it work.
"En guarde!" Undyne exclaimed, and I knew from her expression, she wasn't going to give up. She then summoned an extra spear, and tossed it to me. Here was the kindness. "As long as you're Green, you can't escape! Unless you learn to face danger head-on... you won't last a SECOND against ME!"
I watched as the spear gained a shield, as bullets began to fly towards me. Well, no different than the bolts I just faced. Just had a different way to face them now.
After blocking the bullets, I turned. New timeline, new memories. But honestly, I didn't care. It was the same Undyne.
"Seems I have to remind you how Soul magic works," I told her, as I used my Blue Soul magic to override her Green magic. "But I have no plans on running away this time!" I continued as I used my magic to jump high above her with my Blasters, and fired streams of flame down at her.
Undyne held up her spear, forming her own shield, and easily blocked my Blasters. Then she pounded the ground with her free fist, creating those circles, where several spears shot from the ground, right at me. I used my fireballs to counter, causing a series of bursts that knocked the spears out of the air.
"Not bad! Seems you've got some tricks!" Undyne told me. "So how about THIS!?"
She sent a series of more bullets at me, just as I landed. I guess, without the shield she gifted me, she thought I couldn't do anything about it. She still had a lot to learn about Soul magic.
I shut off my Blue magic. The Green magic still had its hold on me, it just couldn't do anything due to my magical override. But now that it was gone, the shield came back, and I blocked the bullets. Though I had to admit, I was nearly caught off guard.
I turned back to her, as she locked eyes with me, and drew her finger across her neck. Classy.
"For years, we've dreamed of a happy ending..." Undyne said, as she send forth another volley of bullets. "And now, sunlight is just within reach! I won't let you snatch it away from us!"
"I'm sorry, but this isn't the way!" I shouted back, as I counter-attacked with a volley of my own, launching fireballs at her. She held up her arm to block the strike, but flames aren't something so easily blocked, so I hear her glowing in pain.
"NGAH! Enough warming up!" Undyne cried out. She sent a large wave of bullets at me, so I activated my Blue magic, and made a fancy backflip to avoid the barrage.
Undyne eyes then gleamed, as she, in a quick move, charged forward with her spear. I acted quickly, calling in one of my Blasters to grab the tip of her spear tip, and force her down. Even still, Undyne pushed it forward, before her own spear snapped in half.
"Honestly, I'm doing you a favor..." Undyne told me, as she summoned a new spear, pointing it at me.
"A favor, you say?" I replied.
"No, human has ever made it past Asgore! Killing you now is an act of mercy!"
I glared. "Is that supposed to scare me? You can't even scare me!"
"Oh, really?" Undyne ran over to some random boulder, and suplexed it.
"Um... okay, so you're strong..." I sounded, a bit confused. "Why did you do that?"
"To show you how strong I am! And... JUST BECAUSE I CAN!" Undyne gloated.
"Right... Do you even know what you're doing? Frisk is a child! And I'm just trying to get her home. Why are you so dead set on killing us, when it won't solve anything. Do you really think it will be worth it to wipe humanity!?"
Undyne growled. "Like you would know. So STOP being so damn resilient!"
She summoned a large number of spears above us, and pointed them toward me.
Oh boy... this was going to be fun.
As the spears began to fly at me, and I was about to form fireballs to counter them...
When suddenly, something slashed all of the spears out of the sky.
"What... what was that? More of your magic!?" Undyne exclaimed.
"That... wasn't me..." I replied.
"WASN'T YOU! Then what-" Undyne started, before her gaze fell past me.
Behind us, Red had returned.
"Red! I told you were dismissed!" Undyne exclaimed.
"I'm sorry, captain, but I... I want to protect my friend," Red said as she readied her blade.
"Red, I know you were worried about the human becoming your friend, but they-"
"Are actually trying to keep people from killing each other," I interjected. "Unlike you."
Undyne turned back to me. "You know... Alphys told me humans were determined... I see now what she meant by that! But I'm determined, too! And I'm not going to lose. So fine, if I have to prove it to the both of you... Then I will!"
She waved her hand, and her magic bullets shot at the both of us.
"Chara, I know this trick," Red warned. "They're going to go around us."
"What?" I said, as I raised my spear shield, my Blue magic having dropped.
Then the bullets, which were a different color now, literally made a quick 180 orbit around us, attacking us from behind. I made quickly commanded one of my blasters to take the hit, while Red used her darts to counter the remaining bullets.
Our turn. I sent an exploding fireball at Undyne's feet, and Red came in with a jumping slash, which Undyne countered.
"You know, I think your fear of making and losing a human friend is silly," Undyne admitted. "But I tried to help you. I assigned you here specifically so you WOULDN'T have to fight the humans. Guess that didn't work out."
"Is there a reason you don't want me to be friends with her!?" Red asked.
Undyne pushed Red off, while saying, "the humans are our enemy! And we need their Soul! You know that!"
"Chara was nice to me, even when I tried to attack her. She tried to help me overcome my problems, and be there for me. And I want to stand by my friend."
"Undyne, what is your problem?" I jumped in. "I understand the monsters need our Souls, but me and Frisk have done nothing to deserve your hatred."
"You humans are the ones who hurt us! Trapping us down here! Leaving us in the dark, to fend for ourselves! This is retribution!" Undyne countered.
This actually gave me pause. This was how I felt. How I felt for so long. Humans dealt monsters a terrible fate... They mistreated me... I used to hate them. I still did.
But I was human. And here I was, trying to help another human. Why?
Because of this pause, Undyne took advantage and made a move on me. But Red used her sword to form a barrier between us.
"Chara, focus!" Red called to me. I shook my head, and readied my next attack.
The continuing brawl was intense, with Unynde and Red clashing spear against sword, while the captain also launched her bullets at me, and I countered her magic and assisted Red with my fire magic.
"Captain, please, you don't have to do this," Red called out to Undyne, as she launched a series of regular and yellow bullets at us, which we countered with my spear shield and her sword.
Undyne then made a battle roar, and slammed her spear into the ground, as many circles appeared below us, more than in the chase before.
No way my gifted shield was going to block this.
I quickly switched my Soul mode to Blue, and ran up to Red. "Grab my hand!" I told her, and as she did, I timed it, and leaped up above ground, as the spears began to shoot out.
...But Red's grip on my hand wasn't strong enough, and she slipped and fell into the spears, unable to dodge them.
"RED!" both me and Undyne shouted as Red got struck by the spears.
The spears vanished just before I landed. "Are you okay!?" I asked, worried.
"Sorry, I didn't know what you were going to do. My grip wasn't strong enough..." Red replied quietly.
"D*** IT, RED! You should've stayed out of this!" Undyne cried out, starting to march towards us. "You can't trust humans!"
But I looked up, glaring at her with intense anger. "You..."
Undyne stopped, actually a bit surprised.
"Are you so 'determined' to kill humans, that you'd just push aside anyone that tries to stop you? ?" I snarled. "Red, the Monster Kid, Frisk, even Papyrus! I've stood by their side, helped them realize that not everyone, human or monster, is evil, while you claim that being friendly with each other is not a good thing! You're proving them all wrong!"
Before Undyne could respond, I summoned a ring of fireballs around her. Then another. And another. Until she was absolutely surrounded by flames, waiting to strike.
"And I... am quite frankly tired of you..." I growled, as I sent the fireballs hurdling into Undyne.
The fireballs blasted into her, releasing a massive explosion around her. Undyne was still standing, but off balance from the attack. But I wasn't about relent, as I began to send more, larger fireballs at her, one after another, until I knocked her to the ground.
Then I readied my Blasters, raising them to the sky, aiming them towards. And just as I was about to fire...
"Chara, stop!" Red got in front of me. "Please, don't prove her right..."
"What?" I sounded.
"I know you're angry at her... but it doesn't mean you should do the same to her. You were the one who said that you had to find her a better way than fighting. So, why are you fighting...?"
"I-I..."
"I don't know what Undyne did to make you hate her so much, but you for Frisk's sake, you need to get over it... If you want Frisk to be a better person, then you should be that person, too."
I collapsed to my knees, as my Blasters were dispelled. "I- oh, g**. I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me, I-"
Then I looked back up at Undyne. She wasn't getting up, still surrounded by flames.
"Oh g**! Undyne!" I got up and rushed towards her, using my magic to push the flames away.
"Armor... so... hot... But I can't... give up..." Undyne groaned, when his face fell to the side, her tongue slipping out. Her armor was glowing orange for the heat, and was even starting to melt.
"Oh f***! What have I done!?" I cried. Then I turned to Red. "Red, I need your help!"
"What do you need?" she asked, running over to us.
"Her armors too hot!" I explained. "I'm going to try to use my fire magic, and pull the heat out of the armor. Then, can you cut Undyne out of it?"
"I... I can try."
I placed my hand on the burning armor. As a fire mage, the heat wouldn't bother me. I just needed a direct connection to the heat.
With my free hand, I made a double-finger point, and aimed it to the sky (well, the cavern ceiling). Then, I began to will the heat out of Undyne's armor, through my body, and shot it out of my fingers, releasing it as a bolt of searing, white-hot flames. This was hotter fire than I have ever commanded, its heat was even starting to affect me.
Red had to step back, taking off her hood and cloak, because the flames were so hot. But her sword was still in her hand, ready for my call.
"Now!" I shouted, and Red did her patterned slash move on Undyne's armor, focusing on the joints, where they would be the weakest. With this, Undyne armor shattered apart, and together, we were able to pull Undyne's armor off.
Undyne was barely conscious, not speaking. The under-padding for her armor was badly burned, as was much of her body, but cooled off, thanks to my efforts in pulling the heat away.
"Sit still, I'll heal you," I said, as did just, letting my magic flow into Undyne, healing the burns.
When I was done, I got up and stepped away, as Undyne got up. She just stared at me... silently.
Then she looked between me, Red, and just everything around her. And, without a word, she just left.
"Chara...?" Red asked. "Are you okay?"
"...No," I admitted. "I let my anger get the better of me... I could've killed her. Honestly, I think deep down, that's what I wanted to do." I stared at my hands. "How could I... I-"
"It's okay. You said that's what friends are for... To help you out when you need it most, right? And I think you really needed help."
"I... thank you." I looked around the area. "How do you leave this place? Undyne has to leave somehow."
"For now... I don't think we should follow Undyne," Red admitted. "For now, I know the way to the river, the one that winds all the way through the Underground. The River Person can take you back to Waterfall."
"The River Person?" I asked.
"You haven't heard of her? She transports monsters across the rivers. I'm sure she'll help you."
"I see... thank you. Um, Red?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you, for being there for me, and keeping me from doing something I'd regret... You... really care about Undyne, don't you?"
"Yeah. The Royal Guard... they're the only family I know..."
"...I get that. I was adopted before, and I used to care a lot about my new family..." I took a deep breath. "I need to apologize to Undyne, for what I did to her."
"Well, she lives in Waterfall, close to the snail farm. Once you find Frisk, you can meet her there. Oh, and Chara?"
"Yes?"
"Thanks for being so patient with me, and for sparing Undyne..."
"You're welcome."
Author's Note: Yes, I had to fully write out Undyne suplexing a boulder. JUST BECAUSE I CAN!
But really, I'll admit, this chapter was a bit tricky to write. Especially, adding Red in at the end of the fight, so the new setting would make sense.
But there was a bit I was really looking forward to writing. Undyne's boss intro. I really wanted to play up the anime part of it, specifically making her jump and spear slam be what sets the Green Soul mode. I thought it would be awesome, and it could work better, since I'm not writing in the bullet bounding box.
Oh, and by the way, the redheaded kitsune reference is from the end of Book 1, during the first Undyne battle.
And that end to the fight, where Chara is the one to overheat Undyne, and not Undyne simply being in Hotland with heavy armor... I didn't come up with that. I got it from another Undertale fanfic, which I don't remember what it was, but Toriel actually was traveling with Frisk, and she got overly aggressive and shot lots of flames at Undyne during the fight.
The only thing I changed was how the armor came off. In the fanfic I got the idea from, Toriel did help take the armor off, but she is also a Boss Monster, so she doesn't just have heat resistance they're her fire magic, but it would make sense that she might be a lot stronger.
Since in my story, while Chara is a fire mage herself, she isn't as strong, so I had to write saving Undyne from Chara's a bit fury differently. Thankfully, Red has powerful cutting abilities. Plus, it actually gave me an excuse to showcase something important about Chara's magic, which is her control of heat. Not that I needed something to showcase before it would be important, in fact, it's going to come up soon, as it'll important for Hotland, but it's nice.
And yeah, continuing from my discussion in the last chapter's Author's Note, when talking about the dandelion field and how in the original fangame, Frisk got lost there, yeah... I added in that the river that the Rive Person travels on is nearby. Again, it made sense to me, plus it gives us the chance to see the River Person, as there wouldn't be a reason otherwise. And as you'll see next chapter, I have plans for the River Person (though they won't play out for a while, despite them appearing next chapter).
So, this is three of three chapters for this wave of uploads. We'll be doing the Undyne hangout later, so we'll see how that plays out with all of these new events.