Floaten Part 2
Finrick was sitting in his favourite chair in his home, wishing he was dead.
If only I weren't such a coward, he thought to himself.
His hand shook on the fine kitchen table he inherited from his dear late mother. Chained to the seat was his other hand. That loathful goblin lady had insisted only one of his hands be chained, and the sizeable gluttonous mino-boar had obliged without question.
Finrick glanced at his workers, who had arrived for their shift only to now find themselves standing around him, frightened, confused, and held at gunpoint by that same goblin as mentioned earlier.
The way she crept on the floor disgusted him. Not how she crouched so low she almost seemed to wander on all fours, but rather how Vissie moved her limbs and occasionally shook her head like she were under demonic possession.
Is this how people see me? Finrick wondered from a brief glimpse in lucidity.
The rest of the hunters seemed normal, yet no better. He sorely wished he had hidden some drugs in a secret stash.
"Huh?" the Knight-Knight, Dimma, muttered as she woke up.
"' Bout time yo' lazy arse 'oke up," Mad Jick said. "Ya' almost beat yer ol' record."
"Your lazy ass even missed the call with the boss," Umbla said grumpily.
"My apologies," Dimma said. "What's the update?"
"Bossman is on his way here," the mino-boar said, sitting down and stroking the large coffin box in her hands. "And no surprise, he is not happy."
"I have been wondering, erm, lady Knight-Knight," Simon said. "Have you ever tried taking caffeine or something?"
"Heh, do you know what a Knight-Knight is?" Dimma replied. "We are night-based battle mages. In other words, my type of magic works in a way so that it's more powerful the closer I am to sleep. If anything, I'd say my narcolepsy is a fortunate gift. It was fate."
"Sure, but you can always try other magic," Simon said. "Just saying."
"And would you tell a bowman trained in archery to start using swords instead?" Dimma replied.
"Ah, good point."
"Erm, I'm sti-sti-still here, you k-kn-know," Finrick said nervously.
The large mino-boar answered with a quick snort.
"So?" she asked.
Finrick took a few uneasy breaths and realised his armpits were sweaty.
Is it hot in here?
"How… how long are you going to… going to…"
He paused his words as he struggled to force them out.
"How lon' ar' we gonna' what?" Mad Jick asked cheekily into his ear.
"Gah!" Finrick exclaimed, jumping with his chair backwards. "You… were just O-o-o-OVER there."
"Nevah 'eard of teleportin', halfwit?" Jick asked him, a grin on the imp's face.
He spoke with his elongated mouth forced up to his nose. The breath on his face was discomforting and smelled like death.
"Anyway," Jick continued, hovering closer to the trout monster until his face touched the imp's long nose. "You were sayin'?"
"Do y'all really need to bully our hostage that much?" Simon said.
"T-t-t-tha-" Finrick began.
"Tu, tu, tu, tu," Jick said into his face.
"Why not?" Umbla inquired. "The guy is a twat."
"It-it-it-IT'S NOT MY FAULT!" Finrick cried out.
Jick hovered backwards away from him, the smile on his face replaced with annoyance.
"Calm' it, tuna," Jick said. "It was just a bit o' fun, s'all."
"Welp, if you're going to be like that, then maybe playtime is over then," Umbla said, smashing her fist together. "What do you say, fish-?"
"I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry!" Finrick quickly muttered, raising his loose hand upwards. "I-I-I…-"
He gulped.
"I don't know…" he simply added.
"Don't know what?" Umbla said.
"I don't know why I'm here!" Finrick exclaimed. "Why I'm tied up and… you know…"
"You know why," Umbla said simply. "It's because the boss-man wants to speak to you. Personally."
"But I've told you a th-th-thousand times IT WASN'T MY FAULT!" Finrick said with exasperation. "It was those kids! T-those damned kids, ugh."
"Can anyone shut this whiny shit up?!" Vissie inquired. "I'm already uneasy as fuck over here, gosh!"
"You better listen to her," Umbla said, grinning. "Or should I tell you about the last one who annoyed her slightly?"
Finrick glanced at the goblin. She was unmasked, so her face of unnatural frustration was visible. He gulped and shut his mouth.
One of the workers, a green earth elemental with a diamond head, suddenly stepped forward.
"Excuse me," he inquired. "If I may-"
"Shut it!" Vissie exclaimed, her eyes wide open with fear, shakily aiming her shotgun at the worker. "Back in line. You don't talk."
The elemental said no more and stepped back forward.
Finrick looked at his workers, uneasy. For that split second, he felt something in his chest.
Some type of fear.
That wasn't unusual for him. He was almost always afraid.
No, what surprised him was that looking at his workers huddled up against the walls, he felt a different fear. One he hadn't felt since his mother.
Was he-
Was he worried for them? No, no, he couldn't possibly care for them, right? They are expendable, lowlives that live in slums with no future. He hired them because they were cheap and couldn't afford to tell anyone.
He felt his palms shake. He reached into his pocket and found nothing. Already, the last of his weed had depleted.
He remembered the last time he had a significant relapse.
And so he wished that whatever god was up there would sooner give him a swift death.
A few miles away, in another zone of The Underground, a human teen, a flower, and a monster kid stood waiting in a small cave by the coast of a big, blue lake.
A town was on the other side of said lake, where the person they were waiting for had headed a few minutes ago. Undyne had said she'd only be a minute or two of recon to make sure the town was safe.
But after about ten minutes, it was clear that something had delayed her.
"Should we be worried?" Frisk inquired.
"Pfft, its Undyne," MK said. "She's probably just busy kicking the asses of some bad guys!"
"Would fit her," Flowey said. "But it's pretty stupid to leave a bunch of wanted kids behind with no one to protect them."
"You think everything is stupid," MK said.
"Yeah, but couldn't she have sent me instead?" Flowey inquired. "I can burrow a bit, and I'm tiny. And couldn't she have waited as a guard?"
"We have you," MK added. "And Frisk."
"Erm," Flowey said. "I'm unsure if I could consider myself a "good" guard. But you're right. I'd say Frisk is maybe more of the muscle."
"Damn straight," Frisk said, flexing her skinny arm and slapping it lightly.
"Still," Flowey said. "Two muscles are better than one."
"Maybe it's just me," Frisk said while picking up a rock. "But I think a giant, armoured, and famous vigilante standing nearby would attract us much more than a bunch of kids hidden under a cave by a lake."
"Fair enough," Flowey said.
Without warning, Frisk hurled the rock she picked up into the lake, and it fell and sank with an unimpressive splat.
"What are you doing?" MK asked curiously.
"Trying to skip rocks," Frisk said. "Keyword is trying. I've never been good at this. There's no internet here. Very frugal with apps on my phone. So what else is a girl to do?"
"What's fru-gal?"
"A fancy word for cheap, kid."
She skipped another rock. Or, rather, she hurled a rock that landed on the surface with a big splash and sank to the bottom.
"Don't you think this is giving us too much attention?" Flowey inquired.
Frisk paused a bit, another stone in hand.
"Maybe," she said. "But on the other hand, do you see any people around?"
"Hmm, well, I suppose we might just look like a bunch of kids throwing stones at a distance," Flowey pondered.
"That's the spirit," Frisk said and threw another rock with the same success. "God- damn- ok, I'll try harder next time. Now where is-"
Suddenly, a small flat stone flew past her in a breeze and landed on the water. Then it jumped forward and then landed again. And then again.
Frisk turned towards the mysterious assailant.
"Flowey?" she said in surprise.
"What?" the flower said, grabbing a few stones. "I'm terribly bored as well."
He threw another one, and it skipped even further.
"You freaking showoff," Frisk said with a smile and a chuckle. "What happened to caution?"
"Eh, you have a point," Flowey said. "I am a bit overly paranoid at times."
He skipped, and the rock flew even further than ever before while Frisk looked astonished.
"How the hell are you even doing that?"
"It's all in the wrist," Flowey stated. "But since I lack them, I have much more mobility."
He hurled again, and Frisk was no longer surprised by the distance.
"In short, my arms are practically like rubber noodles," Flowey reiterated.
"Mcomng!" MK cried out, a giant flat stone in their mouth.
They hurled the large object into the lake. It reached only a few feet before sinking pathetically into the water.
"Darn," MK said with disappointment.
"No worries," Flowey said. "You can just keep score."
"Yeah, a score of one against a trillion," Frisk muttered.
She was about to throw another when a strange tickling sensation grasped her hand. She looked down and saw familiar flowery vines cover them.
"What are you doing?" she asked Flowey.
"What?" Flowey inquired with his typical deadpan response. "You wanted to learn how to throw properly, right?"
"Oh?" Frisk asked, feeling awkward and unsure of how to react. "Erm, thanks."
"Ok, first step," Flowey stated, looking onward. "Eyes towards the lake."
"Right, obviously," Frisk said, following the instruction.
Flowey gave a glance at the stone in her hand.
"Your stone is too rough," he told her bluntly.
"Huh?" Frisk inquired.
Flowey, using his other vine, handed her a much flatter one.
"There, use one of mine," he said. "The flatter it is, the better. Also, be careful that it's not too heavy."
"Flat and not too heavy," Frisk repeated, looking at the lake again. "Got it."
"Ok, now hold, erm, with your small but thick finger on top."
"You mean the thumb?" Frisk inquired.
"Yes, that," Flowey stated. "Then, mmm, the one you use to point. That should
wrap around at the end, and then the middle by the bottom."
Frisk wrapped her index finger around the edge and moved the middle one where Flowey stated.
"How do you know all this?" MK inquired, watching with curiosity. "You don't even have fingers."
"I've read books, kid," Flowey said. "A lot of books. Ok, Frisk. Next up, face the water at a slight angle, knees bent."
"Erm, like this?" Frisk inquired after moving a bit.
Flowey examined her posture with unsureness.
"Let's just say it's good enough. Ok, the next and final part is vital. As I said, it is all in the wrist."
"All in the wrist," Frisk repeated.
She felt the vines mildly tightening on her palm, guiding her hand into a position and then letting go.
"And…" Flowey said. "Throw!"
And with anxiousness in her chest, Frisk threw. The stone flew towards the lake and landed. And then it skipped, just as Frisk's heart skipped a beat. And on the next one, it plopped under the water.
"Holy shit, did you see that?!" Frisk exclaimed.
"Darn it," Flowey muttered with frustration.
"Yo, you did it, Frisk," MK said, excited.
"Did I just improve or what?" Frisk said proudly.
"Ugh, I thought we had it!" Flowey muttered.
"What do you mean?" Frisk inquired. "It's skipped, didn't it?
"Once," Flowey muttered.
"So?" Frisk responded. "I mean, one time is better than nothing."
"Yeah…" Flowey stated. "Guess you're right. I suppose I don't recall palms as much as I thought I did. Maybe I got a finger confused, or-"
"Psst, we'll just do it again!" Frisk stated. "Come on, let's-"
Something splashed in the water. It sounded furious and loud. The teens froze at the spot and looked at the lake worriedly.
First, all they saw was a large fish tail coloured blue. And then, there rose out of the water a humanoid female form.
Her entire body, from top to bottom, was scaly blue. She had long, soft black hair and pointy ears. Her scaly face was the most humanoid Frisk had seen of any monster, and her shark-like green eyes seemed almost glowing. Below the waist, her body formed into a long, snake-like fishtail.
The monster wore a simple white shirt that was unsurprisingly soaking wet.
She stared at the teens, eyes displeased and silent as if collecting her words.
Then, this majestic-looking, beautiful creature spoke.
"What the fuck are your problems?!" she inquired. "Don't you know you're all bothering the gosh-darned neighbourhood?!"
"I-I-we're sorry, missus!" MK quickly said. "We-we're not from here, and w-we didn't know people lived there."
"And you didn't bother to even bloody check?!" the lady replied. "You just saw a big, blue, inconspicuous lake and didn't think "hmm, I bet there is no life taking advantage of that big spacious area"? And even if it were empty, that just permits you to annoy the fish with your… with your… dawdling?!"
"Honestly, they're just fish," Flowey stated.
"Oh, a smart-ass, eh?" the lady said. "So am I. So are most of us down there. Some of us are trying to have it quiet here. For the Angel's Sake, my boys and I are trying to watch a movie down there?! Do you know how hard it is to get a TV that works underwater?! And to get it working even?! We already have enough problems with everything floating up. We don't need your rock hurling to make it worse!"
"Geez, lady," Flowey said. "We didn't ask you to dump all your emotional baggage on us. I'll be fair and say you're just having a bad day. Fine, we're sorry. And we'll stop skipping rocks over your lovely little town down there. Happy?"
The lady glared at them, eyes furrowed angrily. Then she rolled her eyes.
"Fucking teenagers," she muttered before leaping and diving back under.
After a moment, the lake was still, making it, once again, easy to assume no one lived in it.
"That lady had a mouth," Flowey said, uneasy. "Well, crap basket. So much for little attention."
"I don't know, I'm not sure she recognised us," MK asked. "We could still be safe. Right? Are we safe?!"
"Calm down," Flowey said. "You're right. She didn't seem, erm, to recognise us. We may be safe. Yeah, we're probably safe."
"Ahh, good," MK said nervously. "I hope."
They all stared at the lake in silence until Flowey noticed something.
"Frisk, you're unusually quiet about this," he said, then turned to her. "Err, Frisk?"
Frisk did not answer. She could not answer, for her mind had left entirely. She had the eyes of someone unsure of how to feel, except for something akin to ecstasy.
"Flowey?" MK inquired. "What is-?"
"Hey, I'm worried too," Flowey stated. "She's never done this before. Hey? Frisk? Are you still there?"
"Frisk, what is happening?" MK asked with worry. "Are you having a stroke-"
"OhmyfuckingGodwasthatafuckingmermaid?!" Frisk's mouth blurted out.
Flowey looked at her as if she suddenly spoke Mandarin.
"Pardon?" he inquired.
"A mermaid!" Frisk repeated. "That-that was a fucking mermaid! A fucking mermaid, holy shit!"
"Mer…maid?" MK inquired. "What the hell is a mer? Flowey, do you think she needs help? She's not making any sense."
"Erm, Frisk, that was a siren," Flowey stated, mildly confused.
"Same diff!" Frisk said. "But fuck me. Even mermaids are real! Why the hell am I not surprised?"
"Why do you humans call them all maids?" MK inquired. "Are they like servants in your human stories?"
"I…I don't know the actual etymology," Frisk answered. "But I'm 99 per cent sure it's more like "maid" as in "maiden"."
Frisk made a sound of something similar to laughter but not quite.
"Oh, man," she muttered. "Dragons and mermaids are real, two of my favourite things! Of course, they are! What's next? Yo, are Centaurs real as well?!"
"The hell is a centaur?" Flowey inquired.
"Ahh," Frisk replied. "Can't win them all, I suppose."
"Yo, Undyne's back!" MK suddenly exclaimed.
From another side of the beach came Undyne, just as proclaimed. Frisk would be lying if she said she didn't feel just a little bit relieved.
Undyne had changed attire, now dressed in casual blue jeans and a black leather biker jacket zipped open, revealing a black tank top underneath. Her boots were red rain boots.
But most curious of all, she was holding a stuffed black bag under her arms.
"Apologies for the delay," Undyne said. "It was urgent that I needed to change my clothes."
"It really wasn't, but ok," Flowey responded.
"Hey, I'm not walking around town dressed as a famed, mysterious vigilante," Undyne replied. "Either way, I told you this hidey-hole was safe. And you're still here, so wasn't I right? A bit of extra time didn't cause you much harm, did it?"
"Hmm," Flowey said, thinking. "Well, you got me there. But still. I'd say it's attention enough being wanted."
"What's in that bag?" Frisk asked.
"We'll get to that soon," Undyne said and grinned. "First, how are you? Did you do great?"
"Yeah, we were fine," Flowey said. "Mostly."
"Mostly?"
"There was this one lady down in the lake who did see us," MK said. "We threw a rock at her!"
Undyne glared at them like they just confessed to a murder.
"You threw a rock at someone?" she asked, worried. "For seeing you?! And you didn't think that would make you more suspicious?!"
"We threw at her before she saw us," MK added.
"Ok, that makes it worse," Undyne said. "Why? Did her look piss you off or something?"
"It wasn't like that!" Frisk quickly added. "We were just skipping rocks."
"We threw rocks in the lake…" MK added. "And she was there."
"You threw rocks in the lake?!" Undyne exclaimed. "What the hell prompted you to do that?!"
"We weren't throwing rocks," Flowey stated. "We were skipping rocks."
"It was the same difference for me for the most part," Undyne stated.
"It was an accident," Frisk quickly said. "We were just skipping rocks when this mermaid- erm, siren, came up from the lake-"
She paused as she realised what she was describing.
"Sorry, I just-" she chuckled. "A fucking mermaid came from the lake."
"Erm, ok…" Undyne said, staring at her in a moment of awkward silence. "Still, you kids were, what, bored? And so you decided to risk exposing yourself?"
"I-I didn't figure people were living down there," Frisk responded. "We don't usually have people living under lakes where I'm from."
"Ok, that's not what I've learned, but I digress," Undyne responded.
Confusion swelled up in Frisk as she wondered what in the world she had been "learning" about humans.
"At least you two should've known better," Undyne said, looking at Flowey and MK. "I'm surprised you all lasted this long."
"Lady, I've been wondering the same thing," Flowey stated.
"Dumb luck?" Frisk suggested.
"Well, you can't keep doing that," Undyne stated. "It was reckless and stupid."
"Fair enough," MK said, looking gloomy.
"That's right," Undyne said sternly.
"Hey, don't bring them into this!" Flowey protested. "They were barely a part of this."
Undyne looked at MK, the way they stared at the ground avoiding eye contact, and shook her head.
"Look, I'm sorry, kid," she said. "But you're wanted now. All of you are. And you need to act like it."
"Alright, madame," Flowey said sarcastically.
Undyne sighed.
"So, this lady," Undyne began. "Did she seem to recognise any of you?"
"Don't think so, no," Flowey said.
"I think she looked too pissed to focus much on us," MK added.
"I kind of zoned out after she appeared, so I can't say," Frisk stated.
"Hmmm," Undyne began, stroking her chin. "I suppose we might still be in the clear. There's not a lot of electricity in underwater homes. And there aren't many Royal Hunt sympathisers on the fringes of The Underground, so there's little chance she might be one."
She shrugged.
"Eh, let's stay optimistic for now," Undyne said, grinning and showing her teeth. "Either way, don't you know the lake has a "no littering" policy? People live in that lake, after all."
"There is?" Flowey inquired. "Huh. They should've put up a sign at the very least."
"Let's just say you're glad I'm not a Royal Guard anymore," Undyne said. "I would've had to fine you, or your parents, for that. Or legal guardians, but you know."
"Man, now I feel like a jerk," MK said.
"Hey, don't sweat it, kid," Undyne said. "I committed plenty of crimes at your age."
"Really?" MK replied.
"Yeah, yeah, but back on track," Flowey began. "How is the status of the town visit? Is it safe to go, or should we go around it like a smart person would?"
"Take it easy, kid," Undyne replied. "Alright. In short, I got good news and bad news."
"Oh boy," Frisk muttered. "Of course."
"The bad news," Undyne began. "It seems like the people there already know about you. I've heard talk about some "human", and there are wanted posters everywhere already."
"Already?!" Flowey quickly replied. "It only went online a few hours ago! How has The Royal Hunt already printed and spread them around?"
"Don't underestimate their influence, boy," Undyne replied. "So yeah. Assuming you walk into town like that, face uncovered and everything, at least someone will recognise you."
"Hey, remind me why we're going there again?" Frisk inquired. "Sounds extremely risky at this point."
Flowey gave her a surprised look.
"Did you just…" he began. "Nevermind, I'm not going to push it."
"Yeah, that is where the good news comes in," Undyne began. "You see, the entire town of Floaten does not like The Royal Hunt. Most of these smaller places aren't. But trust me, Floaten is extra on their dislike."
"I doubt it since Snowdin exists, but ok," Flowey stated.
"Fair point," Undyne replied. "Still, I have known the people of that town my entire life. I doubt many of them would sell you out, especially with me around. In short, I trust it is the perfect hiding place to plan our moves."
"Trust?" Flowey asked. "We're risking exposing ourselves on faith?"
"I'm not done, smart-ass," Undyne said, hand raised. "We still need to be cautious, obviously. Even if I trust these townsfolk a lot, I'd say I only do by about 80 per cent. Besides, that's not accounting for tourists and such. I may be a bit of a meathead, but I'm not dumb."
"Ok, what is going on?" Flowey inquired. "Why is everyone in this group thinking logically now?"
"So what should we do then?" Frisk inquired. "Sneak around or something?"
"Hah, like chumps?!" Undyne said, grinning. "No, even better!
She dropped the small bag she was holding onto the ground, revealing articles of extra clothing.
"Disguises!" Undyne said proudly.
There were, unsurprisingly, a lot of aquatic monsters in Floaten.
Somewhere around eight against one from what Frisk gathered. Amongst the menagerie of ocean life were types resembling Undyne of various sizes and shapes, making Frisk realise Undyne's brutish form wasn't inherent to her species. Then there were octopi, sharks, and many anthropomorphised versions of species she didn't know the names of. Frisk even saw some trout monsters like Finrick. At first, Frisk briefly felt uneasy being close to them. Then she felt stupid and bigoted for even thinking that.
Some monsters looked like living water, and others seemed to be slime. Some of the latter didn't entirely look aquatic in general.
In short, in terms of people, it was the weirdest-looking town so far, and Frisk felt she was on an alien planet.
What didn't look alien and almost spoiled that illusion was the houses and homes.
Stone and wood are what all the houses were out of.
Some houses were dug and built into the cavern walls, and some were hastily put together by planks acting as glorified sticks. A simple breeze like from The Valley could bring them down like a stack of dominos.
Some houses combined both, with strong, stone houses seemingly carved from rocks like stone igloos, and then on the roof were frail planks of wood like makeshift treehouses without the trees.
The town was also wet. Very wet. With puddles and splashes everywhere.
Frisk's new boots were soggy before she even noticed.
"They'll only give you a couple of glances at most," Undyne had said earlier with a grin. "Just relax, kids, and- breathe in the lovely Floaten smell."
Frisk hadn't been to any coastal town as far as she could remember, but Floaten smelled almost the same as she imagined one would.
As in spectacularly foul with the odour of fish.
Frisk was glad about the mouth scarf part of her disguise.
Outside of a mouth scarf mask with a skull symbol, Frisk had found herself dressed in a dark-blue hoodie jacket and a red devil headband on top of her head. On her back was the pink backpack, with Flowey having returned there to his old mobile seat. Occasionally, his head was slightly peeking out, but he quickly hid back under whenever he thought someone walked too close by.
MK, meanwhile, was dressed in a long white skirt and a black leather jacket. The sleeves hung limply on their side, swinging back and forth as they walked.
Either way, they were quick to pick their disguise.
"You really think this red headband is working?" Frisk inquired. "Because it doesn't feel like it."
Undyne looked at Frisk with a grin.
"Nah, you're looking fine," she said.
Frisk glanced a peek at herself at a big, nearby puddle. This uneven amalgamation of clothes, as recommended by the group's new guide, made her feel ridiculous. And seeing it in full made her feel more so.
"What am I even supposed to be?" Frisk inquired. "Some kind of demon zombie?"
"Yo, sounds metal," MK said. "Can I steal that?"
"Yeah, you should keep that, kid," Undyne said. "Copyright it before someone else gets the same idea. Hah! If this were the human world, you'd make a buttload of money by the end of the month!"
"No, seriously," Frisk said with a tinge of worry. "I know I have only been here for a few days, but is there any monster type that remotely resembles me? Because I haven't seen any."
"I don't know, some type has to," Undyne said.
Frisk frowned under her mask.
"Any specific?" Frisk inquired.
"You think every monster here knows every type?" Undyne inquired.
"To be fair," Flowey said, peeking slightly out of the bag. "A few monsters down here have lived for hundreds if not thousands of years. The Underground is only so big, so someone must've seen at least one of each."
"Maybe one of each purebred monster," Undyne said. "But in a relatively small underground, you can only meet so many of your own kind. If anyone asks, Frisk, just say that your mother was, erm, I don't know- a Loox. They've got those red horns, right?"
"The hell is a Loox?" Frisk asked.
"One of those big eyeball monsters," Flowey explained. "You saw one in Snowdin."
"Those guys?" Frisk said. "Wait. But I'm not that fat."
"Ah, sorry, I wasn't trying to imply-" Undyne began.
"No, I just don't see how I'd fit as a half-Loox if I'm so goshdarned skinny," Frisk said.
"Oh?" Undyne said, sounding mildly surprised. "Yeah, that is a fair point. You're a scrawny ass kid. You need to put some muscles in there."
"Yes, I know I haven't exercised much," Frisk stated. "Not the first to say that."
"Maybe you could be a fire imp?" MK suggested.
"Cool idea," Undyne said. "But she doesn't seem to be much on fire."
"Fire imps aren't always on fire," MK said.
"True," Undyne said. "But a big part of them is fire. Like, have you ever seen one?"
"There is one living in Snowdin."
"Ok, but have you touched one? One time, back in The Royal Guard, I tried apprehending one group of hooligans, amongst them, a fire imp. Damn, the heat on his skin when I grabbed his arm. Good thing I was wearing armour gloves! Although, that may have been worse because it was like my hand was suddenly inside a fist-shaped oven. The point being is they are very hot when you get close. And not hot in a fun way."
"That assumes we'd be interacting with people," Flowey said. "When I thought the point was that we were staying low."
"This isn't a big town," Undyne said. "Chances are you'll interact with people one way or another."
"Fine, let's just say she's a skinny Loox, then," Flowey suggested. "Or she's a halfbreed who took more from her father's side. I don't know. What do you think, Frisk?"
"Look, I only grasped maybe half of the terms you're all using," Frisk replied. "I'm just going with whatever you all think. Because you all could be making shit up, and I wouldn't know any better."
Before this conversation could continue, they all grasped something that caught their attention and made them stop.
Spread on a building wall just beside them were drawn posters of three awfully familiar kids.
"Yo, is that meant to be us?" MK inquired.
"Uh-huh," Undyne confirmed. "So it seems."
"Seeing my drawing up close," Flowey pondered, peeking out from the bag. "It's eerie how little they managed to catch my likeness. Look at the petals, for instance. I got one or two too many. All wrong."
"My eyes are literally just lines," Frisk said, looking at the drawn caricature of her, having only just glimpsed at a small, low-quality screenshot before. "I can't tell whether I should be racially offended or not."
"I'm not sure if I'm even the correct lizard species," MK said, squinting their eyes.
"You look like a tiny Alphys," Flowey said. "Err, tiny-er Alphys."
"Who?" Frisk asked.
"The Royal Scientist's main assistant," Flowey said. "The one who was the head Royal Scientist for a little while until Gaster returned."
Frisk felt a bit of a shudder hearing that name.
"Oh, sorry," Flowey said.
"No need," Frisk said. "I don't know what is with me and that dude. I haven't even seen him."
"Shall we keep going?" Undyne asked. "Or do y'all want to appreciate the art some more?"
"Nah, I think we're good," Flowey said. "Looking at it more will just make us look suspicious."
They continued on, the wanted posters remaining an eerie reminder in the backs of their heads.
"Honestly, they did such a poor job I'm not even sure we need disguises," Flowey said.
"Nah, better not risk it," Undyne said.
"It was a joke," Flowey said.
"Oh," Undyne replied. "Yeah, I-I totally knew that. Heh…"
"I honestly thought you were no longer the "voice of reason" for a second there," Frisk joked.
"As if," Flowey stated. "So far, Undyne and I are the only ones keeping us idiots to the plan."
"Hey, what is your plan?" Undyne said, a sudden seriousness in her voice.
"Erm," Flowey said, thinking. "What do you mean? What is my plan?"
"Asking you all in general," Undyne said. "What is your plan, exactly?"
"I've told you earlier," Frisk said. "Getting out of here."
Undyne turned thoughtful for a moment.
"Earlier, when I asked," Undyne began. "I was actually more curious about your journey afterwards. Assuming you get out, that is. Not saying you won't, though! Humans can be tough as all hells, so I have a good feeling."
"Hmm," Frisk began, pondering. "First of all, I think I'll need some heavy therapy. Then I might visit my brother, Ian. He must be worried as shit about me. Hmm, I'll maybe see my dad if I'm feeling it. Probably not. Honestly, I've not thought about it."
Undyne looked visibly thoughtful in a way as if she was in doubt.
"Alright, as I said, I have a feeling you can make it," she said. "I know humans are very determined. But-"
"But what?" Frisk inquired.
Undyne sighed. It was not a sigh of disappointment or annoyance. But of shame, of regret.
"So is Mickey," the warrior lady stated with strange seriousness. "Fuck me, that man is ruthless. I am aware of your encounter with some of his warriors. Hell, like I said, you should be proud to have survived by that alone. But I know how these maniacs think, and your humiliation will only make him more determined. And trust me. I have a feeling not even The Barrier will stop him."
"Why not?" Flowey inquired. "Only humans, or at least people with human souls, can pass through, right?"
"Yes, that's my point," Undyne said. "Frisk. I'm not sure if you've all figured it out by now. But…"
"You're saying he's human?" Frisk said. "Yes, we are aware."
The warrior lady looked pleased by that.
"You do?!" Undyne inquired. "Great! That saves me a lot of explaining. But you know what that means, eh? Assuming that, despite everything, you somehow manage to evade his grasp. He can pass the barrier. And do you really think he'll give up once you're out? Him?! No, no. A bastard like him?"
Frisk remained silent. She hadn't given it much thought, but now she was confronted by it.
She felt the anxiety of it awakening like a dormant parasite within her.
"He'll come for you," Undyne said. "And he'll stop at nothing until-"
"Can you slow down?!" Flowey suddenly interjected. "Please?! She doesn't need reminders!"
Undyne looked startled, or as much as she could be startled. Meaning she looked only mildly surprised and confused.
"Geez," Undyne replied. "Did something in the grass bite you? Heh, I just want to give the girl a heads-up. No matter how uncomfortable, it's better-"
"She already has a lot of discomfort hanging over her," Flowey stated. "Besides, do you really think she hasn't already considered that possibility?"
If only, Frisk thought. I'm so fucking dumb.
"Well, sorry," Undyne said, appearing very unused to this situation. "Though I guess you have a point, Flower. Sorry, girl."
Frisk said nothing at first, and there came a momentarily discomforting silence where no one was in the mood to say the next word.
"Thanks, Flowey," she softly said.
Only with the following silence did they all notice a noise of strange, cheerful commotion nearby. Just around the next corner was a group of monsters gathered in a circle, cheering and laughing at something between them all.
"The hell is that?" Flowey inquired. "Is it poker night?"
"It's night?" Frisk asked. "God, I'm so fucking turned around."
"I don't know," Undyne said. "Stay back. I'm going to investigate."
She walked towards the gathering.
"I-I'm coming too!" MK said and ran after her.
"Wait-" Frisk said. "God damned it."
"Staying behind?" Flowey inquired.
"I mean," Frisk began. "I don't know. Eh, screw it. It can't be that bad."
She started to walk towards the exciting gathering.
"Yo!" MK shouted at Frisk, having reached the crowd. "You got to see this!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Frisk said.
"Well," Undyne said, chuckling in amusement. "Ain't that a sight."
Finally, Frisk reached the crowd. Unfortunately, too many laughing, excited monsters in the group were either wide, tall, or wide and tall.
"Excuse me," she muttered as she squeezed through to get a better look.
Finally, after some struggle, she was close to the front and saw the glorious sight.
It was something she never would've guessed.
"What…" Frisk began. "The actual… fuck?!"
There was a dog there, a very familiar dog. That would've been surprising enough. Only the dog was doing the most un-dog thing Frisk had ever seen. Something so silly she could only imagine it in a fever dream.
It stood on two hind legs with two orange maracas in each hand and shook them around the crowd, moving and jumping sideways like in a dance.
Oh, that confirms this, Frisk thought. I'm dreaming. It has to be. It is all a dream, and this is the moment I wake up. What the fuck?
"Look at him go!" Flowey said with strange cheerfulness.
"What is this?" Frisk asked in astonishment. "Is… is this real? Am I actually seeing this?"
"Yo, what's wrong?" MK said.
"Yeah, kid!" Undyne said. "It's just a dog playing with maracas."
"Ok," Frisk began, hands on her head. "Is this normal for dogs here? Because from where I'm from, dogs are literally physically unable to play with maracas."
"I don't know," Undyne said. "I just think it looks silly."
"Perhaps the magic in the air enhances the dog," Flowey pointed out. "I don't care. I'm just glad to see something I'm certain I've never encountered in any of my previous rese- err, lives."
Frisk let her arms drop to her side.
"That's the same god-damned dog from Snowdin," she said.
"What?" Flowey inquired. "You mean the Annoying Dog? Come now."
"No, I'm serious!" Frisk said. "Don't tell me you don't notice. They're both the exact white Samoyed dog breed and-"
"Shiba Inu," Undyne said.
"What?" Frisk asked.
"It's a white Shiba Inu breed," Undyne said. "Samoyed are bigger and fluffier."
"How do you know?" Flowey asked.
"What, I like dogs?" Undyne said.
"Huh," Frisk said. "Well, either case, that is the same- erm, Shiba Inu as from Snowdin."
"Come on, do you think all dogs are the same?" Flowey asked. "Just because they are the same breed doesn't mean they are the same dogs."
"It's-it's not the first time," Frisk said. "I'm seeing this freaking dog everywhere! I think it's following us or something. I-"
She paused.
"I-I got to go."
Frisk quickly squeezed herself out of the crowd, not even bothering to focus on the slimy scales she felt. Walking in the open air, she placed her palms on her head again.
"Are you ok?" Flowey asked with worry.
"You all keep asking me that same freaking question," Frisk quickly said. "Yes! Yes I'm fine!"
"You sure you are?" Flowey asked.
Frisk paused a bit.
"I don't know," she answered. "No? I just- let's just- forget it."
"Alrighty," Flowey said.
"Sup?" Undyne said behind them.
"Gah!" Frisk exclaimed with shock. "Jesus, why does every monster do that?"
"Eh, sorry," Undyne said. "Huh, on the plus side, I think this means I'm making progress on my vigilante sneak."
"Tell that to my heart," Frisk said, holding her chest.
"Yo, that was neat!" MK said, suddenly standing beside Undyne. "I didn't know dogs could do that! I mean dogs that are not monsters."
"Ok, I was expecting it this time," Frisk said.
"What?" MK said. "What does that mean?"
"Nevermind," Frisk said.
After some time, the group found themselves in the middle of what looked like a market.
It was a small market, easy to finish in just a few steps. Some stalls sold vegetables, while others sold what looked like fish. Frisk briefly considered the implications of cannibalism before figuring it would maybe be more like how humans are mammals that eat other mammals. Then Sans' mention of "lab-grown meat" back in Snowdin struck her mind again, mixed with the siren's mention of "non-monster" fishes in the lake. Were these fishes lab-grown as well and then thrown into the lake? Or was it some class thing? Were the poor people on Snowdin only given lab-grown meat? She didn't know what to make of it.
Every seemingly mundane observation just gave her more questions about this world.
"How much further," MK whined.
"We're almost at my place," Undyne said. "Just a few blocks."
"What is with those fish?" Frisk inquired, looking at the stalls.
Undyne gave her a look like she was slightly offended.
"What do you mean by "what is with those fish"?" she inquired.
"Huh?" Frisk asked.
Then she realised it.
"Oh, god, I didn't mean it like that-" she said apologetically.
Undyne suddenly gave out a howl of laughter.
"Eh, I knew what you meant," she said. "Must seem weird, right? Eh, these little ones are just fancy decorations and models."
"Really?" Frisk asked and gave some of them a closer look. "Huh. But there are normal fish- err, non-monster fish in the lakes, right?"
"Sure!" Undyne said. "But most are just pets or herd animals."
"Herding fish," Frisk wondered. "Man, that I got to see."
Once again, Frisk felt somewhat dumb for overthinking things.
"How was the dog even holding those maracas?" MK suddenly wondered out loud.
"With his hands?" Undyne asked.
"Har, har," MK said. "Did that dog have thumbs? I didn't look well enough to notice."
Frisk thought about that and realised that she hadn't noticed either.
"Maybe they taped them," Flowey said. "Magically enhanced duct tape."
"That exists?" MK inquired.
"Yeah, I got some at my place," Undyne said.
"Has to be, maybe," Frisk said. "Can any of you confirm if he has thumbs?"
"I'll be honest, I was too tranced to check," Undyne said. "I think he did, though."
"Or maybe it's a dog breed that has thumbs?" MK inquired.
"Nah, I don't think any dog breed has thumbs," Frisk said. "At least not in my world. Not even Shiba Inus."
A sudden realisation hit her.
"Wait, how do you even know what Shiba Inus are?" Frisk inquired.
"Why are you asking that?" Undyne said with a confused brow.
"I mean, they're Japanese, right?"
"Hah, I hope so!"
Frisk gave her a puzzled look for a moment before continuing.
"Point being," she continued. "If they are Japanese, then how the hell did one-"
A loud crash came from a nearby house, and a skinny, frail figure hurled out.
"What the hell?" Flowey inquired.
The small figure groaned on the floor, adjusting contacts in its fishy eyes. The man was the same species as Undyne, but outside of the red hair, that was all he had in common.
His scales were bright blue, and his hair was shoulder long and messy. He wore a simple T-shirt and some shorts. He was also incredibly skinny, seemingly never thrown a punch in his life, with only a slight belly.
However, out of the house arrived a more opposing and impressive figure
It was an anthropomorphic shark soaring over anything around, with visible built muscles. His scales were as blue as Undynes, and his toothy, sadistic grin resembled a replica of hers.
Each step made visible noise as he walked towards the feeble man.
"L-look!" the little man whimpered with terror. "I-I did not mean to-!"
The man could not finish before the massive shark lifted him, pressing him closer to his snout and teeth.
"Go ahead," the shark man said. "Try that again, you little punk!"
"Ugh, Gods fucking damn it," Undyne muttered at the sight, palm over her face. "Not again."
"Familiar sight?" Flowey inquired, looking at the shark man.
Undyne sighed.
"Indeed," she replied. "That guy… that is my old man."
"Your dad, huh?" Frisk asked.
She looked back at the titanous shark with that in mind.
"Yeah, I can see the resemblance," Flowey responded.
"Of course your dad is as badass as you!" MK said.
"You call that badass?" Undyne asked. "Whatever. I need to have a talk with him before this gets any worse. Be right back."
She adjusted her pose and walked towards her father and the stranger.
"Damn," MK said. "Her dad is exactly how I would picture him."
"Hmm," Flowey said.
"What?"
"I don't know. I don't remember Undyne's dad. And yet I just know something feels off. Maybe just memory issues, I don't know."
The hulking shark monster glanced at Undyne and immediately let go of the poor man. Undyne comforted the skinny victim before looking up at the apologetic shark man, clearly upset. The trio couldn't hear what they were saying from that distance. But Frisk could only occasionally glimpse words like "father" and "again?" shouted angrily from Undyne at the big guy.
"I wish I had the balls to stand up to my dad like that," Frisk said.
"Uh-huh," Flowey said.
"Do you have a dad?" MK asked.
"Eh, sort of."
"Sort of? What does that mean?"
"Long story, not the time."
The shark man sighed and looked at Undyne before backing off a bit. Undyne returned to comfort the victim again before signalling the trio to come.
They complied and walked towards her, hearing her softly talking to the poor victim.
"Are you ok?"
The frail man nodded quickly and nervously.
MK looked at the large Shark man and grinned with excitement.
"What?" the shark man asked, his voice having a similar punk-ness as Undyne's
"Yo, it's good to meet you, mister!" MK said.
"And who are you?"
"Just a huge fan of your, erm, daughter! Man, that is so weird to say."
The shark man grinned, his teeth resembling Undyne's.
"You're talking about that ex-Royal Guard lady, eh?" he said, chuckling. "HAH! I wish!"
MK looked at him, confused.
"Huh?" they said.
Frisk looked at Undyne, surprised with realisation, as the fish warrior stood up, the skinny man in her arms.
"Wait a minute," Flowey began.
"What?" MK inquired. "Is… is he-?"
"Oh?" Flowey began. "Oh, you have got to be-"
"Kids?" Undyne said, smiling, the frail-looking fish monster standing awkwardly beside her. "I'd like you to meet this sweet bundle of nerds named Sam. My pops."
Too exhausted for chapter notes right now.
They'll be coming soon... hopefully.