Long Ago, two races ruled over the Earth. Humans and Monsters.
One day, war broke out between the two races.
After a long battle, the Humans were victorious.
They sealed the Monsters underground with a magical spell.
Many years later, on Mt. Ebott, a young woman made her way up the mountain. A bow in her hair, her eyes a brilliant green, her smile gentle and kind- though troubled- she stepped through the dense forest dotting, trailed by a figure unseen. Legends say that those who go up the mountain never return...
201X
Her footing falters, the girl tumbles forward through a crevice in the rock and down she falls. Her eyes ever shining, her smile ever brightening, she falls down, down, down, deep beneath the Earth. Deep through the dark, and into the world Underground...
MONITALE
When the pair came to this time, there was no gasping for air, no confusion between where they were and who they were next to. Instead, both Monika and Player shared a glance between each other, one that held within it relief. In truth, Player wasn't certain what performing a RESET through the console would do. He had a feeling that it would be the same here as it was in the game, but with no way to test that theory, he had been forced to rely on nothing but hope and prayer. Apparently his prayers had been answered, as Monika turned to him almost immediately when she woke up and offered the young man a wifish smile. The kind, he imagined, reserved for husbands coming home from long days at work or, in his case, boyfriends who had managed to say all the right things.
Whatever it was, it was everything he could have asked for. That smile, those lips- her pristine, white teeth that seemed to catch the light and glow an even more grandiose shade of ivory in it- they meant more to him in that moment than perhaps any other smile had ever meant to him over the course of his entire life. He had pitched his idea to her with the utmost confidence but... There was fear there. A small worry in the back of his mind- one that had, much like a vampire trying to convince you to stay for dinner, persuasively tried to talk him out of taking her back here. There was, after all, no guarantee that he or Monika would retain their memories. But seeing the look on her face melted those worries away, turned the vampire's arguments right to dust alongside him. She remembered. He did too. She remembered the things they had done and the people they had met, the right words to say and, most importantly, the lessons she had learned.
But that smile was more to him than merely a reassurance that his plan had worked. No, that much was nice but there was something else there as well, something stronger and brighter and better than any relief. Looking at it- at her- the woman in front of him, the way her lips moved and the way her eyes, boisterous and so full of life, sparkled in the light, it filled him with a feeling he had never felt before. No, that wasn't quite right. It was a feeling he had felt, but only ever acknowledged in his quietest moments. A feeling that he had pushed away in some vain hope of being "normal", of moving on. Seeing her now, his heart ached. His lips, invisible though they were, tingled with desire. A longing had built up a tower in his chest and now it was coming down. From the moment he saw her, he knew he wanted to kiss her. More than that, he knew that she- and perhaps she alone- was the person for him. The only person for him. She was beautiful and kind, intelligent and a joy to be around. Even in the wake of her crimes, she wanted to be a good person in the end.
The tower was coming down and when it finally collapsed, Player wasn't sure if he'd be able to control himself. For so long he had been treated like some kind of martyr by people his own age. Through no fault of his own, of course. He couldn't help that he was attracted to Monika any more than others could help being attracted to whatever celebrity was popular that day. In his case, however, it was worse than simple attraction. The way his heart felt heavy whenever he looked at her image on the screen, the way his own lips bent up whenever he turned on his computer and saw her waiting for him, the way it felt like someone was driving a pole through his chest whenever he realized that he would never have a chance to truly touch her... It was so much more than just attraction. It was romantic, it was beautiful, it was love.
He took one final look at those lips, his own starting to rise to match, and felt a pang in his chest. How he longed, how he yearned to feel her lips on his own. It was a feeling he didn't think he would ever be able to forget.
From that moment forward, things progressed at a rate that the pair found acceptable. Monika rose to her feet after briefly questioning a series of new, vague memories that had come to her almost immediately after awakening. They weren't anything that bothered her- at least, not on the face of them- and they weren't all that in-depth either. Merely a vision of her, looking a tad morose if anything at all, clambering up a hill and toppling into a hole, the hole that she surmised was above them. The one that led into the Underground. What bothered her about the memory, if it could indeed be called such, was the fact that it took place in third person rather than first, as though she was more of an outside observer in her own body than an active participant in it. Player shrugged as a reply, admitting that he recalled a similar memory, but in his case it had come from a first person point of view.
He did have one, minor, theory on it though. "Well..." Player began as Monika crossed her arms. "It could be that you somehow received a vision of the game's introductory
'cutscene'." Player explained. "Its basically the only one in the game and it gives you a short lore dump so you can somewhat understand the game's events. As for why it was in third person for you though..." Another shrug. "That's really strange. It could have something to do with theories about the nature of SOULs but..." His hand slipped over his chin in a motion she couldn't help but to smile at. It was worrying that this had happened, sure, but Monika had already accepted the strange reality of this place. This was a world where a Flower could absorb the SOULs of six dead children and become an Elder God- her having an out of body experience wasn't entirely unreasonable.
Still, she couldn't square away one piece of the scene in her mind. One small thing that troubled her, even as she smiled and commented on Player's "thinking face" to move them on from this line of questioning. The expression on "her" face in the memory. It was a familiar one, the kind of face she had made back during that last week at the Literature Club. The kind she made when she didn't want people to know that something was wrong. Why had she made it then? There were rational explanations of course. This universe could have altered its history to include her in it, and the version of her that she was seeing was one without her memories. Without those, and assuming this universe had shown that Monika the same things it had shown her, it wouldn't be completely out of the realm of possibility for that Monika to jump to the conclusion that this place was fiction. Now that her memories had united with that body, a synchronicity could be reached- they knew that this place was as real as the one her Player had come from.
But that opened its own can of worms. If the universe had shuffled itself around to incorporate her, if Monika now had a "place" in its reality then... why couldn't she remember what that place was? Why did her memories seem to begin with what she remembered about the Literature Club? Why didn't she have any recollection of what that alternate version of her's life had been like? That wasn't a line of thought she wanted to go down and yet- it sent a chilly spike of ice through her chest- she couldn't stop herself from at least questioning it. She managed to keep a sigh from escaping her lips- no reason to alert her darling to the inner workings of her mind- by letting her breath out slowly, deliberately maintaining a veil of normalcy. Whatever the reason was, Monika couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't going to get an answer any time soon. Maybe Player was on the right track, and it had something to do with her SOUL. Maybe, and Monika didn't feel any better about this one, but perhaps it was the case that when Player performed the RESET, her body had for reasons unknown to her decided to split off from her SOUL.
Whatever the case, she didn't allow it to bother her as she entered the next room and steeled herself to encounter Flowey again.
But the encounter never came. Indeed, the pair stepped through the gargantuan purple door and into the darkened cave beyond to find a small patch of grass with no golden sunflower adorning it. Monika quirked her eyebrow at the change at first, but Player eased her fears quickly enough. Flowey was aware of the RESETs and more importantly, he was aware of how things ended the last time he engaged with Player and Monika. This, Player said, was the reason for his lack of appearance- he knew how things would play out already and had decided not to bother. Monika supposed that made sense, Flowey had the same amount of free will as everyone else did, and though the RESETs messed with time, knowing about them and when they would occur allowed Flowey to exercise his right to determine his future to a greater degree than others, such as Toriel, did.
Seeing the old woman again filled Monika's heart with a kind of nostalgic joy. Though it hadn't been much longer than a month since she had last seen her or, for that matter, heard her voice, Toriel's physical presence was something Monika had grown to miss. In a place as chaotic and nonsensical as The Underground, Toriel was the calming, motherly figure that almost seemed to exude the words "everything will be fine" with her every action. Though as always, she seemed a bit uncertain as to how to treat an adult Human. Not that she minded all that much. Toriel was willing to, at least, not baby her. Especially when Monika, now aware of how the kindly old sage would react upon learning of her intentions to leave the RUINS, carefully explained and demonstrated to Toriel that she could fend for herself. Her SOUL might have lost access to Undyne's Spear in the RESET, and Player had to pull her Jacket out from the code, but Monika's prowess with using these items and powers hadn't diminished at all. In fact, now in control of one of Toriel's fireballs (at least for now), Monika had so thoroughly impressed her that the former Queen was willing to let her pass through the RUINS alone.
This time, now freed from his gag order by both Monika and himself, Player was willing and even eager to give Monika as much input on every encounter as he could. His excited explanations and wild gestures as he provided step-by-step guides to encountering the silliest (and often the funniest) moments in the game, reminded the girl a bit of a younger brother who had been forced to watch his sister play the game instead of playing it himself. To the sister in such a hypothetical, it would be annoying to have a backseat player, but for her... It was as though a whole new world had opened up and on the other side was the brightest light she had ever seen. Even if it meant she had to tolerate him accidentally spoiling certain things.
Despite that, his help was appreciated. Her stroll through the RUINS was much easier this time around now that she didn't have to worry about figuring out what was the right course of action to take when dealing with the Whimsums and Froggits. Player's input transformed fights that had, admittedly, become a bit of a chore during her first pass-through of the location, into an enjoyable routine. Especially when Monika decided to deviate a little. She was loathe to admit as much, but Monika hadn't taken all that much enjoyment on her first walk-through of the RUINS. It was beautiful here, of course, but Monika had never truly stopped to admire the pure scale of the caverns. She had never stopped to consider just how much work and effort might have- must have- gone into building these caves. She had never run her hands along the brick and felt decades or centuries (or more, she realized with an awe-inspiring start, now running her fingers into one particularly dusty groove) of memory inscribed within the rock. Had never even paid it any mind, not the first time she went through at least. Now though, things were different.
Now she wasn't hellbent on getting this over as quickly as she could just so she could return to a destroyed universe and selfishly sit around chatting with her boyfriend all day. On her first walk through, Monika had been so preoccupied with the goal of "getting it over with" that she had only seriously taken the time to slow down when she arrived at Waterfall. Now that she was back, she took the time to breathe in the life and history of the RUINS. Only now that she did that did she truly understand one of the reasons her darling Player had fallen in love with this game; there was a therapeutic angle to it all.
But of course, she couldn't spend all day in the RUINS. For as much as she wanted to take her time going through them nook by nook, Monika was equally struck by the importance of her new mission. The reason that she had agreed to come back in the first place- Player's so-called "True Pacifist" ending. Apparently, though she had taken the liberty of sparing every Monster she came across, her penchant for more violent solutions had locked her out of the best possible ending, a fact that Player was keen on rectifying. Of course, she didn't merely want to play as his puppet, so she made certain to take some liberties with his suggestions. One such liberty came when she was finally forced to confront Toriel. Rather than allowing the old woman to make it downstairs to destroy the exit to the RUINS, Monika had decided to make her voice heard before she had to face her.
It wasn't an easy conversation by any means, but over a slice (or several) of Butterscotch-Cinnamon Pie, Monika was able to calmly and rationally convince the older woman to let her through. Leaning halfway on what Player knew about Toriel's "lore" and halfway on the differences between Monika and the game's former protagonist, who was supposedly a small child of some sort (Monika still didn't fully buy that a child would be able to survive the fall she did), she was able to get it through to Toriel that she wasn't nearly as helpless as she seemed. Thanks to her showing off her SOUL powers earlier, Monika had managed to even push the kind woman to willingly see her off on her journey, rather than simply allow her to leave. The goodbyes were more heartfelt than Monika expected, but she had to admit, the hug Toriel offered her before she departed had been wrapped in enough warmth to carry her through the next stage of her journey.
A stage that was remarkably similar to her first time through with only one notable exception. As Monika trudged through the wintery wonderland that was Snowden Town and its surrounding area, she took the time to actually make an effort to complete Papyrus's puzzles. Given that she had skipped through a number of them on her first and very literal run-through, Monika felt that it was only fair. Of course, that one small change had snowballed out and soon enough, Monika was being led through several different battles against the Royal Dog Guard by her Player. Dogamy, Dogaressa, Doggo and finally, the ironically named "Lesser Dog", had all been bypassed on her first time through- now though, she was made to remedy that fact.
Not that she minded. Much like the RUINS, Monika felt that she hadn't taken the time to fully appreciate the small, almost homely vibe that Snowden brought. For its frigid exterior, the place was far more welcoming and, dare she make the pun, warm than the RUINS were. Filled with such a silly cast, it only made sense, she supposed, but she hadn't truly realized the extent of its atmosphere until she was on her thirtieth stroke of Lesser Dog's head. When the massive canine began his descent back down from the sky she had accidentally sent him to, she was struck with the realization. This place's greatest theme was duality. Cold and icy on the outset- even by Sans's introduction- it quickly melted away to reveal a warmly beating heart that simply couldn't be beat. After a short bout of reflection, Monika decided that this was her favorite place.
She was almost sad to leave it when it came time, but her mission statement called her once more. Though, she didn't bother to talk Papyrus out of fighting her in this case. She was more than happy to actually do battle with the silly Skeleton... but she did have to decline his offer for a date this time around, more out of loyalty to her Player than any desire to skip ahead. Papyrus took it as well as could be expected ("AHA, I SEE... HUMAN ARE YOU... INTIMIDATED AT THE THOUGHT OF DATING ME? DO NOT BE SCARED, HUMAN! I UNDERSTAND COMPLETELY. IT IS ONLY NATURAL TO BE AFRAID OF DATING A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD!")
Player was adamant that she speak to Sans before she left though, and that played out exactly as it had on her first try- a fact she was keenly aware of. Part of her felt a sting of worry at that fact. After all, it would be ironic for her to escape a universe that was fiction only to emerge into one bound by fate, but Monika decided to leave her reservations at the door for the time being. No reason to make that assumption when she had clearly demonstrated the ability to manipulate it. Still, it was strange that Sans had nothing different to say even though she had taken an alternative route, and she intended to bring it up to her darling as soon as they were through with their mission.
But on they went, two Humans walking into the mysterious and beautiful Waterfall, impeded only by the occasional Monster. Things progressed here much the same, though that much could also be forgiven- she hadn't asked Papyrus not to inform Undyne of his failure to capture her after all. She wanted to, but Player insinuated that wouldn't be a good idea if she wanted to achieve the ever-evolving "good ending" and so, Monika allowed their interaction to move along its proper path. And, now taking Player's advice at the letter as to not intrude on anything of value, Monika retraced her steps in much the same manor as before, only now she decided to take a slightly more scenic route through the Waterfall.
Though it had lost her status as her favorite location, Waterfall remained the most poignant place in the entire Underground. The blue water that reflected her face back up at her, the caves which dripped and echoed with conversations in rooms completely unseen, even the Echo Flowers, soulless yet brimming with life, everything in this place seemed perfectly attuned to Monika. There was something here, a melancholy that few other places had or ever could have. It wasn't as ancient as the RUINS nor as warm as Snowden. It wasn't bursting with life like Hotland or coldly tragic like New Home. Waterfall was something more than any of that. There was history here, there was warmth here. There was life, and there was tragedy. The paintings on the walls, describing what would come if a Monster absorbed a Human SOUL. The Echo Flowers with their stories of love and life and friendship. The people here, all trying to have a good life. The old tutu, rotting away behind the waterfall.
Even the music here. Somber and cold, a sound behind it like falling rain- yet soulful and crying with life, the track that overlayed the entire world here was something else. It was an otherworldly, transcendental sound that filled her SOUL as much as her ears. At one point, even knowing she was being hunted by Undyne, even knowing that she was on a mission, Monika stopped in the middle of a room and simply basked. Her eyes closed, her head tilted up- she listened to the music fall around her. Perhaps, she thought, her judgement had been wrong before. Perhaps- perhaps- this place really was her favorite place in the whole Underground. Maybe not narratively. Maybe, no, definitely not in narrative terms. In that regard, she still believed that Snowden was her favorite. But if she had to pick one place in the entire Underground to spend the rest of her life, she would do it right here. Right in this place, basking in its music, imagining the rain soaking her hair and washing away the dirt of a hard life.
But all things had to end eventually, and this was no exception to that rule. Soon enough, she was on the trail again, being hunted down by Undyne, walking by the castle- 'God this place is just beautiful'- with Monster Kid while carrying an umbrella, visiting Temmie village, being thrown off of a cliff (not necessarily in that order) and finally making her way to an all too familiar bridge. Monster Kid nearly fell, but Monika went to scoop him up and set him down. Seeing this, and Monster Kid's resliance, Undyne backed off from her until they met again.
It was only now that things changed.
"Run!" Player grinned.
"Run?" Monika questioned.
Run, the text box in his hands said. Not that she could see that part, but she still took off running when the option was presented to her. "Wrong way! Past Undyne!" Player said, correcting his darling when she made an effort to run back towards the bridge. Undyne gave chase, but Monika was rather crafty when it came to getting by her. Summoning the last embers of Toriel's flame that she borrowed earlier, Monika flung it at Undyne to great effect. She coughed and sputtered, her skin appearing now more noticeably dry. Internally, Monika took note of that fact- and she allowed it to lead her down a different train of thought. Undyne was a fish, or at least a monster that approximated one, it stood to reason that she would be otherwise weak to heat.
Then it struck her, the reason why Undyne had been so easy to avoid throughout Hotland- she couldn't get very far through it in her armor. And that, she reasoned, was precisely why Player wanted her to run for the tunnel separating Waterfall from Hotland. Now understanding her purpose here, Monika threw herself into it completely and tapped into her prior history as an athlete. Though she never actually tried out for sports, Monika had been one of the only one of her peers to take any interest at all in her physical health outside of "maintaining her figure". Not that she minded doing that, but for her, volleyball, the gym, and most importantly- running were all examples of things she took pride in.
So when she transformed her playful jog into a dead sprint, it was no surprise that Undyne sputtered to keep up with her. Burdened under armor that must have weighed a ton, the fish monster quickly overexerted herself. By the time the magma fields that surrounded Hotland came up, Monika had only barely worked up a steady heartbeat, let alone a sweat. The same couldn't be said for Undyne, who came lumbering in, chest heaving, eye blazing, spear in hand. Reaching the girl only because Player suddenly yelled STOP as loud as he could to get through the haze in Monika's ears, Undyne leveled her spear at her. "You- I- running away is a cowardly thing to do! Why... I... ought-ta..." Undyne began to slow, her cadence seeming to melt along with her skin as rivers of sweat began to run down her face. Her one good eye swiveled around then, and the woman only now seemed to realize how badly the tables had turned. "Oh... crap..." She muttered, then swallowed before focusing again. "Well... I'm not- not gonna... not... gonna... let you get away...!" Undyne stumbled once, her spear flashing through the air with luminous blue light as it came down and made an attempt to slash through Monika's SOUL directly.
But it never made its mark. The woman collapsed, her eye closed, and she fell forward, her spear's tip still nearly a foot away from Monika's SOUL as she did. Monika let out a sigh. "Sorry!" Monika called to her. "I promise that this way is better for everyone!" She tried to reassure, though wasn't certain that Undyne or really anyone could hear her. She glanced at Player. "Player?" She brushed a strand of hair out of her face, grossly taking note of the fact that some sweat had begun to cling onto her skin. She hadn't thought ahead it seemed, hadn't realized that she would be blisteringly hot when her run finished and with no way to cool down in this place. "What's next?"
"Well dear, I don't know about you dear, but I'm parched." He said, then moved his dark, shadowy body out of her way to allow Monika to see the water cooler he was standing in front of more clearly. With him standing in front, it looked more like a dull, shapeless blob than anything else, but now that she could see it clearly, she rolled her eyes while a smile tugged at her lips.
"Is that your way of being witty?" She teased, taking a step towards the cooler. When she reached it, Monika was taken with a sudden urge- a curiosity of sorts. The CORE was notoriously a series of elevated platforms surrounded by lava or magma, geological formations she knew to be incredibly hot, so unfathomably so that little to no life tended to exist at this depth. Even at this elevation, Monika could feel the heat venting off from the rivers below- which struck her with a question that could only be answered through the sensation of touch: how was the water capable of surviving down here without evaporating? Clearly there had to be some intense internal mechanisms at work... But, suddenly finding herself incapable of resisting, Monika lifted a hand and gingerly touched the edge of the plastic tube that kept the water in place. It was cold. She had imagined that it would be lukewarm at best but by God it was cold!
Of course, as soon as her hand touched the edge, moisture began leeching off from the side as if the cooler had been reminded of the fact that it was practically dead center within an inactive volcano. Monika remained there for a little longer, absorbing as much of the icy relief as she could in her surprise, then only retracted her hand when a reminding light went off in her mind- warning her that their window of opportunity was probably slipping the longer she waited. Accompanying her own alert, Player cleared his throat. "Yeah I... I've always kind of wondered how that could exist down here too. I mean, the water and the cup evaporate if you walk around with it past this platform. Don't ask me how the cups continue existing..." He muttered as Monika pulled one of the aforementioned paper cups free from a small pouch at the machine's side. It was strange as well. Her fingers could feel the paper already beginning to slip away, already burning to thin white strips of ash.
So much about the Underground remained so unexplained, with the only answer that she or Player could ever give being the most hand-waving one possible- "magic." But, in Monika's admittedly limited experience with magic systems, wouldn't there be a more firm explanation somewhere? Player had never shied away from the fact that this place bore a striking resemblance to a video game he enjoyed, and if it was truly a one-to-one imagining then it would share all the same explanations as that game did, would it not? Yet she had been through this place twice over and she still only understood that some things were "magic" and others weren't. It bothered her on a more psychological level than an existential one, the questions that ran through her mind weren't the same as the worming, uncomfortable question of free will that sometimes came to her. They were more childlike, filled with more wonder in that kind of special way that only getting into a good book could really match.
She poured the water. Ultimately, she decided it wasn't important enough to continue dragging out. If she really couldn't contain her curiosity, she could always set aside time to discuss the mechanics of her world with Alphys or perhaps Sans later on. Though, a frown now tried pulling at her good mood, part of her was reminded of how her curiosity had last led her cat to death. Her eyes closed and she settled those thoughts away for now, unwilling to let them sour her mood anymore. Instead she glanced at Player. "So, should I make her drink this?" She asked.
Player shook his head. "Nah, she's a fish. Hydration for her means something a little different than it would for basically any other Monster... I think." He said with a small shrug.
Monika understood immediately. She took one final step towards Undyne, then tilted her hand forward. It felt weird to dump water onto someone else intentionally, but Monika thought nothing of it. After all, Undyne had tried to kill her. She could afford to be a bit rude. As soon as the water finished washing over her, the fish-woman began to shudder, her eyes fluttered open but quickly closed as her head began to turn from side to side. Her arms got out beneath her and eventually, Undyne pushed herself into a slight, half-baked push up before her knee met the ground and she finally began to find her legs. As soon as she did, the armored figure towered over Monika with an expression of genuine bewilderment over her features. Her head turned left, then right as if to ascertain her position and then, slowly, her eye found Monika's. Then, with equal surprise, they found the cup in her hand. The word went unsaid, but she didn't have to say it. Monika could read it in her expression. Furrowed brows, tense frown- a sudden, tight body language that read as remorse- 'Why?'
"Because it was the right thing to do." Monika said softly. "Even if you tried to kill me, and now that I'm saying that out loud it sounds insane, but even so... I wouldn't exactly be a good person if I let you die out here and..." A softer, kinder, sadder look crossed her face. "I'm trying to be a better person."
Undyne's face clouded with rage. Monika could see the storm going on behind her eye, the ever-heating debate that was 'what should I do now' and from the looks of things, it was getting vicious. Yet Monika felt that Undyne's anger wasn't pointed towards her. It was a loaded gun, but one that had pressed up against Undyne's temple. Monika couldn't say with certainty what the woman was thinking now, but she knew what her expression meant. She was mad at herself. It went on for a long moment, but Undyne eventually seemed to reach an accord with herself. She breathed, frowned, turned and then... she was gone. A silent admission.
Monika watched Undyne go, and when the broad-shouldered fish Monster vanished into the depths of the tunnel separating the two zones, she let out a sigh and turned to her Player. "Alright, well I guess that means she won't be chasing me around now." She said. "Though, I'm not sure how exactly that's going to make this ending better."
At first, Player laughed in the familiar, knowing kind of way that he always did whenever things were happening that he recalled from the games. "Just wait..." He said as he crossed his arms and pretended to lean against the water cooler. "Any second now, we'll get a call." It wasn't long before his smug tone began fade. Seconds ticked by and became minutes, minutes never turned to hours- Monika wouldn't allow them to- but they began to pile up slowly but surely. First one, then two, then five, then ten, fifteen and finally, tearing his hair out at twenty, Player admitted. "Something's definitely wrong." A hoarse sound crept into his throat, infecting his words with a chilling urgency that Monika had only ever heard from herself, and only ever when she was irredeemably late. If he could have, Monika imagined that her boyfriend would have tapped his foot against the stone if only to hear something other than his own breathing.
Rendered incapable of such, he began to pace. Back and forth and back and forth he went, his feet never touching the ground yet moving all the same, all the while he began to mutter. Monika, more patient than he was, had taken to sitting down. Using her Jacket as a blanket to protect her from the immediate and hand-meltingly hot ground, Monika had begun toying with her SOUL, attempting to better understand its mechanics. In the short time she had to do so, she hadn't learned much. The only thing of real value was how it seemed to resonate with her thoughts. When she imagined a better future, it glew more brightly, but when she imagined a world where her beloved was in danger... Its shine was something else. It took on the quality of a church, resonate and immaculate- holy in its hellish flames. The Passion that bled from it seemed to scald less like fire and more like acid at the merest mention of the idea that someone could ever harm her darling.
"He should have called by now!" Player finally snapped. "I knew we shouldn't have left Snowden without going out with Papyrus! I knew it was a bad idea but I didn't stop you because "I want you to play the game how you want" WELL, good going, me! Now we're soft locked!" He slammed his palms over his eyes and dug his nails into where his hair would have been. "God-DAMN-!" He turned and let out an aggravated cry before turning his head upwards and clenching his fingers before thrashing his arms around as though threatening to choke God. "RRRGH!"
Monika gave her Player a long stare. Player had never, not in all the time they had spent with each other, shown her this side of himself. Anger, true anger, was something that rarely, if ever, actually made an appearance when they were in his world, and here... She couldn't recall a time when he had been anything less than the rational, calm one. Yet somehow, it wasn't the fact that he was mad that scared her the most. All humans were capable of being frustrated. The fact that she had never seen him like this before didn't mean that it was completely out of her darling's range, it meant something much worse.
How little did she truly know about her Player? It was a question that didn't plague Monika often, but when it did its results were usually unthinkable. In all reality, she knew very little about the man she called her love. Obviously, she knew his passions, she knew the things he called his greatest loves, she knew what he liked to do in his spare time and she knew that, at his heart, he wanted her to be better. But she had only ever seen the good. Never had she seen him be fully frustrated, never had she seen him snap or even raise his voice. Seeing it now... A sharp knife of worry drove itself into her heart, the cold steel turning the blood it pumped to ice as it wrenched through her chest. A question rose to her mind. 'How would he act if it were me he were mad at?'
In front of her, the flames dimmed. The light began to fade and then finally, her SOUL went dull.
Monika closed her eyes. 'No. No, that's obviously wrong. You know him, Monika. He isn't that kind of person.' But there was always the uncertainty. It would always be there, at least until she had a chance to spend longer than a month with him. A chance to see how he would act when she was beyond the screen and he was more than a ghost. She was unsure if the words were merely thought or if she had carelessly let her own thoughts spill out of her, but Player turned around to look at her, either drawn by the sound or by the fading of her light. He looked down at her and his eyes immediately began to shift as he took notice of the conflict she had failed to rub off her face.
"Monika... Sorry." He said, floating down and settling next to her. "I just... Got a little frustrated with myself, that's all. I'm worried that we might have to go out and do this a third time and... Sometimes its hard to keep my temper. I'm not angry at you, I promise." He sighed. "Are you alright?"
At his words, the fire in her heart began to light again softly. She smiled and gave him a nod. "Yeah, I am now that you're down from where you were." She admitted. Already, her worries faded into the back of her mind. Not forgotten, never really forgotten, but forgiven at least for now. "Honey... why don't WE just call him?"
Player might have blinked. It was hard to tell, his facial features were ever-shifting after all. Still, he stopped and then, with sudden force, his hand slapped against his forehead. "Duh! Why didn't I think of that! Darling, we need to call Papyrus!"
The call was made.
Not much longer after that, the pair found themselves standing outside of Undyne's home. In front of them, waiting with his usual, overeager expression, was Papyrus. Upon seeing them, he waved gleefully for them to come over yet in a motion most paradoxical, he feigned a yell. "human!" He said, voice low enough to be a whisper and yet loud enough to easily be heard if Undyne was truly paying attention. "Come quickly! I don't think Undyne knows we're here yet and I want to surprise her!"
Monika approached, a dopey grin already starting to take over her face as she did. By the time she reached him, it had become all-consuming. "Why are we whisper-yelling?" Monika asked in a real whisper.
"OH, THAT'S BECAUSE I WANTED TO MAKE THINGS MORE DRAMATIC!" Papyrus announced. "BUT NOW THAT YOU'RE HERE...!" He glanced towards the door suddenly, as though waiting for it to burst open. "I MEAN... Now that you're here..." He lowered his voice once again, though no longer yelled this time. "There is actually one thing you should know! I have a brilliant plan to make you and Undyne great friends! Just follow my lead if you're ready!" Bending to match her, Papyrus lifted a hand to block the excess noise from reaching Undyne's house, a purpose that his glove was well-suited for as it bounced his loud whispers back at Monika. "Just stand behind me! Oh and give her this-" Papyrus reached beneath his chest plate and presumably into his ribcage before producing a bone foiled in brown wrapping paper and tied up with a ribbon. "SHE LOVES- I MEAN, she loves these!" Monika winced at the sound, but accepted his gift for Undyne.
The skeleton turned and raised his hand. As he knocked on the door, Monika took a step back to better hide herself behind Papyrus, trusting his plan the same way she trusted Player's- with a small pinch of salt. It wasn't that their plans were necessarily bad, rather it was more that Monika needed to work to keep them going or else they could easily spiral out. When she was comfortably shielded by Papyrus's broad shoulders, Monika glanced up towards Undyne's house and was struck with an odd feeling of menace. It wasn't much, but the rough, angular lines that made up the fishy exterior coupled with the angry expression the windows made (and the shark-toothed door) gave the girl a very particular sense. The same one she felt when Undyne had first begun hunting her. But, if Player was to be believed, the exterior held a far more gentle interior.
The doors slid open and Undyne stepped out. Monika almost immediately winced when Undyne mentioned that Papyrus had apparently not told her what they were actually doing here. Not telling Undyne about her made some sense- she doubted that the Royal Guardswoman would want anything to do with the human she only just failed to defeat not half and hour ago- but telling her that they were meeting up for some kind of training? That could only go so well. And thus, when Papyrus eagerly announced that he had "brought a friend" Monika steeled herself, then set her shoulders to look as presentable as she could. Papyrus stepped out of the way and Monika offered a gentle smile before opening her mouth.
She never did get to speak. "You!" Undyne snarled with immediate recognition, and Monika was struck once more with dread and a feeling like fight or flight as she saw that the woman wasn't just big and bulky inside of her armor- her muscles too were powerfully built. Veins bulged out of them as Undyne tensed up, her blue hand clenching into a fist as the first sparks of blue magic began to form. Monika too felt her SOUL threatening to spill out of her as the world seemed to darken around them. Inwardly, Monika herself wanted to hiss back at the woman- though, her anger followed the same path as her darling's had before. Of course this wouldn't work! If what she understood about this world when it was a game were true, the protagonist had been but a child when the events took place! Undyne would undoubtedly be more friendly towards a younger human compared to a teenager!
Yet the world never fully turned monochrome, and Undyne's Spear never manifested inside of her palm. Instead, face pulled taut with undoubtedly significant effort, the Captain's one good eye swiveled and latched onto Papyrus, who smiled dumbly while giving her a thumbs up in reply. Before long, her unfathomable rage was returned to Monika, yet though the fires never died in Undyne's eye, she transformed her strain into a grin. "Why don't... You both... Come in..." She asked and, with great effort, unfurled the fist at her side before storming back through her door.
Both parties were silent for a moment, and then. "I THINK THAT WENT WELL!" Papyrus announced. "SHE'S ALREADY WELCOMING YOU INSIDE! SHE'LL WARM UP TO YOU IN NO TIME!" He added eagerly before twirling around in a circle and spinning his way into the building.
Monika let loose a chuckle and shook her head. "I hope you're right, Papyrus." Monika said, the smile not fading from her lips even as she followed in the pair's footsteps.
"LOOK UNDYNE!" Papyrus said in a voice that had clearly been rehearsed several times. "MY FRIEND BROUGHT YOU A GIFT, COMPLETELY ON HER OWN!" Papyrus didn't do it, but Monika could perfectly imagine him turning to her and winking while giving her the thumbs-up. In response, giggles threatened to spill out of her and had to quickly be suffocated as she held the bone up and offered it to Undyne.
The woman looked at it with disdain for a longer time than hospitality would allow, but after a quick glance at Papyrus, she sighed loudly and accepted it from Monika. "Thanks." Undyne said tersely as she snatched it from Monika's hand. "I'll put it with the others." She added through gritted teeth before stepping back towards a drawer and opening it. Monika could see at least dozens of similarly wrapped bones inside, all completely untouched. Undyne set the latest in her collection inside before shutting the drawer and turning back to the pair. Her eye focused on Papyrus and she prepared herself to speak-
But Papyrus was the one to interrupt this time. "WHOOPSY DOOPSY! I JUST REMEMBERED! I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!" He jutted a finger in the air, his speech more rehearsed than ever now. "YOU TWO HAVE FUN!" Undyne lifted a hand and got halfway through something that sounded like a "hey" before Papyrus turned and took off running in a dead sprint towards-
'Wait- he's not actually going to hit the-'
CRASH!
The sound of glass shattering filled the two women's (and Player's) ears as Papyrus threw himself out of the window.
Monika stared for a moment. Then, like giggling pink zombies rising from their suffocated graves, the giggles returned. They rose up from her throat and, without much warning, came flooding out of her. This was the kind of thing she had come to expect from Papyrus, but she could never have predicted that he would throw himself out of the window. Her giggles became cackles that were quickly stifled by hands coming over her mouth, but these were not the same as the ones that had threatened her earlier, they wouldn't be contained so easily. It was only after a long, giggle-fueled minute had passed that they finally subsided. And as they did, Monika heard a different sound. A low, gurgling noise that reminded her vaguely of an alligator's rumble. The only difference between that noise and this new one was that it was stuttered, it bounced between breaks for air much like a...
She glanced towards Undyne. She too had been taken by the throes of laughter, though by contrast, the Royal Guardswoman held far more composure than Monika. By the time Monika's had subsided completely, Undyne's had already slipped back behind a stormy mask.
At once, the mood shifted. As though their mutual laughter had been the final embers of a candle burning in the dark, the moment they were gone the pair were plunged back into a game of cat and mouse. Though who was who now was anyone's guess. They remained that way for a long moment, staring one another down as though the silence that stretched between them was a glass pane that neither was willing to shatter. Or at least, Monika was unwilling, because after a time, Undyne finally took a hammer to it. "So..." The word seemed to stretch on as the redheaded Monster crossed her arms over her black tank-top. "What are you doing here? Come to rub gloat and rub my nose in your victory?" A snarl crept over her face and Monika was reminded once again of an alligator, who's teeth jutted and dug grooves into its skin at odd angles. "To humiliate me even further?"
"No." Monika answered honestly. "I'm here to make friends with you. Or rather, peace. I don't want there to be animosity between us." She swallowed, then cleared her throat before speaking a little louder. "Any of us. Humans and Monsters in general." She said.
"Oh, is that all?" Undyne's face seemed to contort unnaturally as she stretched her fishy face into a faux-smile. "Well in that case, I accept! Lets all go frolick in the fields of friendship!" Somehow, Monika got the impression that Undyne wanted to say a different F related word, only holding herself back due to the rules of proper etiquette. "NOT!" She finished, her face returning to a much more natural look as she bared her teeth at the teenager. "Why would I EVER be friends with YOU!? If you weren't my houseguest, I'd beat you to a bloody pulp!" Her blue fist tensed; Monika could see a vein bulge from her arm like a cord being pulled out of the dirt. "You're the enemy of everyone's hopes and dreams! You humans put us in here and now you want to make kissy faces?" Undyne's eyes narrowed. "Get out of my house."
Monika set her shoulders. "No." She said plainly.
"No?" Undyne asked, nostrils flaring. "You can't say no! This is my house! I make the rules!"
"Well-" Monika stuttered. In her world, it had been considered rude to argue with someone in their own home, a fact that had been so heavily ingrained into her by her mother and father when she was a child that even doing it now felt strange- wrong like she was trampling over a grave or dancing in a church- but she persisted. "I-I-" She cleared her throat, finding her voice at last as an argument came to mind. "If you're really so convinced that I'm the enemy then you won't mind debating that with me! A-after all, its only fair that I at least understand your perspective on why!"
"You put us down here!" Undyne snapped and her hands flung up. "And now because you won't die because you've got like- what- some-some guy up there waiting? Because of that we're all gonna be trapped down here longer! You're the reason we can't see the sun! How many kids just like the one you were hanging around earlier are going to grow up stuck in these dank caves for the rest of their lives? Huh?"
Monika looked down. Undyne had made a decent point, and it wasn't like she could easily disprove her without sounding insane. After all, what could she say? Telling Undyne about her experience in an alternate timeline and how her floating magical boyfriend who definitely wasn't a figment of her imagination said that peace between the two races was possible? She was certain that Undyne would take that one well.
But an idea came crawling back to her. In the month between now and her original escape from the Underground, Monika had gone over her confrontation with Asgore repeatedly in her mind. She had done this for two reasons. The first was a genuine desire to self-reflect and truly break down what she had said to the Monster King and how it related to her. In that regard, she had come to the same conclusion that she had during her battle. She wanted to be better, and to that end she had decided to take steps to be the kind of person that would be better. The other reason was more self-serving in nature. She couldn't help but feel like she could have made better arguments against the Monster King than she had. On that front, she had come to a rather interesting hypothetical. She wasn't certain of its ability to work, but there didn't seem to be any indication that it wouldn't. More importantly than that, however, was the simplicity of the argument, it was something she could throw out rather easily against Asgore to at least give the kindly old man a pause. Where better to test the waters of her hypothetical than here? "Well... what if we worked together?"
"I'm sorry?" Undyne cocked her head. "Worked together? Really? How are we supposed to do that when your SOUL is what's needed to break the barrier and make Asgore a God?"
"Well, I was thinking about it, and... you only need seven SOULs... there's nothing that says they have to be dead." Monika replied in earnest. Honestly, chances were more likely that it wouldn't work. After all, if the solution was that simple then surely Alphys or Asgore or someone would have figured it out before her? But the idea was worth at least exploring. "If Asgore absorbs the six he has already and I put my one to work in tandem with him then we could possibly break the Barrier together. Then, with the power he has, maybe he could broker a deal between the world leaders and Monsters to ensure your freedom!" Monika offered, her voice growing more emphatic with every sentence. She had quit the debate team a long time ago- too many conflicts, too much anger- but she had never quite lost the ability to debate. It was a muscle just like writing was, it could atrophy if she wasn't careful, but she had gone through the Underground twice now; she had the chance to build back her 'strength.' "Trust me, nobody would want to fight a Monster with Six Souls." Monika couldn't keep the tone like she knew what was like firsthand out of her voice.
Undyne frowned deeply. "Well... I don't know if that would work..." She admitted, crossing her arms. "But I guess that wouldn't be too bad of an option." Then, her eye snapped up to Monika with a firm, lioness's look. "That said though, what if it didn't? Huh? What would happen then? We'd have no choice but to kill you."
"We could find another way." Monika answered honestly. Then, her own face fell into a frown. "I know what you're trying to do." It was human nature to seek out an enemy, someone they could blame for the problems of the world. It seemed that was Monster nature too, not that she could fault the Monsters for feeling that way. Monika imagined she wouldn't be exactly the nicest to anyone who's race sealed hers in a cave for a thousand years. But she believed that people, and Monsters by extension, could be better than that. It was impossible to think otherwise with all she had been through. "You're looking for a reason to see me as an enemy but that's just not how things have to be." She continued. "Even if you never forgive all of humanity for what they did- and I couldn't blame you if you didn't- it isn't fair to blame me. Your life mattered enough to me for me to give you that water earlier! Doesn't that mean anything?" She took a step forward. "Doesn't my life matter?"
"I-" Undyne stuttered. "Your life... it just isn't as important as everyone else's! Alright? Its basic, uh, utilities or whatever! You're one girl and there are thousands of monsters down here who all want to live under the sun! Even if your life mattered as much as theirs, they still outnumber you!"
"You're not wrong." Monika replied honestly. "In the end, I am only one person. But that doesn't mean that its okay or even morally correct to kill me for the benefit of others- especially not when there are other options that we can try." Monika took another step forward. "I'm not sure, but I'm willing to bet that most of you will outlive me. Why not wait for me to die of natural causes?" Another. "Or, if that would take too long, why not absorb one SOUL and use that to broker with the rest of humanity to free all of your kind?" Another. Now it was that she was only a few feet from the woman; Monika could feel her breathing increase. "There are so many other ways that this can end! All you have to do is look for the way out that doesn't involve violence!" At last, Monika stood but one foot away, her head tilted up as she looked hard into Undyne's one good eye.
Undyne said nothing for a moment, and it was only when the silence seemed to stretch on into infinity that she finally broke it by looking away. "You sound just like him." She muttered, then scoffed- a small half-nostalgic smile fluttered onto her lips before fading away. "Asgore, I mean. He's always telling me to look for other ways to solve my problems aside from clocking people..." She sighed. "Y'know, if you weren't a Human I bet you two could get along great." She admitted, turning her face back to look into Monika's eyes. "But the fact is, you are a Human. And the other fact is, we need your SOUL to escape. And even if there is some other way... what then? The War is still going on. We'll get right back at it as soon as we're out in most cases, and Asgore NEEDS all Seven if he wants a chance to win it this time."
"There doesn't have to be a war." Monika said quietly. In the interim after defeating Flowey, she had done her research on the history of the world around her. It had been difficult to dredge up most things, but what she found was that human history was largely the same as her world's, going back over a thousand years ago. The only difference she could spot was a record of a war that no one knew anything about. There weren't even references to Monsterkind in the history books she had read. "Humanity doesn't even know you exist anymore. Even on the continent the war took place on- its been forgotten! Whatever reason we had for putting you down here, I think its buried." Monika closed her eyes. "I'm sorry. I know that sounds awful, but its important to look at what's real about the statement. We don't have to fight, we can let bygones be bygones."
Undyne glared. "Of course you forget. Of course! What's the saying? The fist forgets but the boulder remembers?" Monika was pretty sure that wasn't the saying, but she didn't correct her. "Your kind didn't have to endure down here for the last millennium! Mine did! But you know what?" Undyne breathed. "Fine. Lets ALL forgive! What happens when Humanity remembers why they did it, hmm? What happens when someone gets hurt, a Soul gets absorbed, and you start feeling afraid of us? We'll be back to square one all over again!"
Monika considered her words for a moment, then she smiled. "That isn't true. Look at me! Aren't I a prime example of that? From the minute I arrived down here, I haven't hurt anyone. I've gone out of my way to help, actually." She felt wrong saying that, but she needed to make the point clear. She didn't do any of the good things she did on the first run through for selfish reasons, she did them purely because it had been the right thing to do at the time. "I don't mean this as some holier-than-thou thing either! I believe most people are like me! Once you show that you're not a threat, we'll be able to coexist just fine, I'm sure of it."
Undyne sat back. "Prove it."
"Huh?"
"Prove it! If you're representing all of Humanity then... prove that you don't have any hostile intent against me!" Undyne began to grin ferociously and Monika was struck by the image of a barricuda lunging out of the dark depths. "After all, you didn't even TRY to hit me the first time we fought!" The world around them began to darken.
"Hey- wait!" Monika protested. "We were JUST talking about not solving things with violence!"
"Yeah we were, which is exactly why we're doing this! If you REALLY think that Humans are capable of being nice all the time, then this won't be a problem! Hit me as hard as you can! I'll let you make the first move!"
A more sped-up version of Undyne's theme began to play as Monika groaned, then sighed. "I really don't want to-"
"Prove it!" Undyne barked, eye going wide with something that was either madness or glee, Monika couldn't tell.
Monika sighed again. "Player?" She asked.
"Sorry hon." The ever-silent shadow replied as he lazed back. "This one is on you." Despite his posture, her darling's voice wasn't good at hiding the small edge of worry to it. Though Monika wasn't sure why he was worried, she brushed it aside for now and focused on Undyne. The Club President took a step forward, gulped, and swung.
"-3 DMG?" Player asked incredulously.
"Huh?" Undyne blinked. Monika winced at the number her Player half-shouted, worry starting to pour into her now. Yet those concerns melted away after a moment as Undyne let out a laugh. "Huh... Well, I guess its true. You really can't muster up any actual intent to hurt me, can you?" She chuckled. "I mean, its not perfect but... If you're telling the truth about not hurting anyone since you arrived then..." Undyne's eye softened. "Damn it... I guess you win. You put your money where your mouth is. Maybe... maybe we can get along after all."
"SO DOES THAT MEAN THAT YOU'RE FRIENDS NOW?" A skeletal face grinned at them from the window as the color snapped back on, its sockets voidlike and glimmering with singular pinpricks of white light as it's mouth stretched wide.
The girls screamed, Undyne nearly hurled a spear at the intrusion while Monika tensed for a different battle to start. Player laughed.
Papyrus grinned in from the window, blissfully unaware at how close he had come to being a skeleton shishkebab.
And when she finally calmed down, Monika felt something else flood into her chest. A sensation that was familiar to her, but one she had not felt since the day Flowey had run off. It was... relief. It wasn't perfect, she didn't feel a weight come away from her shoulders- not like the other times- but she felt better.
Monika:
LV1.5
Author's note: Yeah I'm gonna split Pacifist into two chapters. These are getting exceptionally long but I'm almost certain that you guys don't mind. If you do mind, feel free to voice your opinions and I can find a way to break up the Monika-centered chapters into more digestible and familiar 5k word chunks, but... Who's going to complain about getting more story per story? Anyway, by my estimate with the end of this chapter we're looking at a clean 4 chapters more. Depending on how Asriel goes it could be 5, but I'm going to try to keep that inside of 2 parts.
For now, join us next month (ish) for the final installment of the Pacifist Route! I decided to condense most of the actual Pacifist Route down into a few paragraphs for this chapter so we could just focus on the new content instead. It doesn't make any sense to go back over basically the same events in-depth for a second time and all that would do is double the length of the story so I hope you guys understand why I did it this way. I also wanted to REALLY dig into the Undyne/Monika stuff this time around and further explore the morals of the story, which I hope you guys enjoyed.
Next time, Monika helps a lizard date a fish and then fights the horrors of science in that lizard's basement! So that's... That's definitely something! Ahh but with that all said, I should get to the reviews...
Guest1: My honest criticisms: This chapter tired my brain a little because of the few lines and the various descriptions, in addition to the size of the chapter, which was much longer than the others. But the context was just a lot of nice! The situations were really very uncomfortable and sinister, as they should be, and this ending was chilling to the hairs where the Sun doesn't shine! Even in the most "ok" chapters you know how to pique the reader's curiosity! Let there Frisk be able to SAVE the girls! ️
Me: Yeah I'll admit, that chapter isn't an easy read. I realized early on that capturing the kind of "creepypasta" 4th-wall breaking horror of Doki Doki was impossible to be done well within the boundaries of a text fanfiction, so I decided instead to lean into the idea of something a bit more Lovecraftian. Rather than having Yuri's face "glitch out" I wanted her face to morph and turn grotesque- effectively creating the same feeling. Unfortunately, that kind of horror isn't my style or brand, so it caused a little friction as I tried to get my ideas onto the page. Still, glad you felt chilled by it! Despite my reservations, I stand by most of what that chapter represented and enjoy it thoroughly as a piece of art.
Guest2: In response to endnotes: Nice to see you like Undyne so much! She is my fourth favorite character in the game, behind only Flowey/Asriel and the Skele-bros!
Me: Yeah I really like her a lot! It was fun getting a chance to write her here again, looking forward to doing more in the future with her. As for your picks, those are pretty cool too! Sans is probably my second favorite with Chara as my third. Fourth place belongs to Asgore.
lazy lord: saga1234's new account:alice in undertale is a story where alice end up in the underground instead of wonderland because of chara,it's a post genocide reset (somewhat) because frisk gave up after getting killed by sans,you should read it,it has an intristing thing with two timelines(and napstablook having a bigger role if you like that)
Me: What happened to your old account? Maybe I'll take a look, I tend to be a little busy these days- hardly enough time to write let alone read- but I'll try if I can find time.
Guest3: I find it very funny how, in most fanarts, fans portray Undyne as a very beautiful woman, when she is not! Hahahaha! She is bald except for the ponytail, she don't have lips, neither nose, neither eyelashes that fans draw! Kkkk!
Me: Ah yes, the yassification of Undyne is a well-documented part of Undertale fanon. I don't mind it much, if anything it adds to the more etherial nature of her transformation into The Undying during the Genocide Route. Still, its important to recall that Undyne is just a big strong fish lady.
Guest: As I'm a stupid muggle and I made a ranking of battles, I'll also make one of boss and minibosse songs for everyone to see:
14- Metal Crusher - I see a lot of people saying that "Heartache" is a boring boss song, but for me, no battle song in this game is more boring than Metal Crusher! The instrumental is very strange, the rhythm is boring and the melody doesn't captivate you! That's all I have to say!
13- Ghost Fight - It's not that it's boring, it's just… forgettable.
12- Your Best Nightmare - In the game, when you face Photoshop Flowey, the music is very terrifying and matches the moment. But individually... she's pretty dull. It was bad for the fans of this song.
11- Heartache - A beautiful melody and a motif that is also used magnificently in ASGORE, this song fits perfectly with Toriel's fight and even sounds beautiful; but... it's not one that really catches my fancy, 'ya know?
10: Bonetrousle - We are already raising the quality! Even though it's just an instrumental version of "Nyeh Heh Heh!", the song is really fun! It's impossible to listen to it and not feel like dancing! It defines Papyrus well and is fun even outside of battle!
9- Spear Of Justice - Toby wanted this song to sound like "getting a heroic punch" in the face. Well, he did it! In addition to defining Undyne well on the Neutral Route and sounding a lot like a dangerous battle, the melody is super iconic and fun! (P.S: It sounds like The Mask's theme song, doesn't it? Lol!)
8- Spider Dance - For a dangerous enemy like Muffet, the music is really fun! It makes you want to dance and it sticks in your head like gum! It sounds like a spider climbing a wall or actually like a spider dancing! But it looks amazing even when the song uses the "Ghost Fight" motif! I definitely understand why everyone loves this song!
7- Dummy! - Yeah, another unpopular opinion. Look, I don't like Mad Dummy or his battle (Yes, i call Mad Dummy "him"), but the music is really good! Even though it's just an accelerated and repetitive version of "Ghost Fight", I think that's what makes it sound so good! The song takes a melancholy melody and speeds it up until it sounds fun! It might be an unpopular opinion to place it above "Spider Dance," but whatever!
6- Death by Glamor - If "Metal Crusher" is boring, this one is definitely the opposite of that! The song is very melodic, has a fun instrumental, sounds like music from a TV show, makes you want to dance and defines Mettaton well! It even uses the "Metal Crusher" motif in a really cool way!
5- Finale - Flowey's fight, for me, is really good when this song plays! After you save the human souls, they heal you and this music plays in the second phase! It makes me determined to go to the end of the battle because of the passion (pardon the pun) that this song conveys!
4- Bergentrückung/ASGORE - Uses the Heartache motif in a majestic way, while being very original! It conveys Asgore's grandeur well, at the same time as his reluctance to fight, especially when the piano part begins! As long as this song plays, I'll feel bad for every hit I land on poor Asgore!
3- Battle Against a True Hero - Joker's favorite, and no wonder. While "Spear Of Justice" sounds like being heroically punched in the face, this song sounds like a true heroine embodying all of Earth's desire to get rid of the genocide villain who wants to destroy everything! Honestly, I don't think I need to say more about this song, because it kind of speaks for itself!
2- MEGALOVANIA - The darling of the Internet. I just love this song, but the problem - which isn't even with the song - is that it's saturated. Every time they talk about Megalovania, everyone does a remix, everyone does a cover, and you and i can tired sick of hearing so much! But I'm not angry with the music, on the contrary, I love it with a passion! If Toby used STMPWYFS in the battle against Sans, it wouldn't work at all, Megalovania was really the perfect choice because it conveys all the sensations that the fight should convey! Even though it's saturated, it's kind of Toby's "special song"; the one he knew well that in that battle, on that route, for that character, was where he should use! It's a song of great value to the game and its creator!
1- Hopes and Dreams/SAVE the World - The music from my favorite battle, from my third favorite character in the game! For me, there is no song in Undertale that sounds more passionate than that! When you hear it, you know you can't give up, because that whole world that conquered you, those friends that you helped, need you and you want to save them! The motifs used sound incredible, especially those from "Once Upon a Time" and "Your Best Friend"! The instrumental is magnificent, full of timbres that make your ears fall in love with the music, it is used in a magnificent battle and… wow! There is no Undertale song that fills me with determination more than these two! These are songs with a special place in my heart!
But hey, this is just my opinion!
Me: I was going to cut out the actual ranking and just give my personal thoughts on your work but I decided to leave the full comment in to spark a discussion (even if this is going to jump my word count up to a more towering degree than it already is). I can't say I disagree with most of your choices, at most I probably would have put Dummy! In Heartache's spot and then shifted everything down from there. Not because its bad but because I like Heartache a lot more and think that its good enough to stand on its own away from ASGORE. Plus, Dummy! Definitely shouldn't be surpassing Bonetrousle- come on its a classic!
With that said, I will also take this time to mention my own second favorite track in the game- Finale. I know I mentioned that Asriel is my favorite fight in the game and while Hopes and Dreams/SAVE The World absolutely BANGS, Finale just hits me in places I'm not expecting to be hit. Every time I hear it I think to myself "Oh yeah, this is it, the final battle! Lets rock!" And I'm filled with such an... I dunno, a love from Humanity, whenever I think about the SOULs all coming together to help Frisk battle Flowey. Its great, I just love it.
SAVE The World is third place though. Which is weird, because I listen to Megalovania remixes WAY more. Anyway-
Trying out a different way of breaking up the Q and A segments this time around, hopefully its easier to read now, I know all that bold can't be easy on the eyes. But yeah, with all of that said...
Until Next Time, True Readers!