Chapter 3: Sandfall Valley
Tonn smiles, closing his eyes in a friendly gesture. "NYA CHARA, EH? SUCH A RARE NAME FOR A HUMAN! YOU MUST BE OF NOBLE STATURE!Either that or your parents decided to be unoriginal..." he gloats almost ginormously, his face shifting to more of a curious thinker look. Oh boy, Mr. Papyrus clone, if only you knew... But still, in the end, you never know what these new entities might think. "Where to next then? I kinda wanna get out of The Underneath as fast as possible" I stated. I wasn't in a rush, but it would be best not to stick around in Falldin anytime soon. Plus I was curious what Waterfall would look like, or what its new name would be... "nya? OH RIGHT, CAN'T KEEP KOIYNE WAITING AFTER ALL. HE'LL SURELY LOVE THE PRESENCE OF A HUMAN WITHIN OUR FINE COUNTY! COME NOW, OFF WE GO TOWARDS SANDFALL VALLEY!" states Tonn with eagerness. "Sandfall? So is it like, a desert or something?" I asked. "Well kiddo it's more like a canyon than a valley, but we just call it a valley because it sounded more cool that way" stated Skele. Well, that removes a few worries anyway. I almost worried there would be at least some quicksand pits. Maybe there is, maybe there isn't. Who's to know for sure unless I head my way there?
"So are you both just gonna be my escort or something? Because if that's the case, then what about your escape room Tonn?" I asked, knowing how Papyrus usually is with his puzzles. "nya? YOU'RE RIGHT CHARA, I ALMOST FORGOT THEY EXISTED. YOU KNOW WHAT, WHY DON'T YOU ESCORT THEM SKELE? YOU NEED THE EXCERSIZE ANYWAY!" retorted Tonn, staring menacingly at his lazy brother Skele. Skele just laughed a bit and shrugged. "Alright, but only for you bro. Just don't get LOST in your attempt to ESCAPE from your responsibilities!" bum dum tss... . I facepalmed. That pun was one of the worst I ever heard. I stared at Skele with a skeptical look. If he's anything like Sans, he's probably going to use a shortcut. I don't want to deal with that, so I just go on walking without him. That surely spooked him a bit, not expecting me to probably just deal with it and go forward.
Soon, though, we would exit Falldin and straight into the start of Sandfall. The valley itself was clad in yellow-tinted sandstone that broke into various patterns and lengths, almost similar to how Waterfall was like... Kinda... There was sand in a few places as well, some dunes strewn about here and there to fit with the whole theme. It almost seemed like an in-between of a canyon and a desert. ? Still... I can't help that there's some sort of pattern here. Maybe the new Hotland will reveal what that pattern is. Who knows. But there's no time to fret about that right now. The only step to take is forward. Still doesn't hurt to ask though...
"Hey Skele, what is the next area like? And any areas after that by chance? I wanna have a faint idea of where we're going..." I asked with minor curiosity. "Hmm... Well, kid, we'll be going over to Koiynes' place to see what they think of you and see if maybe your theory about being able to help will be true, or an unaware lie. They'll likely test you by seeing what you're capable of, but don't let that falter you. They never take anything seriously, so I believe you can be able to handle what they have in store." stated Skele, hinting that I would probably have to fight Koiyne, but it's still unlikely I would have to. But if this is the new Undyne, then I know better than to trust that intuition. They'll fight me no matter what just to see where they stand against a human, or to capture me. The capture bit is certainly off the table, but the latter is still a possibility. Still, the knowledge that there might be a possible fight excites me. Even if I'm doing True Pacifist, the challenge is calling for me. I have the determination to figure out which ACT options are needed to be able to spare Koiyne.
It was a few miles before me and Skele ended up arriving at Koiynes' place. It was almost similar to Undynes' house, but more Japanese themed with katanas strewn about the outside, as well as decorative windows that seemed more themed around sharks than fish. This is definitely the new Undyne house, meaning Koiyne is the new Undyne. Makes sense now that I think about it. Their names are practically similar, with there only being three letters off, to be honest. Skele knocked on the door, which was the only non-Japanese-themed part of the place. Soon, the door opened, and a very weird-looking monster opened the door. They had black hair and what seemed like a black mane, alongside black, orange, and white scales akin to a koi fish pattern. They even had what seemed like spiky cheek whiskers as well. On their face was a pair of glasses, and the other clothing they wore was a red jacket with a bit of black on it and a pair of red sweatpants that complimented their jacket. Their appearance even mimicked a shark, so I assumed their monster species was some sort of koi shark or something...
"Mmm, you... Why are you here Skele? I thought Tonn would at least visit to give me an update, but I didn't expect you to be here instead..." stated Koiyne, staring at Skele with an annoyed look. "Sorry Koiyne, but it's a bit important. I think I have managed to find a solution for our little... Problem... In fact, they even traveled with me. Koiyne, meet Chara, a human that managed to tumble into The Underneath" Said Skele, gesturing towards me. Koiyne took a minute to observe my presence, staring at me intensely as if checking me out. "Are you sure Skele? It's just a kid. The tech Dr. Ding is struggling with cracking was made by adult humans. Are you sure this one would be able to help?" Koiyne asked with skepticism. Skele just laughed and shrugged, but Koiyne just sighed at this. "Well kid, if you're sure you can help out, then you need to prove yourself to be trustworthy. Meet me over in the open sand field behind my house. I wanna see how tough you are!" Koiyne boasted with a confident look on their face. Yep, as I expected, I would have to fight this new Undyne and manage to spare them without killing them...
I met up with Koiyne in the open sand field. They glinted with determination in their eyes as they glowed red. "Ready human?" Koiyne gestured, summoning a black katana(probably made of magic like Undynes spears) in their paws, their tail swaying with eagerness as their excitement was very much visibly showing. I looked back at them, showing the same levels of determination and emotion as them. Best to check their stats so I can at least know when to stop before I manage to kill them.
[Act]
[Check]
[Koiyne]
[HP 5000]
[ATK 100]
[DEF 50]
[The reincarnation of Undyne]
These stats were no joke. Koiyne was certainly going to be harder than Undyne. This kind of makes me fearful of genocide a bit. What would Undying Koiyne be like? Well, I'll find out after Neutral. But now it's time to focus on True Pacifist. I am ready for the first attack. Koiyne flings the black katana in my direction, which I dodge with ease. It wasn't as fast as the spears, but since it was as deadly, it was best to dodge than to take the hit or block it. Would blocking even be an option? I looked around me, and upon closer inspection, there were shields strewn across the field. During one of the openings I had, I grabbed one of them. Surprisingly, they were very light, but that was probably because of the core strength I gained through the many genocides I did. But best to not dwell on the possibilities. More attacks came toward me, of and I blocked each one with the shield I picked up. Soon, the shield would break. It probably was a magic shield then. Either that or because Koiyne was so strong, the metal in the shield couldn't handle the attacks for long. But that didn't matter. Soon, Koiyne would start to make the katanas appear from the ground. Their style of fighting seems similar to Undyne, so I knew this would most likely be a piece of cake... That is until one katana managed to hit me from behind.
[HP 1/25]
Crap! I forgot about that kind of attack! And worst of all, it almost managed to kill me! Now that I think about it, with 100 ATK, that attack SHOULD've killed me! But here I am, on 1 HP... Was Koiyne holding back? That was a possible theory. Undyne didn't hold back on Frisk when it came to capturing them. But since this world is different, and only some features managed to remain, does that philosophy apply to their reincarnations? If that is true then... Koiyne won't kill me, even if they want to. I'm too important of an asset to waste. Even if I am untrustworthy, that still doesn't mean I can go back on my word. If I did, I would likely be probed for any information I know. Regardless of the circumstances, the outcome is crystal clear.
"I've had enough. You've proven your point... I yield. But don't think that means I don't have strength. I just know when I'm outmatched is all.." I said, practically surrendering myself over to Koiyne. Silence filled the area. Skele was sitting there, watching it all go down. Koiyne on the other hand cocked a small grin at me before ceasing their attacks. "You've got guts kid, I'll give you that. You earned my respect. The way you fought showed me everything I needed to know. I'm happy to announce that you passed the test. Congrats, twerp." stated Koiyne. I impressed the reincarnation of Undyne? Well, I can't say I expected this to happen, but still. Just like Undyne they were pretty easy to impress. I guess I worried over nothing... "So... What now?" I asked with blank curiosity. "Well kid, we'd best be off to see Dr. Ding. If you say you can help crack the code behind The Barrier, then he's your best bet at achieving that goal. What do you say?" asked Skele.
I stood there for a bit, pondering what the next path really should be. Honestly, this may or may not be the end of True Pacifist. Only 1 fight? It didn't seem right. ? This new universe seems to be lax about this whole situation. Maybe there's more I need to do? Well, only one way to find out I guess.
"I'm in"