Chapter Text
Coming out of the mountain’s long winding tunnel, Susie encounters a wall of sudden heat. The next area past Waterfall is its complete opposite. Far below the cliffside are rivers of magma, snaking around the island landmasses which dot the horizon. The temperature is oppressive, so hot it makes her lungs burn for the first few breaths.
There’s only one building on the large landing; a sentry station that looks strangely identical to the one all the way back in Snowdin. Complete with snow collected on its roof. Susie can’t help but stare at it for an extra second, baffled, before refocusing.
The only way forward is over another bridge, this one also without railings. Susie doesn’t usually consider how unsafe infrastructure is or isn’t, but even she has to question that decision.
“I think that’s her,” Ralsei says, pointing at a figure on the next island over. Distantly, the figure is darting around in circles, arms grabbing at something.
They both exchange glances; anyone that can take down Kris will be a serious threat. Ralsei heals them both to full before they cross.
The walk over the bridge is tense, enough that they slow to a brisk jog instead of a run. The magma river beneath them is a terrifying environmental hazard; neither of them wants to make a mistake here. They slow to a stop as they reach the end, taking in the scene before them.
Susie recognizes this world’s Officer Undyne; she has the same eyepatch and flaming red hair. What’s new is the suit of armor she wears, minus a helmet, and the amount of swearing she’s doing. She’s chasing a fluttering red light through the air, trying to catch it with her helmet.
“Come here, you little- GOTCHA!” she yells, slamming her helmet down over the red thing. She kneels there, hunched over whatever’s she’s caught, breathing heavily.
Susie and Ralsei watch silently as the red thing creeps up over her shoulder, nestling in next to her fin. It’s glowing brightly and is vaguely heart-shaped, just like the last time Susie saw it.
Okay. So, that’s definitely Kris’s disembodied soul.
Ralsei coughs. “Um. Ma’am.”
“What?” Undyne snaps, lifting her head. Her lips are dry and her eye looks bloodshot.
Ralsei gestures at his own shoulder. “You, um, have something there? That we’d like back? Please.”
Undyne blinks. And then her hand snaps up and grabs the soul, clutching it in her fist. “PUNK!!” she yells at it, shaking it angrily. “Enough with the escape act! You lost fair and square, so quit haunting me!”
“Hey! Be careful with that!” Susie shouts, taking half a step forward. Her chest constricts, seeing her friend’s soul be treated so roughly.
Undyne scoffs as she stands again, picking up her helmet and dumping the soul inside. “Duh, I’m gonna be careful with it. It’s the hope of the Underground. But a human soul isn’t so fragile I could break it like that- they’re basically indestructible in this state.”
“Great to hear!” Ralsei says in a too-chipper tone. His eyes are big and panicked as he stares at the helmet. Dried blood is stuck to its visor. “Could you give us it back, now? Please? Our friend needs it.”
“Your friend, huh…” Undyne narrows her eye at them. “I was already sure you two were the ones Alphys warned me about. Thanks for confirming it.” She sighs, brushing back her mussed ponytail. “Look, kids… You shouldn’t have befriended a human in the first place. Besides the fact that we’re at war with them, humans are dangerous. You could’ve gotten yourselves seriously hurt.”
As she talks, Undyne gestures with one of her hands. Susie’s eyes are locked onto her gauntlet, barely hearing her or Ralsei’s words as they start arguing.
Splashes of blood have dried up her forearm, and the gauntlet is practically soaked in it. Further blood spatter decorates Undyne’s front, arterial spray leaving its grisly mark.
All of it is evidence of how much pain Kris went through. All of it is fuel to the violent anger building in Susie. The mutilated cavity of Kris’s torso flashes through Susie’s mind, vivid and grotesque. Kris, struggling to breathe, as their throat filled with blood. The horrible transformation that overtook them as a result. Their screaming. God, their screaming.
Susie draws her axe, silencing Undyne and Ralsei both.
“You hurt my friend,” Susie says, low and furious. She wants to hit something and keep hitting it until it’s in pieces. “We’re giving you. ONE. Chance. To give us back their soul.” She clutches her axe’s handle, claws digging into the grain. “The alternative is we take it, by force, because we don’t have time to fuck around with you. Make your choice. You have five seconds.”
“Kid,” Undyne says, her tone forbidding. “Threatening a Royal Guard is a serious offense. Think about this.”
“Five,” Susie says.
“I’m sorry you got attached to a human. I didn’t let them suffer, if that helps.”
“Four,” Susie growls. Ralsei has his horns lowered, getting ready next to her.
“You’re making a mistake. This soul is our ticket out of this place- the last human soul needed to break the barrier!”
“Three!”
“Their death will save us all, don’t you get that?!”
Susie’s temper snaps. She snarls, a buzzsaw noise of sheer anger. She slams her axe down into the stone ground and activates a battlefield.
“Zero, motherfucker,” she spits, vision as red as the magma’s glow. “You had your chance! Now I’m pissed!”
Undyne gives them a frustrated look, like this is just some kind of inconvenience. She flips her helmet in her hands and puts it down outside the battlefield, opening to the ground so the soul can’t escape. She draws a spear from the air, teal light crackling with energy.
“I don’t make a habit of beating up kids,” she huffs, “but just this once, I’ll make an exception for you shitheads. By my authority as Captain of the Royal Guards, I order you to cease and desist, and to submit peacefully for arrest.” She booms her spear against the ground, causing a line of green magic to encircle the edges of the battlefield. Nothing else happens, besides that Undyne keeps talking, “Assault or resistance of a guard is treasonous action, and stealing a captured human soul can be charged as grand larceny, public endangerment, and dissent to the crown’s authority. This is your chance to quit screwing around and wasting my time!”
“That is a lot of crimes,” Ralsei says under his breath. He doesn’t sound impressed.
Susie just flips Undyne off.
Undyne gives them both a toothy sneer of frustration. She summons a second spear into her hands and launches both without warning. Susie brings up her axe to block, but the weapon construct goes straight through. Susie curses as she feels a familiar sensation take over her limbs.
“Guess I have to sit you brats down and teach you a lesson. While you’re green, you won’t be able to run from the consequences of your actions!”
“Big deal,” Susie retorts. “I’ve fought someone way cooler than you who used the same trick. You don’t scare me.”
Susie can see Undyne’s eye twitch. Susie makes her ugliest, nastiest smile at her; the one that’s made both human and monster kids run screaming. She picks FIGHT, channeling her anger into the energy gathering on her weapon.
“Generally speaking,” Ralsei pipes up, “I’d be more reluctant to resort to fighting so quickly. However… You hurt someone very dear to us, very badly.” He selects a CHECK for his first move. “If you aren’t willing to return the Soul without a fight, then well… I won’t feel badly about this at all.”
Susie receives the information from the stats check; the HP isn’t anything special compared to some of the enemies they’ve fought, but she can see immediately how Kris ended up like they did. 50 AT is a dangerous number. As for the description…
* The Heroine who slew the Knight
Kris probably tried to SPARE Undyne and was torn to pieces for it. The fact that Undyne took advantage of her friend’s goodwill like that- it pisses Susie off all the more.
(But why were they out in Waterfall in the first place? How did this chain of events even start? Susie didn’t get a chance to ask before Kris… before they…)
She feels Undyne’s own CHECK ping her and Ralsei’s stats. Watches her expression become more guarded. Good. Be afraid, Susie thinks as she winds up to attack. Be very fucking afraid of us.
Susie has embraced the role of being ‘the scary kid’. Revelled in the way it made others flinch from her. Played to their worst expectations- she’s going to get in trouble anyway, why not have fun with it? Scaring people on purpose makes it hurt less, or so she tells herself. Being around Kris and Ralsei has maybe softened that attitude, just a little. But right now, she’s more than willing to step back into that mindset.
Her attack lands a crit, spurred on by how badly she wants revenge. -247 HP on the first blow is a great start.
Undyne flinches minutely from the attack, but recovers fast. She scoffs, glaring at Susie. “With strength like that, you’d have been a worthwhile addition to our forces. Especially with how close we are to freeing monsterkind! You’re throwing away your future, messing around like this!”
“You think I’d want anything to do with you people, after what you did to Kris?” Susie barks out a derisive laugh. “Like hell.”
“Look, kid. I’m sorry your human friend is dead, I’m not sorry I had to kill them-”
“Kris isn’t dead,” Ralsei interrupts. Undyne’s eye snaps to him. “Which is, you see, exactly why we need their soul back. So, if you would.”
Undyne makes a deeply aggrieved noise. “I don’t have time for your freaking denial! Go find a therapist if you want someone to hold your hand through grief!”
Next series of turns: Susie fires off another basic attack, clicking her tongue when it only does minimum damage. Ralsei wraps himself in his scarf for defense. They both are finally privy to what sort of attacks Kris had to deal with.
A spear appears for Ralsei to use as a shield. Susie already has her axe ready to go. The bullets are shaped like arrows, firing from different directions. Honestly? It’s not nearly as punishing as the old man’s trial was. They don’t even make use of the full ATK damage Undyne is capable of; the arrows only do 8 per hit.
Ralsei gets hit twice, because he panics; Susie blocks all of them, having fought the old man way too many times in a row to be caught out.
“You’re going easy on us,” Susie accuses. The green magic fades, releasing them both. “Why?”
“Because you’re just a couple of dumb kids acting out,” Undyne says, sneering. “Obviously, I’m not actually looking to kill you.”
Susie growls, deep in her throat. “Oh, but it’s just fine to try murdering our friend? Because they’re human? God, do none of you people hear yourselves?! You’re all acting insane! In what world is it okay to kill kids?”
“Did you forget what the humans did to us?” Undyne hisses, slashing a hand at the air around them. “Look around! Our race was sentenced to die a slow, agonized death, forgotten by the rest of the world. Overcrowding, resource scarcity, a Falling epidemic- these things are going to get worse every year we spend trapped in this place! The humans have to pay for what they did to monsterkind, and I’ll be the one to dole out the punishment!”
The righteous gleam in Undyne’s eye, the way she sounds utterly convinced of her own justice- prior to tonight, Susie had only passingly considered what it meant for the Underground to hate humanity. On a level, she was still treating this like an adventure. Something to have fun with and then move on from. Seeing Kris like that, blood and guts and bones all exposed- seeing Officer Undyne like this, a soldier prepared and willing to do terrible things for the sake of others-
It strips away the last veneer that this was ever a game. This is real. The Underground is full of desperate monsters, all of them eager to see Susie’s friend die for their own means.
To save the worlds, there is only one way.
Susie grits her teeth, shoving away that thought.
“Ralsei, use a TensionGem,” Susie tells her friend. “We’re swapping our order.”
“Oh, I hadn’t even thought of that,” Ralsei mumbles, doing as asked. “I guess without Them here, we can just go when we want.”
The TensionGem is crushed in his paw, filling Susie with the necessary energy to use a Rude Buster. The magic turns the battlefield into a bruise-purple sunset, arcing across it to strike Undyne. Susie has to steel herself against wincing- she sees the way Undyne stumbles, winded from the heavy blow.
That’s good, she tries to remind herself. Undyne hurt Kris. She’ll just keep coming after them if we don’t stop her here. She deserves everything that’s coming to her!
Undyne looks like her breathing has become labored. Her fins flutter as she draws herself up, sweeping out her spear. Glowing spots of teal magic pool beneath Susie and Ralsei’s feet, which they jump away from. Three spears erupt from the ground, before sinking back down. One clipped Susie’s foot, dropping her HP by 50. If all three had impaled them…
“What happened to not trying to kill us?” Ralsei calls over.
“I saw your stats, you can take a few hits,” Undyne replies. Her bottom lip has a seam of white where a crack has split open. “By the way- on top of everything else, I’m adding ‘suspected EXP hunting’ to your list of potential crimes. Unless you have a damn good reason for those levels of violence, then your case might make it all the way to the King’s judgement.”
Levels of violence? What the hell kind of term is that. Is that how monsters measure strength down here?
“What, is it illegal to be strong?” Susie says. “Guess that explains why all those guards in Snowdin were wimps.” She notices Undyne’s fins flare, irritated, which just makes Susie smirk.
“Our levels represent the trials we’ve surpassed,” Ralsei explains to their opponent. “All of which we did peacefully!... With, um, a few exceptions…”
“The Titan doesn’t count.”
“The Titan definitely doesn’t count.”
Undyne doesn’t look convinced. “Save it for processing,” she dismisses. “Whatever excuses you two have, I still have reasonable cause for arresting you punks-” A phone’s ringing interrupts her. Undyne holds up a finger. Hold on a minute.
She pops it out of her inventory, an older flip-phone model, rejecting the call. “Right. Anyway, like I was saying-” The phone rings again. Undyne swears and hangs up. “Like I was saying-”
The phone rings. Undyne picks up this time.
“NGAHHH!! Alphys, I’d love to talk, but you can probably see I’m busy. So I’ll call you back, just give me a minute!” She jabs the hang-up button, depositing the offending device back in her inventory. “Should’a put it on ‘do not disturb’ before the fight, sorry. Let’s get back to it.”
“You- I- Are you kidding me?!” Susie snaps. “We’re fighting over whether our friend lives or dies, and you take a fuckin’ phone call?”
“Not like I wanted to, and get it through your skull, kid, your friend is already dead-”
“Kris isn’t dead, the soul will fix them-!”
“Oh for- a human’s body doesn’t turn to dust when they die, okay? Just because the body is still there, doesn’t mean they’re alive.”
“I know that!” Susie yells. She’s had enough of being talked down to. “But they are still alive, just like, worse. It’s complicated. Point is, their soul is the only thing that’ll help them, so give it back!”
“What does ‘alive but worse’ even mean?” Undyne questions caustically. She coughs, the sound dry and hacking. “--WHATEVER! I don’t care! Make your turn choices already!!”
“You should listen to us,” Ralsei says, choosing to DEFEND for another round. “Like Susie said, the situation is more complicated than you know. And even if you struggle, we are going to take back the Soul… Resisting just drags this out. It would be better for everyone if you surrendered now.”
His gaze toward Undyne is hard and unforgiving. Susie should feel good, knowing her anger with the captain is shared, but… Somehow, it just makes her feel uncomfortable.
She pushes that feeling down. If their enemy isn’t going to waver in her convictions, then Susie won’t either.
She selects FIGHT again, chipping off another -247 HP. Undyne takes the blow and is spurred into a brief coughing fit, listing to the side before she straightens. This is the right thing to do, Susie tells herself, watching Undyne ready her turn. Kris needs our help. This is the only way to help them.
Right?
“You two are the one’s not listening,” Undyne rasps. She launches two more paralyzing spears, capturing Susie and Ralsei in green mode again. “Don’t you feel it? Our freedom is finally within reach. The souls of every monster in the Underground are pounding together, united by our shared dream. With this last soul, King Asgore will be able to save us all. Including you ungrateful brats, whether you appreciate it or not! So, give up already!”
Her volley of arrows this time are faster, more numerous. Even with her experience fighting the old man, Susie misses three arrows. Two to the shoulder, one to the back. They make her grunt, feeling how their barbed heads slice into her muscles before dispelling. Ralsei has it worse; he stumbles on a block and can’t recover his rhythm, taking seven to the chest and side. The green magic slips away as Undyne’s turn ends.
“Sorry, sorry,” Ralsei says breathlessly. “I don’t know how you did this with the old man, Susie.”
“Don’t apologize for getting hurt, dumbass,” Susie replies distractedly. She’s focused on how Undyne fins are drooping, shoulders rising and falling as she takes heavy breaths. Undyne looks tired… “Hey, you see that?”
“Hm…? Oh.” Ralsei perks up. He nods at Susie, whispering, “It won’t last long on a lightner, but if we push her hard enough before then… It could work.”
The plan settles the building anxiety Susie felt. They should have made one before they started the fight, but- she couldn’t think of anything except getting back the soul, couldn’t get her brain to focus on anything but the horrific state they left Kris in.
(She doesn’t know why Ralsei didn’t suggest one either, but he probably is no better off than her about the situation.)
Susie selects another basic attack for her turn. Ralsei picks the same. Although they have enough TP for the plan already, they need to keep tiring out Undyne for the best possible results. They both strike her with the weakest attack they can, just tapping her HP.
Undyne takes the attacks stoically, concentrating intently on something. She summons two spears for her turn and throws them- Susie is ready for the next round of green mode, already getting back into the zone that helped her defeat the old man-
The spear that hits her does as she expects it to. The one that hits Ralsei does not.
Susie is shocked by the noise of pain Ralsei lets out, whipping her head to look at him. He’s hunched over his chest, clutching where the surprise attack hit him. -50 HP without warning or chance to dodge.
“Sorry, kids. I hate using underhanded tactics, but I can’t mess around with that one’s health points.” Undyne levels a spear at Ralsei, raising her voice as she speaks, “By my authority, you are Under Arrest!”
The green magic encircling the battlefield, something Susie had completely forgotten about, jumps to life. Susie can’t move at all to intercept, forced to watch as it converges on Ralsei. He yelps as lines of magic wrap around his limbs, transforming into glowing chains and dragging him down to kneel.
“Ralsei!” Susie shouts. She tries to break the green mode holding her feet to the ground, wanting to launch herself at Undyne. “You cheating asshole- fight us fairly, dammnit!”
“Would love to, kid, I really would,” Undyne says, wiping at the stream of dust trickling from her lip. “It sucks having to compromise my own code, but my job is to safely take you two into custody. As soon as I get you to half HP, you’re next.”
With that, Undyne sends a volley of arrows toward Susie. The attack completely ignores Ralsei. Susie doesn’t even have time to spare swearing- the swarm of arrows are relentless, coming so fast and numerously that they slip past her guard. Three make it through, largely because Undyne has started mixing in ones that flip their direction at the last second.
206 / 280 HP. She’s getting low enough that soon, one heavy attack will put her under half. It’s all over if that happens. Susie wracks her brain for a solution, stalling the next turn.
Can they use a healing item? Or maybe sacrifice TP for a heal? They’re sitting at 79/100; she could use BetterHeal now. She tries both and finds she can’t select Ralsei at all; he’s in the turn order ahead of her still, but completely blocked off. The team heals throw up a warning that they won’t affect him, just herself. When Ralsei tries it, he gets the same result.
“I can’t attack her, either,” he frets, yanking on the chains. They rattle, holding strong. Ralsei bites his lip with his fangs. “I can’t even heal you, Susie. I’m not allowed to affect anyone else.”
“Fuck. Okay. Guess I’m on my own. Just hang in there- I’ll think of something.”
Undyne has been watching them struggle the whole time, gaze half-lidded. She still looks like she’s tiring, but her stance is stronger than before. The confidence in her future win-state has probably rebolstered her strength.
She’s not going to let them go. Susie is left with very few options. She swallows uneasily.
If they get arrested, maybe they’d have another chance later to get the soul. But that would take way too long- every minute wasted here is another chance for the Knight to hurt someone. Plus, they have no idea what additional measures will be taken to secure them afterward. No, she’ll have to completely abandon that choice.
She has enough Tension Points to heal herself. Susie needs to stay above half-health, no matter what. But what about attacking? She could Buster right now. It wouldn’t be enough to- it wouldn’t be enough; she can sense it. Using one would also lock her out of casting a heal next round, which she needs, unless she wants to burn an item. The healing items they’ve seen are too low-level to be worth buying, healing only a fraction of their HP. It’d suck use up the big heals here when she has no idea how they’d get replaced. But who even cares about hypotheticals right now, when Kris is suffering and Sans is endangering himself and they’ve already wasted enough time and- and-
Susie feels overwhelmed. She tries to steady her thoughts with a deep breath; it only somewhat helps.
Focus on the main issue. She needs to stay in the fight; her health is getting low. So, she heals herself this round for sure. Then what? Undyne isn’t going to back down. Ralsei can’t end the fight with a Pacify anymore. Susie could hypothetically just keep healing until she runs out of items, but that would just end in the same question: and then what?
Her earlier rage has abated, cooled into an anxiety that grinds and gnaws at her instead. They should have made a plan, she stupidly rushed into this fight without one and now they’re trapped. How does she get them out of this?
(There is a way. She has enough for a Rude Buster- she could go in for a basic attack the immediate turn after. Is she willing to consider it?)
(Susie feels paralyzed. She can’t make herself decide.)
Fuck it. Susie uses the single Spider Cider they have. Its 24HP restore will buy her some time before she has to depend on the big heals or waste TP. She takes a focusing breath and readies herself.
Undyne uses a spear attack from below this turn. The warning prior is shorter than before, and now chases Susie’s dodges. Three, six, nine total spears stab up at her. She avoids them all, but it’s close on the last try.
Susie hesitates on her next turn, right back to her earlier dilemma. BetterHeal or Buster? How does she use the precious resource of points? She’s rarely been asked to strategize in a fight- she’s floundering. Everything is moving too fast or not fast enough- every extra second she thinks on it is a waste- okay, okay, a Buster wouldn’t- it would reduce Undyne’s HP to almost nothing, and then what? And then what? What comes after when she’s on her knees-?
(Kris is back there suffering, they’re in pain, they need help and she’s failing, Susie is failing her friend, they were alone and in danger and could’ve died, they were nearly dead, they could still die- )
The final tragedy unveils.
To save the worlds, there is only one way.
“Tick tock, kid,” Undyne calls, baring her teeth in a taunting grin. It splits the cracks in her lips even worse. “Your human friend was a lot quicker on their feet. Until they weren’t, anyway.”
HOW DARE YOU-
Susie bares her own teeth, snarling. She impulsively selects a normal attack, wanting to wipe that expression off the captain’s face. She slashes her axe, sensing it to be in the highest possible damage range.
It misses, as Undyne dodges for the first time. Susie spits a curse, even if she’s somewhat relieved the unplanned attack didn’t land- she should have known the captain wouldn’t just stand and take the hits forever. A basic attack isn’t guaranteed like her magic ones.
(A Rude Buster always lands, no matter what. She could use it. It would be so easy. The thrill of using her full strength, the satisfaction of an attack striking true. A lifetime of being shamed for what she’s capable of, unleashed. She could just let go.)
( AND THEN WHAT? )
“Good try,” Undyne says. “Now it’s my turn.”
She doesn’t bother with a paralyzing spear, probably guessing that Susie would just dodge it. Susie parries and blocks as many arrows as possible, glad to have more freedom of movement to do so. There are dozens, though, and it starts to feel utterly overwhelming as the attack drags out longer than any before.
Six get by her guard. 158 / 280 HP… A spear attack, or even just an unlucky rash of arrows, would land her under the health points needed for the trap to ensnare her. Fucking hell.
94/100 Tension Points. BetterHeal or Buster? Health or damage? Picking either would lock her out of the other. End it faster or try to find a different ending- which does she do? She’s still wasting time.
Susie delays the decision. She drops the last Scarlixir from the group inventory and pries its cap off with shaky hands. Shit, shit, shit. This is just wasting more time, more resources they might need later.
“Susie…” Ralsei says, watching her fumble.
Susie downs the drink, gagging at how sweet it is. 280 / 280 HP. The fight is prolonged another round.
Undyne uses her underground spear attack again. Susie is forced to dance all along her edge of the battlefield, getting more desperate to avoid impalement as the attack goes on. 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18- FUCK!
She loses count as a spear gets her through the shin, grinding through meat and bone. It hurts enough that she screws up and catches another through her other foot right after. Susie hisses through her teeth and forces herself to get back into it; another three sets of spears, before the pattern finally finishes.
She pauses to catch her breath, as well as curse her own waste of healing items. She’s right back down to 180 / 280 HP… and the Tension Points are at 100% capacity.
Undyne can’t dodge a Buster. If she really locks in, Susie can avoid damage for one turn. She’ll make sure she avoids it. And, when it’s her turn again, and she still has more than 50 TP…
“Ralsei… Kris is waiting on us, aren’t they?” Susie says under her breath. “We need to be- to be as fast as we can, right?”
“Ideally,” Ralsei replies. His glasses reflect the red glow of the magma, the edges of his fur cast the same color. “…They need our help, Susie. They sounded… like they were in so much pain…”
Kris, collapsing in the water- the shadows of the cavern swarming them, engulfing them- their screams, their screams-
“Yeah… Okay. Okay.”
Susie slides her foot back, bending her knees as she charges energy. This is for Kris, she tells herself, selecting Rude Buster.
Usually, there’s a sense of joy, getting to use this attack. She almost never gets to, unless it’s against an opponent she’s been explicitly told can take it. As Susie throws her axe into a powerful upswing, launching the Buster-
The only thing she feels is a sinking sensation.
To heal or harm. She had to make a choice.
Undyne’s eye is wide as she tries to avoid the curved blast of magic. The attack follows her like a homing missile, exploding against Undyne’s armor in a firework. The captain bites down on her scream, but Susie still hears it.
Undyne stumbles, locking her legs to stop herself from falling to one knee. Susie can sense her HP is critically low, hanging on even lower than Flowey had been. It brings her no satisfaction.
Undyne gives herself a harsh shake, straightening her posture by force. She pastes on a manic smile, all teeth and determination- a gallows’ grin.
“Heh… Gotta respect that you’re willing to go this far for your own goals, even if they’re selfish.”
Ralsei’s chains clink as he speaks up, “Fighting for your friend isn’t selfish at all. Susie is the kindest person I know.”
Susie almost makes a joke about Ralsei having too low standards. She can’t quite find the energy for it. She just glances away, feeling undeserving.
Undyne gives him a long measuring look, before closing her eye and sighing. “Fair enough, kid.” She summons another volley of arrows, more numerous than ever before. “But it doesn’t matter if I can respect your loyalty or not. The entire Underground is depending on me to bring this soul to the capital- I can’t afford to falter here!”
With a battle cry, Undyne unleashes her attack. Susie can tell how much she’s putting into it, the valiant last assault to stop the thieves who want to doom her world and everyone in it. Susie can feel it- the weight of the whole Underground on Undyne’s shoulders as she makes her final stand. Their souls together, beating as one, reaching for their salvation.
Susie raises her axe, and defies all their hopes and dreams.
The swarm of arrows is unrelenting and tricky, whistling through the burning air as they follow their caster’s commands. From all sides comes the onslaught. Even with all her training, Susie can’t stop them entirely. Especially as the attack drags on. One, two, three- four, total, get by her guard and burrow into her scales, bolts of pain that spur Susie on.
And then it’s over. The pattern ends.
148 / 280 HP. Susie did it.
Her heart is thrumming in her chest, adrenaline crashing through her system as she takes heavy breaths. She stands the victor, opposite to an equally exhausted Undyne, who holds herself at attention despite the agonized shine of loss in her eye. For a long moment no one moves, gazes locked on each other.
Susie finds her voice. “Give up,” she begs. Please.
Undyne bares her teeth in defiance. “Never.”
Susie’s hands flex around the length of her weapon. She can barely feel its weight as she starts to get into position. The world narrows down to just Undyne, standing tall and proud despite how her fins droop and dust trickles from her mouth. The look in her eye is unbowed, undefeated. The look of someone whose devotion is undying, even when faced with certain demise.
She will never give up, no matter what Susie pleads or threatens. There is no other way.
The choice to ACT glows in Susie’s mind, begging her to decide.
The diner table is sticky against Susie’s chin as she leans over it. The buzz of nearby patrons has faded away, like the booth has its own bubble away from the rest of the world. Her claws click against the faded vinyl as she shifts her folded arms, glancing up at the person she’s with.
Kris sits across from her, and their expression catches Susie off-guard.
She’s never seen Kris smile so gently before.
Would they ever smile at her like that again, if she traded someone else’s life for theirs?
The eye of Susie’s axe hits the stone ground, grinding into it as she leans her full weight onto her weapon. Her hair has fallen into her face, hiding her expression from Undyne as it twists up in despair.
“I can’t,” she says tremulously. “I won’t do it. I’m sorry.”
Kris has proven themself as someone that never compromises, never second-guesses themself. They’ve spared and recruited each and every darkner their gang has met- not once have they strayed from pacifism. No… They wouldn’t kill someone just to preserve their own life. How could Susie even consider forcing that onto them?
And… And even if Kris could forgive her for it. Susie would never forgive herself.
She doesn’t want to hurt people like that, even to save her friend. That’s what it all boils down to: Susie is tired of being someone who hurts others.
She wants to be someone new. Someone better. Someone good.
Dust on her hands would mean she never will be.
Susie raises her head to look at Ralsei, apologies on her lips for failing at the last second, for not having the willpower to force herself to go through with it- but the way he’s looking at her makes her stop.
“See?” Ralsei says, smiling at her. “The kindest person I know.”
Susie manages a wobbly smile and a small, wet laugh.
“Ralsei… I don’t know what to do,” she croaks. “Please… Help me?”
“Always, Susie,” he says, tone deeply affectionate.
Ralsei turns his gaze toward Undyne, something calculating coming into his expression.
Susie sees his robes and scarf start to flutter, his chains clinking, his fur rippling in a magical breeze.
“I can’t attack… I can’t heal…I can’t affect anyone else… but I can still ACT on myself.” Ralsei gives her a reassuring smile. “Susie, just defend for this round. It will all be over soon.”
“Ralsei?” Susie asks, confused.
His glasses glint in the magma’s red glow. “Trust me.”
Susie does.
She crosses her arms, raising her defense. She understands the ACT Ralsei has chosen as it goes into effect.
All their Tension Points disappear into the spell. Ralsei clasps together his chained hands and begins
to
sing.
It’s a song that sounds like
Violence
Love
melded together. It sounds like
Death
Devotion
combined as one. It’s calling to
Enemy
and
Ally
in tandem.
Susie feels as though she’s been wrapped in a blanket of warmth and safety. All her focus on how her body is tired and her heart is sore fades away. The melody that Ralsei sings puts her entirely at ease.
Undyne is enraptured, eye locked onto Ralsei’s kneeling form. The dozens of arrows she’d prepared to fire at Susie
shift
their
target.
She’s completely at the mercy of the Martyr’s Ballad.
The arrows fly straight and true, descending as a hail.
Ralsei only stops singing when he crumbles to dust.
Susie’s head clears.
Undyne snaps out of her daze. She gapes for a moment, stunned. And then she screams.
Undyne hunches on herself, hands pressed over her mouth in horror. The battlefield dissolves as her fighting spirit is broken. While her head is bowed, Susie sees the opportunity Ralsei gave her.
Channeling a burst of energy into her legs, Susie crosses the space between her and Undyne in less than a second. The back of Susie’s axe hits the exposed base of Undyne’s skull, slamming the captain into the ground.
Susie stands there, panting. Undyne doesn’t twitch. Susie releases her axe.
Wasting no more time, Susie steps past the captain and goes for the gore-streaked helmet behind her. Carefully, she tilts the helmet over and lifts it up to see inside. A shining red shape is nestled within, safe and sound.
Susie lets out a huge sigh of relief.
She goes to walk away, but feels a hand grab at her boot.
“You’d really… sacrifice your friend… to get the soul?” Undyne hisses, lifting her herself weakly. She looks terrible; her eye is bloodshot and hollow, and her scales are flaking and dry. “And here I thought… you were loyal…”
Susie yanks her foot free, snarling, “Who’s sacrificing anyone? Ralsei’s fine.”
“Thank you for your concern, Captain,” Ralsei says primly, finishing healing himself good as new. He comes to stand next to Susie, giving their downed opponent a pleasant expression.
Undyne stares, utterly in disbelief. Her eye fills as she blinks, lowering her head. “Thank god…!”
Her shuddering breaths turn into a coughing fit, unable to stop. Susie looks down at the defeated captain, unable to even get herself off the ground she’s been so weakened. After seeing how strong and confident Captain Undyne is as a person, it feels… wrong, to see her reduced to this state.
This victory has no triumph in it.
“What’s wrong?” Ralsei asks, making no move to help.
Undyne laughs raggedly. “Hotland… sucks. That’s all…” Her fins flutter as she wheezes, the thin membrane of them papery-dry. “I’ll be up in a minute, just… hold on…” She passes out again.
Susie stares down at Undyne for a long moment, then glances to the side of the landing they’ve all been fighting on. She hands off the helmet to Ralsei, walking over to something she initially dismissed from her mind.
It’s an easy thing to lift out the big jug set into the watercooler. Susie ignores how it spills on her shoes a bit before she can flip it upright, carrying it back over to the others. Ralsei is delicately holding out a finger to Kris’s soul, which has floated out to sit on the rim of the helmet.
“Hello… I missed you,” Ralsei is saying softly to it, eyes alight with wonder. The soul shifts a little to tap against his claw before retreating back into the helmet.
Susie dumps the water out onto Undyne. The five gallons of water pours quickly, drenching the fish monster and her overheated armor. After about a third of the water, Undyne gasps awake. She starts spluttering as Susie keeps pouring water on her.
“I’m up, I’m up!” Undyne yells, swiping at Susie. “Enough with the waterboarding!!”
“What, you wanna stay a smoked salmon instead?” Susie taunts meanly. She relents only after the jug is mostly empty.
She returns the jug to the watercooler, giving it an apologetic pat for taking without asking first. She gets the vibe that it forgives her.
When Susie turns around, Undyne has managed to sit up. She’s still dripping water, but it’s fast drying in the sheer heat of ‘Hotland’. Man, the names around here sure are literal.
“Are we done here?” Susie asks gruffly.
Undyne huffs. “Not even close. I’m out of heal packs now, but as soon as I get my hands on some, I’m coming after your asses. The entire Underground will be. You sparing my life won’t change the fact that I’m duty bound to hunt down that soul and bring it to the King.”
Susie breathes angrily through her nose. She should’ve expected that.
Ralsei tuts. “Maybe keep all your armor on next time, if you want to stand a chance.” His claw taps against the bloodied helmet. “I can tell this is enchanted against heat and boosts your defense, but it only works when you have the full set. Not a smart choice to deprive yourself of life-saving magic in a fight.”
Undyne is eyeing him warily, like there’s something freaky about Ralsei. “My discomfort is nothing compared to the needs of our people.”
Ralsei just hums, not invested enough to be disapproving. “Glad to hear that, since we’re taking it with us. Better hurry and find a replacement, captain.”
Susie is a little surprised how mocking that comment is. She doesn’t disagree about the idea, though; they shouldn’t leave Undyne with the means to recover and follow them too quickly.
“Let’s get going, we’ve already been here too long,” Susie says. Ralsei nods and they turn to go.
“Hold it!” Undyne shouts after them. They both glance back; Undyne has pulled herself to her feet and is glaring. “You kids… You better understand what you’re doing. And what’s going to happen to you because of it. I won’t be going easy on you next time… No one will. And you pulling your punches at the last second will only make it worse.”
Susie clenches her fists. She turns on her heel to face Undyne, squaring her shoulders. “It’s worth it for Kris. Nothing you say here can change our minds.”
Undyne just shakes her head. She looks almost pitying. “Kid… Even if the soul did magically fix your human friend… How can you turn your back on the entire Underground? One more soul… That’s all we need. One soul in exchange for everyone’s salvation. Don’t you see how that outweighs anything else?”
Susie bites her tongue so hard it bleeds.
The final tragedy unveils.
To save the worlds, there is only one way.
The Girl will shatter the Cage.
Susie takes a deep breath, ignoring how the tang of iron floods her throat. “I am sick… to death… of people telling me to kill Kris for some greater good!” She takes another deep breath, protective fury welling up from within her. “I am never, ever, going to let that happen! No matter what you or anyone or anything says! Because what is the god damn point saving everyone else, if it costs me the life of my friend?!”
Her voice rings out into the air. Susie’s heart thunders in her chest, once again terrified as she’s reminded of the prophecy’s doomsaying. Never. Never. She’s never letting that happen. Undyne can preach it until she’s even bluer in the face- Susie refuses to let her friend die for anyone’s sake, never mind by her own hand-
Something brushes against her knuckles, startling her.
Kris’s soul shines brighter than the magma flow nearby, shimmering with the deepest, reddest colors Susie has ever seen. It presses against the back of her hand until she turns it over, letting it onto her palm. When Susie brings it up closer to herself, level with her chest, Kris’s soul spins happily in circles.
It’s so small in her hands. It feels lighter than a butterfly and just as delicate. And yet it endured being pried from Kris’s chest, perfectly intact and shining with life.
“Yeah… I’m gonna protect you, Kris,” Susie says to it, a smile creeping onto her face. “Doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. We’re never gonna let that happen. A true hero finds a way to save everyone.”
The soul flutters against her scales, warm like the sun.
Susie looks up to find Undyne staring at her and the soul. Susie covers it with her other hand, drawing it closer with a protective scowl.
Undyne sighs tiredly, shoulders slumping. “Go. You get an hour’s head start.”
“We’ll be ready,” Susie promises.
At her vow, the dark of the cavern is lit up by an unearthly, fiery howl.
Susie whirls to stare up at the cavern ceiling over Waterfall. A huge beam of light is being fired upwards, roaring through the darkness to burn the walls of the Underground. The mindbogglingly huge laser beam follows the path of something, its angle steadily descending as it does. Even from beyond a mountainous pass, the sound of rocks falling and the magical attack is deafening.
When the attack blips out, the following quiet is borderline unnatural.
“What the fuck was that,” Undyne says, staring in abject horror.
“That, captain, is what we’ve been trying to get back to,” Ralsei says matter-of-factly. “Kris didn’t die when you stole the Soul. A friend of ours has been holding them off while we retrieved it.” A massive shuddering BOOM shakes the air. “I think those noises would be Kris… getting out of hand.”
“…I should call back Alphys,” Undyne says faintly.
Susie shakes her head. “Fucking hell, we gotta get moving. What are they doing over there?”
She tries to return the soul to the helmet for safe travel, but it keeps slipping around her fingers to stay in her hands. Ralsei watches in bemusement as Susie gives up and just lets Kris ride in her palm.
They start running back to rejoin the fight with the Knight. Ralsei cheerily drops Undyne’s bloodstained helm off the bridge as they go. They leave the captain alone to whatever decisions she makes next.
As they run, Susie makes sure her hand cradles Kris’s soul as gently as she can. Its pulse matches the tempo of her own heart, rising with her hope that the end is in sight.