Chapter Text
Frisk could only look on in horror. Their companion for the majority of Waterfall - a cute young monster named Monster Kid - tripped over a loose board on the bridge they were on, and Undyne was on the other side. Despite this, however, they quickly moved forward, going to help the young monster up.
Only for Monster Kid to fall before they can get there.
“No!” Frisk and Undyne yell simultaneously. Frisk spares a glance at the armored woman.
“Call someone!” Frisk yelled, Undyne quickly pulling out her phone to comply.
“Don’t move, Human,” Undyne said in turn.
“Not a chance, Ma’am!” Frisk yelled, turning and walking away slightly.
“Are you really gonna leave when we just saw a kid fall to potentially his-” Undyne didn’t get to finish admonishing the young Human, as they quickly turned around and dove after Monster Kid, falling faster due to their higher physical mass.
“Monster Kid!” Frisk yelled, quickly wrapping their hands around Kid’s body and maneuvering the both of them so Frisk would take the brunt of the damage.
Unknown to the Human and Monster, yet something Undyne faintly saw, both of their SOULs temporarily left their bodies… only for both to crack in half.
“No!” Undyne yelled again. One kid just fell on her watch, and a Human displayed more compassion for Monsterkind than they probably deserved by jumping after said kid, and now- wait. Neither of their SOULs were shattering.
No, it actually looked more like… half of the Human’s SOUL merged with her fankid’s SOUL, with the young Monster’s SOUL doing the same.
“ H-Hello, Undyne, ” Alphys’ voice came through the receiver finally. “ I-Is everything a-alright? ”
“...No, Alphys,” Undyne replied. “I don’t think it is. Can you track my location? Because, if so, come here ASAP.”
“ I-I should be able to get there in just a couple of minutes. A-Anything I should bring? ”
“Rescue equipment. As much as possible, two vics.”
“ C-Copy. ” Alphys then hung up, and Undyne quickly called the next person she needed to.
“Papyrus, I’m currently on the bridge near the entrance from Waterfall to Hotland. Get here ASAP and bring your brother. I have Alphys bringing rescue equipment. Two vics, and I know you know at least one of them.”
“ H-HOW DO YOU KNOW? ”
“You were right. The Human is far more trustworthy than I thought. They’re one of the vics; jumped after the other vic in a foolish attempt to save them. Just get here with Sans ASAP.”
“ SANS AND I ARE ON OUR WAY, UNDYNE! ” Papyrus then hung up, leaving Undyne standing upon the bridge - having removed her helmet to more easily use her phone - worried for the two children - and wasn’t that fucked up? She’d been so focused on the fact that they were a Human that she never realized they were a child. And yet, that child was far BRAVER than her - jumping after the person falling while Undyne could only watch in horror.
“what’s this i hear about the kid falling off this bridge?” Sans’ voice is usually a point of annoyance for Undyne - the short skeleton seemed incapable of taking situations seriously - but Undyne couldn’t help but feel relief this time.
“That young monster child from your hometown was saying goodbye to the Human, and started walking home,” Undyne started. “Only, they tripped on the way off the bridge, barely catching themself with their teeth. The Human and I moved to help the Monster up, but they fell before either of us could get to them. The Human jumped after the kid, and now they’re both down there.”
~~~~~~~
Yooooo. That hurt… rang out in their head, confusing the young Human. That wasn’t their voice, after all.
Who’s there? Frisk asked. It was then that the memories came rushing back - Monster Kid tripping on the bridge, Frisk failing to save them, and then jumping in after them. Catching them, and reorienting them both so they took the brunt of the damage, instead of Monster Kid.
A weird sensation as they fell, confusing them.
Monster Kid? Frisk asked, confused.
Human? the young Monster replied.
It’s Frisk, but yeah.
What’s happening?
I don’t know, but we can hear each other mentally. Now, can you get off me? I may be injured from the fall, and it’ll be easier for any rescue teams to account for my injuries without a cute monster on my chest.
Sure, just - wait, cute?
You didn’t hear that!
Monster Kid started moving in an attempt to move, only for Frisk to cry out in pain.
“Stop!” Frisk yelled. Monster Kid immediately returned to their previous position on the Human.
I-I think I have an injury in my chest that you’re helping keep stable by being there. Frisk thought.
S-Sorry, Frisk. Monster Kid replied.
It’s fine. I told you to move. I didn’t know about it, either.
I-I know healing magic, but I can’t use it from this angle, and if I move, you may Fall Down.
We already fell, though?
Right, you’re not quite used to our terminology. Falling Down, both words capitalized, means dying. For monsters who die of natural causes, they unexpectedly enter a comatose state as their HP drops to zero. It’s never painful, but the more HP a monster has, the longer it takes. Once a monster’s HP reaches zero, they turn to dust. Do humans do that, too?
No, we just appear to enter a comatose state, only we’ll never wake up, and our heartbeats stop. Our SOULs can linger for a time after death, but, without preservation tech that humanity hasn’t developed yet, as very few believe in the SOUL, and most that do are the type of people who believe things like the moon is made of cheese, the SOUL can only last as long as it has something - usually a mission or something similar - keeping it there. Most SOULs move on instantly, though.
Huh. Monster funerals consist of family members sprinkling the deceased’s dust onto objects that they loved - usually, these objects also get turned into family heirlooms, but not always - some are simply too big - my grandma’s dust was sprinkled on my house - and some are things that’d make no sense to be a family heirloom - my grandpa’s dust was sprinkled on a shattered plate. It’s been shattered since before he Fell Down, he knew it was shattered. Pretty sure he just did that to fuck with us. What are human funerals like?
Well, there’s a couple of types of processes. Humans can choose to either be cremated, buried, or have their bodies donated to science. Cremation is when humans are put in a specialized metal box that is then put inside a forge, with flames so hot the human body, bones and all, turn into ashes. These ashes are generally put into urns, which are either worn as necklaces to bolster a connection, or held in the home, or, if you’re rich enough, in the family crypt. Burial is where human corpses are put in wooden boxes called coffins. These coffins are then buried under the ground in graveyards, or otherwise put into alcoves in family crypts, again, if you’re rich enough. Bodies donated to science are used to study human biology and other such things.
Huh. Most monster biology is still a mystery. Probably because we turn to dust upon death. Yo, what’s that green star a couple of feet from us?
Huh? Frisk looked, and, sure enough, there was a SAVE point a couple feet from them and Kid. Close enough for them to be able to see it, yet just far enough that they couldn’t reach it. Taunting them. It’s salvation just out of range. Frisk glared at the SAVE point they couldn’t reach. I’ve been able to see them since I first fell down here. I call them SAVE points, and… what I’m about to reveal, you can’t reveal to anyone. My SOUL is RED, which I’m pretty sure is for DETERMINATION. I’ve heard it described as the power to keep going after death. It’s why human SOULs can stick around after death. However. If someone has enough DETERMINATION, they can change fate, but only if they have contact with magic. It wasn’t just monsters sealed down here, by the looks of it, but magic itself, too. These SAVE points are centralized locations of pure DETERMINATION fused with magic. They allow me to SAVE my place in space and time, and I can LOAD back to them whenever, or use them to heal.
That seems overpowered.
Oh, it is, but when you’re a human in an Underground that wants you dead, it tends to be useful.
Wait, how did you discover they allowed you to LOAD?
…I’ve died, Kid. Twice now. It’s… not a fun feeling, which is why I ran to save you, and why I jumped after you.
“Hey!” Undyne’s voice cut in. “If either of you are awake, call out!”
“...We’re both awake, Undyne!” Frisk called, earning a shocked look from Monster Kid as, as far as they knew, Undyne still wanted Frisk dead. “Though, neither of us can really move. Kid’s laying on my chest, and, if they move, they’ll destabilize an injury I have!”
“Damnit!” Undyne said, as she, Sans, Papyrus and a short, yellow dinosaur monster climbed down a ladder to their location. “Does anyone here know healing magic?”
“I-I do,” the dinosaur monster said. Shen then rushed towards the two laying on the ground.
“Start with Frisk,” Monster Kid said, pleadingly. “They suffered the brunt of it, so I’m worried.”
“A-Alright, well, this m-m-may hurt,” Alphys said, kneeling down next to the pair.
Green light emerged from Alphys’s hand, shooting directly into Frisk, who screamed out in pain. Worried about them, Kid wrapped his tail around Frisk’s hand, where the human grabbed onto it, squeezing it.
“once they’re stable enough, i know someone who can heal them better,” Sans said. “we’ll just need to get them through snowdin, and she may not even respond, but she’s our best chance.”
“The t-two of them should be stable enough to move, but I wouldn’t let them walk by themselves,” Alphys said, the green light of healing magic stopping.
In response, Undyne merely lifted the two children, carrying them gently.
“Let’s go,” Undyne said, as Sans started leading them back up. There was a small issue with the ladder, but Frisk just held on to Undyne with one hand and the ladder with the other, with both of them positioning themselves so MK would be secure, allowing the trio to get up the ladder with… well, a lot of difficulty, but they made it.
~~~~~~~
The group were now closing in on a giant purple door at the end of Snowdin. Sans motioned for everyone else to stay back and moved towards the door, knocking on it. Small sobs sounded out.
“W-Who’s there?” a motherly voice said, sadly.
“it’s me, old lady,” Sans replied. Another sob, this one louder, sounded.
“My child… are they…?”
“they’re alive, but badly injured. i remember you saying you specialized in healing magic? we have them, as well as another child, who both need it.”
“I… I asked them not to return, in an attempt to not exacerbate my heartache at losing them…”
“i… i have some help now, old lady. this help comes from positions of power. we may be able to convince asgore not to kill them.”
“...How?” Undyne then stepped forward.
“My name is Undyne, ma’am, and I’m the head of the Royal Guard. While I was still hunting the human, they ran to save a kid who was falling off a bridge. We were both just barely too late, but the human dove off the bridge to try to save the kid. Succeeded, too; they’re both alive thanks to the human’s actions. I’ll work with you to talk to Asgore if need be.”
“I-I’m Alphys, the Royal Scientist,” Alphys added. “Undyne called me for backup when both of them fell off the bridge, and I healed the human enough to be stable, but healing magic drains me fast.”
“...Let me unlock the door.” There was a clicking sound, and then the door opened, revealing a tall female goat monster wearing purple robes. She saw Frisk and Kid in Undyne’s arms and immediately ushered the group into the Ruins. Once they were all through, she closed and re-locked the door. “Follow me.”