FicWad

Undyne was running.



Knarled, twisted trees blurred around her as she ran aimlessly through the eternal darkness of the woods, desperately trying to find her way back.



The silence of the ominous forest was cut short as something smashed through the forest behind her, breathing hard, slowly gaining on her. A sharp pain cut into the back of her head, and a shadowed figure landed on her back, knocking the breath out of her.



Then, the intense pain faded, the weight lifted off, before it was replaced by a crushing pressure on her throat, tightening every second the grip lasted. Then her father’s face appeared in front of her, a smirk spread over his lips, leaning down to her, whispering something to her.



“You’re weak.” He hissed, fingers cutting into her neck. “And that’s why you’re going to die.”



His twisted smile widened, and his voice was cold and unfamiliar. The pressure on her neck intensified until all pain was gone, and a black void swallowed her up into an endless pit of nothingness.



Then, the darkness faded, and she was lying on the stiff, cold ground of her room. Her neck ached, as if her nightmarish dream had been real after all. She pressed her shaking hand against her neck, relieved when she felt no wounds etched into her scales.



After five whole days since the incident, she was still reliving every moment of it in her dreams. The same scene over and over, repeated again and again. It made her feel sick.



Her thoughts were interrupted as a soft, hesitant knock sounded outside her room, followed by the gentle voice of her mother. “U-Undyne? Y-your father would like to see you… outside…” Her sentence faded away, and then there was silence.



Undyne stiffened at the mention of her father, remembering her dream.



Undyne lifted herself from the floor, her muscles throbbing, and dragged herself to her door and opened it. She almost rushed back in when she realized her mother was still standing there, her eyes glazed over, boring into her soul.



She had been like this ever since the night her father attacked her, acting like she didn’t exist.



Undyne stared at her for a moment longer, a feeling of dread creeping over her spine, then quietly slipped past her and towards the exit. Before she left, she heard her mother mumble something under her breath. It sounded like a name, but it was too quiet to make out what she had said, and Undyne left her alone in the unbearningly choking silence.



*



“There you are,” her father growled, his voice cold. He grabbed her arm harshly, his hands rough, guiding her over into a small clearing at the bottom of the lake, not far from their home, then ripped his hands away, drifting over to the opposite side of the area, facing her with vehement, gleaming eyes. He drew two spears, handing one to Undyne. He looked up, gripping his weapon and raising it towards her from a safe distance away. “You must train to be ready for the next battle,” He said.



Undyne stared back into his intense glare, her fingers clasping tighter to her spear. She tensed, preparing for him to launch towards her.



“How you perform in this training session could determine your future and whether you have a place among our warriors in future battles. Ready?” Her father asked, and without waiting for an answer, he lunged out, faster than Undyne could react, knocking her back, the spear grazing her arm.



A thin cloud of blood tainted the water for a few moments before fading away. Shock immobilized her for a few moments before Undyne shook it off, charging at her father, spear clanging against his.



Her father pushed harder, and Undyne ducked as he drove through her block, making her stumble slightly in the water from the change in force. Undyne seized her opportunity and slashed his arm hesitantly, guilt hovering over her as blood clouded the water around them. He grunted, quickly recovering and coming at her again. Undyne dodged swiftly, lifting her spear to his throat.



Her father put his hands up, and she lowered her spear, sighing. “Well done, I suppose,” he said, dusting sand off himself. “I feel you could have done a bit better, but you’re young and inexperienced.”



Undyne nodded uncomfortably. She still felt bad about harming him, but her arm still stung from his ruthless spear.



“On the battlefield, your opponent won’t hold back. They will come at you with the intent to kill. And you should do the same.” He said, then turned away without looking back. “Consider this the end of our training session. I recommend you practice a little longer to sharpen your skills before I can confidently accept your place in the war.”



*



Undyne stared into the distance, oblivious to the training dummy she had made earlier in the day. She wanted to practice her combat abilities to impress her father, but her thoughts wandered involuntarily to her mother.



When Undyne and her father returned home from their brief training session, they found her slumped on the sandy floor of the main room, shivering. Her eyes had been hollow and empty, like her soul had left her body. She didn’t even react when Undyne had lain down by her side and shook her arm to get her attention.



Undyne forced her mother out of her mind, focusing instead on the dummy in front of her as a distraction from her thoughts. She threw her fist at its face, the force of the punch sending its head flying off.



Undyne stared at the head spinning away into the distance, getting smaller as it rode the current out of sight. She shook her head, then dragged her gaze away from where it had disappeared, refocusing once more on her training.



She took a spear resting against the side of a boulder that she had rented from the weapon maker’s shop (editor’s note (aka me lol): NO, she did NOT rent a boulder from a weapon’s shop XD), coming from behind the dummy and stabbing it through the chest.



Undyne stared at the dummy, exasperated.



This won’t do, Undyne thought, dropping the spear and rolling her eyes.



Her enemies wouldn’t just stand still and let her stab them, and would be wearing heavy, metal armor, not a thin layer of weak leather. The dummy was useless if she wanted real experience in battle and to impress her father.



She pounded a nearby rock with her fists, irritation itching her scales, until her fingers bled from the boulder’s rough surface. After venting out most of her burning frustration, the rock was cracked and chipped, fragments falling into the sand. Undyne sighed. She would need a different opponent.



*




Undyne left the lonely practice clearing, feeling utterly defeated.



How am I supposed to find someone to fight here? She thought, her arms dragging through the water. She headed towards her home village, doubting the warriors would let her pound them with hundreds of spears.



When she reached the village, the town was completely consumed by utter chaos. Residents were screaming, shaking others around them, the men flitted about, spears in hand, hollering orders to calm everyone and to gather the warriors together, young children clung to their mothers, wailing and hiding, while the older ones bombarded adults with millions of questions as they panicked. Some of the villagers rammed into others as they rushed around wildly, trying to escape the madness.



Undyne couldn't make sense of the chaos, but a few shouts echoed around, slightly consoling her confusion and horror, though they didn’t help much.



“We’re being attacked!” Someone called over the crowd.



“Someone died!” Another screamed.



“What do we do?”



“What’s happening?”



Eventually, her father’s commanding voice boomed from the massive circle of warriors, shocking everyone into almost complete silence.



“There is a large army of Asgore’s soldiers standing by the border of the lake. They are armed with their weapons.” He paused for a moment, his eyes glistening momentarily in grief, before he continued. “One of our daily patrols sent out this morning was caught around the shallows and was brutally attacked from the surface. Many were injured, some landing in critical condition, one even dying.” His voice cracked, and he stopped, allowing those gathering to share a moment of respect for the one who had died. “We will grieve at their loss,” he continued. “But we will avenge them! Anyone fit and able for battle may join our warriors and meet our enemies at the border in combat. We will not back down!”



A chorus of cheers echoed around following his bold words. Many of them drew spears of their own, lifting them over their heads and chanting battle cries.



Undyne didn’t waste a second before she rushed into the massing crowd swarming around her father, pushing through the multitude of bodies tightly packed together, peppering questions left and right at the participating warriors, arming themselves with spears and full pairs of glinting armor.



After finally reaching the center of the circle where her father was assigning battle units, distributing weapons and armor while answering countless questions, Undyne stood in front, glaring him down defiantly.



Her father stared at her, looking annoyed, then, without a word, he nodded at her reluctantly, handing her a spear and armor.



Undyne smirked at him, took the supplies out of his hands, then made her way out of the suffocating crowd to where she could prepare for the upcoming battle and think.



She stopped against the wall of a shop, settling down and putting on the armor.



Her heart was pounding so hard she thought it might explode. Adrenaline coursed through her, fear and anticipation swirling in her mind.



This was her first battle in the war. She didn’t know if she was excited or terrified, though it could have been both. She was risking her life by joining the warriors in this fight.



And it was possible she wouldn’t come back from it. The thought made her shiver, doubt beginning to crawl in.



Yet a strong sense of resentment prickled in her chest, driving it away and strengthening her resolve. She imagined herself fighting Asgore himself and confronting him. He had imprisoned her entire tribe in the stupid, small lake and declared war. He and his army treated them like dirt, ruthlessly murdering their race to near extinction, and his soldiers openly mocked their existence and reason for living. She wasn’t going to leave the battlefield today without stabbing a goat or two.



Her father called everyone participating in the battle to join their separate groups and follow him to the border. Undyne rose from her spot and merged with the army, beginning to mass around him. Undyne was sure an entire third of the Tribe was there, wielding spears like trained, grown warriors. But despite the group’s brave act, she could see many of them trembling. They were all scared.



Undyne joined her own unit, which consisted of about fourteen others. Most were around her age, with a few adults in the mix. Good friends conversed with each other, acting like this was a last goodbye. Adults curtsied and exchanged encouraging words, patting each other on the back or placing hands on shoulders.



Whatever happened in the battle, Undyne was determined to survive.



*



The army drifted silently along the current, slowly approaching the lakebed. Algae floated along the surface, shimmering in the silver moonlight shinning through a gap to the surface, brushing against Undyne’s arm. Crackled, dead leaves fell onto the lake, sending ripples spreading across the water. The water flowed calmly despite the tension cracking between the silent warriors.



Her father had planned to approach the enemy quietly and take them by surprise by jumping out at them. Undyne doubted they could pull that off when Asgore’s army was obviously expecting them to come out and fight them. The whole plan seemed to fill her with dread, but she shook her head, pushing it out of her mind.



The group halted as they entered the dim shallows, waiting for the signal from the leaders to attack.



At the slight flick of her father’s tail, the units burst out from the surface of the water, screaming war cries as they charged at the stunned army of Royal Guards, meeting them with spears against their weapons as they quickly recovered from the ambush.



The crisp night air erupted with screams, orders, and jibes flung across the battlefield as the clearing was plunged into complete chaos.



Undyne flung herself at the nearest opponent she could find, her spear grazing their thick armor with a loud scrape as they dodged neatly away from her head-front attack. Her enemy turned to face her, growling as they thrust their pitchfork forward, aiming for her throat. Undyne evaded the weapon with ease, taking advantage of their short moment of vulnerability, scratching their cheek with a swift slice of her spear.



The white fur around the fresh wound was quickly stained with blood, dripping from the side of their face onto the wet pebbles below, coating them with the sticky red liquid. The Royal Guard snarled, throwing their weapon directly at Undyne’s chest. She dodged the attack once more, but the pitchfork still sliced her tail, scarlet oozing over her scales. She winced slightly at the hit, then ducked, rolling over and taking her opponent from behind, attacking their vulnerable back, stabbing through the armor with her spear.



Her opponent cursed her under their breath, stumbling over the blood-streaked battlefield to escape.



Undyne pounded the ground triumphantly, her fists becoming sore. She had defeated an enemy and sent them running and screaming. Her father would have to approve of her now.



An unwanted, chilling thought echoed in her mind. If he’s still alive.



She looked up, her hope beginning to fade away in an instant. She froze as several of her people fell to the ground, slowly turning to dust. More were stabbed through the chest, crumbling away. Undyne noticed countless other piles of ash around the clearing, swept away in the heat of the battle.



They were losing.



Her eyes scanned more of the battle, desperation screaming in her head. Her fears were comforted slightly as she spotted her father fighting a scarred goat farther away near the line of trees, his scales almost completely untouched. She let out a faint sigh of relief as she confirmed his safety.



“YOU!” A voice screamed behind her, making her turn. It was the same goat that had attacked her on her secret outing to land and chased her. Her eyes blazed with intense hatred. “I’ll kill you, I’ll…” Her voice shook with so much anger that her sentence was cut off, and whatever threat she made was lost in the chaotic battle raging around them. Then she lunged at Undyne, murder glinting in her eyes. Undyne blocked her blunt attack with her spear, gritting her teeth and pushing until the goat started sliding backwards on the sticky grass, then falling back to unbalance her for a moment before they landed face-first on the ground.



Undyne shrugged, looking around for someone else to fight.



As she left, she felt something grip her leg, dragging her back until she stumbled. She glanced back, spotting the Royal Guard she had just fought, collapsed on the ground, mouth bleeding, eyes shining with malice. Their claws dug into her leg, drawing blood that trickled down her ankle.



“I’m… Going… To kill… You…” They whispered, fumbling for their pitchfork with their free hand and poising it to strike. Undyne frantically shook her leg, trying to loosen their grip, but they squeezed tighter. Undyne kicked them in the face.



Their hand let go, instead holding their face and whimpering. Undyne bolted away, a trail of blood following behind.



“Retreat!” Her father called, pounding towards her, a wound above his right eye bleeding, and his arm hanging at an awkward angle. Undyne glanced at him, confused, turning to look at the forest from where he had fled. Her eyes widened.



Asgore himself appeared along the lines of trees, reinforcements trailing behind him.



Something in her soul boiled inside of her at the sight of him. Rage sparked in her chest, and before she could think about what she was about to do, she strode up to Asgore, her face contorted in hatred.



She punched him straight in the face.



Shocked gasps rang through the clearing. Warriors from her Tribe gazed at her with surprise. They held their hands over their mouth, like they expected her to drop dead before their eyes.



She ignored them.



“I will kill you,” Undyne said quietly to Asgore, his nose bleeding. His Royal Guards surrounding him gasped.



Something changed in his expression, but only slightly, and she barely caught it before his usual emotionless stare returned to his face. His dark eyes had widened, his mouth agape, but not with surprise. A glint had sparkled in his eyes, like he was looking back on an old memory too far to reach. She had never seen it before.



It was like a mix between sadness and grief.



The look made her want to bite his face off.



The guards around him raised their weapons to her face, growling.



“How dare you threaten our king’s life, you meaningless scum!”



Her father grabbed her shoulder before she could react, and Undyne turned to look at him. He shook his head, his eyes full of defeat.



“This battle is over. We need to get home. Your mother will be worried about us.”



She lowered her head. He was right. It was pointless to keep fighting. They needed to retreat for now. She gave a last burning glare at Asgore, whose face had returned to that same infuriating expression, then walked away, the remaining warriors following them into the water.



*



Cheers greeted their arrival as the worn-out army finally reached the village, though they quickly ceased when they noticed the deflated look in their eyes as the survivors met their families, breaking the grim news of the outcome of the battle.



Several villagers supplied the wounded with bandages, guiding them to their homes and reassuring them that they did the best they could. Undyne doubted their pride would ever recover.



“Do you need something for your injuries?” Her father asked, lifting her tail to examine the wound, tainting the water with a scarlet cloud.



Undyne flinched at his touch, pulling it away and covering the wound. “No, I’m fine.” She snapped. “I’m sure someone else needs more care than I do.”



He nodded reluctantly, then his demeanor changed to a brighter manner. Undyne was surprised when she noticed pride shining in his eyes as he gazed at her. “You fought brilliantly today,” he said. “You didn’t hold anything back against your enemy. I’m proud of you.”



Undyne stared at him like he had just said he wanted to hug Asgore.



He looked uncomfortable now. “I think I can let you become a warrior,” he added, patting her back.



Undyne had to hit herself to make sure she was awake. The temporary sting in her arm told her it was real. She gaped at him.



“Let’s head home and let your mother know, alright?”



Undyne nodded, still too shocked to say anything. Maybe now her mother would finally treat her like she existed, instead of like some foreign object she didn’t understand. Maybe she wouldn’t be so distant anymore and celebrate her accomplishment.



As they entered the house, though, all of Undyne’s earlier excitement was drained away in less than a moment, replaced by horror.



Right in front of her, in the middle of the main room, was her mother’s body slowly fading into dust.