There's something about Waterfall that just emanates relaxation. Perhaps it's the ever-present sound of flowing water, or the soothing light provided by glowing mushrooms. Perhaps it's the way every sound echoes ever so slightly, both off the cavern walls and from the echo flowers, creating a strange sort of natural reverb. Whatever gives the area it's unique atmosphere, there's also a loniness to the place that makes lone travelers introspective. According to some rumors, the settled parts of Waterfall came about when monsters simply lost the will to go any further.
Not far from the Snowden entrance, Jake the KEI-9 Unit trotted along the main path, his humming emanating from the speakers built into the screen that currently displayed the face of a cartoon dog. Beside him walked Frisk the human child, one of her hands on Jake's back as she eyed every shadow nervously and jumped at every sound.
The fourth time she jumped at a sound that turned out to be nothing more than condensation from the roof of the cavern falling to the floor, Jake let out a laugh.
"Relax, Frisk." He said. "Nothing's gonna happen to you while I'm here. Besides, the skele-dudes already said they got our backs."
She removed her hand from Jake's back to sign her reply. "Aren't you scared? It's so dark here."
"You kidding? Check this out!" Jake's screen lit up, fully illuminating the path ahead. Small LED panels opened on his limbs, shining light around them as well.
"I'm a light in the darkness!' Jake sang as Frisk giggled. His voice echoed around them, the nearby echo flowers repeating his words precisely. Chuckling at this, Jake added, "Besides, you're my friend. That means I'm gonna do everything I can to keep you safe."
She hugged his side for a few mments before signing, "What about Finn?"
"My bro?" A brief look of concern passed Jake's cartoon face, only to quickly be replaced with his usual silly smile. "Ah, he'll be fine. He's got a girlfriend named Kyra who's keepin' him on the straight and narrow while I'm gone."
"What is he like?"
"Finn? Oh, he's great. Couldn't ask for a better brother. He's a great pilot, and not to bad at fixin' stuff. Still, he has confidence issues sometimes. That's why I'm glad he has Kyra; poor guy'd probably fall apart without support. Besides, he's crazy about her. She's a quarian y'know. They're kinda like humans but more purple-bluey." He paused to watch as Frisk's hands moved again. "Well, of course they've kissed! Wouldn't surprise me a bit if he finally managed to propose to her. I mean, he's already gone through the gene sequencing so they can have kids." Seeing Frisk's curious expression, Jake added, "Er, it's complicated. Alien biology stuff; trust me, it's boring. The point is that they've had eyes on each other since they first met. 'Course, took me a little pushing to get things in motion, courtesy of the best big brother ever."
Frisk pointed at him, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, I mean me!" Jake said indignantly. "You don't have to be biologically linked to someone for them to be family, you know."
Frisk's face fell. They walked in silence for a few minutes before Jake sighed and said, "You're thinkin' about Miss Toriel, aren'tcha?" When Frisk nodded, Jake said, "Yeah, she was nice. Reminds me of Finn's mom before … well, that's not important. We'll get you back to her, I promise."
Frisk still looked sad. Jake looked at her for a long moment before he said, "Climb on."
She looked at him curiously as he crouched down so she could climb on his back. After a few moment's hesitation, she did just that.
Standing up, Jake said, "We'll never make any progress goin' this slow. You ready to see some speed?"
Smiling, Frisk clutched at Jake's back plate and nodded.
"All right then. Here we go!"
"Let me get this straight." Undyne said, rubbing her temples with a black gauntlet as the other held her helmet under her arm. "You found a human and you just let her go."
Papyrus toyed with his hands, sweat rolling down his skull despite the fact he had no sweat glands. "Well … yes. I did … but only because I am certain she means no harm."
"That's not the point, Papyrus!" Undyne shouted. "One. One human soul. That's all we need to be free, and you just let her walk out of Snowdin."
"But we don't need to kill her." Papyrus insisted. "I've been puzzling about it and speaking with Jake and I think-"
"Jake? Who is Jake?"
"Oh, he is a robot dog who travels with the human Frisk."
"Robot dog." Undyne repeated, now regarding Papyrus with clear skepticism. "This human has a robot dog."
"Well, she doesn't have him; he actually belongs to a human named Finn Cresste, a human who drives cars that can go through outer space!"
Undyne blinked at Papyrus a few times.
"All right." Papyrus said, rubbing the back of his skull. "In retrospect, that does sound a little strange, but hear me out; much like monsters, a human's life is finite. Sooner or later, she will pass away naturally. So you see, we don't have to murder her for her soul!"
"And how long will it take for her to just keel over?"
"According to Jake, humans only live for one-hundred years." Papyrus said.
"One-hundred years?!" Undyne said, slamming her helmet into the side of a stone pillar, reducing the piece of armor into metal scrap. "That's practically forever. New Home's already overcrowded, and you seriously want me to go and tell King Asgore that we have the final soul, but have to wait a hundred years?"
"W-well," Papyrus stammered, "I think the King will understand that …"
Undyne clamped a hand over his teeth, her eyes narrowing … but not at him. She stared at the bottom of the short cliff, where a large swath of tall grass grew across the path. She was certain she'd heard a rustle within the blue blades, though her eye found nothing.
"Hmm." She said, removing her hand from Papyrus's skull. "Never mind. So this human … where is she now?"
"Well, she's heading this way." Papyrus said nervously. "Jake said-"
"Good. I'll take it from here." Undyne said, her fists clenching around the shaft of the spear.
"But Undyne, if you just give her a chance."
"Go back to Snowdin, Papyrus." Undyne said with a glare at the trembling skeleton. "In case she tries to double back … and if she does you are to bring her to me. Am I understood?"
Papyrus let out a sigh, a sad look on his skull. "I … I understand, Undyne."
"Good." Undyne watched Papyrus depart with a stern eye. Once he was gone, the hardness fell from her face with a sigh. She knew Papyrus meant well, but the last time she showed a moment of weakness toward a human, it cost her an eye. Besides, the King was counting on her. One last soul, and they'd be free.
Another rustle from the grass made her freeze. She glared at the grass, and again found nothing. This time, however, she didn't buy it; after a few moments, she made a pretense of turning and walking away until anyone hiding in the grass was no longer able to see her. Then, careful to remain close to the ground so she would remain unseen from the lower path, she crept back to the edge and waited for another rustle, her spear in hand.
"C'mon." She breathed, excitement at the upcoming fight, at finally getting the last soul needed to free her and her people from the Underground. She was poised to strike, her focus slowly tuning out all other sounds of Waterfall; the distant rush of water, the drips of water falling from the cavern ceiling onto the ground and water below, and the occasional clatter of stones. The waterfall near the entrance tended to pick up gravel and small rocks and drop them into a steadily growing pile of stones at the bottom. Some days, the sounds of rocks hitting the pile echoed through half of Waterfall, sounding very much like the footfalls of a small band of horses. In fact, there were apparently quite a few stones falling that day, as despite her attempts to focus, the sound of falling stones seemed to be getting quite loud.
"HEEYO!"
Undyne turned, her eye wide as Jake came bounding across the cliffside, Frisk clutching his back. He bumped Undyne in passing, causing the startled Captain of the Royal guard to stumble back over the edge and fall into the grass below.
"'Scuse me!" Shouted Jake's voice as the robot dog and his human rider continued onward.
Furious, Undyne rolled over in her armor, only to find herself face to face with the eager face of a young lizard monster.
"Gah!" Undyne said, stumbling to her feet.
"Undyne!" Monster Kidd said, "Oh, Wow! You're so cool!"
Grunting, Undyne glanced back at the cliff side. "Damn! They got away!"
As she started to hurry down the path in hopes of catching up, Monster Kidd called out, "Are you chasing a bad guy?"
"Yeah." She said, forcing a smile. "And when I catch 'em, we're gonna be able to leave the Underground."
Monster Kidd's eyes went wide. "WOW! That's awesome!"
Grinning a little, Undyne turned to leave only to freeze when Monster Kidd said, "Why not take the shortcut?"
"Shortcut?" Undyne said. "Where? Where's it lead?"
"The other side of Waterfall, of course!"
"Show me!"
Jake ran through the caverns of waterfall until he felt Frisk's hand patting his side insistently.
Skidding to a halt, Jake asked, "Everythin' okay, small fry?"
She shook her head and quickly slipped off Jake's back. Jake realized the problem immediately, having seen Finn standing similiarly as a kid.
"Ah. Right. Um …" Glancing around, Jake spotted a clump of weeds poking out of the water. Pointing at it with one paw, he said, "That'll do at short notice. I'll look the other way."
Nodding gratefully, Frisk hurried away as Jake turned to give her some privacy. He wandered to the other side of the walkway and stared at his reflection. The Everstar shard glowed beneath his chassis. Jake wasn't sure exactly what it was, but felt comforted by its presence. It made him feel … warm.
"Finn woulda loved this place." Jake said as he poked a nearby echo flower with a metal paw. "We've seen a lot of weird stuff, but this place … and it's on Earth too. I mean, yeah, the forests of Neukara are pretty awesome, and there's something about the urban sprawl of Omega I always liked, but …"
Jake stopped, memories coming back. "Oh … that's right. Omega's gone now. Strange; it really was a complete hole, but for awhile it was still home to me and my bro … and now it's just gone. We got away, but the Sun-Cruncher's still out there, and that psycho Illusive Man, there's no tellin' what he's gonna gobble up next."
Jake turned at the touch of Frisk's hand on his shoulder plate. Smiling at her, he said, "Sorry; didn't mean to put that on ya. I guess I'm just worried about my bro, y'know?"
Frisk hugged Jake's face plate. He let out a quiet chuckle. "Thanks, Frisk. I guess there's nothin' really for it anyway; I can't get back to Finn until we find our way outta here. Besides, I still gotta help my new little sister."
Frisk gave him a puzzled look, making Jake laugh. "I mean you, silly! Speaking of, you ready to get movin' again?"
She nodded, pausing to adjust her shorts before climbing back on Jake's back. Jake ran across the wooden planks, occasionally leaping over small gaps and corners just for the heck of it. They ran across a few monsters in passing; a small onion-like creature, a squat grumpy-looking thing next to a large block of some sort, and a large cephalopod who waved at them as they passed.
Eventually, they came to a chamber bisected by a thick river. It wasn't the gap that gave Jake pause, however, but the small duck standing on the other side. It wasn't a duck person, and didn't appear to be monsterous in any way; it was just a duck that happened to have yellow feathers.
"Um, hey." Jake said. "Can you understand me?"
"Quack."
"Right." Jake sighed and turned his monitor to the side. "Hold on Frisk; I think I can clear the gap."
Frisk tightened her grasp on Jake as the KEI-9 unit backed up to get a running start. Once he felt he had enough space to get up to the necessary speed, Jake ran as fast as he could toward the edge of the water.
They were only feet away when Undyne burst through the water, spear in hand. Quickly spotting them, she brought her spear down with frightening speed. Jake managed to stop mere inches away from being impaled.
"Give me the human!" Undyne said, lunging forward.
Jake leapt back out of her reach, Frisk pressing against his back. His cartoon face now annoyed, Jake said, "Hey! What's your problem with my little sister?"
"She's a human!"
"Yeah, and I'm a robot dog. You got a problem with that too?"
"I don't have time for this!" Undyne grabbed Frisk by the arm and yanked her from Jake's back.
"Finally!" Undyne said, a malicious sharp-toothed grin on her face. "Our freedom."
Seeing the look of pain and fear on Frisk's face, Jake charged his capacitors and shot a blast of electricty from his monitor. It wasn't very powerful, but Undyne's metal armor magnified the effect. She shook erratically as electricity arced across her armor, the hand holding Frisk going numb. Frisk managed to free her arm without getting shocked herself and quickly climbed back on Jake's back as he crouched down for her.
Jake leapt for the other side, but without a running start barely made it half-way. Fortunately, something grabbed him before he could hit the water. He struggled, thinking Undyne had recovered from the stun blast, only to realize it was the yellow duck. Against all logic, the duck was carrying both him and Frisk to the other side of the chamber.
It set them at the edge about the time Undyne collapsed on the other bank of the river. Twitching, she struggled to roll over to face them.
"Not … over." She managed, her face a mask of rage. "Gonna … stop … you."
"Blah, blah, blah." Jake said, his cartoon face sticking its tongue and blowing a raspberry at her. Glancing back as far as he was able, Jake said, "We better beat feet while fish-face here's still stunned. You ready?"
Giving Undyne a fearful glance, Frisk nodded.
"All right." Jake paused and turned to the duck, "Thanks for the lift."
"Quack." The duck said, settling back down as though ducks carrying robot dogs was an everyday thing for it.
Shrugging, Jake ran out of the room. Undyne struggled to regain control of her body, but couldn't do more than flail about a bit. She was still trying when a smiling face popped out of the water.
"What do … you …want?" She managed.
"Ferry said he'd ferry you for three Gold Pieces."
"You … expect me … to … pay … for bringing … me … here?"
Ferry spat three coins, one after the other, at Undyne. Two bounced off her breastplate while the third hit her in the forehead and stuck there. Undyne growled at the little monster as it slid beneath the water, a pleased smile on its face.
