UntilTale: Aftermath

12. Rise

Hello again! back again. 

Excuse for not updating: work. (my first job! woohoo!)

Anyways, have some more story. 

Caveat dove into the cold water at his ankles. He grit his teeth before he set his palms into the mud. The tall individual in front of him smiled and nodded. "Alright. You got 6 attacks, so do 4 and then keep working at it. You're doing so well!" the tall one smiled at him. Caveat's chin dipped into the water as he did push-ups in the middle of the waterway. The fluorescent water's glow hurt his eyes, but he ignored it. He pulled himself up, summoning more bones in a line. They shook slightly. A seventh popped into existence, before the attacks spiraled out of control, embedding themselves into the surrounding rock. 

The tall skeleton winced as he ducked under one, before hearing footsteps behind both of them. 

"Well, I got everything ready for today. How's he doing?"Shift asked.

Papyrus nodded, stroking his chin with a gloved hand. "Nyeh! He's got nothing in his way, if you ask me." Caveat started to summon more attacks, but Shift stopped him. "Don't overdo it. We just started." The three walked back to the training ground, the uneven wooden planks creaking beneath their feet as they walked. Caveat flinched. It was a good fifteen-foot drop if anything broke. He shook his head, before turning to face Papyrus, who had already made it to the other end of the maze of bridges.

Caveat knew the drill by now. Four months he'd been training. He felt like he was improving, but could it ever be enough? Papyrus raised a hand before swiping it down. Spots of white magic appeared beneath him. Caveat jumped ahead, the bones springing from the ground behind him. The objective of the "Ultimate Gauntlet of Expertise and Skill" was simply to make it to the other end.

Not that he'd ever achieved this.

He ran towards Papyrus, weaving between the spots on the ground. He felt the familiar buzz of magic under his feet, before backing up. Papyrus and Shift stood motionless on the main platform.

Caveat approached again, jumping over the spot and rushing towards them. Shift raised a hand and a pair of red vines curled around the bridge ahead of him. Large flowers bloomed from them, and caveat tensed himself. The flowers rapidly spun, their petals shooting toward him. He turned to present a small target. He felt one graze his elbow, but charged forward anyways. He jumped over one set of vines, then ducked under the next volley. He summoned a spear in his hands and spun it behind his back, cutting down the flowers. he saw a spot of white below him before a bone spat out of the ground, slamming into his gut. He fell to his knees.

Another vine sprouted, pushing him away. Caveat grimaced, before grabbing the edge of the bridge, trying to keep the vine from pushing him off. It was only 15 feet, but it looked like a lot more than that. Shift called out to him. "Alright, let's start over. That was really good! We just need to work on your awareness and you've got it!" she cheered.

Caveat sighed, almost ready to let the vine push him off back into the cold water. "Nyeh heh! Exactly Caveat! You already are an excellent fighter, with more awareness and control of your magic, you'll make an excellentlent royal guard!" Caveat gritted his teeth. He appreciated his uncle, but he was too optimistic. Caveat considered this as the vine pushed him off the edge. Maybe it was that he was too pessimistic.

It wasn't as if he was helpless. He had plenty of time, he didn't need to think it was all or nothing. He was becoming a guard to be there to help his friends if there was trouble, wasn't he? That wouldn't do much if he didn't think he could improve. Caveat grabbed out, holding onto the edge of the bridge.

He shouted over the edge as he tried to pull himself up. "Wait! Keep going! I can't just restart!" He tried not to look down. No. This was holding him back. A little fear like heights couldn't get in his way. He looked down.

From where he was hanging down, it was only a bit over seven feet. Nothing he couldn't handle. But his goal wasn't down. It was forward. He couldn't get back up, the vines were still waiting for him. He swung forward, trying to grab onto another bar. His fingers just barely missed it.

Caveat reached out for it, before he summoned a spear through the bridge and tightened his grip on it. He stabbed a second spear through the bridge, working his way across from the underside.

Shift raised an eyebrow. Seemed like he was starting to get creative. That was good. The vines moved to have the razor flowers on his level. Caveat kept moving, swinging across before pulling himself up. He stood for a moment, looking at Shift.

She smiled at him, nodding patiently. Caveat charged forward, evading the bones and petals that would likely spell the end of training for today. They whizzed past his ears and danced at his feet, but he kept moving forward.

Papyrus' eye socket raised like an eyebrow as he watched Caveat. He wasn't getting hit at all. He hadn't seen something like that in decades. It reminded him of back then. When he'd worked to become a guard. After Asriel returned, it wasn't long before Undyne broke it to him why she hadn't brought him in.

He... understood Undyne likely was concerned for a good reason. He had realized what the guard was typically up against. Not all monsters were fans of Frisk, even to this day. That's why the guard continued, to defend against that handful of opponents. He just couldn't see why he had to be enemies with troublemakers, rather than be a friend and try to help them see. 

But he assumed Undyne probably had been right that it wouldn't be the sensible approach, and Mettaton agreed that it would be putting him in danger, so he told Undyne he was withdrawing his application, even though it broke his heart.

Even so, he'd kept training with the royal guard constantly, knowing that even if he wasn't an official member, if any of the rare disgruntled monsters tried to hurt his family and friends, he could help, in one way or another. He'd gone through this same process years before, helping Undyne train Shift.

He looked between his sister-in-law and his nephew. It had seemed to just be a human thing, being able to learn to dodge so quickly. Of course Sans was adept at it with his hp, but beyond that, he assumed humans just naturally moved quicker than monsters, especially concerning Frisk. But Caveat wasn't really human or monster. Papyrus sent a full wall of bones at Caveat, who deflected them with a spear, almost at the platform.

Shift sent out an array of knives, the attacks leaving a ghostly red trail in the air, before the lines exploded with energy, trying to block off Caveat's route. He jumped to the side before swinging on the underside of the bridge again, using his spear to catapult himself back upwards and onto the platform. He looked at his instructors, letting the spear fade into sparks as he jumped excitedly. Shift nodded as they sat down to take a break, giving him a hug. Papyrus intercepted, hugging both of them and lifting them off of the ground slightly.

~~~~

Elsewhere in the underground.

The voice mused to itself, unheard and unseen by the one it was observing.

"Interesting. It is... poetic.

The descendant of the one who led to monsters being trapped. Just as trapped as all of us. And nothing's changed. Except... well. I suppose it's worth a try. Perhaps monsters will rise again soon, after all..."