Undertale: Reason to Live

Chapter 21

Undyne kept staring at him with a stoic expression.

"Well, I guess I'll go back," Frisk said starting to walk away. "I left them a note, but they're probably still gonna be mad that I went away without them, so…"

Frisk paused and inhaled sharply when he felt Undyne's hand grab his right forearm. He looked at her and she pulled him down so that he was on his on his knees and hand practically on top of her.

"LIE ON THE FLOOR AND LISTEN TO THE MUSIC WITH ME, FRISK!" Undyne screamed in his face. "IT'LL BE GOOD FOR YOU!"

"Undyne?" Frisk asked.

"JUST DO IT!"

"o…kay…"

Frisk laid down on the ground next to Undyne. Instead of letting go of his right forearm, she handed him an ear bud with her free hand. Frisk put it in and listened to the music. She still didn't let go but slid her hand down until her smooth hand was holding his.

"Perhaps, I should go…" Napstablook said.

"Please don't leave me alone," Frisk pleaded.

"What was that, punk?" Undyne asked.

"Nothing," Frisk said quietly.

"I see," Napstablook replied. "I'll stay."

"Thank you," Frisk said quietly.

Napstablook floated over to the ground and laid on the floor on the other side of him.

For several minutes, it was very tense. Frisk felt his heartbeat grow faster and could not stop shaking. He barely listened to the music. It was too weird feeling Undyne's skin against his. Her hand was smooth and cool to the touch in contrast to the warm blood that produced sweat all over his palm.

"Undyne," Frisk said nervously turning his head towards hers. "Would you, uh, let go of my hand please?"

Undyne turned her head towards him and saw him flinch.

"You're afraid of me," Undyne said. "Aren't you, human child?"

"Uh…." Frisk said searching for the right words.

"That's ironic. In the other timelines, it was me who was afraid of you."

"You were afraid of me?"

"Every time," Undyne said looking back at the ceiling. "I was always afraid, but I learned to push past it. It never stops me. It never stopped anyone else in my family either. They all made the ultimate sacrifice to give monsters a chance to return to the surface and take our vengeance on the humans who ruined our lives…"

Frisk shook more violently and attempted to pull his hand out of Undyne's, but she gripped it more tightly to calm him down.

"But you know what I realized, Frisk?" Undyne asked turning to him with tears in her eyes this time. "The goal we were aiming towards, all the death, it was pointless."

Frisk stopped shaking and looked at her more intently now, more confused than he was afraid.

"And you want to know why?" Undyne asked. "Because at the end of the day, we were no better than you. You killed because you were trying to avenge your parents. I wanted to kill you to avenge my family and the misery monsters face down here. If I reached the surface, I would have done the same thing you tried to do. Then one of you would try to do the same thing to us, and eventually, everyone would be dead. It's pointless. All of it is. And even though I was strong enough to defeat any enemy, it wasn't enough. I fell to determination every single time. The purpose I have dedicated my life to…the time I sacrificed training…everything was done to accomplish something POINTLESS!"

Undyne finally let go of Frisk's hand to wipe the tears falling from her own eyes.

"Undyne, I'm so sorry," Frisk said sitting up. "I wish I could go back and change it…"

"You already have!" Undyne interrupted. "I counted the number of times you went back and the number of scars on your arms. You went back 40 times. 40! There's no point in even staying mad at you. What point is there to my life?! Do you know?! You were the one talking to Omniscience! What did he have to say?!"

"Um, well, He didn't say anything about you, but He told me to let go of my pride and let Him in, so He could teach me how to show mercy instead of ending my life. I know if you asked He would show you something, too. I think I've read in the ancient scriptures that it's not always audible or in dreams. He also talks in other ways, but never mind, the point is your life is not pointless, Undyne. We'll figure out something together. I know we will."

Instead of responding, Undyne sat up, picked Frisk up, and held him in a tight hug while she laid back down. Frisk cringed at being so close to her, but he let her hold him on top of her chest.

"You can go back if you want to, human," Undyne said. "I want to keep listening to music for a little while longer."

"I want to keep listening, too," Frisk said. "I've been so scared I haven't been listening to the music much…"

"But you have listened to it in every timeline," Nastablook interrupted. "Aren't you tired of it?"

"No," Frisk said. "I love it. It makes me happy. It reminds me when I used to lie on the floor with my Dad and listen to his mp3 player with him whenever we had a rough day. I've kept it since before he died, but it's in my backpack on top of the mountain. When…if we get out of here, I'm going back for it, so I can share the music with you guys. I hope it's okay. My backpack is waterproof, but I'm still scared something might happen to it. That's the only thing I want to go back for on the surface. I have nothing else up there. I'd hate to lose it. It's one of the last things I have left of my parents…"

"Don't worry, kid," Undyne said. "Worse comes to worse we can get it together. We can exit and come back no problem."

Frisk smiled and started sitting up, but Undyne pulled him back down, hugged him tighter, and said, "Hey! I didn't say you could get up yet, punk!"

Frisk smiled and let himself relax on top of her. It was an awkward position, but for Undyne, he could endure it. After all, this was what it was to show mercy. His HP went up another point as they both began to doze.