Chapter Text
Chapter 5
The rush of water was like clinking cups. People talked about what they’d do on the surface, and I fell asleep on the counter.
“Yo, dude—you good?”
The rush of water was wind through trees. Clear laughter came from behind a door, and I closed my eyes against it.
“Dude, seriously, you okay?!”
The rush of water was his voice. “And then? What happened to them? How’d it end?!” I’ll tell you later, I said.
“Wake up, dude! Wake up!”
In the sound of rush water, I opened my eyes.
A monster kid’s face hovered above me—a little dragon.
“Yo, you’re finally awake!” the dragonet chirped.
I sat up and saw the waterfall crashing down from above. Flowey was gone. “why am i still alive,” I said.
“You fell from up there?! Whoa, that must’ve been epic!” the kid asked, curious.
“…yeah. real bone-chilling experience.” I realized I was lying on a golden flower bed. Looked like a field of Flowey’s, minus the punchable smirk. Reminded me of Asgore’s garden, where the same golden flowers grew. Maybe someone carried seeds here and scattered them. Either way, the flowers must’ve broken my fall, kept me from turning to dust.
“…kid, what are you doing here?”
The dragon’s expression saddened. “She told me to run.” “who?”
“Undyne… she got hurt… but she made me go… god, I hope she’s okay…”
So the human had fought Undyne.
I blurted, “undyne’s tough. don’t sweat it, kid. You gotta be ‘a cold fish,’ yeah? That’s right. Where’d she go?”
“At the end of the Echo Flower Path, on that big bridge…”
My HP was low, but enough to survive. I stood up.
“listen, kid. go to hotland and find alphys. she’ll keep you safe. you know the way, right? go on, now. And…”
I knew what Undyne meant to Alphys. If Undyne didn’t make it, Alphys wouldn’t handle it. But the monsters still needed her.
“don’t tell alphys about undyne. pretend you didn’t see anyone. no fish, no skeletons. got it?”
With a nod, I headed for the Echo Flower Path.
I didn’t know why I kept going. Maybe I refused to believe Flowey. Maybe I had a weird hunch I needed to test. Maybe just for Undyne. She hadn’t given up yet.
Along the way, I saw no one. Golden pollen floated in the air, maybe more than just pollen. The Echo Flowers were quiet. Distantly, I heard magic being cast— the battle raged on.
By the time I reached the bridge, I saw Undyne pierce the kid’s chest. Soul shattered.
By the time I reached the bridge, I saw Undyne stab for the kid’s chest—they dodged. But she twisted her spear, slashing their neck. Soul shattered.
Wait…?
By the time I reached the bridge, I saw Undyne stab for the kid’s chest—they dodged. She spun her spear, nearly slitting their throat. They jumped back in time. The look on their face… they knew what was coming.
Wind howled up from the chasm below. Undyne’s eyes blazed with a light I’d never seen. Her soul was cracked, yet stronger than ever. A heart-shaped fire burned in her chest.
That was… Determination. Undyne had gained Determination.
What gave her a power no monster should possess? I didn’t know. Was this what a hero looked like?
A thousand spears like shooting stars crossed the sky, each charged with unbroken courage.
The human didn’t dodge. Soul shattered.
I reached the bridge. No—I watched, again and again, the human dodge attacks I couldn’t have escaped. Moves practiced a thousand times. No… repeated a thousand times. So here I was, again.
Determination rewinds time to a “safe point” and keeps memories, letting them cheat death. That’s how humans survive. Every human has Determination—back then, theirs was so strong they won the war. So no human souls were taken, but countless monsters turned to dust. Now, fewer humans have strong Determination—they lose it easier. They’re easier to kill. That’s how Asgore got six souls. But this human was different. Their Determination burned hotter. A thousand failures only hardened their resolve. My hunch was right. That’s why they could massacre the Underground: no matter how many times you kill them, they come back. As long as they hold Determination, they’re unbeatable.
Undyne couldn’t win. She… would die.
My shout was swallowed by the wind. The human dodged the final attack and stabbed Undyne in the chest—again, and again.
A soul shattered. But this time, it was Undyne’s.
“Damn it… So even this power…It wasn’t enough…?”
Undyne’s spear dropped. Her Determination couldn’t outlast the kid’s.
I stood there, helpless. I saw Undyne smile. Bright as her soul.
“Heh… if you…if you think I’m gonna give up… you’re wrong. ‘Cause I’ve…got my friends behind me. Alphys told me that she would watch me fight You. And if anything went wrong, she would. evacuate everyone… By now she's called ASGORE and told him to absorb the 6 human SOULs.And with that power...”
Her body dissolved like spring snow. At the end, her smile never wavered.
“This world will live on…!”
The heart-fire still burned in her dust, as if it would never die.
Wind howled. The unbroken hero was gone. I couldn’t see the kid’s face, but they stood on the bridge for a long time.
The wind died.
I had no strength left. I couldn’t summon a single bone. I could only watch the kid walk steadily across the bridge and vanish.
I don’t remember how I got back to Snowdin, or into the house. I just know I slept for ages, but woke as tired as before. I was in his room, lying by his bed, my fingers inches from his.
“hey, guess what? i met that talking flower you mentioned.” I leaned against his bed, staring at the opposite wall and his bone collection. “real chatty flower. ”
I laughed, but it didn’t fill the silence. The silence made me want to leave—anywhere to escape it. But I couldn’t stand. I sat on the floor and kept talking. “we had a chat, but it was boring. you wouldn’t want to hear it. not exactly a bedtime story.” Silence crept from every corner. I kept going. “worst part? it was right. that’s probably why I hate it.”
I paused to breathe. Some things were better left unsaid. Besides… “you know already, don’t you? she’s with you now, isn’t she? i hoped alphys wouldn’t find out, but… bet she saw everything. i couldn’t stop the kid. no drive left, y’know? couldn’t lift a finger. so yeah, i didn’t kill ‘em. guess you wouldn’t want me to, anyway. the old lady neither. not that it matters. Nothing matters anymore. that’s it.”
The kid had Determination. What was the point of fighting? Why resist a losing battle?
None of it mattered. I had nothing left to do.
I leaned back and saw a paper lying in the hallway. Now that I thought about it, something had been under my door earlier, but I’d ignored it.
The written side faced up. I was too tired to pick it up, so I squinted from afar.
TO SANS:
GOTCHA, NYEH HEH HEH.
That was the first line. His handwriting. I closed my eyes and didn’t read further.
Later, I opened my eyes and forced myself up. I stuffed the paper in my pocket. I couldn’t read it here. I needed somewhere else—somewhere to sit and think.
I left the house and headed for Grillby’s. The air was freezing, so I pulled up my hood.