Undyne expected to brave the flames head-on ala the Spire ordeal. The silver lining in this situation had to be her awesome armour.
Super.
Duper.
Awesome.
Armour.
It’s so awesome, that it had a heat and smoke protection bubble built in. There’s even an interface warning her when it’s too hot for her defences to deal with.
From the nice vantage point of a leaning radio tower, the fish Captain surveyed the mayhem wrought by Grillby. His shots of concentrated plasma ignited anywhere that wasn’t already burning.
The flames spread and spread and spread to no end…
Fire populated this whole city; there’s no place free of its influence.
“Damn,” said Undyne. “I never thought that he’s capable of this.”
But what now? Small amounts of water were useless in this heat. It’d evaporate almost instantly.
The best thing to do would be to catch up on some intel. Lady Lucidia was still connected to her cybernetic eye. As for Sans, he’s too damn busy avoiding the most pissed off bartender in the universe.
“What’s the situation, madam?”
‘Delicate’. The text read. Maintaining a direct feed straight into the implant prevented Sans from eavesdropping somehow. Undyne didn’t know the specifics, but if it works she won’t question it.
‘Please don’t lose heart. The rescue plan can only succeed if all parties execute their duties on point.’
“R-rescue?”
Hearing Lucidia’s report, Undyne was most astonished that she didn’t flip out into a ball of rage over the news. It must be real-life anime overload.
“Okay, I can see why Grillbz totally lost his shit. But you said we can rescue them, right?”
‘Affirmative. As per Queen Toriel’s plans, we need to trick Sans Serif into thinking he has the upper hand. His proverbial blindness will provide the cover we require.’
‘The Seraph System’s functions are currently compromised by excessive heat build-up. He will thereby be quick to attempt to lower its core temperature in order to regain full access.’
‘This narrows his choices down to two locations: the ocean, and the flooded crater left behind by the Merged Being.’
“Can’t Sans just fly? Or teleport really deep into The Void?”
‘Taking flight will only allow Sir Grillenn to shoot him down. In addition, destruction of the Trap Harvester -- the fuel source -- will trigger a DT-explosion. It’s certain suicide.’
‘As for a retreat toward the Crimson Hall: time is not on his side. Thanks to Mettaton’s efforts of distracting the media, The Magus Association has had the freedom to regain control of the Institute’s grounds. Further delay is detrimental to his goals.’
“Whoa, really? Great to know that.” For once, that grape-eating piano-leaning leg-flaunting glambot did something important.
Meanwhile, the battle between master and ex-student was in clear view. Both had wicked moves. It’s at the level where it’s hard to tell who’s better.
Sans tried to execute a backstab, while Grillby will have none of that. The trident’s pole-end slammed square on the sternum.
A backward stagger turned into a swift hop. Contrary to his slobbish lifestyle, Sans always had the uncanny ability to recover his footwork.
Telekinesis then shoved Grillby to a row of spikes. The man managed to escape impalation by stopping his fall with Asgore’s trident. That’s some serious core muscles at work.
The admiration of skill and might can wait, however. There’s always the Chronograph for future references.
“I… should go.”
Undyne began her parkour toward the flooded crater. Jumped across the lower building tops. Climbed into the windows. Sprint. Anything to keep moving forward.
“Sans is not teleporting to the waters right away,” Undyne noted. Knowing Sans, he would try to take the shortest route.
Lucidia explained: ‘Due to the current state of the Seraph System, his White Eye may not be fully accessible. This would limit him to his default colours. It’s dangerous for regular Sans to teleport into unstable and unknown terrain.’
“I see. In other words, he’s gonna do it inch by inch.” She hurried her steps.
“…By the way, where are the fire hydrants? I expected him to knock some over along the way and use their water supply.”
Stolen novel; please report.
‘Insufficient. The city’s fire hydrant system is currently draining below The Void from accidental Karma spills.’
“Sans really dug his own grave this time, didn't he?” Even Undyne felt sorry for the little guy.
Soon after, she arrived at the crater. Right on schedule.
There, she made her way to the lifted prow of a sunken ship: high enough to serve as her new vantage point, and far away from the hot stuff.
Assorted debris pushed along the flow of water. The whirlpool slowed compared to the beginning, but it had remained just as deadly. A heavy structure could tip over to crush her. Or the currents could drag down their unfortunate victim onto a sharp point.
Lots could go wrong at any time.
To Undyne, this was more exciting than she wanted to admit. She’s living her anime dream at long last.
…If only the stakes didn’t involve body-hijacking with people of another dimension.
‘Captain Undyne, are you capable of striking Sans Serif in his current state?’
She wanted to say yes. Then, she remembered all those years of never landing a hit.
Never.
Not even once.
This is not the time to rely on wishful thinking. Undyne shook her head and replied: “Nope. My spears are too slow and predictable for that guy.”
‘Then, we must consider an alternative.’
A broken bow passed by.
‘Captain Undyne, have you tried manipulating liquids other than water?’
Good question. “Nope.”
‘Your kind’s magic affects a certain range of viscosity. Oil and alcohol are within the range. Honey is not. This graveyard of ships should have plenty of liquid fuel to lay our trap.’
“How can you be sure of that?”
‘Atlantean sense of economics. All magical energy will be diverted to the weapons system. Therefore propulsion will depend on more conventional alternatives.’
‘New Objective: break all the sunken ship’s fuel tanks. I will assist you in identifying their locations. Sir Grillenn will then ignite them from ashore. With this, we will give Sans Serif no refuge.’
‘He will be forced to either surrender… or suffer the consequences of his defiance. It’s victory for us either way.’
“Wait, what about Asgore and Toriel?”
‘Frisk’s team will handle their recovery.’
“Phew. That’s a relief.”
A terrifying thought crossed her mind.
“Uh. Random question, madam. If we… didn’t change our minds on the whole war effort, does that mean we would’ve ended up fighting you?”
‘Affirmative. Without doubt, I will be the Magus Association’s Tactician.’
“With epic space tech power armours on your super-leet fighters? Plus access to trained human SOULS?”
‘Although the application may differ depending on the outcome of war, it is an apt description.’
Gulp. “I’m so glad we’re friends.”
‘Friends…?’
“Yeah. Why not? You saved Papyrus. Now, you’re trying to save us. That’s what friends do.”
There was a long pause. Somehow, that statement flustered Lady Lucidia.
‘I apologize. Please concentrate on the task at hand.’
“Right, right. Sunken ship hunting, here we go! Gosh, that sounds like some pirate adventure.”
When Undyne leapt into the water, she noticed that her shields were still active.
Confused, she said: “What’s with the bubble? I can breathe in water just fine.”
‘Your sensors are detecting elevated levels of liquid contaminants. Urban destruction often releases a host of unpleasant water-soluble chemicals. Bleach, for example.’
“Uh. Yeah. I don’t wanna get THAT into my lungs. So. If Sans falls in here, will he get poisoned too?”
‘Perhaps. At the current concentration, the symptoms would be mild. Non-fatal. Though, that’s not my deepest concern.’
‘I worry about the Seraph System. If at any point his waterproofing systems break… The Dreemurrs would also be at risk.’
“And we’re gonna set this place ablaze too, huh?”
The cybernetic Justice-imbued ocular implant marked down the sunken fuel tanks with an illuminated yellow outline. There’s enough to set quite a big area on fire.
Now, if her kind really could bend oil to their will… Undyne would just need to shift the flaming spill to wherever Sans would try to flee.
“Dang, Toriel. Your plan is too good.”
‘Alert: Sans Serif will soon reach the banks. Please stand by.’
“Roger.”
Undyne wondered if she could keep her promise to Papyrus at all…
Yet, they can’t turn back.
She swam into position. With a strong kick, she propelled herself out of the water and landed ashore. There Undyne the Undying waited…
…………………………
At last, Sans teleported to the banks. He was so taken aback by the fish’s presence, he stopped in his tracks.
Sir Grillbz Grillenn caught up to his target in due time.
Smoke formed a dark cloud overhead. Every step he took left behind utter destruction.
Undyne couldn’t believe that this true warrior had been taking her food orders in a dingy bar. She didn’t even know that he’s her senior until recent events.
And now, an entire city burned in his hands; the amount of collective heat caused weaker substances to melt or incinerate.
Anyone who said water trumps fire should get a smack on the head.
His luminous army marched toward the edge of the water.
Undyne demanded: “Surrender! Remember your brother!”
“I remember, alright,” he replied. “That’s why I need to finish the job. Search for the best of the best.”
“Can’t you see he wants you to LIVE? I’m trying to show you mercy, dammit!”
“…Not taking it. Sorry.”
“Ugh,” she grunted. “So, you really wanna be a hero so damn much?”
“Well, If being a hero means becoming a fucking sleazeball like you… I DON’T WANT IT! I’m gonna be the MOST HARDCORE OF HARDCORE VILLAINS INSTEAD!”
Spears of water hovered overhead. Since Sans insisted on going down this path, it’s time to suffer the consequences.
“Fufufufu… FUFUFUFUFUFUFUUUU!!! Yeah! I see it now. Your whole stupid talk about ideals and stuff? It’s all confusing bullshit! Well, ‘thanks’ mister. I realise that now!”
Undyne laughed. Could it be from the rush of her armour’s magic-amplifying properties, or from her moment of epiphany?
Both. Why not both?
“I, Undyne the Undying, will strike you down! Behold… the SPEARS OF INJUSTICE!!!”
Sans remarked: “Dude, you’re just gonna do the usual.”
He’s not stupid. Undyne knew as much. But, that’s exactly why pride will be his downfall; there’s always a blind spot.
She thus rained spiky hell upon the skeleton, fully expecting for him to dodge them all.
In truth, these ‘extras’ masked her true intent.
The real ones had already plunged into the water, striking the bellies of the dead ships below.
Flammable fuel bubbled to the surface. Undyne used her kind’s magic to shape them by her will. Spears of oil soon rose to her call.
Fire then sailed the whirlpool, flagging their bright hot sails into the black winds.
“Oh,” Sans sighed. “I see now. Wrath and justice combined, huh? Welp. I’m a dead man walking.”
Undyne summoned the almighty red-tipped spear. The perfect weapon against Determination itself. She therefore announced her verdict:
“You have only yourself to blame for this.”