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captainatin · 7 years

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Kindness incarnate chapter 3: Another man’s treasure

“Running? How are we going to outrun one of the strongest fighters in the underground? We also need to get Chester out of there! That’s an utterly stupid idea, why would you even think that something so simple would work?” Devin growled as his fists clenched. “I understand you might think this isn’t your problem but then why try to help if you just won’t help?” It was clear the boy was incredibly tense and stressed out.

“We can run with Chester if I can use that green thing again. I could stall her before turning to run away behind you guys, she wants the human souls too, right?” Mark tried to force a smile as he chuckled nervously, he knew that the plan sounded stupid given everything that the spectral boy must have tried by that point.

“You think you can outrun the future captain of the royal guard?” The transparent spirit scoffed as he turned around to continue walking towards the wide area where they had previously confronted the battle hardened fish-woman.

“I mean, my whole life I’ve done nothing but run away from my own problems so how hard could it be?” The chef chuckled again but frowned when it didn’t seem to lighten his companion’s mood by much. Hmmm, normally self-deprecating jokes are funny to people like him, guess he’s pretty different. He has been down here a long time which I guess would change anyone.

“That’s in poor taste.” Devin grunted as he floated a littler higher and let out a drawn out sigh that echoed through the surrounding stones that dotted their path. “So are we going to get moving or what? Chester will probably have some holes in him if we keep waiting like this!” The boy turned into heart form and drifted off towards their familiar destination.

“Y-Yeah, sorry, I just thought we should plan a bit more before we rush into things….that’d be a good idea.” Mark slowly started walking behind the bobbing heart, he couldn’t help but recall the memories that had briefly flashed when he touched the soul. He stared at the beige light with curiosity before reaching a hand out and tapping the back of it. Come on little fish, it’s time for your next lesson! The cook shook his head as he froze in place, the sharp memory soon fading from his consciousness.

“What the hell! Why would you do that?” The heart flickered into the transparent human form before disappearing again into the beige color. “It’s rather personal to take someone’s memories like that.” Devin growled as the light shuddered and flickered a bit more before returning to a stable form.

“Sorry, I was just curious….” A hush fell among them as Mark’s voice trailed off into the depths of silence. “So, uhm….” He awkwardly spoke up to break the quiet. “You guys had a lot more memories of Undyne.” He stated without tact or subtlety as he picked up the pace and passed the gleaming soul.

“Yeah, we trained her as a kid.” Devin responded with an equally bland tone. “She spent a lot of time in this area and she has a lot of heart. Dangerous levels of DT too, I’m sure you felt the strength of her soul.” He transformed into human shape and marched faster, he clearly didn’t want to talk too much about it.

“So, uhm, are you okay with that?” The green heart inquired as he leaned towards the wheat shaded boy, they walked shoulder to shoulder maintaining a consistent matching pace as the corporeal boy’s shoes thudded against the rocks; creating a rhythm.

“No.” The soul spoke as sharp as a well kept knife.

“But you don’t want to hurt her, I can see that much.” Mark commented as he pondered the other human’s motives and all the experiences that must be swirling in his mind, the boy considered touching the heart again but quickly discarded the idea as he quickly recalled the moments prior where his companion had snapped at him for it. I could just poke it a little bit, right? Maybe he won’t notice if I just tap it. His hand slowly rose up to the wheat colored heart and stirred hesitation in him as he noticed Devin shudder slightly. It’s rude but I think I need to learn a bit more about him, and he’s probably not going to tell me much more. How do I even know that he’s a good guy? His hands clenched tightly as he let them fall back down to his sides, they loosened as he let out a sigh.

“Yeah.” Another dry response cut through the damp atmosphere of the misty cavern. “She’s not a bad kid, she just has a lot of bad ideas in her head.” The soul grunted as he passed under a stalactite that periodically dripped water, the droplet passed through his body and splashed against the puddle that Mark stepped through.

“So why do they want our souls? Why do they hate humans so much?” The boy bopped as he walked behind his see-through companion and tried to get another perspective, how the other people saw everything.

“There’s a long story that goes with it; Chester told me all about it. There was a human that fell down here a long time ago, his name was Chara. He was brought in by the king of the monsters and he was treated as if he were one of them.” Devin stood still as he began the story, staring up at the roof of the cavern as he shifted slightly. “He became best friends with the King’s son, Asriel.” The boy paused again before he resumed walking. “The two lived together and had many fun adventures through the underground, Asgore considered that perhaps humans weren’t as evil as they had first thought….” Devin’s voice trailed off as they came upon the sound of clattering steel. “He was proven wrong, one day Chara got terribly ill and died with his last request being for Asriel to absorb his soul and pass through the barrier that keeps monsters sealed here and out of the human world. When the young prince came to the surface he was attacked by humans and barely made it home alive, he breathed his last with his parents watching. It was a horrifying experience for the monsters and solidified Asgore’s hatred for humanity, he waged war on them; that declaration has remained unheard for decades now. Hell, I don’t really know what year it is anymore, just a few rough estimates based on events.”

“I see, I suppose that’s the simple version.” Mark forced himself to keep walking as the sound of metal slamming against metal wailed through the expansive cavern, echoing off the walls and into the boy’s ears. He stepped on a glowing blue flower that echoed back the sound of it being crunched under his feet. W-What? That was, oh, what a shame….it’s really pretty. He glanced back at the flower as he kept walking; a frown remained on his face as he braced himself for what was to come.

“You’re going down old geezer! You know you’re starting to get sloppy!” The fish woman came into view along with the wooden block-head. Floating spears assaulted the old man from several angles in front of him but he expertly blocked them with boxes created by the flourishing of his sword.

“Get back old man!” Devin shouted as he broke out into a sprint, Mark hesitated to follow in pursuit. As a spear went flying through the gap of Chester’s defences, a spectral bat appeared and swatted the metallic soul energy into the air and the spear embedded itself in a stalactite. Cracks surged through the overhanging spike causing it to break off and fall towards the floor. “Get back I said!” The beige boy barked as he pushed the knight back and out of the way of the falling spike that separated them from the fishy warrior.

“Grrrrha!” Undyne shouted as she sliced through the stone spike only to find Devin and Chester running away. “Come back and fight me! Don’t you have some sense of honor?” The noble warrior rushed forward only to collide with a shining green shield. “W-What?” Her eye twitched with dismay.

“You’re not touching them, your fight is with me now!” The brown haired boy tried his best to sound cool as he held up the emerald shield that glistened with soul energy. He formed a firm stance as the encounter menu opened and his vision faded to black and white; he gritted his teeth at the pressure of the spear being pressed against his soul force. Please don’t fight me, I know you’re a nice person. You’re trying to do what’s right. He swallowed the lump in his throat as a twinge of fear surged through him. How am I going to survive this? I can’t run with this thing up! Why not? The chef struggled to try and rip himself off of his firm stance but he couldn’t move in the slightest.

“You don’t even understand how your soul magic even works! What makes you think you’re even close to being a threat to me?” The woman sneered as she created a massive harpoon and launched it at the impenetrable defence. Mark was pushed far backward and towards a wooden bridge that swayed with even the slightest breeze that blew through. “You won’t be in my way for long!” The knight created seven more spears and scattered them through the air before they began to close in on the human.

“W-What?” How do I even block them if I can’t move? What the hell is this? Mark shuddered as his eyes slammed shut, not even realizing that the green shield spun around him and blocked the incoming attacks. His eyes slowly opened as he caught onto the fact that he hadn’t been skewered with dozens of soul attacks. “I’m...I’m okay!” The boy got giddy for a second as he awkwardly laughed in amazement. I have literally no clue how I did all of that.

“If I can’t poke through it then I guess I’ll just have to keep hitting it!” Undyne shouted as she created another massive harpoon and hurled it at him. She quickly created two spears and sliced a stalactite hanging from the ceiling; grabbing the stone as it fell before using it as a battering ram against the emerald wall in order to push the human to the edge of the unstable bridge. “Game over bucko!” She gave another shining leer as she shoved him onto the bridge and summoned soul spears to slice the ropes. “I’ve got bigger fish to fry!” The woman steadied herself for a massive jump before heroically leaping across the chasm and landing safely on the other side.

“W-Wait, no! I need to-” The human’s words were cut off as the bridge slammed against the wall and his head smashed against a rock and knocked him out; sending him tumbling down into the dark abyss that was below.

“H-Hello? Who’s there?” Mark felt like he was floating through water but he was barely conscious enough to speak. The only thing he could feel was a voice speaking straight to his mind. “It’s been awhile since someone talked to me….I think I’m stuck or something.” It was the voice of a young woman, he couldn’t process much else.

“Hello?” Mark responded but his lips didn’t open, he felt a strange connection form between himself and the stranger. Suddenly he felt his hand grasp something and he felt a surge of energy rush through him as memories flooded his brain. I’m sorry, Devin. Time to sleep now. No one would miss me anyways, other than you. It’s selfish I know. Where am I? Hello there little one! I don’t want to go. What’s going on? I can’t see anything! Getting...sleepy…. His eyes show open as he tried to sort through the new information that filled his thoughts. Water, I’m under water! His whole body stung as the water brushed against every micro-cut on his body, his lungs screamed for oxygen and he started flailing to get to the surface of the bone-chilling water that thrashed against him. There was something clenched in his hand that felt warm, the warmth flowed through his entire body keeping him protected from the freezing liquid. He swam to the surface, his head burst through the thin layer of ice that had formed over the top. The memories continued to batter his heart and mind.

“Where am I?” He heard the young woman’s voice again. “W-Where’s Devin? It feels like I’ve been asleep for a really long time….” Her voice trailed off as the green half heart shimmered brightly in the boy’s hand before he set it on a ledge before climbing up onto the outstretched slab of wet rock. “W-Who are you? Where am I?” The two green hearts floated towards each other before the girl’s soul retreated backwards and formed a solid body around the emerald heart. She had long black hair that had obviously been dyed, her clothes seemed ragged and tattered like she had been thrown out of a moving vehicle. Her body was taken with a glow just like the last soul he had met only green instead of beige.

“I-I’m M-Mark!” The boy sputtered up some water onto the space between them as he sat criss-cross and averted his gaze. She said Devin’s name I think, I’m not sure if I caught that though. Can she help me? She seems really hurt. His eyes shifted sympathetically as he turned to look her in the eye. “Are you okay?”

“No….I feel like I’m fading away, I don’t have a body! I don’t know what’s going on!” The girl grabbed her head and curled her knees up as she cowered back with tears streaming down her face. “My friend, he came after me and I-I met him once down here and….and….” She couldn’t force herself to keep talking as she choked up.

“C-Calm down please, I know it’s quite a shock but you’ve been down here for a few hundred years.” Mark instinctively reached over and grabbed her hand, cradling it in his own. “I know Devin, I met him today and I think we can meet up with him.” He squeezed tightly to reassure her but her phantasmic appearance started flickering like when the beige boy had started to run out of soul energy. Damn it, I don’t have much time….I need to figure out a way out of this chasm, I’m not a rock climber.

“Y-You know Devin?” Her face started to clear up as she wiped the emerald tears away with her left hand. “I can’t go back, don’t take me to him please!” She shuddered as she stood up before dissipating into the heart form. “T-Take me somewhere else!”

“W-Why what’s wrong?” Mark tried to maintain a grip on her but the vanishing body slipped through his grasp. What’s going on? Am I really not suppose to trust that guy? O-Or is it something else? “Why are you scared of him? Are you Anna? He seemed really sorry about something.” He reached up to the heart again and recoiled as his fingers brushed against the shining forest light. Devin, don’t follow me. You have your own life to worry about. He stumbled back slightly with a frown on his face. “That’s….” A deep growl emanated from him as he gritted his teeth. “I’ve had enough of all of this!” He shouted as he clenched his fists and the pan that had fallen onto that ledge. “I’m getting you two back and I’m going to confront Undyne. Someone has to help her see what she’s doing. She needs to know that we aren’t that different!” He leaped up to another ledge that wasn’t much higher than where he was; conveniently, a lot of ledges were close to each other which made things slightly less grueling on his body as he watched the dark green heart shoot up the side of the chasm much faster than he could possibly hope to climb the damp blue rocks.

“Don’t try to follow me, I feel like I’ll vanish any moment now. Just help Devin out for me, and tell him that I’m sorry, I didn’t want things to turn out this way.” Anna pleaded as the heart flickered and disappeared over the rocks. “Don’t hurt yourself any more.” Her words echoed down to the boy who desperately tried to climb faster to catch up with the hanging soul.

“No, no come back!” Mark panted as he threw himself onto the next ledge. He howled in pain as his knee scraped against the edge, blood slowly seeped out onto the rocks as he shuddered in agony. No, not now of all times! His teeth clenched harder as he threw himself up the next set of rocks and eventually to the top of the chasm.

“Halt, who goes there?” He heard the burly voice of guards and armor clattering as they turned around the corner. Two suits of armor came into view and they crouched down for a moment before rushing towards him. “Human, prepare to die!” The two warriors were obviously unskilled because Mark just dashed right past them and smacked the left one in the side of the helmet with his frying pan. In his daze the warrior stumbled and fell onto the other, sending them falling down into the chasm and their heads bashed against the rocks on their way down.

“Oh….Oh my God….” The human boy watched in horror as they fell into the chasm with piles of dust left on each spot they landed.

*40G 70EXP!

*LV up! 1 ----> 4! HP increase, DEF increase, ATK increase!

“W-What the hell?” He stared at the text that appeared in front of him, his eye shrank to the size of a peanut as he shuddered in fear of what he had just done. “No, no, no, no!” The boy wrapped his arms around himself as he started walking away with dust clinging onto his clothes; he couldn’t breathe. That’s it, I’m ending this. I’m ending all of this right now! I’m talking to Asgore, I’m going to show him humans aren’t bad! I’m going to show everyone in the underground the same kindness that she showed me. Once more he marched along through the mists of waterfall, he had no real direction other than the burning passion that swelled inside of him.

*But it refused

I won’t let anyone else get hurt! All the wounds on his body vanished in an instant and his eyes glazed over as if he were put into some kind of trance. Pain, I can feel it coming from this direction. He broke out into a sprint as he passed by a glowing neon sign that read Hotland. It’s from Undyne….interesting, I wonder if she’s okay. Devin, I can feel he’s in pain too, physical pain not emotional. Chester….Chester is also in pain, there’s other emotions too. Pride, fear, anger….self directed hatred. He stared blankly at the lava below him for a moment before he trotted across a wooden bridge and towards the sound of fighting, every step was nonchalant in attitude.

“Uhg, it’s that darn green one again!” Undyne growled as she glared over at the boy. Chester and Devin looked pretty beat up from head to toe, the block head had a spear sticking out of his gut and he held on tightly to the sword that was at his side. “I’ll just finish you off quickly!” The fish woman scooped up the beige heart into a container and held it skyward in triumph before thrusting the spectral spear down towards the old monster.

“Hello, how are you feeling?” Rage, I can tell she’s angry with something more than just my presence. The emerald shield intercepted the spear as he stood in front of Chester and took a firm stance, his vision turned black and white but he didn’t notice.

“Get out of my way you little brat!” The proud warrior flung more and more spears at him only for them to either be blocked by the shield or just do nothing when they collided with his skin that had now taken on a green aura. “W-What the hell?” The shield dissipated under the volley of magic, each spear hit the boy’s skin but they bounced off as if they were made of rubber rather than her soul transformed into an attack.

“Why are you sad?” Mark started into her eyes as he tilted his head slightly, there was no fear left in his heart and there was no sense of selfishness either. “You know Chester very well, why do you want to kill him?” Confusion, I don’t know which thing inspired that in you. He swung the pan and knocked the glass canister out of her hand. Oh….that’s a shame…. He thought to himself as he watched the beige soul fly off into the lava while still locked inside the canister. He’s still okay, I can feel that much.

“Great! I only had one of those prepared! Now I’ll have to take you back without stuffing you full of spears first!” Undyne shouted as she continued to pepper him with the spectral weapons, sweat poured from her face and mud started to seep out of the cracks in her armor. The green aura faded away and Mark’s expression twisted into fear as several spears drilled into his body.

“O-Oh G-God! God p-please no! Please! Don’t...O-Oh God!” He howled in agony as he fell to his knees and tears streamed down his face from the immense amount of pain he was in. “P-Please….d-d-don’t, oh lord don’t do t-t-this to m-me! Ahhhhg!” His entire body twitched and shuddered as he seethed and wiggled. A spear whistled past his ear and carried the monster behind him into the bubbling lava. “Ha-ha-ve have mer-mercy!” The boy choked up as the blood poured out from the holes left in his flesh as the spears vanished.

“I’m sorry kiddo….” The woman grunted as she averted her gaze and picked the boy up, propping him on her shoulder before making tiny spears to clog the wound and prevent him from losing too much more blood. “I didn’t want it to hurt so much.” Her voice fell on deaf ears as the human continued to scream. “If you hadn’t bashed that canister I might’ve been able to free everyone. With your soul and his together.” She continued to march as if the loud screaming in her ear meant nothing. Silence fell as she came to a metal door and banged on it three times, the boy’s voice had blown itself out from all the noise.

“U-Undyne! T-That was really amazing!”

“Don’t mention it….seriously.” The fish woman grunted as she set the human down on a crash cart and exited through the door she had came.

#kindness incarnate #human souls #undertale #green soul #but it refused #undyne #humble spirit

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365footballorg-blog · 6 years

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Seltzer: Who won the MLS offseason? Here are the top 5 most improved teams

Devin Lamoreaux/Columbus Crew SC

February 26, 20182:23PM EST

The preseason is all but done, and the 2018 MLS regular season looms. So which MLS clubs are feeling more at ease with themselves now than they did at the end of the 2017 season?

Some of these teams answered vital questions about their squad, while others added important machine cogs with some late transfer business. The best did both.

Last season, the Timbers’ selection and injury woes started in the preseason and continued through to a disappointing quick playoff exit. Constructing the back line was a constant challenge and the goals dried up in the postseason with Fanendo Adi out.

Now, with key midfield man Diego Chara set to return from injury, the Timbers will start the new season with just one player (Roy Miller) in injury bay. Versatile attacker Samuel Armenteros joined after camp started, and he has been nothing short of dynamite since. Cristhian Paredes (another late addition) looks the part of a solid midfield handyman for the bench, while Julio Cascante’s arrival ensures the heart of defense has able backup.

.@PaulArriola, @FisherOniel, and Ben Olsen talk #DCvJAX and preseason progress. #DCUPreseason | @VSPCpic.twitter.com/t8IElTIvpA

— D.C. United (@dcunited) February 22, 2018

Last season, the capital crew were shut out a woeful 16 times and ended as one of two teams unable to manage a goal per game. That’s a major problem when eight of 11 teams in the East hit for over 1.5 per match. This preseason has shown that they should expect much more offense this term.

Acquiring Darren Mattocks didn’t turn many heads, but gives the team a “get behind the defense” strike dimension. During the preseason, he combined with Lucho Acosta and Paul Arriola to notch six goals and five assists. And that sum doesn’t even include mid-camp acquisition Yamil Asad, who brings great balance and production to an attack needing both.

As they are wont to do, the rich got richer. The champs went into camp with a right back shortage, and leave it spoiled for choice with Auro and Gregory van der Wiel. As an encore, the Reds then added another creative player in Ager Aketxe. That’s some ritzy late shopping.

Meanwhile, on the field, TFC became comfy in a 4-4-2 diamond. Sebastian Giovinco looks primed for a big season regardless of what formation they use. Of course, they also got a head start at building competitive steam as the only MLS club to win in this week’s CONCACAF Champions League tie openers.

To be perfectly frank, this high ranking is not based on the eye test, for a very simple reason. The Lions didn’t stream any preseason matches, leaving them a mystery to everyone, with my visual inspections limited to stray highlights. I’ll tell ya what I did see: ace problem-solving.

Need an end-product winger? Bring in Justin Meram. Hunting for a reliable midfield anchor? Grab Oriol Rosell. Itching for an air-marshal center back to pair with Jonathan Spector? Bonjour, Lamine Sane. That’s a whole lot of lineup strength to be adding after your preseason opened under a Cyle Larin cloud. Plus, they seem to have found a baller in top SuperDraft pick Chris Mueller.

After Meram and Ola Kamara caught trains out of town, it became easy to wonder how the Columbus attack could make up for the loss of 31 goals, if not also whether they’d be forced to change their ball-hungry style. The preseason has at least wiped away some worries.

Question-mark strike catch Gyasi Zardes fit right in to Kamara’s spot to the tune of eight goals. Pedro Santos was more productive in Meram’s old left-side slot. Harrison Afful looked like the best right back in MLS and bookend defender Milton Valenzuela played like the Young Designated Player that he is, allowing Columbus to retain their possession-first identity.

Gregg Berhalter hardly could have asked for more from this tune-up phase.

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MLSsoccer.com News

Seltzer: Who won the MLS offseason? Here are the top 5 most improved teams was originally published on 365 Football

#here #Improved #most #offseason #Seltzer #teams

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