#is ANY character that appears in lore its based on and feel the urge to put it into google docs and “correct” it just so im actually able t | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

pauldron-pieces · 3 years

Text

Destrier Revel: So Little Time

Fandom: Dungeons And Dragons (5E)

Pairing: Destrier Revel/Illeria Stennas (F!NPC)

Rating: Holy shit M.

AN: This is a hypothetical narrative scenario featuring original characters in a world created by my Dungeon Master. As usual, this is non-canon and I own nothing aside from intellectual properties specifically attached to Destrier Revel. This installment is mechanically unsound in a multitude of ways and ignores certain important lore facets. Trigger warnings are listed inside. Enjoy!

Taglist: @sporadic-fics and @cookiethewriter!

Inspired By: Switchfoot: On Fire and I-Human: Give All Of Yourself

Destrier Revel’s Backstory: Burn The Wicked

For Leofore

Light And Home

[!TRIGGER WARNING!: This installment contains semi-graphic depictions of sexual acts between two consenting adults, and emotional duress. Stay safe!]

Illeria always looked beautiful to him.

It was never a question of finding the right angle, or seeing the good through the mediocre. To Destrier, she just... was . It was as if it radiated from her, permeated her entire being.

She was, is, would always be lovely.

Were he not already serving his masters, both earthly and cosmic, she would be his divinity. Her hands, her smiles, her body...she was so tender with him, so strong when she had to be; an intoxicating duality that would not cease to awe him in its ever-present splendor.

Illeria, always waiting for him at the door as he left in the early hours for yet another forum with the King's Chosen, and he still couldn't believe it. Couldn't believe she would willingly spend her time with someone who could offer her so very little.

When the choice was finally made that they must deal with the other fiendish abomination, the other lich that had encroached and sought to bring such destruction to the kingdom, both King Jonathan and Leofore counseled for expedience. The King's Chosen were to depart on the day after the 'morrow.

There was always so little time to spend with his beloved, but Destrier bore that burden gladly. It was a small price to pay to keep her, to keep the kingdom safe.

Their kisses had grown steadily hungrier as of late, the two of them lingering longer and longer in the mornings. Destrier, for all of Illeria's prompting, had yet to join her in her bed in the evenings, the knight choosing instead to sprawl out across the warm hearth.

Not for lack of interest did he avoid her, gods no! But instead, out of an odd fear. He was a man so used to destruction, able to summon fire with a mere thought, able to strike down foes four times his size.

He was a man raised rough. War was all he knew, was all he had ever known. This...

Gods, he ached to hold her, to truly touch her and know her, but he feared that his clumsy, indelicate hands would leave some mark , some grotesque stain. If he harmed her, he would never forgive himself.

So he battled his urges, reasoning that it was far more than he deserved to even just kiss her. If that was all she wanted from him, he would be content with that.

/x\

His sigh sounded like it came from the earth itself and Illeria looked up to see her beloved Destrier standing in the doorway, his fingers grazing the crest above the lintel. His eyes were fixed on the fire that crackled in the common room's hearth, their brown depths equal amounts thoughtful and wistful. For being a man who wasn't particularly renowned for his intelligence, Destrier Revel certainly seemed to do a lot of thinking .

"I come bearing news that is good, for all that it makes my heart heavy." The knight stated after a moment, his eyes flicking to her own and warming almost immediately.

A blind man could have picked up on the knight's shyness around her years ago, Destrier's stammering the most endearing part of the whole debacle. That he had finally managed to overcome such a hurdle was a true indicator of how devastating the struggle with Leofore must have been.

In spite of that progress though, Destrier still seemed hesitant to go any further than his tender, drawn-out kisses. Illeria could posit easily enough that some of his hesitation was due to his military mileage, the trials he endured enough to break a lesser man. While the woman wished he would talk to her more openly about such things, she could only assume that he was doing the best that he could.

Illeria Stennas was not some frail creature to swoon after a turn about the drawing room, however.

She wiped her hands off on her apron, then crossed her arms on the counter, leaning forward a bit. "What new trouble is our great king sending you and your friends to sort out this time?" Illeria asked, her tone one of playful resignation. She had learned long before their involvement that Destrier's loyalty to his master and comrades was second to none.

"We are to do battle with a lich." Destrier looked haunted for a moment and Illeria was reminded anew of how hard the King's Chosen had to fight to reclaim Leofore from the clutches of such evil previously. "Illeria, I…" The blond man paused to close and lock the door behind him against the chill of the night air, then turned to face her again. "My love, I am to leave shortly."

"How shortly?" Illeria queried, cursing inwardly at the sharpness of her tone.

"Two days, Illeria."

She wanted to protest, to voice her disapproval of the rapid decision, so soon? . But Destrier already appeared miserable, the large man cupping her face in his hands over the counter. "I know you have no choice." She said instead. The young woman wasn't sure if the kiss on her forehead was gratitude or apology. Maybe both. A boon for her understanding heart.

"Illeria…" Goddess, when he breathed her name like that it was as if her knees were designed to tremble.

Destrier was all softness with her, but the occasional sharp edge to him was what she loved so dearly. The barest crack in his armor of propriety, painstakingly crafted over the years of knightly training. Leofore had taught him well, guarded his mind against corruptions or temptations that may have struck out in the field. His occasional slip-ups around her served as a reminder of his comfort in her, as well as a bit of an ego-stroke.

"Yes, Destrier?" She replied, her voice just as soft while he leaned in.

"Forgive me for this." Destrier murmured, and then slotted their mouths together. His tongue sought hers out hungrily and Illeria found herself at a loss, her hands fumbling for purchase on his broad shoulders. He rested his forehead against hers, those eyes nearly golden in the light from the lantern. "Forgive me." He begged again, stroking over the kerchief that she had covered her hair with.

"What terrible thing have you done, my love?" Illeria murmured.

"Not for what I have done, beloved. For what I may do." Destrier seemed legitimately distressed and Illeria caught his hands as he struggled to articulate himself. "I have this... hunger I cannot seem to reconcile. These urges, these… base cravings I feel to see more of you. Yet I cannot call anything associated with you truly base, for you are all that I fight for." Destrier kissed her knuckles. "My beautiful Illeria, my shelter, my light, I come to you not as one of the King's Chosen, not even as a knight of the crown. I come to you simply as Destrier Revel, a man rendered insensate by his need for you."

"What is worse," Illeria began, her head swimming pleasantly at his luxurious words, "than a man who takes what is not his to take?"

" Nothing ." Destrier answered firmly, and if it was possible the woman fell even more in love with him even as she shook her head.

"Destrier, it is a man who keeps his eager lover waiting!" She teased, seizing his ascot to reel him in. A bit more serious, she added, "I feared that you did not want me." Her fingers toyed with the buttons on his shirt. "I feared that perhaps you did not have the same depth of feeling towards me that I foster for you."

"Illeria, I might die from wanting you." Destrier replied, the bluntness of his words settling in her stomach like an ember. "The years have been brutal to me. I am not the man you deserve."

"You are the man that I want. I believe that is enough." Illeria twined her fingers through his, leading him around the bar. "Take me to bed, Revel."

"Are you certain? Illeria-"

" Desty ." The woman said the nickname in exasperation, making him chuckle. "I am much more certain than you seem willing to give me credit for!"

"Very well, my love." Destrier acquiesced, his smile faint but still there. "Forgive my constant need for reassurance."

She rolled her eyes, tugging him into her bedchamber. Their bedchamber. Goddess, she was really about to take this plunge with Destrier . The incorruptible paladin of the King's Chosen, Knight-Captain Revel. All the lofty titles he had accumulated and yet he was still so uncertain , so humble, that he came to her as nothing more than a man.

They had entered this room many times before, hand in hand like they were now. Occasionally even clumsily fumbling at one another for a time before he would inevitably soothe her back against the counterpane, his expression troubled as he departed the cozy warmth of her bed and curled up in front of the fireplace.

He had oft left her wet and aching with his passionate, tender kisses, but she did not chide him for it. Destrier was not a hasty man, and he was also not a man lacking in emotion. Turmoil ran deep in him, the caution he displayed only fanning the flames of her ardent curiosity. What would he be like if he was truly unleashed?

She thought she got her answer as the door clicked shut.

Destrier pinned her against the wall, his hand cupping the back of her head to shield it from the impact. " Illeria ," he whispered, his voice grating slightly. "There is never enough time, my love, and yet if I do not ask now, I fear that I will be unable to again." He half-laughed sadly, resting his forehead on her own. "Every time I have ever had to leave the kingdom, every maneuver against the enemy...all I could think about was whether this would be the final time. Whether it would be the end, and I would never be able to see you again. Even if you didn't know how I felt, it seemed like it was enough just to see you, happy and safe. I told myself I could live with that, why muddy everything so?"

Illeria dug her fingers into his hair, freeing it from the haphazard braid he had constructed at the nape of his neck. Destrier hummed at the gesture, his eyes half-lidding as he leaned into her touch.

"After what transpired with...with the Knight-Commander, believing that we had truly lost him…I was in such a disgraceful state. It was an immense blow, one that I am aggrieved to say nearly ended me." He confessed. "I could not bear the thought of making you feel even a tenth of the pain I felt at losing Leofore, should something happen to me." His large hand tucked beneath her chin to lift her gaze to meet his own. "Should we continue down this path, my love, I fear I will cause you grief. If we need to cease our interactions here, I will understand."

Illeria remembered well the way that he had been following Leofore's supposed death. Distant, painfully so, and no victory seemed to be enough to blunt the edge of that specific defeat. "Did you believe you would die? When you departed with the others to rescue the queen and prince?" She asked instead.

"I do not fear death, Illeria."

"That is not what I asked." Illeria pushed him back a step, enough to give her some room so that she didn't lose her senses. His proximity could be... overwhelming . "I asked whether you believed you would perish. Did you believe, in some corner of your heart, that your death would serve as penance for the loss of his life?"

"I..." the guilty look Destrier sported told her all she needed to know. "You must understand, he taught me all that I ever had to offer. Unshakeable where I am brittle, strong where I am feeble, Leofore...is everything I could aspire to be. I told you before that I did not think I would survive the war, and losing someone so important--"

"And what of your own importance, Destrier?" Illeria interrupted him fiercely. "What of the people that might grieve you, as you grieved Leofore?" What of me , she wanted to ask, what of my heart that broke every time you left? But no, she could not take that out on him. It had been her own fault for remaining silent about her affections for so long, trapped by the inadequacy she felt. He was a brave, noble knight, and she was nothing but an ordinary woman who had carved out an existence for herself. Free, and so, so lonely.

"Every life in this kingdom, from the youngest babe to the oldest counselor, is worth my own many times over, Illeria. That is the reality of my knighthood, and a burden that I gladly accept." Destrier's tone was resigned. "My life so that others may live on in peace."

"Do not pretend as if there is no heart in your chest, Revel." Illeria snapped. "You do yourself no great service."

"Naero said much the same to me once." He smiled fondly at her and despite her best efforts, the woman felt her irritation wane. "When I am with you, it feels as though it is fit to leap free of my chest."

"You leave the day after tomorrow?" Illeria waited for his nod of confirmation before drawing a shaky breath. "I suppose we must make the most of that time, then."

"It would be wise." Destrier agreed, sounding a bit confused. "Are there any repairs to be completed? Or-"

She caught him by the pockets of his waistcoat, pulling herself into him and kissing him hard. Destrier's startled exhale made her want to laugh for a moment, but then he was kissing her back and suddenly laughter was the furthest thing from her mind. "Destrier," Illeria sighed, pleasantly surprised by the way that he groaned in response. "I would appreciate you laying with me before you depart."

Destrier buried his face in the junction of her neck and shoulder with another groan, this one louder. "Illeria, have mercy ." He pleaded, "I want that so badly it hurts, my love, but-"

"What is stopping you?" Illeria pressed kisses to his throat, his ear. "Undress me, love."

" Gods ." Destrier said through gritted teeth. "You want me? Truly?"

" Yes , Destrier. I want all of you." Illeria hesitated, unsure if what she was about to say would be too weighty for their current situation. "I want you to know exactly why you're fighting so hard to return to me."

Destrier's fingers dug into her back and the man held her tightly for several long moments. "I don't deserve you." He muttered, finally tugging at the laces of her corset. "I have never deserved you, and I doubt I ever will. If you will accept me as I am, who am I to question such providence?"

Illeria covered his hands with her own, feeling him trembling as she guided him through unlacing the supportive garment. The corset slid down her body, taking her skirts with it and leaving her there in her chemise. The woman raised her hands to his shirt collar, deft fingers untying his ascot. "Are you alright, my love?" She asked gently. Destrier's eyes snapped back to her own, the man nodding hard enough to make her giggle.

"I am uncertain of where to look." He admitted, his expression gone sheepish. A flush had crept up his neck to dust the bridge of his aquiline nose with a sweet rosy tint. The image was utterly precious and so very Destrier that Illeria couldn't have helped her smile even if she had wanted to.

He seemed content to just stand there and let her undo the buttons on his waistcoat, the knight shrugging out of the garment absently. "Surely you have enjoyed the company of other women?" Illeria teased. "You must have looked at them, Destrier."

The large man fidgeted guiltily. "Well, yes."

"And I have enjoyed the company of other men, Destrier." Illeria smiled at him. "Do not appear so pensive, my love! We are neither of us blushing virgins. There is no shame in enjoying the touch of another person."

Destrier swore under his breath, meeting her gaze once more. "I just feel inadequate, Illeria. I bandy with the notion that you may not enjoy me, and to know that you could be trapped with me...many folk love each other without enjoying their coupling. I do not wish for you to warm my proverbial bed merely out of a sense of duty or normalcy."

"Fatalistic! We will be fine , my love." Illeria stated firmly. "You must stop thinking of the worst possible thing, lest your forehead become hopelessly wrinkled."

"Truly, what a terrible fate that might be." Destrier smiled reluctantly, his fingers undoing the kerchief that kept her curls in check. "Gods, I love you. I love everything about you." He said, the plainness of his words doing nothing to take the sincerity from them. "Did you know that your eyes light up when you smile?"

Illeria blinked at him. "They do?" Being the sole caretaker of Maplecrest, she had little time to practice smiling at herself in the mirror.

Destrier nodded. "They take on this warm hue, I am unsure of how to describe it. I've never been of a poetic bent. Regardless, the effect is absolutely enchanting." He cradled her face, brushing their lips together but not fully kissing her. She could feel the strange burn scars that spanned both of his palms pressing into her skin, the touch familiar and grounding. "Illeria, if I do something that makes you feel uneasy or...or if I cause you pain…" he trailed off, searching her eyes.

"We won't ever find out if we keep going at this pace." Illeria half-scolded, half-teased, taking matters into her own hands as she grasped the hem of her chemise and stripped it off over her head.

She understood his concern, of course. She had wrestled with such notions herself on more than one occasion. But there was no need nor room for doubt anymore. With the same certainty that she knew she loved him, Illeria knew that Destrier would never intentionally cause her discomfort.

She stepped out of her underthings and stood before him, hands on her hips, naked as the day she was born. Illeria tilted her chin up to give him a playful wink. "Well, Knight Revel? Is one simple woman too great a foe for you to conquer?"

Destrier's reply came in the form of his eyes trailing down over her body, the paladin taking in every inch of her on display. Then, he shifted his weight, advancing on her until the backs of her knees hit the edge of her bed.

"I have yet to meet a foe that can best me." He sounded almost contemplative, his hand reaching out to press against her collarbone and continue to urge her back until she had no choice but to lay down. Destrier shed his shirt and unlaced his breeches while she got comfortable, and Illeria decided that she had waited long enough.

Her own fingers began to move down her body, the woman teasing herself. "If you don't hurry, Destrier, I will certainly best you."

"Hmm, doubtful." Destrier murmured, his large form abruptly caging her in. "Though your confidence is not unfounded, I must insist that you yield." His fingers twined through her own, pinning them to the blankets on either side of her head. "You are wholly at my mercy, woman. However, should you request my supplication, I may be swayed to grant it."

Had any other man said such a thing while looming over her in bed, Illeria would have made them regret being born. But Destrier saying those things, brown eyes scorching in their intensity even as a fond smile tugged at the corner of his mouth…

She had never thought that a man teasing her could elicit such a heated reaction. Illeria felt her entire body flush. " Please , Destrier." She begged, and he smiled at her so warmly. Her thighs fell open as he tried her with his fingers, the man's breath leaving his chest in a harsh gasp when he found her slick and ready for him.

" Gods , you want me." Destrier sounded awestruck by the confirmation of her arousal. Illeria whimpered, nodding and arching her hips up in invitation. An invitation which Destrier proceeded to accept, the blond man finally gifting her the last piece of what she had been craving for so long.

His hand still holding hers squeezed once when she moaned his name, her own breathing so quick to stutter when Destrier plunged deep. His pelvis ground against her, providing such delicious stimulation that she couldn't help her cry.

Destrier rumbled wordlessly in response, ducking his head to flick and tease at her nipples with his awful, terrible tongue. The tongue that said such sweet and pleasing things now menaced her mercilessly, feeling like a trail of fire on her sensitive skin. Illeria gripped his back after he released her hand to support his weight more fully, the large man shuddering all over when she dug her nails in. "Good?" He queried breathlessly.

"Gods, Destrier , more-" Illeria couldn't even get the full plea out, the muscles in his back shifting before snapping taut beneath her touch as he moved to obey.

His voice was gravelly when next he spoke, his hand stroking over her hair with such tenderness. "I never believed I would get to do this with you, my love." He looked dazed. "I feel as though I'll wake up at any moment, aching and alone, still in my tent out in the field."

"You dreamed of me?" Illeria meant to joke with him, but his expression was so soft as he looked down at her and nodded she couldn't bring herself to.

"Nearly every night, it seemed." Destrier confessed, making the pit of her stomach throb sweetly with the depth of his next thrust. "I would start awake, your name on my lips, wishing more than anything that I could-" he paused for breath, glancing downwards at where their bodies were currently joined and then back up at her. His grin was pure mischief when he continued, "well, I'm certain your own imagination can fill in the blanks."

"I have been so fearful that you saw me as a trinket, something nice to look at and do nothing with." Illeria gave him her own confession, laughing a little when he accidentally bumped his nose against hers. "I did not want to rush you, Destrier."

"Patience is a virtue, my love, but there are worse things in life than being less virtuous." Destrier kissed her forehead. "You have waited so very long for me, and I for you, Illeria Stennas."

His hand slipped between their bodies, delving into the apex of her thighs to give her what she dared not ask for. Illeria clung to his shoulders, her legs framing his hips as he rutted into her until she was panting his name, over and over in time with his motions. Destrier's fingers stroked her firmly, coaxing her towards her inevitable climax in a way that no other man had ever bothered to do.

"Illeria..." he moaned for her and the effect was instantaneous. Every muscle in her body tensed, Illeria threw her head back and canted her hips to meet his next thrust.

Stars erupted across her field of vision, the lure of completion beckoning her onwards.

Destrier dropped his forehead against her sternum while she trembled and sobbed out his name, her entire being ablaze with aroused heat as she fell apart for him. In the haze of her post-moment, Illeria vaguely realized that Destrier had gone stock-still, quivering a little.

"Where do you want me?" He asked through clenched teeth. "I fear I am close."

Where do you want me?

She bit her lip unintentionally as she thought and Destrier groaned, a tremor running through him. "Illeria," he began to protest, then grunted as she pressed her heels into the backs of his thighs, theoretically keeping him right where he was. In truth, she knew full well that he could easily remove himself from her embrace if he did not feel comfortable with such an act.

"Inside me, my love?" She requested softly. Illeria could have sworn the fire in the hearth behind him flared a little brighter, Destrier's brown eyes flickering like molten gold as he stared down at her. "Our first time together should be special, shouldn't it?" She reasoned, combing his hair back out of his face.

"You are certain? " He rasped, and there was a desperate edge to his voice that made her want to shiver. "It is not too late to change your mind, Illeria. I will not unless you truly wish for it."

"I love you as I have never loved another, Destrier Revel." Illeria assured him. "I trust you."

That seemed to do him in, the paladin gripping her hips nearly tight enough to bruise. "I will return to you, I swear it." He promised fervently, "Not even death itself has a chance of tearing me from you, Illeria."

Such lofty words, spoken so sincerely. She could not help but almost believe him. The woman embraced him as he too reached his climax, cradling him against her body while he shuddered and spilled himself into her.

/x\

Destrier's heart felt like it would beat out of his chest. Illeria, Illeria , his mind chanted, and she had never looked so beautiful as when she had lost herself under the caress of his fingers.

A thousand nights that he had awoken alone, all washed away by this one instance of lovemaking. He felt like a complete idiot, smiling at her like the lovestruck fool that he was. He was always so careful with her thick hair, knowing that one wrong move could tug it to the point of pain, but he managed to successfully lace his fingers through it so he could tilt her head. His nose being... prodigious , certain precautions had to be taken when he kissed her.

"You are incredible." Illeria whispered against his lips, giving the man pause. He pulled back, a bit startled and confused by the strength of the affectionate look she was giving him.

"I am?" He asked after a moment.

Illeria laughed, the noise carefree as she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. " Yes , Destrier!"

"I love you, you know that, right?" He hated how pitiful he sounded. "I have never felt this way before, Illeria. I have never…"

Her hands framed his jaw, tipping his face down to gently peck his slack mouth. "Destrier, I feel the same way. It's all so…"

"Raw." Destrier finished for her, shaking his head.

" New ," she corrected him, "raw makes it sound as though it is painful. Are you pained, my love?"

" Gods , no. Oh! I should move, I must be crushing you." Destrier floundered back, nearly falling over in his hasty effort to take his weight off of her. "I did not hurt you, did I?" He asked after righting himself, relieved when she shook her head.

Her fingers traced the scarring that intersected his left eyebrow. Unbeknownst to her, those and a few more marks that his hair thankfully hid were the only indication of his abrupt departure from (and subsequent return to) the land of the living.

Destrier leaned into her touch, taking her hand after a moment and pressing a kiss to the still-thundering pulse in her wrist. "My beloved." He murmured, sure that he looked absolutely smitten. He certainly felt as much!

"I know you have to leave, but…" Illeria trailed off, her brow creased with worry.

Destrier cleared his throat. "Not for two days." He reminded her, trying to smile. "The day after tomorrow."

Illeria nodded. "We won't be open tomorrow." She said decisively, her tone downright flippant .

"No?" Destrier cocked his head, thoroughly confused. "But...the inn?"

" Destrier , you leave in two days ." Illeria reiterated with a wave of her hand. "If I can still walk at that point, I may consider it a personal failing on your part."

" Illeria! " The knight sputtered, torn between laughter and embarrassment. "You are...gods, I love you." He smiled, much more fondly than their ribald conversation would call for. "I shall do my best, if you are willing." He was sure he was red from the tips of his ears to the center of his chest.

"That is all I can ask of you, Destrier." The young woman slung her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply. "If you are mine, I am willing." She sighed when they parted once more.

" Always , beloved. Until the stars burn to ash."

/x\

"You had better be safe. It will be cold without you." He could recognize now that the terse tone she had taken was due to her concern for him, and his heart ached in his chest.

Destrier took her hand, pressing his lips to her knuckles. "I promised, did I not?" He tried to assure her. "I will return as fast as I can, my love."

The soft gray fabric wound around his neck, and Illeria used it to pull him back down for another kiss. "Wear your helmet." She insisted.

"Of course, Illeria."

"If something happens-" Her voice choked off, the woman blinking rapidly and then looking away.

"Illeria, you must be strong enough for the both of us." Destrier murmured, his thumb catching the tear that managed to escape. "I will not ask you to force a smile or even put on a brave face, for it would be foolish to expect such a taxing thing. All I can ask is that you do not lose hope. I will return, and when I do, I…" Destrier hesitated, then smiled thinly. "I shall put in a better effort to ensure your lack of motion."

Illeria gave a watery snicker at that, and Knight Revel rushed to kiss her again before she could potentially say something that would send Thranrok into an absolute spasm .

Part Five: A Choice

#destrier revel #illeria stennas #a paladin and his love #pauldronsexual activity #non-player character x player character #npc x pc #female npc #male pc #paladin #dnd character #dnd #dnd 5e #dnd paladin #me finally finding an outlet for all my flowery language like

1 note · View note

flopsider · 4 years

Text

What Makes a Paper Mario Game Great?

*This post was turned into a script for a Game Domain video which I’ll post here once it’s out!

The Paper Mario game series has undergone massive changes with its last few installments. Most fans can agree that the first 3 (or, if you’re strictly fond of the formula from Paper Mario 64 and The Thousand Year Door, the first 2) games achieved something brilliant. They cemented Mario’s role in the RPG world, providing players with unforgettable experiences that left many with powerful nostalgia and an urge to revisit the titles as they grew older. However, with the newer titles, the gaming community’s feelings on the franchise have been shaken. Once Nintendo began to develop Paper Mario as an Action-Adventure series, many fans were left feeling like the company stopped listening to its fans and were taking the series in an unwelcome new direction. For some fans, however, particularly younger players who are just now discovering the Paper Mario games through the newer titles, these new changes and formulas offer some very enjoyable experiences. Undoubtedly, nostalgia plays a huge role in how we view video games, but there is more at play here than just sentiment. The question I’d like to pose, then, is “What Makes a Paper Mario Game Great?”

Let’s take a look at the individual games and see which areas they thrive in, and what holds them back. Keep in mind that every opinion listed here is just that: an opinion. I’ve tried to be objective in my analyses here, but like all people, I have biases and nostalgia which affect my opinions of video games, so don’t take what I say as the undisputed truth. This is simply my attempt to answer the question posed as best as I can, so if you disagree, let me know peacefully and respectfully in the comments!

Paper Mario 64

I feel like this game is the perfect entry to the series. It has a charming art style that I feel still holds up, offers fantastic gameplay and controls and a solid battle system, and has memorable characters. The main things that hold it back are the more basic storyline and villain, and the less unique character types compared to the next 2 games. However, both of these things can be forgiven since it was the first entry to the series. The chapters are all joys to explore, the leveling system is satisfying and allows for customization, and the badges are a great way to personalize Mario based on your playstyle. Paper Mario 64 laid the groundwork for the games that would follow, and most of the aspects of its formula would evolve throughout the next two entries.

Paper Mario: TTYD

There’s not much I can say about this that hasn’t been said before, but in summary, this game took everything that made Paper Mario 64 great and evolved it into something phenomenal. It built upon the battle system, offering what is widely considered to be the best battling in any Paper Mario game. The audience feature made battles livelier and more exciting, offering further incentive to pursue optional enemy encounters. It gave players new attacks and new ways to orchestrate them, with less repetitive actions than in the first game. It offered a much deeper, darker story with compelling antagonists, partners and NPCs unique to this game which made the world feel alive, and side quests that allowed you to progress through the game and level up your character in a less linear way. The world was crafted beautifully, with areas that stand out in many players’ memories and are far less formulaic than the typical Mario worlds. There were tons of secrets and areas to explore, as well as the first iteration of the Pit of 100 Trials, a side quest arguably more challenging than the game’s final boss. It’s no wonder this is likely the most acclaimed Paper Mario title to date.

Super Paper Mario

First and foremost, I have tons of nostalgia for SPM. It’s maybe my favorite video game of all time, or at least in the top 3. It’s the first Paper Mario game I ever played (I was 7 or 8 years old and have since replayed it many times), and when I played it I had never heard of Paper Mario. There’s a chance that if I instead played 64 and/or TTYD first, I’d be more partial to those games because of nostalgia. However, I truly believe that, nostalgia aside, SPM provides the best overall game experience. I also think that if SPM had come first, and the creators then shifted into a more straightforward RPG style over time, it would be less polarizing.

The move away from turn based combat and into the more classic Mario platforming/real time combat was bold, but not universally appreciated. I totally get why some people feel it was a bad change. If you were in love with the camera perspective, movement, and combat mechanics of the first two, this may be less fulfilling. However, if you are a huge fan of platformers, then it’s certainly a welcome new angle. And if you’re like me and you grew up enamored with classic 2-D Mario platforming action, but also fell in love with the style, RPG elements, and stories of the first two Paper Mario games, then you’ll likely find the perfect mix of the two in SPM. Plus, I feel like turn based combat was never the basis of the Paper Mario franchise, or at least was not the core concept that made the games great. Some people disagree with that, but I personally believe that all the before listed criteria make up the greatness that is the Paper Mario series, and I think Super Paper Mario lives up to them. Despite its many differences, Super Paper Mario felt like a true successor to TTYD. The graphics were quite similar aside from the camera angles, the dialogue and storytelling were stylistically similar but done even better this time around, and several elements were revisited such as the Pit of 100 Trials. I loved the turn-based combat in 64 and TTYD, but I also adored the platforming and real time combat of SPM. Overall, I just feel SPM has the most to offer and provides the most unique, thrilling, and memorable experience. The New 2-D / 3-D switch feature quite literally adds a whole new dimension to the game. I think this is super interesting and fun to use, and it allows for more interesting level and puzzle design. It offered a nice balance since much of the game is played 2-D style whereas the first two entries were set in a 3-D space. Without the 3-D option it’d still be a great game, but might end up feeling a little basic by comparison. The Pixls, in my opinion, are a fantastic reimagining of the partner system. Since the game ditched turn-based combat in favor of platforming combat, the Pixls affect your movement, attack, and defense abilities in real time and can be swapped quickly. This makes platforming, fighting, and movement in general more fun and varied. In my opinion, they’re a fresh take on partners, and even though I love the old partner system, I see this as a welcome new take on it. Flipside and Flopside serve as effective and memorable hub worlds where you can touch base after exploring other dimensions. They have tons of explorable areas, puzzles, characters, and secrets, all of which contribute to the world development. The NPC’s helped add depth and contribute to the lore, with the Flipside and Flopside bartenders being the best examples. The ability to play as 4 different characters, each with different special abilities and movement characteristics was a huge step forward and made the level design much more interesting. In several areas, you have to utilize all available characters to access certain areas, some secret and some required. The best example of this in my opinion is in Castle Bleck, where in order to effectively maneuver around the platforming challenges and access secret areas you have to take advantage of Mario’s ability to flip into 3-D, Peach’s parasol gliding, and Luigi’s super jump, while Bowser is your key to easily clearing rooms of tough enemies. Maybe the least controversial thing I could say about this game is that it has a phenomenal story, the best of any Paper Mario game to date in my opinion. It’s darker than any other Mario game I’ve played, and despite its cartoony appearance, the stakes were higher than ever. It had incredibly memorable characters, small bits of backstory at the end of each chapter which slowly reveal the connection between the antagonist and Mario’s partner Tippi, excellent dialogue and humor, and a darker plot than any Mario game I’ve played. This is balanced by the game’s colorful visuals and soundtrack which make it a joy to play. The game had an inspired world design with bold style choices. For example, in the space levels of Chapter 4, the game temporarily becomes a Defender type horizontal space shoot ‘em up. It was a perfect blend of the RPG style from the first two games and the side scrolling platforming of older Super Mario games. The music is a fantastic mix of retro and modern, a concept mirrored in the graphics and gameplay. All in all, Super Paper Mario is a perfect blend of old and new.

Okay, clearly, I have a lot of love for this game. But I want to be as objective as possible here, so let’s look at some of its shortcomings. The XP system was more basic than the first two games. It being present was a huge plus, but when you level up, it upgrades a predetermined stat (HP or attack) as opposed to you having stat customization. Along these same lines, the lack of badges meant less customization and attack options. Level design wise, some areas felt somewhat empty in 3-D. I didn’t really feel like this as a kid, but as an adult I feel like they could’ve done more with the 3-D perspective in certain areas. In some places, they totally nailed it though.

That brings us to the more recent, more divisive action-adventure titles. To preface, I have the least experience with these games, and the majority of my familiarity with them is from reading articles and watching videos which analyze them and compare them to the older games. So I’ll try not to be too critical, as I’d like to play them all the way through before completely solidifying my opinion on them. That being said, you can learn a lot about a game by watching gameplay footage and reading analyses of them, so I’ll do what I can to go over their pros and cons.

For all three of the newest titles, it’s worth noting that I didn’t include the world being made of Paper in the list of what makes these games great. I don’t hate the jokes, comments, or visual references to paper and crafts in these games. In fact, sometimes I think they’re quite clever and add to the feel of the game. However, in the first 3 “classic” Paper Mario games, it wasn’t a major point of plot or world development, but rather something casually referenced in some well-timed jokes. In fact, the first game wasn’t even meant to be a paper based world. It had many titles in development, and the one directly preceding Paper Mario was Mario Story. The name Paper Mario, more than anything, is a reference to the art style being reminiscent of a pop-up book, and is not the basis of the gameplay or world creation. At least until the more recent games, that is. Sticker Star, Color Splash, and Origami King all base many core gameplay mechanics, the visuals, much of the humor, and even some of the world development on everything being made of paper. This is a cute idea, and the graphics in the newer games are undeniably vibrant and beautiful, but it ends up holding the newer games back only because they focus more on paper gimmicks than they do the story, unique character design, and gameplay. To be fair, I haven’t played the newer games completely, and from what I’ve seen, Origami King looks like a phenomenal stand-alone game and a much stronger Paper Mario entry than SS or CS. I just think Arlo summed it up perfectly when he said, “We didn’t love Paper Mario because it was paper, we loved it because it was Mario’s story.” That being said, let’s look at each game and see what they have going for them.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star

This is easily the most universally criticized Paper Mario title. Every so often you’ll find someone who will defend it, but for the most part, the fans of the series see this as the point where the games took a turn for the worse. Instead of just adding to the overwhelming pile of hatred for the game, I’m going to try and discuss some specific things that hold it back while giving it credit where credit is deserved. Sticker Star is not irredeemable. It has some of the charm the series is known for, some solid dialogue and humor, and appealing visuals. Unfortunately, there’s not too much more I can give it credit for, at least in the context of the other games in the series. So much of what made the first 3 games great were lost here. One of the most obvious steps backward is the near-total lack of original characters. Instead of a world packed with new NPCs and enemies with distinct personalities, the game almost exclusively utilizes classic Super Mario characters. You’ll see plenty of toads, goombas, and koopas here, and not anything in the realm of demonic shadow queens, members of ancient tribes, or mysterious cape and monocle wearing antagonists threatening the existence of all worlds. The villain here is Bowser, which is not just disappointing because it’s formulaic, but it almost feels like it separates the franchise even further from its roots because of Super Paper Mario’s inclusion of Bowser as a protagonist. The battle system also fails to reward you for entering into enemy encounters, and feels much more basic than the previous games. Overall, my main criticism of this game is that it took several steps backwards and not enough steps forward to justify them.

Paper Mario: Color Splash

This game improved upon the action-adventure formula of Sticker Star in almost every way. In that way, it can be seen as a parallel to TTYD, which improved upon its predecessor’s formula. The difference is, TTYD’s predecessor established a formula that was already phenomenal, whereas the groundwork Sticker Star laid for Color Splash was far weaker. Most of the criticisms I have for Sticker Star could be echoed about this game, just less harshly. Speaking more positively, this game had gorgeous visuals (second only to The Origami King), excellent dialogue and humor, and some creative levels, such as the section where you operate the cannons aboard a sailing battleship.

Paper Mario: The Origami King

Overall, The Origami King looks to be the strongest Paper Mario entry in years. It seems to have developed the action-adventure formula of its two immediate predecessors, while including a handful of RPG elements. The battle system is both new and familiar - it’s turn based, but the ring system adds a puzzle element that, to some players, makes battles much more enjoyable and to some distracts from the battling itself. Utilizing the rings, it seems like there are far more creative ways to reach your opponents, but far fewer creative ways to actually attack them. Once again, the world and characters are more formulaic, relying heavily on classic Super Mario locations and characters. However, this game offers more uniqueness than the previous two, starting with the non-Bowser antagonist. The fact that King Olly has a previous close relationship with Mario’s main partner Olivia is reminiscent of Count Bleck and Tippi from Super Paper Mario. This provides the foundation for a better story than Sticker Star or Color Splash. In addition, the visuals are undeniably beautiful. It has the best graphics of any Paper Mario game, and some areas are truly striking, particularly the desert oasis area. The huge con of this game is that is triples down on Nintendo’s shifting of the Paper Mario series away from its RPG roots and toward a more formulaic action-adventure approach. The major positive is that it seems to be a solid game in its own right, one which makes much better use of the new formula than Sticker Star or Color Splash did. It’s got loads of charm and some solid gameplay, but if you’re looking for an experience comparable to the first 2 or 3 Paper Mario games, you’ll likely be left wanting something different from it.

So let’s return to the original question. Based on what we discussed about each title, what makes a Paper Mario game great? I’ve done my best to narrow down what I consider to be the 10 most important criteria that, when met sufficiently, provide the best possible Paper Mario experience. These are:

A compelling story with unique characters

Partners to assist in combat and movement

Clever dialogue

Visually appealing art style

Exploration

Puzzles and Secrets

Cohesive world design with unique areas

An XP system which rewards combat

World development and lore

And finally, a willingness to go darker than other Mario games

There are plenty of other criteria I could add to the list, but these are the main ones which stood out to me as I analyzed each game for their strengths and weaknesses.

Answering the question of what makes a Paper Mario game great is not a simple task, nor is it an objective one. As I said before, my nostalgia for Super Paper Mario is a huge part of why I discuss it so positively. I truly believe it’s worthy of the praise, and I stand by the opinions I’ve stated for the other games as well, but my thoughts on each game in this series are my own, and many of you will and should have different thoughts on them. So share them in the comments, and keep it respectful!

#paper mario #nintendo #video games #mario #super paper mario #paper mario ttyd #paper mario 64

5 notes · View notes

askmerriauthor · 4 years

Text

Pokemon SwSh Thoughts - Post Game

So I’ve finished Pokemon Sword’s primary content. All that’s left is to finish up the PokeDex and drive myself insane trying to whip up all the variations of Alcremie. That, and delaying buying an online subscription for as long as possible before I bother with trading to get the other game’s exclusives. Here’s some thoughts on the game after the fact:

Pokemon SwSh really needed to come out in late 2020, period. I’ve enjoyed the game so far, but I’ve played it for about a week without putting in too much time/effort grinding and I’ve already done pretty much everything there is to do. I had my Starter leveled up to 100 before I even left the Wild Area for the very first time. The pacing and content depth of this game are pretty much non-existent, whereas the majority of the effort has clearly been put toward refining the competitive combat development. That’s great for those players who really like the battle system, but not so much for those of us who like story and broader gameplay elements.

Pro - Streamlined Gameplay One thing I’ve wanted in Pokemon for ages has been the ability to skip tutorials. I understand the necessity of having them, as every game that comes out is going to be some player’s first and their presence is for that player. But at least having the option to skip them for us old hats would be nice. SwSh does that! I was delighted to discover that the game allows you to bypass tutorials with a simple yes/no prompt when a new element is introduced. How to catch Pokemon, type match-ups, how to heal at Pokemon Centers, and so forth - all the stuff previous games led us through by the nose has been made optional this time around.

I’ve seen some people saying that this game holds the player’s hand too much as it leads us from one gameplay element to the next and doesn’t let us progress at our own leisure. To some degree this is true, but it’s far less egregious than in previous games, such as SuMo. There’s yet to be a good balance between giving the player free reign and giving them enough guidance to ensure we never feel lost, but this has been an inoffensive example as far as I’m concerned. The game does end up feeling rather railroaded, but I don’t necessarily consider that a fault of hand-holding. I’ll get to this matter later on.

Pro - The Style Galar is a very pretty region and the game makes good use of the Switch’s higher capacity to produce excellent backdrops for the player to explore. Many of the Pokemon have charming animations (Falinks is my favorite on this respect). The towns are all really well-designed in terms of visuals, especially compared to the bare-bones looks of older generations. I feel like there could have been more, but what we got is still great.

Pro - Implications in Lore Those of you who know me know how much I love lore and world building. Pokemon, as a franchise, is ripe with opportunity to examine its lore to the most tiny and obscure detail, so any new addition to the franchise is welcome on that front. Galar has some pretty fascinating nuggets to contribute.

I love that the League in Galar, as well as competitive Pokemon Training in general, is treated like a career sport. In specific, I love that this view and practice is exclusive to Galar - I wouldn’t like it at all if the entire franchise shifted to this angle, but it works great for a one-off region. I like that Kabu specifically relocated himself from Hoenn to join the sports league as it doesn’t exist in his home region. The Champion being a sort of major celebrity/superhero, the way Gym Leaders can recruit proteges or even inheritors of their rank from among contenders, the sort of clique all the Gym Leaders have with one another - it’s a really neat dynamic. I also like the notion that actually completing the Gym Challenge isn’t something common and most Trainers who try rarely make it even halfway through. That’s an interesting contrast to other regions where collecting Gym Badges seems almost as a given and the League itself is considered the real challenge, or where the whole endeavor is designed to be finished as a matter of course, like in Alola.

There’s also some really neat additions to the overall lore brought in from the Pokemon Masters mobile game. While its place in canon is questionable, it does specifically mention Galar in a few places. The idea that Pokemon who do not appear in the current Dex are banned from Galar by customs (perhaps identified as potentially dangerous/invasive species) is an interesting one. So is the claim that Iris - the Champion of Unova in BW2 - is a cousin of Leon and Hop. I love it when there are connections amid titles like that as it really helps build a more unified setting.

-Edit-: Darn, apparently those screenshots were fakes. Strike that positive from the list, I suppose.

Mixed Pro/Con - The Availability of Pokemon and the Wild Area I’m not talking about Dexit - I have my own thoughts on that explained elsewhere and frankly don’t think it’s going to end up as bad as everyone is fretting over in the long run. No, in this particular case I’m focused on the availability of Pokemon that are in the game itself.

To put it simply... it’s too easy. I know that filling out the PokeDex isn’t supposed to be a huge challenge, but I’ve gotten the majority of it done - evolved forms, item-reliant forms, gender/size/color variations included - with pretty much no effort whatsoever. I like the idea of the Wild Area in principle but what it ends up being in practice is lacking. It’s too easy to just hoover up Pokemon at a breakneck pace, which leads to other zones and the Wild Area itself becoming pretty much immediately obsolete. I have no need to return to them once I’ve gotten everything I need and there’s not enough general content to urge me to visit again.

The Wild Area itself is a big open sandbox that you can roam around in, which is nice compared to more linear zones in past games. Galar has its railroad routes, but they’re brief (aside from the obligatory overlong water route, which even then is still quite a lot smaller than other regions’ have been). However, it’s just that - a big open sandbox. You can wander through it very easily and even traipse into the “high level” zones without fear because you can see all the Pokemon coming and give them a wide berth to avoid them. There aren’t any obstacles or challenges within the Wild Area itself, and the game makes it supremely easy to find Pokemon even under specific weather/time conditions, which I feel is a missed opportunity. I would have rather the Wild Area been MUCH bigger and more involved, full of places to explore and puzzles to solve. Similarly, I would rather that Pokemon were more difficult to come by as well - that a greater deal of effort would have been put toward tracking and discovering certain harder-to-find Pokemon, with more in-game detective work to find your prize.

Mixed Pro/Con - The Characters The ensemble cast of new Gym Leaders are great - I enjoy the majority of them and frankly want more interactions, more encounters, just more in general. That’s sort of the problem though - I want more. The game itself criminally under-utilizes these characters, especially compared to how much more involved and explored Gym Leaders have been in recent games. There is precious little content using the Gym Leaders here in Galar as it stands and I constantly found myself wanting them to hang out longer and have the chance to learn more about them. Their League Cards are a neat little addition full of interesting tidbits about their histories, natures, and relationships with each other, but I would MUCH rather have gotten to see all that play out in the game itself rather than read it as a flavor blurb.

On the con side of this, however, is the fact that all of the characters are extremely one-dimensional. We’ve been seeing a steady increase in the depth and development of supporting characters in the games since BW onward, with SuMo arguably having the most to date. The overall characterization in SwSh is incredibly lacking by comparison as we don’t get nearly enough time to be with the cast, nor is the cast given the chance to present more than one note per. Nobody has any sort of emotional growth or development. The closest thing to a character arc in the game is Hop’s acceptance of the idea that he’s not going to be the Champion, but it doesn’t have anywhere near as much punch as it could and is over in the blink of an eye compared to how he spends THE ENTIRE GAME repeating the same “I’m gonna be the Champion/Hokage/Pirate King!” spiel every time he’s on screen.

Con - Dynamaxing and Max Raid Battles I’m not really on board with the whole “Mega-Evolution is best! No more gimmicks!” train because that’s just silly to me. Every game has its gimmick and the way Pokemon gradually picks up tricks and traits from its past versions to consolidate into newer titles is one of its strengths. That said, Dynamaxing is worthless and a pointless addition to the game, both in presentation and practice.

The visual of a Pokemon going kaiju is a neat concept and one I was initially intrigued by, but in practice it falls flat because it’s as thin as cardboard. It’s just Mega-Evolution and Z-Moves smooshed together with an additional 3 round time limit tacked on. All it functionally does is buff your Pokemon’s HP pool and add additional weather/status effects to certain attacks, but in some cases the Dynamax versions of attacks are actually weaker/less useful than their base form. In Gym Battles all the way through the final League fight with Leon, I didn’t bother with Dynamaxing because my Pokemon were strong enough to not need it. I could one-shot Dynamaxed Pokemon with ease using a non-Dynamaxed Pokemon and that really shows a flaw in the design if ever there was one. Dynamaxing doesn’t add or improve anything vital to gameplay - it’s just fluff.

Max Raid Battles as found in the Wild Area are even worse. For those of you who don’t know, these are instanced battles against a Dynamaxed/Gigantamaxed wild Pokemon where you team up with three other players/NPCs. If you win, you get a bunch of useful items and have the chance to catch the wild Pokemon as well, which is the only way you can get certain Gigantamax-capable Pokemon reliably.

The issue with these Max Raid Battles is that they’re an absolute slog. In the early stages of the game they’re all super easy to the point that I could solo them and thus gathered mountains of EXP-boosting candies, which let me overlevel my Pokemon beyond reason. Since the whole “your Pokemon is too high level and won’t listen to you” thing apparently doesn’t apply to Starters and special Event Pokemon, I was able to max-level and run rampant across all opposition with my Starter and my special “thanks for buying early” Meowth. HOWEVER. The difficulty scale of the Max Raid Battles increases with your game progress, so by the time I finished the game and went back into the Wild Area, the Max Raid Battles’ difficulty had ramped up. That’s an okay compromise on its face, but the manner in which the difficulty has increased is poor game design. The battles aren’t any harder, they just take longer - the wild Pokemon has more HP, tosses up a few rounds of shields to soak damage at the start and again halfway through the fight, and purges stat boosts from the player and party throughout the battle. It just makes the fights a pain in the ass to get through rather than making them more challenging or fun, and it’s gotten to the point that I don’t even bother with them anymore. They’re just not worth the trouble, not even for the sake of trying to farm EXP candies because, at this point in the game, all Pokemon in the Wild Area scale up to level 60+ and thus are perfectly serviceable as EXP farming fodder themselves.

On a lore side of things, Dynamaxing is really confusing. There’s the whole visual aspect of the Pokemon growing to giant sizes and sometimes changing their appearances, and there’s these massive arenas built to facilitate the whole thing. But the game itself goes out of its way to impress the fact that the Pokemon aren’t actually getting bigger. They just appear to grow in size and haven’t actually physically changed themselves so Dynamaxing is more like a giant hard light holographic projection than anything else? It’s just a really weird design choice to have made and I don’t understand why it was included.

Con - The Writing So, writing is very important to me. It’s literally been my job for the past decade with various game studios. I don’t consider myself any sort of literary snob as I feel there’s a place for schlock right alongside masterpieces - they all serve a specific purpose and fulfill a particular hunger the reader would like satisfied.

That said, SwSh’s writing is abysmal.

Right on the face, there’s not enough of it. The game is criminally short and light on content, which directly impacts its pacing. Remember earlier when I mentioned that things felt railroaded? That’s because there’s not enough story to rest on - it all flies by as fast as can be, forcing the player along a very narrow and brief chain of events that don’t feel consequential at all. Further, the player has no agency in events whatsoever. It’s not the player’s story - it’s Hop’s story. We’re the supporting role to his journey, shallow as that arc may be. Hop is the one who initiates the events of the game without our input as a character and then we spend the entire game following him around, or being pushed into the next event by other characters who are facilitating Hop. At no point is the player ever given the chance to express their own characterization, motivation, or even opinions. Nearly every two-choice dialogue option that appears boils down to “Yes” or “Slightly More/Less Enthusiastic Yes”, which is a huge downgrade from the genuine negative responses and NPC reactions that were present in SuMo.

In terms of overall plot, SwSh has pretty much the same level of depth and complexity as the original Red/Blue titles, and that is as scathing a criticism in this modern age as I can possibly imagine. The whole story is “run in a circle, collect badges, fight vaguely present villainous threat, fight league.” We are actively forced from one gym fight to the next with no time to breathe, no story-focused events in between, and not even any chance to appreciate the gym, its leader, or even the towns they take place in. It’s one and done - once you’ve got the badge there’s no reason to hang around and the story shuffles us along quickly as can be. I mean that literally in some cases - there are hints of a greater plot at hand with Sonia investigating the history of Galar’s legends and the potential machinations of mega-corporate mogul Chairman Rose. But each time those are broached in game play, the game pushes the player off-screen and says “Well, that’s not something you need to worry about. Go get another badge!” I mean, LITERALLY! There’s a point where The Plot begins to kick in where Pokemon begin to spontaneously Dynamax and cause havoc, which is the narrative queue for the player to become involved and for the story to reveal a new facet. But when that happens, Leon LITERALLY says “leave this to the adults, you just focus on your Gym Challenge” and runs off-screen to handle it himself. It would be a good narrative subversion if it led up to things eventually getting out of hand and the player getting roped into things, or the player having the ability to defy such warnings and interject themselves into danger. But that doesn’t happen - the game just forces us to focus on the Gym Challenge alone and keeps all the actual plot of the game off-screen away from us. This is very poor narrative design and game design alike, and it all comes to nothing because we’re forced to clean up everything in the end anyway by battling the villain and legendaries as per usual.

Though I should also point out that there’s no villain in this game.

But what about Team Yell and Chairman Rose, I hear you ask? They’re not villains, both literally and figuratively respectively. Team Yell never really does anything other than act as brief gate locking elements throughout the game until you finish the Gym you’re at, then they bounce off to the next part of the route they’re set to block. They don’t do anything bad and, as it’s later revealed, they’re actually just a bunch of Spikemuth Gym staffers who are posing as hooligans to support Marnie. They’re literally not villains and, once you beat the Spikemuth Gym, they actually become supporting characters who cheer for the player character and help out against the actual supposed villain of the game.

The actual “villain” of the game is Chairman Rose and his assistant Oleana. However, they’re only villains because the script says they are. They don’t actually do anything bad throughout the entire game nor is there any indication that they have some sort of grand master plan. The most we get is some unusual happenings like small quakes and explosions in the distance, but the game never allows us any chance to investigate - we’re just shoved off toward the next Gym each time. So when Chairman Rose is finally revealed to be the Big Bad, it comes completely out of left field and seems to happen for no reason whatsoever. Further, IT IS FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER. Chairman Rose’s plan and goal is never explained in depth - all we get is the vague indication that he believes that Galar isn’t sustainable and there will be an inevitable energy crisis in about 1,000 years, and somehow his EVIL SCHEME will fix it. But, like, even Leon flat-out says “I understand your concern but you’re being hasty, this doesn’t need to be rushed, chill out for five seconds and let’s figure this out reasonably”. Instead Rose interrupts the Champion match and announces his EVIL SCHEME on global broadcast for literally no good reason. There was no dire immediacy that required him to do it right then and there, or in that manner, but the plot needed to move us along so that’s how it goes.

It really doesn’t help that, prior to all this, there’s absolutely no indication at all that Rose nor Oleana are bad guys. They’re just business folk who appear to have nothing but good intentions and support for Leon, with the other adults of the cast all happily trusting them. There is nothing to make them seem suspicious in practice and they offer no reason to doubt them at all, so them suddenly being the bad guys is just confusing. Further, how the player is first introduced to the concept of them being antagonists is easily the most ridiculous logic jump and overreaction I’ve seen since the old Adam West Batman television show. So get this: after a battle, Leon says he’ll meet Player and Hop for dinner to celebrate. Player and Hop wait for Leon, but he never shows up. Another NPC explains that Leon was called in for a last-minute meeting by Chairman Rose (who is his boss and has made such requests of Leon’s time throughout the game, as I feel is important to point out) and apologizes for having to miss the dinner plans. Simple enough sort of situation, right? The sort of thing that any reasonable person would shrug and say “Well, that sucks but okay, let’s go eat on our own then” to, right? So what happens here instead?

The Player, Hop, Marnie, and her Gym Leader brother GATHER A SMALL MOB AND STORM CHAIRMAN ROSE’S BUSINESS HQ, FIGHTING THEIR WAY THROUGH SECURITY.

I mean, escalation much? We all have smartphones - just send Leon a text, for goodness’ sake. I’m playing through these events constantly going “why the hell are we doing this and why is everyone acting like it’s some sort of dire emergency?”. And do you know what happens when we finally kick down the doors to Chairman Rose’s office? We find Chairman Rose and Leon quietly having a peaceful chat, after which Leon apologizes for having to cancel the dinner plans and we all walk out together like nothing happened. It was just this huge, needless overreaction that has no consequence and that neither Rose nor Leon even bat an eye at. We, as the players, learn absolutely nothing of importance and are back on the Gym Challenge immediately with no functional changes to the narrative.

Like... what was the point of that?! How was that the best option to try and put Chairman Rose and his underlings into the role of antagonists for us to oppose?

So what is Chairman Rose’s EVIL SCHEME anyway? Basically he wants to provide Galar with renewable clean energy which... uh... is bad? Somehow? Apparently he plans to use a Legendary Pokemon called Eternatus - apparently the source of Dynamaxing - which is literally never mentioned at any point in the game except precisely when it’s time to fight/capture it, nor does fighting/capturing it have any impact on the story or setting. You would think that the player being in control of a massive Eldritch horror that has UNLIMITED POWER at its disposal would be something of a sticking point somewhere in the story, but no. Eternatus and Rose’s plan are never mentioned until precisely the time you need to deal with them, and once that’s done they’re both never mentioned again. Done and done all in one. No gradual seeding of information, no hints and clues throughout the game, no development of lore - just wham, bam, thank you ma’am and off we go.

Y’know, call me silly but in a game that has undertones referencing climate change, extinction of animal species, and criticisms against capitalism run amok, is it really a good idea to depict the guy advocating for clean energy to be bad? That feels like a missed mark to me.

The post-game plot, should one bother to call it that, is just inane. It basically boils down to a pair of one-shot baddies who show up and say “Ha ha! We’re rich and that means we’re better than everyone! Watch as we cause trouble for vague reasons, get hoist by our own petard, and then fuck off forever! Byeeeee~!” The post-game is completely pointless and doesn’t add anything of value at all. Which, again, compare to older games like ORAS’ post-game expansion content and it’s nothing but a damn shame.

SwSh’s writing is shallow and limited at best, with one-dimensional characters, no genuine conflict or resolution, terrible pacing, and repetitive elements that boomerang around over and over and over again to the point of annoyance. Compared to what we’ve seen Pokemon achieve in earlier titles like BW, ORAS, and SuMo, it makes it all the more obvious that SwSh was not given ANYWHERE near the time and love it needed in development and is a massive downgrade in that respect.

Con - Lots of Style, No Substance To wrap all this up - I enjoyed playing SwSh as much as I did any other early Pokemon game. I think that, as a first installment on a new system, it’s fine. That’s all - it’s just fine. It’s serviceable as a means of establishing the franchise onto the Switch and completing its move off purely-mobile mediums like the Gameboy and 3DS. It’s pretty to look at and has a superficial level of engagement, but its prettiness and level of content very quickly reveal themselves to be only skin deep. Once you get past the initial gloss there’s really nothing to this game compared to the content, involvement, and writing quality displayed in past titles on lesser-powered systems. The towns are all pretty but there’s nothing to do in any of them aside from a Gym battle - there’s no additional fun to be had in each location, making them little more than set pieces. The characters have initial appeal and potential for more, but the game never explores them at all. There’s room for a bigger narrative and interesting story with the elements presented, but no opportunity to actually see them fleshed out. The Wild Area seems big and involved at first, but as soon as you’ve gone around its loop once or twice you suddenly realize how small and compartmentalized it really is, and it lacks any reason to revisit in the end game. The major game play function - Dynamaxing/Gigantamaxing - is little more than a novelty that is basically irrelevant to gameplay itself and, in an absolutely baffling decision by the folk behind the official competitive scene, is actually somehow banned from being used in competitions? Like, not even “we’ve disabled the Dynamax button in online” but rather “if the competitive Pokemon you’ve spent so much time perfectly constructing has a Gigantamax form, it will not even be allowed access at all, so you better have an identical non-Gigantamax version on hand if you want to play”. So, what exactly is the point of even having Gigantamax Pokemon then?

Everything about SwSh seems half-baked. The ideas are there but they aren’t finished. It should have been given much more development time and, having been in the position of the creative/dev team under demands from the shareholders, I completely sympathize with Game Freak’s devs in all this. SwSh is ultimately a weak product but one with a lot of good ideas that weren’t given the chance to really shine. As such, I’ve got rather high hopes for the next installment to improve on the unfortunately thin foundation SwSh has set. Game Freak’s team has given us some amazing Pokemon games in the past and, assuming they’re given sufficient time and resources to make a title to their satisfaction, I have every confidence they’ll do so again.

#pokemon #pokemon swsh #game review #wall o'text #game freak #thank you game freak #hey nintendo - quit breathing down the dev team's neck and stand up to the shareholders for them #spoilers

15 notes · View notes

thetygre · 6 years

Photo

30 Day Monster Challenge 2 - Day #15: Favorite Great Old One/Monster God

1. Nurgle the Great Unclean One (Warhammer)

I think you can tell a lot about a person by knowing which of the Chaos Gods is there favorite. I’m not saying there’s a right answer, but I’ve always been a Nurgle man myself. Nurgle is more than just the daemon god of disease and entropy; he’s the god of the value of life. Nurgle loves all of his children equally, down to the smallest virus. It can be hard for people to accept that, to realize that they have as much cosmic significance as a single-cell organism, but that’s just because they don’t realize how much love the Urfather has for that little cell. In Nurgle’s phlegmatic embrace, all of us are equal, regardless of race, gender, or cell count.

Nurgle asks only that you spread the love he has so willingly given, so that all may be his children. Death and disease are natural parts of life; we struggle to fight them so, but they always come back to us. Through Nurgle, we may exalt in the power of pus and the greatness gangrene. We grow stronger with each infection, and every tumor is a sign of endurance. We do not die when the Plague Bearer calls us; we merely transform for the vermin and bacteria that consumes us, to be reborn in the eternal cycle. Truly, Grandfather Nurgle moves in wondrous ways.

2. Ithaqua the Wind Walker (August Derleth)

It should come as no surprise that the god of all wendigos is one of my favorite Great Old Ones. The Ithaqua Cycle is probably the best thing August Derleth wrote, for what ever that’s worth. Ithaqua is just such a chilling god; the image of some skull-faced giant thing turning around a mountain is the stuff of nightmares. Ithaqua is the primal urge inside life, the need to do anything to survive in an unrelenting environment. He walks in the cold places of the world, but also in that cold space between worlds, spreading his cannibalistic madness from world to world. Ithaqua himself seems hardly necessary, or the countless wendigos that follow him. It’s the chaos and horror he causes between people in a desperate situation, pitting one man against the other and breaking taboos until only the strongest is left. Ithaqua is the cold and brutality of the North personified.

3. Lolth the Queen of the Demonweb Pits (Dungeons and Dragons)

Lilith is so pastiche these days. You know where the real rebellious queen of evil action is at? Spiders, man, and Lolth is the Spider Queen. Lolth has been in Dungeons and Dragons since the beginning. Wherever the dark elves go, Lolth goes too, like any deity, and her absence from a setting is noticeable. She’s one of D&D’s greatest villains, and countless adventurers have lost their lives in the Demonweb Pits. Her entire realm is an arachnid hell crawling with spiders as small a mite to as big as her spider-golem palace. Lolth is an entity of contrasts; her priesthood is a strict matriarchy, but Lolth herself is absolutely insane. It’s hard to tell if there’s anything left of the elf goddess she used to be. Beneath the layers of scheming, beauty, racially motivated hatred, and plans to conquer the known multiverse lies a beating heart of blind hunger, an overwhelming instinct to survive by strength alone.

4. Saaitii the Hog (William Hope Hodgson)

Saaitii is actually what got this particular entry in the challenge. See, I wanted to do just ‘Top 10 Great Old Ones’, but then I was worried that not everybody would know what the Great Old Ones are and it’s kind of an arbitrary category that Lovecraft wanted people to change from story-to-story for fun, so then I just broadened the category to ‘monster gods’ and now here we are. Anyway, Saaitii is a monster that William Hope Hodgson’s occult detective Thomas Carnacki encountered in his monster-hunting stories. The locals tell Carnacki that Saaitii is the ghost of a boar wrongfully killed long ago, but Carnacki suspects that it’s an extradimensional something using the spirits of dead hogs to try and come through.

First off, I just want to know what William Hope Hodgson’s deal with pigs was. This is explicitly his second pig monster story, following the pig men from The House on the Borderlands. But the usage of that aesthetic is definitely refreshing a little unsettling. In an age of meme-tentacles, we need new and different cosmic horrors. Pigs can be disturbing; we think of them as cute at best and filthy at worst, but rarely evil or malevolent. Even the meanest boar has a kind of nobility to it. But the Hog brings up images of mindless, vicious cruelty, dark things in the forest and filth. The concept of a higher life form like some extradimensional whatsit coming into our world through ‘lower’ lifeforms strikes a little close to the karmic bullseye for some, turning the tables on humanity and reminding us that in the eyes of the cosmos, we’re just so much more food.

5. Ogdru Jahad the Seven Who Are One (Hellboy)

You’d think there’d be more dragons on the list, but so far it’s just the one. Seven. 369. Whatever. The Ogdru Jahad are the Hellboy/BPRD universes Great Old Ones, and the source of… a sizable amount of trouble there. Not all of it, but most of it. At the dawn of time, the Sons of God formed the mud of creation into seven great dragons that were filled with the shadow of the moon, for whatever reason. Things would have been fine and dandy there, but one little angel named Satan, for reasons that are still unclear, took the fire of God and filled the dragon with it, giving the Ogdru Jahad life. The Ogdru Jahad birthed their 369 offspring, and the angels had to fight them off before the whole Creation thing could get rolling. From that day on, every human culture has been warned about the Ogdru Jahad, and they have been ingrained in the human consciousness as the Dragon, from Tiamat to the Beast of Revelations.

It’s a nice fusion of Judeo-Christian Biblical lore and cosmic horror. I honestly don’t think it would work if it wasn’t for the fact that Satan is notably absent from the Hellboy series and, as of BPRD: Hell on Earth, the Ogdru Jahad are winning, where even their smallest children can cause natural disasters. I love conflating the image of dragons with cosmic monsters. Cthulhu as Leviathan, flying polyps as oriental dragons, hunting horrors as wyverns; it’s a direct play to the archetype that both types of creatures fill. The Ogdru Jahad illustrate that perfectly, simultaneously something the most modern of cosmic horror and the most ancient of monsters.

6. Flowey the Flower (Undertale)

Flowey’s final form gets in on design alone. There aren’t a lot of monster designs that actually freak me out, but Flowey is just horrible. Of course that’s also because it’s a genius bit of sprite animation, with the usage of textures contrasting so hard with the rest of Undertale. It looks like something that ate its way inside out from at least three Madoka witches. The claws, the eyes, the mouths; it all makes something perfectly awful and abhorrent. And, of course, the music. I actually think Flowey’s boss theme rates pretty low compared to other Undertale boss themes, but the title is just something else. How are you supposed to do better than “Your Best Nightmare”?

7. Rom the Vacuous Spider (Bloodborne)

It’s Rom. C’mon. Look, I know she’s not actually a Great One; she’s Kin, like Mergo’s Wet Nurse. But look at her. When I think, “What’s my favorite eldritch monstrosity boss from Bloodborne?” I keep coming back to Rom. Just look at her dumb, stupid face. One of her attacks is just falling over. That’s the most relatable a video game has been for me since I was an undergrad. Rom doesn’t want to hurt anybody; she’s just a giant, stupid bug/fungus thing. You could just walk away, man. You could just leave poor Rom alone. She’s doing her best trying to grant people eyes and you’re over here hassling her. In front of her kids, man. Just leave her alone.

8. Moder the Bastard of Loki (The Ritual)

Y’know, as a jotun, this guy could have been on the giant list, but I feel like its design and concept are too unique for that. This is a special monster, a kind of revelatory creature. Its design is just out of this world, blending human and stag and those creepy little eyes. But there’s so much more to it than just a great design. Its ability to create illusions essentially gives it access to shapeshifting, tying it to the actual mythology of Loki and Norse giants. The actual ritual to appease Moder, where it picks a person up and impales them on a tree, is reminiscent of the story in Norse mythology where Odin impales himself on the World Tree Yggdrasil to gain the knowledge of the runes. Before a person is killed, Moder shows them something precious to them, or a defining moment in their life; it is, in its own way, giving the person a revelation about what is vital in their own universe. Moder, like any good monster, delivers a message about the meaning of reality to the people it encounters.

9. Set the Slithering God (Conan the Barbarian/Marvel Comics)

I like this comic book version of a god. The actual Egyptian deity Set is fairly complex, and actually examining his character and divine portfolio gives insight into how Egypt’s culture changes over time. Comic book Set, on the other hand, is the god of snake villains. He is the snake villain to end all snake villains. Marvel cooked him up for their old Conan comics based off an offhand mention in one of Robert E. Howard’s stories because they needed Conan to have a nemesis. So Conan’s nemesis, the arch-wizard/priest Thoth Amon, worships the dark god Set, regardless of the fact that Thoth Amon appeared exactly once in the very first Conan story. Now, it’s fifty years later and Set is apparently one of Marvel’s Primordial Ultra-Deities.

It’s that mixture of traditional myth and the cosmic I like again, though this time it’s less H.P. Lovecraft ‘cosmic horror’ and more Jack Kirby ‘cosmic action’; new gods and a new mythology for a new medium, but still the same old story. Set is the Serpent, like the Ogdru Jahad, manifesting in human lore as everything from the serpent in Eden to Leviathan. He was the first murderer, able to absorb the power of any other god he ate, and even today he seeks reptile supremacy. Wherever there is Set there are snakes, enacting the cosmic cycle of death and rebirth while lounging in decadence.

10. Haos the Ultimate Bio-Weapon (Resident Evil 6)

… We’re going to do this now, and then we’re never going to do it again. Because we’re going to talk about something good that was in Resident Evil 6. One of the most infuriating things about RE6 is that it had some of the most incredible monster designs in the Resident Evil series. Great designs. The kind of monster designs that other games only wish they could achieve. And they were wasted on one of the worst games the series has produced. One of those designs was Haos, the apparent ultimate bio-weapon engineered by (ugh) Neo-Umbrella in a secret facility at the bottom of the ocean good lord I’m putting this on a list with William Hope Hodgson.

Haos deserves a better game; its design is unnecessarily fantastic. It looks like a ningen crossed with a jellyfish. It’s some far future stage of human evolution driven to its most extreme and bizarre form. There’s something forlorn and sad about it, but also beautiful and powerful. Its concept is purely apocalyptic; Haos will rise from the bottom of the ocean before it finally dies and dissolves into a gas that will spread across the world, turning humanity into zombies and monsters. Herald of a world of gods and monsters and all that. Even its name is kind of cool; ‘Haos’ is literally Siberian for ‘chaos’. And every day I have to wake up with the knowledge that this wonderful, horrible monster was stuck at the end of a Resident Evil 6 campaign. It’s depressing. So here’s to good old Haos; at least here you’ll get some respect.

#30 Day Monster Challenge 2 #30 Day Monster Challenge #Great Old Ones #Warhammer #Nurgle #Dungeons and Dragons #Lolth #Hellboy #Undertale #long post

101 notes · View notes

orokinarchives · 6 years

Text

Discussion: Ballas

(Ballas concept art, shown at the Art Developer Panel at TennoCon 2017)

As the Tenno have awoken from cryosleep and uncovered the buried memories of their past, one name has come up again and again: Ballas. A powerful figure responsible for the creation of the Sentients, the warframes, and even our beloved companion Cephalon Ordis, Ballas is at the centre of some of the Origin System's most intriguing mysteries. Even today, his influence can be felt by every Tenno as they dream about their history. Here, we will assemble the knowledge we have to see what can be deduced about this portentous and enigmatic character.

Ballas has appeared or been mentioned several times in the lore so far. We will look at each of his appearances, before analysing them all together.

Detron Crewman synthesis entry

The earliest mention of Ballas comes from Cephalon Simaris' Sanctuary, a project designed to glean memories of the past by scanning entities into their constituent data. Repeated synthesis of Detron Crewmen has revealed memories from Archimedian Perintol, an Orokin-era scientist or engineer. Perintol stands before a council of Orokin Executors, who are deciding on his fate. From Perintol's account, we learn several things about Ballas: first, his official title, Executor. We are not told explicitly how many Executors there are, but it is clearly a powerful position, deciding on the fate of major government initiatives (such as the creation of the Sentients and colonisation of other solar systems), as well as the people behind those initiatives.

Perintol also gives us a physical description of Ballas: he is possessed of "purity", "symmetry", and "glittering gold irises". His face is also described as "old", though this is a less precise, and perhaps subjective, description.

We are also shown Ballas' character: overbearing and imperious, but also shrewd and manipulative. The entire sentencing hearing is revealed to be a carefully-orchestrated stratagem for Ballas to get what he wants – the creation of the Sentients – while insulating himself from any potential consequences. Any fallout from the Sentient project – which likely manifested after the Sentients returned to the Origin System – would fall on Executor Tuvul, or Perintol himself. Certainly not Ballas, who was quite vocal in his opposition. And yet we see that the project was Ballas' true objective all along. Ballas is not a blind believer in the hierarchical system he occupies. He is willing to flaunt the law, including the "Seven Principles", and manipulate his fellow Executors to achieve his ends. Whatever his motivations are, they are his alone, separate from other Orokin leadership.

Lastly, we are told that Ballas resides on Mars. From context here, and with additional clues in the Corrupted Ancient synthesis entry, we can infer that Mars was a seat of Orokin power, perhaps rivalling Lua in importance. This reinforces Ballas' high position within Orokin leadership.

The Second Dream

The Second Dream quest establishes Ballas as a significant character in the lore by connecting him to the development of the original warframes. The conversations we overhear reveal further information: Ballas is talking with a woman named Margulis, who he calls his "wilted love". Margulis (who we later learn is an Archimedian) is working with the children from the Zariman 10-0, and Ballas also seems to be overseeing the project to some degree in his official capacity of Executor. The project is to be submitted to the "the Seven" for review, and Ballas urges Margulis to "renounce" – to retract her position that the children can and should be helped. Margulis, rather than renouncing, lambastes the Seven, and Orokin civilisation in general, as being corrupt, and is sentenced to death by unanimous vote. Ballas pronounces the sentence, then privately asks Margulis, mournfully, why she did not follow his advice.

The format of this hearing appears similar to that depicted in the Detron Crewman synthesis entry above: a controversial and cutting-edge project is put before a council, who vote on its fate and that of its leaders. We can reasonably conclude that these are in fact the same kind of hearing, and thus clarify a few points: Ballas is one of seven Executors, and likely holds a preeminent position among them, as he seems to be presiding over the hearings in some capacity. Despite this, he cannot save Margulis from execution when opposed by his fellow Executors. It's worth noting that Ballas also voted to execute Margulis. This is likely indicative of the relationship he has with the other Executors, and the structure of Orokin hierarchy.

In what appears to be a separate conversation some time after Margulis' sentencing, Ballas talks to an unidentified Executor about the Zariman children, who had been kept on Lua in the absence of Margulis' continued care. Possible applications of their Void-granted abilities had been explored (likely depicted in the Rhino Prime codex entry), and the Tenno were being considered for battlefield status. Ballas voices his opposition to this, which is curious. Based on his conversations with Margulis, we can assume that this is indeed his true position – he does not trust the Tenno to save the Orokin, and he perhaps even harbours a grudge against them for Margulis' death. Yet he does not engage in subterfuge, as is his wont, but entreats his fellow Executor quite openly to shutter the Transference project. Perhaps, in the wake of Margulis' death, the rest of the Seven have grown wise to his tricks. Or, perhaps, Ballas sees this issue as so important, he cannot rely on his usual tactics, and must call in every favour to ensure the Empire never has to rely on the Tenno (a course which, as we know, ultimately proves futile).

Prime Warframe cinematic trailers

Every Prime warframe released after the Second Dream (starting with Saryn Prime) has been accompanied by a cinematic trailer (DE's production delays notwithstanding), narrated by Ballas. Though these videos do not, strictly speaking, appear in-game, we will nonetheless regard them as canon, and, as such, study them to see what they can tell us about Ballas.

The Prime warframe trailers were previously analysed in a previous discussion post, so we shall simply revisit the matter.

We see that Ballas now appears to be the head of the Warframe project. He decides – or is chief among the deciders – what warframes are being made, and for what purpose. He does not appear to have lost his status as Executor – he places himself among the Orokin when he speaks, and he is still "beyond death" – so his leadership of the Warframe project is a little odd. It seems slightly beneath his station, but perhaps projects of this magnitude are accorded an Executor supervisor as a matter of course. Perhaps the Sentient project was headed by Executor Tuvul.

Or perhaps this is a new responsibility, imposed by the rest of the council. A certain interpretation of the Vauban Prime trailer raises the possibility that Ballas' relationship with Margulis was not quite a secret. If Ballas is making restitution to the council for his error in judgement, then perhaps the Executors have saddled him with the Warframe project, as both punishment and test. We see that Ballas presents each new warframe to the rest of the Executors – again, somewhat strange if an Executor was already in charge of the project. Is this another condition he must meet, to prove his judgement and loyalty?

Another theory is that he feels duty-bound to honour Margulis after her death, and views the Tenno as vital to her legacy. Maybe he chose to oversee the Warframe project as a personal penance, his motivations unknown to the other Executors. After all, the Zariman children were not destroyed after Margulis' execution as might be expected – perhaps Ballas had a hand in that.

It is also revealed that Ballas harbours some degree of dissatisfaction with the Orokin, both as people – he mourns the sterility of an immortal existence – and as a collective civilisation – he decries the pollution and excess of the Empire. The warframes may be a tool to correct the Orokin's path, but Ballas' exact intentions and goals are unclear for now.

Regardless of his motivations or obligations, we also see that the actual process of creating warframes is a gruesome, foul business, one only an Orokin mind could envisage. For all his benevolence towards Margulis (which, of course, is of dubious value), we see that Ballas is still possessed of a shocking dearth of humanity.

Cephalon fragments

The story of Ordan Karris, told through the cephalon fragments scattered throughout the solar system, is another tale of Orokin brutality. It begins as a lavish ceremony: the mercenary Ordan Karris is being honoured by his Orokin masters for his service. Ballas himself offers Ordan the Red Vial – a draught that serves to convert mere mortals into Orokin, or at least serve as the first step in such a process. But Ordan has no intention of becoming Orokin. He attacks, slaughtering many Orokin and their Dax bodyguards – to no avail. The Orokin are immortal, and shrug off his slaughter as entertainment. Ballas punishes Ordan by having him drink the Red Vial anyway, and converting him into a cephalon for a life of immortal servitude.

First, we have another description of Ballas: "peerless beauty", so perfect that Ordan wonders if it is a hologram or some other deception. Ordan gives us his title again – "Executor of the Seven". Presumably, this is referring to the fact that there are seven Executors, as deduced above from clues in the Second Dream.

Ballas presides over the ceremony, offering Ordan the Red Vial. From this we see that Executors are public figures as well, in positions of leadership among the Orokin, in addition to the considerable power they wield in closed chambers. It is likely that the Executors can be identified with the "Emperors" mentioned in the Stalker's codex entry. Of course, the degree to which they are "public" is a matter of perspective, as Ordan notes that Orokin are not frequently seen by their non-Orokin subjects.

The story serves to demonstrate Ballas' cruel side. Ordan attacked the Orokin because of the brutal acts they forced him to perform. As retaliation, Ballas ordered Ordan's mind excised from his body, stripped of memory and unprofitable emotions, and compelled to serve in whatever capacity was required. Only the faintest hints of Ordan Karris still remain – either an oversight, or, more likely, a premeditated enhancement to the torture. Once again, we see the depths of the Orokin's inhumanity, and Ballas' complicity in such a system.

It's also worth noting that this is the first direct mention of Orokin immortality, predating the Nekros Prime trailer by a couple months. The knowledge that he would live forever surely served to increase Ballas' pride.

The Silver Grove

Ballas is very briefly mentioned in the Silver Grove quest. Silvana, an Archimedian working on the Warframe Project, says that he is "beyond pleased" with the warframe Silvana has made – Titania.

Silvana's Apothics tell us that Ballas and Margulis were working on the Warframe Project contemporaneously. Margulis began the project as a therapeutic effort, but somewhere along the way it pivoted towards weapon development, with Margulis still in charge (under Ballas). It's possible that Margulis was executed for eventually rebelling against this application of her technology.

Apostasy Prologue

The Apostasy Prologue provides us with more snippets of conversation between Ballas and Margulis. He begs her to recant, so that her sentence will be lessened, but she is defiant, saying that Ballas is "no different from the rest of them." It appears that Margulis thought that Ballas was more humane than his counterparts, or that she could work in his heart to change him. Faced with her pending execution, it seems as though she was incorrect.

We then hear some of Margulis' sentencing: Ballas tells her that she can recant, and be rewarded with a "merciful death", or resist and be rewarded with something worse. From the litany of Orokin atrocities we have seen, it's clear that this is no idle threat. Margulis refuses to recant, or even address the Orokin, instead opting to say goodbye to her children, the Tenno.

Afterwards, we come to the somewhat cryptic encounter. Ballas meets face-to-face with the Lotus, addressing her as Margulis, and promising to never abandon her again. The Lotus, after initial confusion, appears to respond positively to him, and the two vanish.

This mini-quest gives us both knowledge and questions. The biggest revelation is that Ballas is alive, in the modern day. We also see that Ballas can manipulate technology and energy telepathically. This is, of course, not unreasonable, given what we know of the Orokin, but this is the first direct proof we have of these sorts of abilities. It is unclear if he has control over all technology, or just devices of Orokin construction (which the Lotus' helmet and throne may have been).

Our understanding of his relationship to the Lotus, and Margulis, are complicated in the wake of this exchange. We know that the Sentient operative Natah infiltrated the Warframe program and became the Tenno's handler, and we know that Natah took on the symbolic role of Margulis to do so. Given that Ballas was in charge of the program, it is unlikely Natah mirrored the actual appearance of Margulis, which would have been conspicuous indeed. But how much of this was Ballas aware of?

He seems to think the Lotus is Margulis, undeterred even when the Lotus insists she is not. One of them is mistaken. Has Ballas erroneously conflated the Lotus – a guardian figure to the Tenno – with his old lover? Or has the Lotus been deceived about her very nature?

When the Lotus is disconnected from her throne, she seems to have a new awareness of Ballas, almost as if Margulis is waking up from being a dormant part of the Lotus' personality. If Margulis somehow escaped execution and was fused with Natah to create the person we now know as the Lotus, Ballas was almost certainly involved. But how did he accomplish this if Margulis was ostensibly executed via Jade Light, which physically disintegrates its victims? How was she spirited away without the other Executors knowing? As yet, we do not have an answer for these questions.

Lastly, we finally see Ballas' appearance. First revealed at the TennoCon 2017 Art Panel, and now seen in-game, Ballas has bluish-gray skin and glowing white eyes (with no visible pupils), and is bedecked with golden finery, including an ornate sword on his left hip. His left arm is normal in appearance, but his right arm – often obscured under his artfully asymmetric clothing – is unsettlingly elongated, with long, golden fingernails more akin to talons. With his arm visible, Ballas can easily fall into the uncanny valley. This physical depiction of him is strangely at odds with previous descriptions by Perintol and Ordan. Shifting standards of beauty are somewhat plausible, but Perintol specifically describes him as symmetrical. Perhaps Ballas keeps his right arm hidden almost constantly. Why does he have such an appearance? Are the gray skin and asymmetric limbs desired, or are they a by-product of Orokin immortality? Or, perhaps most likely, his body has warped after millennia without state-of-the-art Orokin technology. Hopefully, further explanation is forthcoming.

Summation

Before the Collapse, Ballas was powerful, arrogant, and manipulative, using his lofty position to secure his interests, whatever they may be. He was also cruel and vindictive, applying gruesome punishments to those who stood in his way, all in an exercise of power.

He also loved Margulis, a situation that informed much of his behaviour before, and perhaps after, the Collapse. Her headstrong nature forced Ballas into choosing between his love for her and his love for power, and with the muddied circumstances of Margulis' death, it's still not quite clear what he chose. But she continued to influence his decisions after her execution, as we see in his oversight of the Warframe program. Although he views the Tenno as dangerous, it's likely he sees them as a connection to Margulis – a connection that may no longer be necessary if Margulis is still alive, freeing Ballas to eliminate the Tenno if he still sees them as a threat.

He had his misgivings about Orokin society and civilisation, possibly accentuated by a desire for revenge against the institutions that led to Margulis' death (although the latter is purely speculation). That, combined with his admiration for the warframes, hints that Ballas may have been aware of or even aided indirectly the slaughter of the Executors at the Terminus.

Of course, now we know that Ballas escaped death by the Tenno's blades (which would be plausible if he were involved), and is still alive today. The nature of his immortality is not clear, but it appears to be separate from the Continuity ritual that the Twin Queens utilise to survive. Ballas' body is distinct from anything else seen in the Origin System, so it may be his original Orokin form, or a degraded version of it.

It is curious that he waited until now to make an appearance. The development of ship-shattering Grineer superweapons, the threat of engineered Mutalist Technocyte hordes, and the resurrection of Hunhow himself were not enough to draw Ballas out of the shadows. Where has he been? What has he been doing? How much of his old pride and self-serving ambition still remain? The timing of his appearance – after the mysterious Void entity known as the Man in the Wall attained a stronger influence in the physical world – hints that Ballas may have a connection to the Void, which raises even more questions. What are his goals now that he has returned? Hopefully these questions will be addressed soon with the release of the Sacrifice quest. But for now, all we can do is study, analyse, and above all, wait.

[Navigation: Hub → Discussion → Ballas]

#warframe #discussion #not lore #ballas #orokin #orokin archives

57 notes · View notes

vice-s-assistant · 6 years

Link

A few important points from this translation:

• Soul Calibur 6 started development when the series was approaching its 20th anniversary, and they realized that there's no weapon-based 3D fighter out on current hardware.

• The keyword was "reboot". Taking a new look on all past titles, how people played them, and how they were received.

• The feelings behind revamping the early days of Soul Calibur were partly to bring new players into its grand history, but also to beckon old players to come back and play.

• The title's setting, 1586, is a year that hasn't been talked about much in Soul Calibur lore. *The original SC took place 1587, SC2-4 took place 1591, and SC5 took place 1607 or 1608.

• New characters will appear as well. Important characters that will be closely connected to the story from now on.

• They showed Sophitia and Mitsurugi now, but more characters will be introduced gradually to the public.

• (Regarding guest characters) "Please look forward to it!"

• The fundamental parts of the battle system, based around vertical slashes, horizontal slashes and running to move around will not be changed.

• Heavy emphasis is being placed on movement speed and how it feels to control your character, and being tuned so that anyone can play and enjoy it.

• The biggest change is the addition of "Reversal Edge", a one-button input that allows you to guard against almost any move, be they high, mid or low. For beginners, learning this technique can allow them to battle more evenly against experienced players.

• Emphasis is being placed on how much fun they can bring out from getting people into a bladed battle with such a one-button move. They're also particular about making it look good.

• Critical Edge attacks also make a return. Because of them having difficult inputs in Soul Calibur 5, they are now activated with a single button press.

• Contrary to Critical Edge, there's also a new system called Soul Charge. You use your gauge to temporarily power yourself up. There are certain moves which can only be used in this state.

• There's a mechanic called "Lethal Hit" aimed at high-level players, in which a move can, under certain conditions, hit in a special way, which leads to a slow-motion effect and makes it possible to follow up with a powerful combo. By landing this, you also break your opponent's equipment.

• If you break Mitsurugi's lower armor, he will fight in a fundoshi. If you break Sophitia's hair ornaments, her hairstyle will change.

• Guard Impact is possible without using any gauge.

• They want to include a tutorial mode in the game.

• They feel that Character Creation is a part of Soul Calibur's charm that simply cannot be removed. They can't say anything more on the subject, but urge players to look forward to more on that front.

• Development is 70% complete.

#News #Soul Calibur #Soul Calibur VI #Bandai Namco

198 notes · View notes

darkhymns-fic · 7 years

Text

The Rebel and the Captain

An AU based on the concept of Asgore having died from the buttercups pie instead of just getting food poisoning, leaving Toriel to rule the Underground by herself.

Fandom: Undertale Characters: Undyne, Papyrus, Gerson, Toriel Rating: G Mirror Links: AO3 Notes: Written by Sky. Special thanks to my Discord friends for all their encouragement and inspiring me to write this alternate universe story. Small reference to this comic. (It is a good comic, check it out.)

Ever since King Asgore was poisoned by the first fallen human, the Underground has been full of tension. Queen Toriel decreed that all humans be treated with kindness, and that no violence may befall them. In fact, it is said that she has cared for the previous humans that fell, just as she had done with the human that had murdered her beloved King.

The Rebels disagreed with this edict, vowing to gather the human souls to break through the barrier and finally be free. The Rebels believed in fighting for what's right, while the Queen vehemently opposed them with her Royal Captain and her guards.

Undyne, the Rebel Leader, believes in their cause. But a certain skeleton has been getting in her way lately...

The wind was howling.

Queen Toriel shuddered. She looked to the small crack above, and noticed dark clouds gathering on the outside world. A storm was coming. It would be violent, certainly. It was times like this that she was glad they stayed Underground. If only the other monsters could understand the dangers.

She took a sip of her tea. Still too bitter. Her eyes fell upon the old king’s throne, now covered in a sheet, placed away in the corner of her garden. It wasn’t dusty. She cleaned it regularly. She wouldn’t allow it to dirty.

While the outside world may have been cold and angry, the garden seemed happy today. A few flowers disobeyed and wilted here and there, while others might have grown far too large, but for the most part, they listened to her. Toriel never could quite handle the flowers the same way he could.

Despite it all, it was another good day in the Underground. Maybe she’d visit her royal scientists today and see their progress! Those two always seemed so happy to see her. Truth be told, they never failed to brighten her day either. Especially Sans.

A cold wind bit into her fur. She shivered, finding her eyes had fallen upon the empty throne yet again. She fought the urge to apologize.

An explosion boomed into her sensitive ears, causing the Queen to flinch. Thunder?

“YOUR HONOR!” The sound grew louder. “YOUR HONOR!”

Toriel let out a sigh of relief. With a polite smile, she greeted the knight. “Yes, Captain Papyrus? Something to report?”

The knight’s heavy armor clanked and jingled all while his bones rattled to the rhythm of his jogging. As usual, the bone white chest piece was polished to an excruciatingly bright sheen, capable of blinding any who might dare to stare at it too long.

“YOUR HONOR!” Papyrus boomed, his voice muffled under his helmet. Strangely, the helmet was shaped almost exactly like his actual skull. With a huff, he removed his skull helmet, revealing what appeared to be the exact same face. “INCREDIBLE NEWS, YOUR HONOR!”

Toriel flinched again, his voice now even louder without the helmet. She never could bring herself to correct the knight that it was ‘your majesty’ and not ‘your honor.’ She cleared her throat, attempting to sound more royal. Papyrus liked that. “What news do you bring, Captain?”

Of course, nearly every day Papyrus came bursting in with ‘incredible news’ about how a cat monster was stuck in a tree, or how Shyren was holding a concert, or how well his pet rock was doing that day. Toriel did not mind. She handpicked the tall excitable skeleton after all.

Under her rein, it was imperative that all humans be treated with the same respect and dignity as any other monster. Papyrus had proven to be one of the most hardest-working and gentle souls she had ever met. He was always very eager to help any monster in need, and often created enjoyable puzzles for future humans (or monsters) to solve. Queen Toriel, of course, made sure every puzzle was safe! She would often even help Captain Papyrus create new enjoyable puzzles for the kids.

In her eyes, no one could be better suited for the job of keeping the peace. Yet still, the wind howled. Toriel did fear for his safety at times. She had hoped the armor he designed would be strong enough to protect him from any harm.

As if waiting for her inner monologue to finish, Papyrus bowed before Toriel. She usually would never allow anyone to bow before her, but Papyrus seemed to really enjoy the authenticity. “YOUR HONOR, THERE’S BEEN REPORTS OF A HUMAN!”

Her royal façade shattered. That smile faltered. “A… human?” she repeated dumbly. Her next words were only audible to her. “Already?”

Papyrus looked up at her, his eyes glistening with heroic sparkles. “YES! HOW EXCITING! I CAN’T WAIT TO MEET THEM! BUT, I FIGURED I SHOULD TELL YOU FIRST!”

Toriel’s thoughts whirled like the storm above. While she did not fear the human, she did fear the consequences. Not all monsters were so keen on staying in the Underground. Not all monsters wished to treat humans with kindness.

“WELL IF YOU’LL EXCUSE ME, YOUR HONOR, I HAVE A HUMAN TO CAPTURE!” He paused then added: “AND ESCORT SAFELY TO YOUR HOME!” In a flash, he donned his skull helmet and ran towards the garden’s exit, his red scarf fluttering with glee behind him.

“Papyrus, wait!” she called out.

Thunder boomed, and her voice was drowned out by the muffled ‘NYEH HEH HEH’s in his helmet. Before she could give chase, he was already gone. Toriel looked back to her home. She would need to prepare.

Her eyes fell to the old throne once more. She prayed he would be all right.

She hated it here.

“hOI! i’M tE-”

“You’re Temmie, I know,” Undyne groaned as she strolled past the various vibrating monsters. She pointed at the Temmie next to the first and the ones next to that one. “And you’re Temmie, and you’re Temmie, and you’re Bob. I know. I’ve been coming here every day for years, and you all say the same damn thing.”

The Temmies grew silent, looking amongst each other. Finally, they stood still. Maybe she had gotten through to them?

“hOI! i’M tEMMIE!”

Undyne threw her claws in the air. “Ngaaaaah!!” Despite her threatening motions, the Temmies continued to stare and vibrate like always.

Temmie Village bustled with various Temmie activity, as usual. Hungry Temmies lined up at the shop to buy their Tem Flakes, using their own Tem Flakes as currency. Temmies chattered amongst Temmies about their rich deep Temmie lore with zero details past that. It was the same maddening process every day.

Undyne shook her head and tried to ignore it. She ducked and crawled through a small hole in the cave’s wall, and as usual, she had the most distinct scale crawling feeling of being watched. Every time. As she stepped out into the secret room, sweaty grunts entered her fishy ears.

“Hello, Undyne ;),” Aaron winked, his muscles glistening with way too much sweat. He flexed next to a pair of dumbbells, practicing for anyone that might challenge him. He was the perfect defense to keep the Temmies away. mUSCLES r nOT cUTE!

“Hey, Aaron,” Undyne waved. She was always glad to have him around, even if he wasn’t part of the cause. A flexing challenge usually helped with any stress she might be feeling. However, today wasn’t the day for flexing. Something was in the air. Her spear hand tensed, itching to be used.

Looking past a pair of worn and possibly angry-looking dummies, Undyne found herself at the Rebel Base. It wasn’t too showy, and it didn’t need to be. The base’s wooden boards were rickety and scratched after generations of use, but somehow this old thing managed to stay standing. Inside held several tables and chairs, some holding unfinished card games, others Nice Cream wrappers and old burnt doggy treats. Weapons of all kinds lined the walls, from spears with dog faces, to matching his/her axes. It was a sty that desperately needed some cleaning, but that was for another time.

The Rebels formed themselves many years before Undyne was even born. They had been a part of the Underground since anyone could remember. If Undyne had been the leader back then, she would have named it something cooler, but apparently it was named in honor of old King Asgore who was never great at names.

It's been told that the poor guy died due to food poisoning by flowers from his old garden. Sad way to go. Worst part was the King’s own adopted human kid was the perpetrator. Killed himself, and his dad. The King’s blood related son died soon after as well, although not much information is known about that. More than likely that human’s doing as well.

The Queen wanted everyone to forget it happened, wanted to pretend that humans did nothing wrong. As if the humans weren’t responsible for banishing them underground like they were diseased mutants, jailing them and tossing away the key. And some monsters did forgive and forget. But not everyone. Not the Rebels. They wouldn’t forget what the humans did, and they wouldn’t forgive so easily either. It was shortly after the old King’s death that the Rebels had formed, demanding for a change. It was at that time the group was at its absolute largest, too. That was a long time ago though.

The Queen passed an order to everyone in the Underground to treat any potential human like they would any other monster. With kindness and respect. Undyne spat just thinking of it. The Queen thinks it’s better to stay Underground! She doesn’t care about the overcrowding, she doesn’t care that they’ll never see the outside world, see the stars.

But the Rebels do.

Undyne moved through a door, her dirty boots squeaking against the floorboards. The old Rebel leaders stared at her through their painted canvases, their will for a better monster life filling her with determination. They worked hard, they kept these old tales intact, and now it was up to Undyne to keep them strong.

Past the paintings, past another set of old doors, Undyne made it to her seldom used office. It was a dingy little place, papers and maps strewn about haphazardly. On her desk, a half-eaten Crab Apple lay, nearly rotten, and mostly forgotten. She pushed that and her old cup of Sea Tea over onto the floor, her claws reaching underneath.

With a satisfying click! And the whirring of an old antique machine, a secret compartment opened in one of the moldy walls.

She wanted to see them again today. She needed to remember…

She had both her eyes back then. Strangely enough, it felt harder to see.

Like most monsters, Undyne had lived in New Home. Of course, back then, she had no home, no parents to speak of. She couldn’t remember them either, nor did she wish to. Sadly, this wasn’t entirely uncommon. New Home was (and still is) overcrowded. Undyne knew the other kids without parents or homes as well, and she liked them. Queen Toriel tried to set up homes and schools for any homeless monsters, but it simply wasn’t enough.

That’s not to say Undyne was unhappy. Even as a little street urchin, she enjoyed finding a new hole to sleep in, new places to explore, new food to steal. Sometimes things could get a little dire. Sometimes she’d go a day or two without eating, but it was okay. Sometimes the weaker monsters couldn’t steal like she could. Even as a child, Undyne would give up her snacks for the few that couldn’t get their own. It was all right. Queen Toriel was doing her best, they’d say. She did a good job, they’d say.

While there was always plenty of room in places like Snowdin or Hotland, most monsters simply could not live in those climates. So most lived in New Home. New areas were being dug out by the Queen’s orders every day, but it wasn’t enough. But it was okay. She was trying her best. Some were unhappy. Some wanted to leave the Underground. That just wasn’t possible. Some were afraid to criticize the Queen’s decision, and Undyne didn’t blame them.

“I hate it here!” A monster child said, looking up at the cavern’s looming stalactites. “I want to see the outside! I want more room to play!”

Undyne growled then, her little scaly hands turned to fists. “You watch what you say about the Queen!”

She forgot what the child looked like. “What do you care about her? You live on the streets!”

She remembered growing angry then, ready to hit the opposing child. Her dirty fangs grit together. “I don’t care! I like it here!”

She didn’t forget what the child had said. “Well, you might like it here, but I don’t!”

Undyne’s stomach growled. Two days had passed again, and she had eaten nothing more than a morsel. It was getting harder and harder to steal from shops. Most places knew her now, ready for “that scaly street urchin.” Ugh, why did she share that bisicle with that dirty little cat and alligator.

Because they were hungry, too. She had to help them. Who else would?

The stone buildings of New Home felt so much bigger back then. She couldn’t understand it at her age. How could it be so crowded when the buildings were so big? She remembered vividly pushing through Froggits, dodging through Whimsalot’s fluttering wings, and sliding by slimy moldsmals. A normal day in New Home.

“Wah hah hah! Thank you kindly!” A scratchy old voice rose above the usual chatter of the monster filled street. Undyne couldn’t help but grin. Hopefully, whoever this guy was, he had some food.

Ignoring a Loox’s cries, “Don’t bully me!” Undyne nimbly hopped off their head and onto a soft striped awning, above the crowded streets. From up here, she could see her target clearly, just across the way. He was busy with a customer.

“Wah hah hah!” She remembered thinking back then how genuine his laughter felt. Her child mind didn’t know how to put it into words, and her growling belly fogged her thoughts. He was just some old turtle, selling weird crab shaped apples and tea on a flimsy wooden stand. Focusing harder, she noticed the old turtle’s eye stayed permanently shut.

Perfect. How could anyone with only one eye be strong?

His wispy old beard reminded her of the wizards that other monsters talked about. Liver spots littered his grey green scales like gross puddles on the street. The old man barely even had any teeth left! What teeth he did have were misshapen and ugly. Probably couldn’t even eat the apples he was selling. Really, she’d be doing him a favor with her theft!

With a hop, she was back among the river of monsters, swimming through their bodies with ease. With all the monsters about, there was no chance he’d see her. Soon she was under the stand, her little body not even tall enough to see over it.

“Wah hah hah! Careful with all that nothing ya bought!” The old voice laughed as an unpleased monster left. This was Undyne’s chance. In a quick motion, she snatched an apple in one claw, and stole a nice cup of tea in the other. There was no way he noticed, it was too busy. She didn’t even need to run.

Undyne quickly took a bite out of the apple. Fruity and savory. The texture was soft like crab meat. Grinning, she drank from the cup, tasting a delicious sweet and salty liquid. Things just tasted so much better when you were hungry! Especially free food. This might have been the easiest meal she had gotten in a while, too!

“Woah there!” A wrinkly hand grabbed her by the scruff of her tattered striped shirt. “Scuse’ me little missy, but I think ya forgot to pay! Wah hah hah!” His grip was rough, holding her a little too tight, betraying that genuine laugh. The crowd of monsters gave the old man space, like a rock cutting a river in two.

Undyne whirled around, clutching the food and drink like her life depended on it. It probably did. “I didn’t forget!” she yelled, angry that this old man was defending his stolen goods. “Leave me alone!” Her hands full, she snapped her fangs at his fingers, expecting him to flinch and let her go.

Instead, she found her mouth full of gross salty old scales. Her fangs were sharp and pierced through his arm like they were rusty shields. He didn’t so much as flinch.

“Must be mighty hungry, aint ya?” He said, his lone eye wide, staring deep into her. She wouldn’t admit it then, but it frightened her. He saw too much. Saw through her. “But I’ll have to ask ya to at least eat the apple before ya start eating me, wah hah hah!”

Undyne growled and struggled, tossing little curled claws at the arm. No one could hold her! No one! No one had ever stopped her before! “Let me go!” she screeched.

Like the old man’s laugh, his frown, too, was genuine. Annoyed. “Calm down, ya little urchin!”

Maybe it was respect. Maybe it was fear. But Undyne stopped biting and punching, and stared up at the old man, still defiant.

His frown vanished, replaced again with that warm, half toothy smile. “Much better! Now, what ya did just now was mighty wrong, ya know.” He nodded. “Where’s your parents, little urchin?”

“I don’t got any!” Undyne yelled, on the verge of tears she was so angry. She never cried. “I don’t need any!”

His eye blinked. Again, he stared. Stared into her. Too deeply. She couldn’t help but shiver. An odd noise escaped his dry lips. “Well, either way, you can’t be goin’ around stealing from people, ya hear?” He looked over to his stand, forcing Undyne to see as well. A huge dark weapon gleamed, blunt, and black. Probably even older than this old man. “People call me the Hammer of Justice, ya know.”

So, it was a fight then, huh!? Undyne was no stranger to fights. She dropped the tea onto the stone concrete and reached for a nearby stick. It was more like a twig really. “Yeah!? Well!...” She gripped the branch hard, feeling it already crumbling in her claws. “I’m the Spear of Justice! I’m not afraid of you!” She pointed the little leafy thing directly at his one good eye.

The old turtle stared at the little girl before him, brandishing an old stick. In an instant, his grip on her faltered, and his laughter boomed again. “WAH HAH! HAH!”

She was free now. She could have run away. The old man could barely control himself, slapping his scaly old knees and wheezing like a fool. She could have escaped. “What’s so funny?!” Undyne demanded, shoving her stick closer to his shell, threatening to poke it. She didn’t like being laughed at.

Undyne moved to Waterfall soon after. Gerson’s home was always available to her, anytime she pleased. Whenever she returned, she always found the bed neatly made, a fresh crab apple, and sea tea sitting nearby.

She much preferred Waterfall over New Home. Undyne would spend most of her years growing up, and picking fights in the dark, damp caves, enjoying the watery lakes spread throughout. She even made friends for once. Maybe Gerson was a good influence on her. Maybe she just didn’t need to fight as much as she had at New Home.

Dogamy, Dogaressa, Doggo, Greater Dog, and Lesser Dog. They were just pups back then, but they were rambunctious and excitable. They followed Undyne around, and she was all too happy to pet and roughhouse with their seemingly unlimited energy. Others might look at her funny when she went to the cold frigid lands of Snowdin to visit the dogs, but even as a kid, she’d beat up anyone who talked smack about her or her friends.

“When I grow up, I’m gonna join the Royal Guard!” Undyne roared, readying a heroic stance against little Dogamy and Dogaressa. Even back then, they were inseparable.

Dogamy held his plastic toy axe in front of Dogaressa, his fangs showing in a mock growl. Dogaressa sported a similar stance, but her teeth looked sharper, her growl more menacing. “I’m gonna join them too! (I’ll be the Captain of the Royal Guard!)”

Doggo stood under a snowy tree, smoking his dog treats. It was a bad habit he had learned early on, and he hid it from his parents well. Undyne and the others swore they would never tell on him. Greater Dog and Lesser dog simply looked on the mock fight, tongues lolling and tails wagging.

Undyne cackled, her light green spear shimmering in her hand. It faded in and out, as she hadn’t quite learned how to control it fully yet. “No way! I’m gonna be the captain! And I’ll destroy the Rebels myself!” With a bit too much force, she pushed Dogamy into the fluffy white snow.

His eyes lit up with tears, while Dogaressa’s lit with rage. “Owwwwooo!! (Why’d you push him so hard?!)”

In her excitement, she forgot that it was Dogaressa who was more okay with roughhousing. She didn’t mean to make him cry. “Well, maybe he shouldn’t be such a baby!”

At the very least, Dogaressa made for a great opponent afterwards. Undyne couldn’t even remember who won that fight. Probably Undyne. Yeah.

The first time she met Queen Toriel was strange. Undyne had always heard of her, but never seen her in person. There were so many people to meet, so many people to help, she never quite had the time to see them all. Undyne remembered holding the Queen up on some unrealistic pedestal, but then again, most everyone did.

Toriel was tall. Very tall. Undyne was impressed. She must be so strong! She must be unstoppable! Her feet crunched in the snow as she waved goodbye to the people in Snowdin. Undyne and the dogs hid stealthily behind the trees, watching her every move. Once Toriel thought she was out of sight, her smile broke, and a deep sad frown washed over her muzzle. Undyne didn’t think much of it back then.

All she knew was she had to defeat the Queen. If she could fight the Queen and win, she’d be the strongest in all the Underground! Everyone would know it! The Queen would be so impressed, she’d make Undyne Captain of the Royal Guard right there! It was perfect! Her little heart pounded in anticipation, her spear hand clenching and unclenching.

The Queen drew near, and Undyne knew it was the perfect time to strike. “Ngaaah! Stop right there!” She roared, leaping in front of the immense monster before her. The dogs stood behind her, tails wagging, toy weapons at the ready.

The Queen let out a small noise of shock, clearly impressed with Undyne’s cunning. “Oh, goodness!” She breathed a sigh of relief, as if worried it might have been something worse. “Hello there, children!” Her smile then was so warm and so comforting. Something Undyne never understood. It made her heart heavy.

Focusing her energy, Undyne clenched at the spear in her hand. She wouldn’t let it fade out of existence now! She needed her full power! “I’m Undyne, the Spear of Justice! I demand you fight me!” She had practiced that line many times just in case of such an occasion.

The Queen blinked, appearing confused. She didn’t take a battle stance.

Undyne wouldn’t take no for an answer. “Fight me, now!” She cried, leaping forward towards the Queen.

In a swift movement, the Queen snatched up Undyne, halting her heroic charge. “Now now, my child!” She said, her eyes glowing with great power yet also a warm gentleness. “Fighting is wrong.”

The words felt like a stab to the gut. Instantly the spear blinked out of her hand. Undyne’s body felt limp, weak. “Wrong?” she repeated dumbly.

The Queen nodded with the sternness of a parent Undyne never knew. “That’s right. Fighting is bad. In the Underground, we talk through our problems, and we never hurt anyone. Hurting someone else is wrong. You must only be kind.”

Undyne couldn’t believe it. Her mind faltered, seemed to drown in a whirlpool of conflicting thoughts. She meant to speak, but words wouldn’t come out.

Am I a bad person?

Queen Toriel saw the effect her words had on Undyne. She frowned. However, something in the distance compelled her to move quickly. She put down the little fish girl gently, noting that the dogs had also backed down. “Oh, my children…” she sighed. It appeared she wanted to stay longer, but simply couldn’t. “I am not angry with you. I mean only for you to learn kindness.”

Undyne couldn’t even look up at her.

“Here, my child,” the Queen said after a moment. “Please, take this.” She gently placed a plate into Undyne’s claws, a warm fluffy piece of pie seemingly floating atop it. Where did the Queen keep this?

Again, the Queen looked out into the distance. Quickly, she knelt, close to Undyne’s eye level. Those fiery red eyes stared deep into hers, and she could feel a strange invading judgement again. Toriel licked her index finger and gently rubbed a dirty scrape off Undyne’s face. With a sigh, she shook her head and went down the snowy road.

The pie was delicious, but left a bitter aftertaste.

She went home to Gerson later that day. Undyne didn’t mind sleeping out on her own usually, but she felt strange. She stared at the cave floor instead of looking forward. She couldn’t make her spear appear at all anymore.

“Wah hah hah!” Gerson greeted with his usual laugh. “Hey there, little urchin!”

She moved past his store’s stand and to the bed at the end of the room. She flicked the little blue mushroom light on. With a sigh she said, “Hey, Gerson,” and bit into her Crab Apple. It tasted sour compared to the pie she had earlier.

Gerson may have had only one eye, and that eye barely worked, but he could always see through her. Back then, it felt like some kind of superpower to little Undyne. How could he know she was feeling bad? It was because he was a hero, of course!

No, she was just really obvious.

“What’s wrong?” Gerson asked, a toothy old smile on his wrinkled face. “I’ve never seen the Stick of Justice look so sad before! Wah hah!”

Undyne growled. “Spear of Justice! I’m the Spear!”

“Wah hah hah! Believe me, I haven’t forgotten!” He laughed again.

But instead of shouting further, Undyne just bit into her soft apple again. Gerson frowned. Usually his teases got her out of any funk she was in.

For a while, the two listened to the gentle drips and drops of Waterfall. The echoes and the echo flowers flowing together with little droplets, sounding like a cascade of water all around. She wasn’t sure why she said what she said next.

“Grandpa,” Undyne cringed, usually avoiding calling him that. He didn’t tease her for it. Merely moved closer. Then the words simply spilled out. “Am I a bad person?”

Gerson let out a grunt of surprise. “What! No! No, of course not my little urchin!” His cracked and scaly hands patted her head gently, a strange yet comforting feeling. “Why, you’re the Spear of Justice, remember! Why would you ever think that?”

Undyne hated this feeling. The words kept spilling out, falling into the cave, the echo flowers nearby mocking her every step. She didn’t want to say them, but it kept happening. “I… um… Queen Toriel…”

Gerson’s eye widened, he had probably already figured out what happened.

“She told me fighting was bad. But I love fighting, Gran-er, Gerson! Is it—is it really wrong to fight?” She hesitated, a little hiccup escaping. She wasn’t crying! “I had to fight, sometimes! I had to!” She paused. “Didn’t I?”

Gerson let out a groan and scratched the back of his head. “Ahh, well, Undyne…” he sighed. “Don’t let ol’ Toriel get to you like that.” She noticed then, how he never referred to her as the Queen. “She’s a good lady! A very good lady! She knows what’s best for us, for sure!” He kept scratching his head. “She’s been through a lot. She tries her best.”

Undyne didn’t understand. She looked up at the old turtle who for once fumbled over his words. “I don’t think she knows,” Gerson went on. “That sometimes fighting is the only way. Maybe she just refuses to think that now.”

“Does that mean…” Gears turned in her little cranium, and she never forgot this moment. “The Queen is wrong?”

His head sure seemed itchy. Couldn’t stop scratching at it. “Ah, well!” Gerson was at a loss. “Nobody’s perfect, my little urchin! But…” He stopped scratching finally and looked back to Undyne, a big goofy grin on his face. “If she thinks you’re bad for fighting, then she’s as wrong as wrong can be! Wah hah hah! I know you’re a good little girl, and I know you’ll be a hero when you grow up! Fighting or not!”

Undyne took a sip of her sea tea. The sweetness energized her.

He never did agree on her joining the Rebels, though. But he still supported her, in his own way.

Undyne found herself in the present again. Her empty eye socket felt cold, the skin beneath her eyepatch irritated. The thing in her claws felt smooth, yet still tough. She eyed it harshly, touching it with a hate filled gentleness. She could crush it. Destroy it right there. But she needed it. They all needed it.

Again her empty eye socket writhed. She wanted to rub it, scratch it, do something to fix it, but she learned long long ago that nothing would fix it…

The day she lost her eye felt like every other day. The scolding of Queen Toriel had already been but a distant memory. Not forgotten, however. It was there, always there, but she didn’t take heed to it so much.

The dogs came to Waterfall today to visit. Lesser Dog and Greater Dog loved the new smells, the strange waters, and the constant barking of the echo flowers. Those two never quite realized it was just their own barking echoing back at them. She wondered if there were still echo flowers out there somewhere barking and yipping like that day. She hoped so.

Dogamy and Dogaressa hated the water. Doggo wasn’t a fan either, but as long as he had his treats, he didn’t care. Greater Dog had already grown into quite the big puffball even at their young age, towering over the tiny little fluffball that was Lesser Dog. Undyne was never sure if they were brothers or just good friends. She never felt comfortable asking, and Greater Dog wasn’t the best at conversations.

While Greater and Lesser still hadn’t learned to walk on two legs yet, they did love going for a swim in the lakes. Their little and giant feet treading water happily, swimming in circles. Every so often they’d jump back out, shake all the loose water from their fur, and splash the rest of the group unknowingly in the process.

“No! No more water! (I hate water! Cut it out!)” Dogamy and Dogaressa cried/growled.

Undyne laughed. She’d go swimming with the dogs, too, pretending to be a deadly shark out to prey on them. Greater and Lesser dog simply licked her face before she attacked, never realizing she was trying to impose danger.

Something strange happened though. Something no one could predict, something very few in the Underground even realized happened.

Reeds rustled nearby, grass shaking and shivering with the presence of something. Dogamy whined but held his toy axe in front of Dogaressa anyway. Dogaressa scooted in front, baring her fangs. “H-hey, who’s that smell?! (Identify yoursmelf!)” Their nostrils flared, indicating it was a strange smell indeed.

Those two were always so jumpy. Undyne wasn’t afraid. When a pale little form tumbled out of the reeds, she and her doggy friends ran forward towards it. The dogs sniffed the thing like mad, tails whirring like well-oiled machines, noses huffing, and only one growler and one whiner.

Undyne looked over the little thing. They were smaller than she was, skinny too. She’d seen this before too many times. Looked like the poor thing hadn’t eaten in days. They wore a big pair of glasses, fogged up and cloudy, hiding their eyes away. In their hand, they clutched a notebook and pencil tightly. Something was off about this monster. They were so fleshy, even a little twitchy. It wasn’t like any monster she had seen before.

A tentative hand pet Lesser Dog’s fur, stroking sweetly. At times, their little hand would clutch the fur a little too hard, but Lesser Dog didn’t notice, licking their pale face at any possible instance. That face. Their lips curled into a smile sometimes, like a nervous twitch. Greater Dog wanted some pets, too, but they looked a bit too afraid to pet that big furry form, even though Undyne was certain Greater Dog would never hurt a fly.

The revelation stabbed into her skull. “You’re a human!” Undyne shouted, practically hopping with excitement. A human! Wow! She’d heard stories about them from other monsters, and Toriel’s laws claiming to treat humans with respect. They were harmless, nice creatures, and although they were different, should be treated like any other monster.

If only she had known better.

The human flinched at the shout, again gripping Lesser Dog’s fur too tightly. They didn’t seem to talk much. Maybe too afraid to speak. Maybe too hungry to speak. Maybe unable, or simply too far gone. Dogamy’s tail turned into a high-speed wag, escaping from between his legs once he heard. Dogaressa was still cautious. Smart. “A human! A human! Wow! Please pet me too! (Humans are weird!)”

Undyne could hardly contain her glee. She could take this human to Queen Toriel! Toriel wouldn’t be angry at her anymore if she saw how well she could take care of this human! She’d be Captain of the Royal Guard and beating up bad guys in no time! Gerson’s home wasn’t too far from here, maybe he could help as well! Everyone would be so proud of her!

Before her thoughts could take her away any farther, a deep voice burned: “Children! Get away from that human, at once!” His throat sounded scorched and hot, and it commanded authority.

Undyne looked back and saw them for the first time. The Rebels. She’d heard stories about them, some good, most bad. They disobeyed the Queen, refused to take any humans to her, and distrusted the lot of them. The dragon monster before her stood tall, his green scales gleaming with power and danger. His horns were twisted and sharpened to a wicked edge, and his eyes burned holes into the little human.

Next to him another large man stood, powerful and fierce, despite his fluffy bunny ears. Undyne would later learn that these two were 01 and 02’s fathers. But she had only recognized the dragon, as the current leader of the Rebels. His armor was nothing like the Queen’s knights armor. It didn’t shine, it didn’t glimmer, it looked like rough leather hastily strewn together by unskilled hands. They didn’t have the resources like the Queen did.

Undyne wasn’t afraid of them. She jumped in front of the human, spear firmly in hand. Her eyes glared deeply into the rebel leader’s own, and she felt the human behind her twitch in fear again, nearing a convulsion. The human was clearly sick. “No way! You’re the bad guys! You’re not getting this human!”

The dragon frowned deeply, while the bunny knight grimaced, gritting his teeth not in anger, but in worry. “Please!” The dragon’s voice burned and begged. “Step away! Let us handle the creature!” It sounded as if it hurt just to speak, flames licking the air around his mouth.

The dogs soon followed Undyne’s lead, even Dogaressa. They all believed in their Queen, and knew what it meant to allow the Rebels control over a human. They growled and barked, forming a barrier around the human, all except Lesser Dog, who continued to enjoy his petting session. The petting was getting more fervent, a little rougher.

The Rebels wouldn’t make a move yet. Undyne, back then, thought maybe she had intimidated them. No, the Rebels feared for Undyne’s safety. The large bunny man stepped forward, concern in his eyes. “Like, dudes, please! We, uh… we like promise, we won’t take the human! Just get away from it!”

The leader’s eyes glared at his friend in silent communication. He let out a sigh, and realized it was the best course of action. “He’s right. We promise to leave the human alone, if you kids will just stay away from it.”

Undyne grit her fangs together. “And why should I believe you?”

The human flinched again at the shouting. That nervous twitch of a smile spreading wider and wider. They clutched at Lesser Dog’s fur now, almost as tightly as the notepad they held. Lesser Dog let out a small whine. They gripped too hard.

Flames bled out stronger than before as his voice scratched and burned. “We fight for all monster kind!” The Rebel Leader said, his throat smoking. “We only wish to protect everyone, to help those too weak to help themselves. If it means letting the human go to protect you all, we will gladly obey.” He paused, took a careful step forward. “Now, please, move away from the human.”

Undyne mistook the fear in his eyes for malice. She felt the human shivering behind her, felt their fear coursing through her. It made her feel strange, feel frightened. It was clearly the Rebels tricking her! “We will never let you have them!” Undyne shouted, her voice echoing throughout all of Waterfall.

Something happened. She must have shocked the human. Or maybe this was just the way of humans. The human jolted at her roar, their body no longer shivering, no longer twitching. In a flash, Lesser Dog was gone. Dust. Undyne’s mind couldn’t process. She wasn’t sure when, but she found herself staring at that smiling face, eyes hidden behind cloudy glasses. The other dogs were shocked too, Greater Dog especially so.

In one hand, the human held their notebook, and in the other a simple pencil, although the black point of it shone with dust and darkness. The Rebels shouted something, but Undyne didn’t hear. There was another shouting behind the human, an old raspy voice, and a clunking form. The human stepped closer to Undyne, that grin haunting her dreams for years to come.

She couldn’t attack them. It was wrong. Her mind was reeling. Lesser Dog just died? What?

Undyne’s last memory was of the human barreling forward, pencil in hand, point aimed for her face. After that, it was black…

Her missing eye writhed in pain, burned with an invisible heat. She ignored it like she always did. Undyne’s claws scraped against the glass, watching the purple soul of that human twitch, it’s movements seemingly mimicking her phantom eye. She wished she could destroy it. For everything it did.

Greater Dog never quite got over Lesser Dog’s death. Sure, he’d still wag his tail, he’d still love a game of fetch, but his tail never wagged quite as much. He jumped at sudden movements, whined in his sleep, and howled some nights. Undyne trained Greater Dog as best she could in spear techniques, but that big fluffy dog could never find the anger needed to attack. She respected Greater Dog for that.

That human all those years ago went unnoticed through the Underground. Apparently hiding, dodging past all manner of monsters. She never understood why the human decided to come out to her and the dogs that day. Only the Rebels had caught wind of the human, but by the time they had, obviously, it was too late.

Whatever happened, that human’s soul was captured. It was the fourth soul the Rebels held onto. Other humans in the past that made it to Toriel might have died by now, but that naïve Queen refused to at least hand over the souls after they died natural deaths. No, she let them free, a complete waste! She’d sentence her own kind to this jail just to comfort a few human souls? Was she so blind?

Undyne grunted and slid the soul back into the secret compartment, where the others glowed and hummed silently to themselves. Four souls. She’d never gotten one herself, but she was prepared. She might never see the day the monsters would free themselves from the Underground, but she’d do all she could to make sure they would someday.

The old Rebel Leader’s son stayed in the group, but he chose not to lead. Like his father, he wasn’t much for words. He preferred Undyne become leader, and she was all too eager to oblige.

The Rebels had been kind to her. Taught her the history of monsterkind that Queen Toriel was too afraid to tell. That purple soul human was not the first to kill a monster, and certainly wouldn’t be the last. Undyne bit into the soft supple meat of the Crab Apple, the sweetness of it leaving a nostalgic taste in her body and mind.

She needed to hold onto that anger. The rage kept her going. When it all felt pointless, when it felt like the world was against her, she just needed to remember. Remember Lesser Dog. Remember the sad faces of those monsters who wished to leave.

“Boss!” A voice barked, stomping into her shoddy little office. “Boss! Boss, where are you!?”

It was Doggo. Undyne made the conscious effort to get up so he could see her clearly. “I’m here, Doggo, what’s up?”

A doggy treat burnt dangerously close to his lips, but in his haste, he didn’t notice. “A human! There’s been human sightings going around!”

Undyne grit her fangs. “What? Are you sure!?”

“One hundred percent!” He said. “Uh… Boss? You still here?”

The Rebel leader sighed and stepped to the side. “Yes. But uh, how can you be so sure?” You know, what with your terrible eye sight.

Doggo coughed up his doggy treat onto the floor, wiping his burnt lips. “I had Dogamy and Dogaressa sniff around Snowdin, Boss! They recognize the scent as human for sure!”

Those two wouldn’t get their smells wrong. Not about this. Undyne tossed her Crab Apple to the floor with the rest of them. “All right, Doggo. Good work. I want you and the other dogs to watch Snowdin, got it? I’ll look through Waterfall myself. Call up Number 1 and Number 2 and make sure they watch over Hotland.”

Doggo nodded, searching his pockets for another doggy treat already. When he couldn’t find one, he shifted his eyes from left to right. “Uh, but… One last thing, Boss. What should we do about that Royal Guard Captain?”

Undyne groaned. She had forgotten about that.

“Should I take care of him?” Doggo asked, his knife gleaming.

Her fist pounded down onto her desk, causing Doggo to yip. “No!” She roared. “No. I’ll handle him.”

“Of course, Boss!” Doggo nodded with a salute. “I’ll be sure to keep my eyes peeled! Nothing will get by me!”

She doubted that. “Doggo!” Undyne called after him, stopping him in his tracks. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, and her claws shook. “Be careful. I don’t want to lose anyone else.”

A doggy treat burned in his drooling muzzle already. With a stern nod, he looked back to her. “I will, Boss.” Then he walked off.

Undyne stared after him and considered.

The Captain of the Royal Guard, the Great Papyrus. It was as much of a mouthful as he was a thorn in her side. As she donned her rough leather armor, ignoring the cracks and shudders from years of use, she remembered her first official day as the Rebel Leader. Her second meeting with the queen, and her first with that damn knight…

Her emerald spear crackled with energy, pulsing and flaring, threatening to burst at the lightest touch. Undyne’s boots stomped up the steps of New Home and into the Queen’s chambers. She growled, fangs bared, a frown of disgust stuck to her lips. No one had stopped her so far! Not a single guard! Did they not fear her? Did they not care? Where they simply just lazy?

A Knight Knight’s towering form shadowed the hallway to the Queen’s garden. Her black armor gleamed dangerously against the light from the stained-glass windows. Undyne prepared for a fight, took a battle position, and then sighed. A snore grumbled out of the Knight Knight, her enormous mace used only to prop herself up. Undyne easily maneuvered around the titan, seething with rage.

As Undyne neared the garden, a wandering Whimsalot found her in their gaze. “Halt!” the small fluttering monster ordered, rushing toward her. They held a bow, gripped firm in their gauntlet, and yet did not keep it at the ready. “What business do you have here, madam?”

Did they not even know who she was?!

“I’m here to see the Queen,” Undyne growled through grit teeth.

The Whimsalot shook their head and then nodded in thought. “Ah, yes, of course! She’s right through that door, enjoying a nice snail pie in the garden. Please enjoy yourself!” With that, it fluttered away, completely ignoring the malice in her eye or the spear in hand.

This woman had no place being Queen! Her knights were overly trusting, unprepared, and just plain lazy! When Undyne ruled the Underground, she would make changes around here. She couldn’t understand why previous Rebel Leaders didn’t simply take over. Sure, they spoke of respecting her, realizing all the good she had done for the Underground, but couldn’t they see what they could do if they took it themselves?

It had been a long time coming. Now that Undyne was the Rebel Leader, there was no one to stop her, no one to tell her otherwise. Undyne kicked open the double doors to the garden, a gust of wind knocking the flowers about.

“Oh?” A gentle voice hummed. “A visitor?” The Queen smiled sweetly, pie placed delicately on the plate, and a warm tea seated next to it. She didn’t seem to notice Undyne’s threatening aura, or even remember her. “Would you like some pie?”

Undyne slammed the butt of her spear against the dirt, cracking the ground dangerously. “No!” She yelled, enraged further by her lack of defenses. “I am Undyne, leader of the Rebels! I demand you step down from the throne this instant!”

The Queen frowned, quickly realizing the seriousness of the situation. “Undyne? But the previous leader…”

“He’s gone!” She said with a pang of sadness. “Whatever truce you may have had with each other is over. I am the leader now, and I suggest you step aside like the rest of your inexperienced knights! I will lead the monsters of the Underground to the outside! I will offer them a choice to leave, where you gave them none.”

Queen Toriel shook her head, eyes defiant. “I apologize, but I will not step down simply because you tell me to!”

“You leave our own people to suffer for your cowardice!”

Toriel grimaced, clutching at her royal robes. “I… I do all that I can.”

“Then give us the human souls, at least!” Undyne demanded, taking another step forward.

Again she shook her head, eyes ablaze. “I will not, nor will I ever. All humans deserve the same respect as monsters.”

“And yet you force us to live underground like rats!”

She would not falter. “I do not deny the problems my decisions might cause, but I believe they are for the best for all of us.”

Undyne took another step forward, spear edge sharp. “And I believe we deserve a choice in what we think is best. I believe the weak deserve to be heard! I believe they deserve to be protected from the humans and not fall victim to their every whim!”

The Queen let out an exhaust-filled sigh, as if she’s been arguing this for centuries. “I will not step down,” she said quietly, firmly.

“Then I’ll make you,” Undyne threatened.

The Queen never flinched, showed no fear. Undyne couldn’t help but respect that. She knew, deep in her heart, Toriel was not a bad person. But she had to go. “Do what you must,” the Queen replied, a shimmer of flames in her palms, and a sad frown upon her muzzle.

It was settled. No more talking. No more words!

Undyne cried out, her pent-up frustration, her rage, her sadness, and charged forth, spear in hand. Still, the Queen did not flinch, merely readied herself, the flames burning brighter. The poor, the weak, and even Lesser Dog’s voice blared in her mind, begging for a better life. She threw the spear forward and it crackled like lightning, ready to pierce its target.

“NOT SO FAST, EVIL DOER!” a voice boomed like thunder. Undyne nearly tripped over herself. The spear struck a bone white shield, denting its perfectly smooth metal form. “YOUR HONOR, I WILL PROTECT YOU!”

“Papyrus!” Toriel yelled, her flames already extinguished as she worried over the tall skeleton before her. “Are you all right?!”

Just where the heck did this guy even come from?! It was like he floated in without a sound!

The Knight arose super cooly from his shielded position, his scarf fluttering in the breeze from above, and his skull grinning with a hint of smugness. “NYEH HEH HEH! NO ATTACK IS TOO STRONG FOR THE ROYAL GUARD CAPTAIN THE GREAT PAPYRUS!”

While his confidence was impressive, Undyne had bigger fish to fry. Ugh. Not a great expression. “Whoever you are, get out of the way! My fight is with the Queen! Not you!”

Striking another wicked cool pose, the knight proceeded to remove his skull off his shoulders. Wait what?! “I CAN’T ALLOW ANY HARM TO COME TO THE QUEEN!” He said, his voice somehow even louder. Undyne realized that this knight was wearing a helmet replicating his skull. Beneath that smugly smiling skull laid …. Another smugly smiling skull. “OR ELSE I WOULD BE A PRETTY BAD ROYAL GUARD!” He winked. “AND I’D RATHER BE A PRETTY RAD ROYAL GUARD. NYEH HEH HEH!”

Okay, that was good.

Undyne shook her head. She was getting distracted! “Fine, then! So I have to fight against your best knight before I can fight you, eh? I don’t care!”

The Knight known as Papyrus shook his skull. “OH, WOWIE, NO!” He posed again, his boney armor shining way too bright in her eye. “FIGHTING IS WRONG! I JUST PROTECT THE QUEEN AND MAKE PUZZLES!” He paused for a moment thinking. “AND SPAGHETTI. I’M ALSO THE ROYAL CHEF.”

The goat queen smiled sheepishly.

Undyne couldn’t believe what she was seeing or hearing. “No?! What do you mean no!? Then get out of the way and let me fight her!”

Again, he shook his head. “I’M SORRY! IT IS MY DUTY TO PROTECT THE QUEEN!” He placed his shield against his palms and plopped a glob of soggy noodles and watery sauce upon it. “CAN I INTEREST YOU IN SOMETHING TO EAT INSTEAD?”

Undyne’s claw turned into a fist and she grit her teeth. Did he mock her?! Who was this knight?! Was he trying to get into her head!? It didn’t matter! She wouldn’t let this weirdo stop her!

“Forget it, then!” Undyne yelled, charging forward again. She’d ignore this foolish knight and go for the Queen anyway! With a flash, she shot her spear forward, aiming straight at the queen.

Somehow, Papyrus’ eyes bulged out of his sockets. Although she was pretty sure he had no eyes?! Also, what!? How did her spear end up in the knight?! The spear stuck into his breastplate, cracking the once pristine armor. “WOWIE, THAT WAS A LITTLE PAINFUL!” he said cheerfully.

“Papyrus, please!” Toriel begged. “I will be quite all right! Please, leave this to me!”

Undyne’s rage was bleeding out like sauce on frozen spaghetti. She pulled the spear out of the knight. “I… didn’t mean to hit you! Damn it!”

Papyrus simply smiled. “PRETTY COOL, NYEH?”

The Rebel leader scowled. “No! It’s not cool at all! Get out of the way!”

“AGAIN, SORRY, BUT I AM SIMPLY TOO RAD TO DO THAT!”

No! She couldn’t let this rage leave her! She couldn’t leave here empty handed! Undyne would take the throne! With another roar, she charged forward, this time with a good ol’ fashioned fist. Her strike was fast, accurate, and powerful, she wouldn’t miss Toriel this time!

Her knuckles slammed against a metal skull, leaving his head vibrating and her fist bruised. “OWWIE!” Papyrus said as his eyes bulged out and pinged against his helmet.

“Papyrus, please, that’s enough!”

“Yeah, stop it, will ya!?” Undyne realized too late she had just agreed with her enemy.

“NO CAN DO!” Papyrus continued, picking himself up off the dirt, his beautiful armor scuffed and battered now.

Undyne was furious. Her blood boiled. But she was not angry with the Queen or her knight. She was angry with herself. She couldn’t keep attacking someone who wouldn’t fight back! Especially a fellow monster! Her spear blipped out of existence.

Papyrus noticed this. “NYEH HEH HEH! DO YOU GIVE UP TO THE AWESOME POWER OF THE GREAT CAPTAIN ROYAL GUARD PAPYRUS?!” He paused. “OR WAS IT CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD, COMMA, THE GREAT PAPYRUS?”

Everything she had worked so hard for! All those monsters that were counting on her! All the training, all the fighting, all the preparing for this moment!

Her claws clenched and unclenched, trying desperately to hold onto that anger that fueled her moments ago. But it was all wrong! It didn’t feel right, not anymore. With a grunt, she finally said, “I won’t give up that easily. You haven’t seen the last of me.” She cringed at that last part. She didn’t mean to sound like a stereotypical villain.

Luckily, Papyrus’ smile only grew wider, his eyes sparkling with hope, and even a bit of admiration. He seemed to enjoy that final line. “I CERTAINLY HOPE NOT! I THINK WE’LL MAKE GREAT FRIENDS!”

Queen Toriel stared onward at the strange events unfolding before her. She didn’t understand. But then again, not many would. Not even Undyne.

“Pft, friends with you?” Undyne spat on a flower nearby as she stomped away. “I will never be friends with you. You and the Queen are my enemy, you understand?”

She never forgot that laugh of his. Full of confidence, even after taking so many attacks head on. “NYEH HEH HEH! WE’LL SEE ABOUT THAT!” Deep down, she also felt some form of admiration.

That was a few years ago, however. Undyne had no plans on losing again. A human was too dangerous, too important to lose. She was willing to do whatever it took to defeat her enemy.

“HELLO, MR. GERSON!” Papyrus shouted cheerily. He had two important missions today! Find the human, and find the leader of the Rebels, Undyne! She was a cunning fish, a strong fighter, and kept her secret hideout extremely…. Secret! But the Royal Captain had his own ways of finding her.

“CAN UNDYNE COME OUT AND PLAY?”

His bones rattled as he waited. The old turtle grandpa turned around, his smiling face soon fading once he saw who it was. Gerson loved Papyrus! He didn’t feel the need to have a fake smile around him! The Royal Guard was so happy he had gotten so close to him! “Oh. It’s you.”

Papyrus struck a cool pose. “THAT’S RIGHT! CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD--”

“The Great Papyrus, yes, I know, sonny,” he sighed. Papyrus made sure to always tell everyone his name and occupation! It was very important! And he liked doing it. “For the one-hundred-and-fiftieth time, Undyne does not live here.”

“ONE-HUNDRED-AND-FIFTYSIX,” Papyrus corrected. It was his duty to keep the citizens well informed.

Gerson closed his one good eye and mumbled something to himself before continuing. More than likely a compliment to Papyrus’ informative ways! “You know she has her own home, don’t ya?”

“YES!” Papyrus nodded, his bones rattling and his armor clanking together noisily. “I KNOCKED FOR THREE HOURS STRAIGHT, LEFT TWELVE VOICE MAILS, TWENTY-TWO TEXTS, AND EVEN ASKED HER SPOOKY NEIGHBOR FOR HER WHEREABOUTS!” He paused. “TWICE!”

The old turtle crossed his arms and leaned against his store’s stand. “Then what in Fluffybun’s name makes ya think I’d know where she is, ya bonehead?”

“YOU’RE HER GRANDPA!” Papyrus stated, his information never wrong. “IF ANYONE ELSE KNEW, IT’D BE YOU!”

He flinched at the word. His lips seemed unsure as to what expression they wished to show. “Bah, I aint her grandpa. Never was.”

Papyrus doubted that. He peered into the cave behind the store front, and he found a bed with several action figures scooted into the back, a poster of the old Rebel leader, and a fresh Crab Apple and Sea Tea waiting on the desk nearby. He wondered how this ancient turtle carried on. His store still sold the same old Torn Notebook and Cloudy Glasses as always. Papyrus asked where he had obtained such strange objects before, but Gerson always kept quiet.

The storekeeper didn’t like roaming eye sockets. “You gonna buy some junk this time or not? I tell ya again, I don’t know where she is! I never will neither!”

Strange that such a close friend of the Queen kept an old Rebel poster. “FAIR ENOUGH, MY GOOD CHUM!”

“Aint your chum, ya chumbucket,” Gerson grumbled.

Papyrus chose to ignore that! “COULD YOU PASS ON A MESSAGE TO HER IF YOU SEE HER THEN?”

He sighed. “All right.”

Papyrus had to choose his next words carefully. He was certain that the Rebel Leader herself would hear this. It was absolutely imperative that he get it right, or the consequences would be dire. It was a matter of life or death.

“CAN YOU ASK HER IF WE CAN MOVE MOVIE NIGHT NEXT WEEK TO SIX P.M. INSTEAD OF FIVE? THE QUEEN HAS HAD SOMETHING UNEXPECTED COME UP, AND I DON’T WANT TO BE LATE!”

Gerson’s eye went wide with the seriousness of the situation. “What in… …” he stumbled over his words before accepting defeat. “I’ll tell her if I see her, dagnabbit.” Again, he muttered something under his breath about how he couldn’t understand something or other. Baffled by the Royal Guard Captain’s raddness no doubt!

“THANK YOU VERY MUCH!” Papyrus said with a salute. He breathed a sigh of relief knowing that movie night would be saved. Well, he didn’t breathe or sigh, but he pretended to! It was still very relieving.

Next up, finding the human and escorting them to the Queen!

Undyne’s fist clenched and unclenched unconsciously as she patrolled through Waterfall. Her single eye roved through every corner, every reedy bush like a search light. Her spears begged to appear, begged to slash and stab at even the tiniest of movements, but she held them out of existence, out of her mind. She held onto that feeling. She would need it.

So far, there had been no reports of monster deaths, injured monsters, or missing monsters. This was good, except Undyne knew better than anyone that this did not mean the Underground was safe. Peaceful or not, this human would need to be dealt with, for all their sakes.

Yet, it bit at her mind. What if the human wasn’t a threat? What if the human was peaceful? What if Queen Toriel was right? Would she be able to take the soul of this human? It gnawed, it clawed, it bore deeper into her skull. Visions of Lesser Dog’s tail wagging entered her mind, as well as a dusty notebook. She wished Gerson would be rid of the thing. Why did he hang onto it? Why did he try to sell it still?

“I aint letting it go to waste,” he had said one time, his voice strained, practically foreign to Undyne. “That’s what you Rebels are doin’ aint ya? Not lettin’ anything go to waste? Well, let an old man side with your ideals just this once.” He wouldn’t speak of it again. It was around that time he retired his Hammer of Justice title and even the hammer itself. Stubborn old man. She never meant to burden him.

“Enough!” Undyne shouted to herself, as if it would lessen the torrent of thoughts. An echo flower repeated her: “Enough!” Over and over. The sound was harsh and frightening. But it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter what she felt. She had to do this for everyone.

Strangely, she wondered what the old King might have done, had he been around still.

Finally, her mind’s incessant thoughts quieted. A rustling in the reeds caught her attention. A small fleshy thing stumbled out, blue and purple stripes across its chest. No longer did her memories torment her. It was as clear as water. A human. She grinned.

“You!” Her voice boomed, a commanding aura to it that forced the human to heed her. A faded band aid stuck to its knee, threatening to fall off at any moment due to extended use. In its right hand it held a stick, brownish green leaves barely hanging onto its dead form. The human looked up, its expressionless face revealing little.

“You’re the little brat that’s been talk of the town, huh?” She hissed, looking down on it with disgust. Barely even stood up to her knee.

The human nodded silently. Did it not fear her? Had the other monsters treated it so well? This one looked different than the one before all those years ago. This one didn’t twitch, didn’t look quite so starved. However, this one hid much. It didn’t ready its weapon. Maybe it would only strike when her guard was down as well.

She shook her head. It didn’t matter. She ignored it. She only felt the burning itch of her missing eye. That was all she needed now. A spear materialized in her hand, like it had always been there, waiting. “Well, punk, it was nice not knowing ya,” she growled. “Goodbye.”

The spear shot forward. She heard nothing anymore. The silence deafened her. Good. Her spear hit its mark. A direct hit! … But …. It was stuck. What? This sensation wasn’t right. She shook her head again, allowed herself back into reality.

A pale white blinded her. The spear was wedged firmly into a shield, blocking the human completely. Undyne felt dizzy. “What?!” Her words nearly drooled out. “Papyrus?!” How?!

“NYEH HEH HEH!” His helmet smirked at her as always behind the shield. The human was safe and sound. “I TRIED YELLING TO HALT, BUT YOUR DEEP ANGST-FILLED ACTIONS IGNORED ME! I HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO SURPRISE YOU WITH MY RAD STYLE YET AGAIN!”

Undyne groaned, wishing she could get to that little brat’s neck. That damned skeleton again! It took every ounce of herself to strike at the human, every drop of her rage! Somewhere, deep inside, she sighed with relief, but her conscious body and mind shook with anger. She wouldn’t let the human live, she couldn’t let the human live. If she had to suffer again to strike at the thing, then so be it! If only Papyrus would just leave her alone about this!

“I’m not playing this game again!” Undyne yelled, gripping a spear in her hand. She wasn’t sure when it appeared, again. “Enough fooling around, stay out of my way!”

The helmet still smiled at her as always, but his voice betrayed it, ever so slightly. “I’M SORRY! I WON’T LET YOU TAKE THE HUMAN! IT IS MY DUTY TO PROTECT THEM!” The human in question stayed behind the skeleton’s shield, looking between the fighters with curious eyes. It didn’t seem to understand the danger it was in. Or maybe it did and just didn’t care.

Again, she felt that rage bubbling up. “That thing’s an it, not a them!” She spat. “Again, the Queen shows more kindness to humans than to the monsters themselves!”

Papyrus kept his shield steady, but she noticed his helmet turned away. “I AM SORRY. THE QUEEN TRIES HER BEST TO PROTECT EVERYONE.”

“Tries her best, tries her best, tries her best!” Undyne mocked, unable to control her anger. “That’s what I’ve heard my whole life! Her best isn’t good enough! Don’t you see, Papyrus?!” He was too naïve. He was always too naïve.

His voice didn’t boom out this time. “I do,” he replied. For a moment, Undyne felt guilty, felt ashamed. He composed himself again. “BUT I SIDE WITH HER ON THIS! THE QUEEN IS RIGHT! FIGHTING MAY LOOK SUPER COOL, BUT IT IS WRONG! EVERYONE DESERVES A CHANCE AT A BETTER LIFE!” He paused before adding. “AND DR. ALPHYS AND EVEN MY BROTHER ARE WORKING HARD TO FIND A PEACEFUL WAY AROUND THE BARRIER!”

Undyne shook her head. She’d been down this road thousands of times, had shouting matches with Papyrus every other week, with both trying to get the other to join their side. Now would be no different. The Royal Scientists overworked themselves daily, Alphys especially, trying to find another alternative to break through the barrier. Undyne knew that the outcome was unlikely, (from her conversations with Alphys) especially with that lazy partner of hers, Sans. The only real option was gathering human souls.

“Fine then,” she said with a sigh, her anger more or less under control now. “We fight over the human! Whoever wins, keeps the stupid thing!”

“I WON’T FIGHT!” Papyrus yelled stubbornly.

Undyne grinned. She had planned for this. She may not have been a master strategist, but when it came to getting into fights, no one could beat her. “Not a fight. Just a spar, like usual.”

“WOWIE!” Papyrus said, straightening himself up. “THAT’S A GREAT IDEA!” He gently pushed the human, motioning for it to give them space and wait near a cavern wall. It obeyed, but Undyne noted the eyes darting to the side, evaluating ways to escape.

His usual demeanor had already returned, and his armor looked as if it shone even brighter. “BY THE WAY, ARE WE STILL UP FOR MOVIE NIGHT? I TRIED CALLING YOU THIRTY TIMES! I LEFT TWELVE VOICEMAILS AND TWENTY-TWO TEXTS AND…”

Aw geez. She remembered now. Undyne had thrown her phone into a lake after calling the Royal Scientist Alphys up and asking her: “How’s the weather?” What a stupid thing to say! Especially to someone who worked for her enemy! Gah, as if it was hard enough to get in touch with her, working all day with Papyrus’ lazy brother! She had to go and ask, “How’s the weather?” That didn’t even make sense!

“I, uh, lost it,” Undyne lied, scratching the back of her head sheepishly. “Also, I mean, yeah, movie night is still on, I guess,” she mumbled. Boy, this wasn’t the kind of banter she expected between her biggest enemy before fighting.

“OH GOOD!” Papyrus clapped his armored hands happily. “I MAY BE AN HOUR OR SO LATE, IS THAT ALL RIGHT?”

Undyne knew Alphys was always especially busy, and every hour she could spend with that little nerd was precious. “I, uh, yeah, I think that’ll be all right. Alphys doesn’t have much time off, so we might start without you?”

“OH, THAT’S FINE!” Papyrus nodded. “I’LL MAKE SURE TO BRING OVER MY FAMOUS POP SPAGHETTI CORN TO MAKE UP FOR IT!”

Some extra alone time with the Royal Scientist would be great, she thought to herself. If only The Queen hadn’t gotten her furry mitts all over Alphys as well, then maybe it would be easier to tell her—

The human moved slowly to the left, making way towards one of the cavern paths. “Hey!” Undyne roared, pointing at it and halting it in its tracks. “No moving!” She growled. She needed to focus! Papyrus always did this! But… she was glad he did.

“WELL, I SUPPOSE WE SHOULD START!” Papyrus nodded. “I JUST WANT TO SAY, NO MATTER WHO WINS OR LOSES, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE MY BEST FRIEND, UNDYNE!”

Resisting the urge to puke, Undyne sighed instead. She still couldn’t believe she was best friends with her biggest enemy. “Yeah, yeah.”

“COME ON, SAY IT!” Papyrus demanded.

“You’re my best friend too,” she huffed.

She could tell his eyes were shining underneath his helmet. “I TOLD YOU ALL THOSE YEARS AGO!” He nyeh’d and heh’d.

This was the only time she was willing to admit defeat. “Yeah, yeah,” she repeated, her scales heating with embarrassment. She clenched her spear. “Enough, nerd talk, already! Let’s get to the fight!”

“SPAR!” Papyrus corrected, a bit apprehensive. Undyne knew he was naïve, but on some level, Papyrus must have known what this was.

“Sure, whatever!”

He unsheathed his weapon from its scabbard. The bone shaped sword gleamed white like his armor. What a dorky weapon! Undyne never understood how it fit in his scabbard. “WELL THEN, REBEL LEADER UNDYNE, PREPARE YOURSELF!”

She adored these dramatic encounters inwardly. She couldn’t help herself but play along somewhat. Undyne’s spear blipped into existence, glowing dangerously. With a quick look, she made sure that the human was there. It stared at them, looking confused. That puny thing wasn’t worth thinking about.

“Let’s go!” Undyne yelled, throwing herself forward, adrenaline exploding through her body…

Her “spars” with Papyrus weren’t always so enjoyable at first.

As the newly appointed Rebel Leader, and the newly failed usurper of the throne, Undyne vowed to capture any and all humans that fell down. That meant training her crew as well. The Rebels willing to fight were quite small, consisting only of her childhood dog friends, and the two sons of the previous Rebel Leaders.

Number 1 and Number 2 were all they wished to go by. Number 2 was quiet, not quite so great with people, but he carried with him that silent dignity. Number 1 was chatty, like his father as well, and never left 2’s side. Where 1 had trouble speaking, 2 was always there to help get his point across. They were extremely close, especially since they grew up together.

“Listen up, punks!” Undyne yelled, glaring into her subordinate’s eyes one after the other. Dogamy and Dogaressa stopped nuzzling noses, Doggo quit smoking, and Greater Dog… well he kept wagging his tail and staring as usual. Undyne could never quite be harsh with him. Number 2 stood proudly, saluting her, causing Number 1 to follow as well.

They were a ragtag bunch, not quite fit for war, but they were her bunch, and she felt pride seeing just how hard they worked every day. Not many were willing to follow the Rebels, and even less willing to put themselves in danger.

Frigid Snowdin air cut at her scales, but she ignored it as usual. “Today we’re going to learn just how to deal with a human when we see one. Got that?” The dogs nodded. Number 1 and Number 2 nodded as well, but with hesitation. They’d never seen a human. Only heard the stories. This practice was more for them.

Undyne reached behind a tree and plopped a stuffed dummy down into the crunchy snow. The stitching was cheap, and it wore the old striped shirt Undyne wore when she was a child, but it got the job done. Upon its head, she had placed a dirty mop end to replicate disgusting human hair. The face of the dummy was expressionless, unreadable.

Dogamy and Dogaressa growled and barked at the dummy, while Doggo glared daggers at it. Greater Dog simply whined. Number 1 and Number 2 weren’t quite sure how to react. 1 looked over to 2 and felt the need to speak. “Like, dude, that’s what a human looks like?”

Undyne nodded, making sure to give it a tap now and again so Doggo could see it. “That’s right, Number 1.”

The bunny rebel couldn’t quite grasp the danger. Even the dragon’s flames seemed to flicker out. “Bro, I don’t know, that thing doesn’t seem like, very dangerous, you know?”

She wasn’t mad. She fell for the same trap. “That’s where your wrong, Number 1. Number 2, I see you have doubts as well.” Undyne still remembered those cloudy glasses, that twitching wicked smile. It had seemed so innocent back then, somehow. “Humans are extremely dangerous, and capable of destroying us monsters with ease if we’re not careful. It may look harmless, but I’m convinced that’s part of their natural evolution!”

A puff of smoke rose out of Number 2’s gullet as he spoke. “Is that…?”

He didn’t say anymore, but Undyne understood him perfectly. “Yes. This is what the human looked like.” The one that killed Lesser Dog. She wouldn’t say it in front of Greater Dog. Number 2 nodded solemnly, clenching his fists. Where as Undyne may have failed to get through to 1, Number 2 did not. Number 1 saw this reaction and followed as well, again, mimicking his motion. She’d make sure to keep them together. They worked much better as a team.

“Humans are small and sneaky,” Undyne continued. “Always be on the lookout for one, always! They may sneak by through reeds, hide in the shadows, or any kind of small hole or crack in the wall, like the roaches they are.

“But the most important rule when it comes to dealing with humans! Do not fight it!” Undyne explained, stressing the point. “Tell me right away you see a human! I will deal with it!” She paused. “However, if you find a human threatening innocent monsters, or you have no choice but to fight for defense, you must be prepared! Understand?”

They nodded.

Good. She hoped they would never be forced to fight a human. She couldn’t bear losing more friends. “Now, humans may be extremely dangerous, but that does not mean they’re invincible,” she explained, her green spear already in hand, snowflakes melting into waterdrops around it. “From what I’ve been told, and what I’ve learned, humans are made of soft mushy flesh.” She pointed the tip of her spear at the human dummy’s neck. “This is one of their many weaknesses! Strike a human here, and you will find yourself a quick victory!

“However,” Undyne continued. “They’re fast and agile creatures. Capable of multiple flips, the ability to run up walls, and even flight if they’re strong enough!” She had learned this from Dr. Alphys’ human documentaries that Queen Toriel hid from the monster population. “You may not be able to strike their necks, but a blow to the head will still do a decent amount of damage! Any attacks that can generally pierce their soft pudgy exteriors will do.” She paused before adding, “Crushing their bones is also a valid option.”

Number 1 cringed, but the others held strong.

He would have to learn. Undyne sighed. “A moment’s weakness could cost you your life! If the opportunity presents itself, strike quickly and accurately!” She gripped the spear in her hand and ignored the rattling and clanking of armor. “Allow me to demonstrate!”

The dummy was so puny now. Whenever she remembered the human, it looked so big, so frightening. But now? How could one of these things possibly stop her? With a grunt, she stabbed her spear forward directly into the neck of the dummy. It struck with a satisfying pang! “And that is how you should ideally finish off a human!”

They stared at her with wide eyes, shocked, and confused. What, was it that gruesome? She looked over to see what had happened to the dummy.

“NYEH-HEH-HEH!”

Papyrus had shielded her target with his body. Again.

“Oh my freaking god!” Undyne growled, losing her leader’s cool instantly. “Are you kidding me!?”

“THE GREAT ROYAL PAPYRUS CAPTAIN NEVER KIDS!” He said cooly, his helmet mocking her with its smile. “THE HUMAN MAY BE FAKE, BUT I WILL NOT ALLOW ANY HARM TO COME OF THEM, STILL!”

Again, he ruined her plans! Again! He made a mockery of her in front of her own troops! The nerve of this knight! “Ngaaaaah!” Undyne screamed in rage, striking Papyrus directly in the chest plate.

The Knight, of course, took the blow without so much as a struggle. His armor dented, his skeletal body inside surely bruised. “I SUPPOSE I DESERVED THAT!” He coughed, wincing.

Rage boiling, Undyne said, “Fight me already, you coward!” Where was the honor in beating up someone who wouldn’t even fight back!?

The Rebels looked on with even more confused stares. “Uh, like, dude, you need some help or…”

“No, damn it!” She yelled. “Stay out of it!”

Papyrus attempted to buff out the mark in his armor, lamenting at its now lackluster shine. With a sigh, he left it be. “I MIGHT BE A COWARD,” he admitted. “BUT I WILL NOT FIGHT. I WILL NEVER FIGHT! I’LL FIGHT YOU ON THAT!” He paused. “WAIT.”

What was wrong with this idiot!? Why was he doing this to her?! Although, she had to admit, it took guts to stand up to her. It took even more guts to take a punch to said gut on multiple occasions and stay standing.

“You…. you…!” she couldn’t even think of the proper insult. Or maybe it was just hard to insult him. “You must have learned to fight!” She yelled, exasperated. Her eye’s gaze fell to the scabbard. “What else is that sword for?!”

Papyrus audibly winked, somehow. “AH, SO YOU NOTICED BONECALIBER, NYEH?” He laughed with glee. “YES, I DO KNOW HOW TO FIGHT! BUT I ONLY SPAR BETWEEN MY TROOPS! IT KEEPS YOU FIT AND GIVES YOU MUSCLES!” He flexed, as if his muscles could show through his armor. As if it was even possible for him to have muscles in the first place!

“Then spar with me!” Undyne blurted out, unaware of the possible consequences.

Papyrus quickly removed his skull---er---helmet, revealing sparkling eyes. “YOU REALLY MEAN IT? YOU WANT TO GET BUFF AND EXERCISE WITH ME?”

“I don’t care what I have to do if it means you’ll fight back!” Undyne said through gritted fangs.

“GREAT!” Papyrus cheered. “I’LL SET UP A SCHEDULE! WE’LL SPAR TOGETHER ONCE A WEEK! WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO MEET?”

“Ngaaaaaaaaah!”

“YOUR HOUSE THEN! THAT SOUNDS GREAT!” Papyrus continued, oblivious to her rage. “I’LL BE THERE TOMORROW, AFTER MY SHIFT WITH THE QUEEN! WE’LL SPAR EVERY WEEK AFTER THAT!”

“I’ll break your bony spine!” Undyne threatened, seeing red.

He simply smiled wider at that. “OH, I HOPE SO! YOU WILL GET ME SO STRONG! WE’LL BE BEST FRIENDS!”

“I swear on my life, I will never be friends with you, damn it!”

“NYEH-HEH-HEH!” He laughed, ignoring her again. “NONE CAN RESIST THE GREAT PAPYRUS ROYAL GUARD’S CHARM! YOU’LL SEE!” His scarf fluttering in the wintery breeze, Papyrus sped away in the opposite direction nyehing and hehing the whole way. She hated him. She hated him so much! She couldn’t wait to utterly destroy him!

“Dude…” Number 1 said dumbly. “Like, what just happened?”

“Nothing!” Undyne roared, spear still firmly in claw. “Now, as I was saying, damn it! Here’s how you kill a human!” In a flash of anger, she stabbed at where the human dummy was previously. Her spear landed in a soft puffy patch of snow harmlessly.

She looked in the distance, foaming at the mouth, and saw Papyrus carrying her dummy away to safety, skipping with glee…

Sweat stung her eye, soaking her eyepatch. Her spear clashed with his sword, leaving them locked in a power struggle. She had always overpowered him when this happened before! Why was it hard now? His armor seemed heavier, his strength felt unreal. Maybe Papyrus never went all out in their previous spars. Maybe Papyrus knew how important the human truly was. Or maybe Undyne’s will was faltering against him.

She grit her fangs together, dug her boots into the soft dirt below, and pushed with all her strength. Papyrus wouldn’t give an inch. Their weapons scraped and twitched, just barely holding together. In the corner of her eye, she saw a movement.

The human moved slowly to the left, hoping to escape behind Undyne while she was busy. “Damn it, you little brat!” She said, struggling. With what little strength she could muster, spears shot down into the ground in front of the human, barring its way forward. Papyrus, strangely enough, took advantage of this opportunity. He had never been one to fight even kind of unfairly. Her muscles felt like exploding, her legs wanted to give out.

“MY APOLOGIES!” Papyrus called out, suddenly. The human attempted to make it by Papyrus this time instead. With his shield arm, he raised his bony hand into the air, causing his goofy cartoon bones to block off the human’s other escape. “I’M AFRAID I CANNOT LET YOU ESCAPE EITHER! IT IS SIMPLY TOO DANGEROUS!”

Thankfully, the human gave up, probably realizing it was best to let the two tire themselves out even more. Undyne felt Papyrus’ power wane, his attention fall. If he was willing to give it all he had, she would too. With a burst of energy, Undyne pushed hard against the armored skeleton, and knocked him backwards with a swift kick to the chest.

He nearly toppled over himself, his heavy armor clumsily clanking as he clamored into a calm state. To his side, a dark chasm loomed, endlessly drinking the liquids from the many waterfalls, and devouring the infinite boulders that crashed down into its gaping mouth. It had taken Undyne a long time to set up that physics breaking trap, and she was never quite sure how to make it stop anyway.

“IMPRESSIVE!” Papyrus shouted, attempting to catch his breath. Undyne, too, was too exhausted to press the attack again, at least for this moment. “BUT I ASSURE YOU, THE JUST POWER OF GOOD AND LAW WILL ALWAYS WIN!” He struck another pose, his cracked armor shining like an old muddied and rusty watch.

“I am the good guy here!” Undyne argued through panting breaths.

Papyrus paused for a moment, a gauntlet stroking his broken helmet’s chin. “HMM. THAT IS TRUE! YOU ARE INDEED NOT BAD. DOES THAT MAKE ME THE BAD GUY IN THIS SITUATION?”

Undyne was awestruck. Only Papyrus could start a philosophical argument mid fight. “No! You’re … you’re not bad either!”

“BUT WHY WOULD GOOD GUYS FIGHT EACH OTHER?”

“Spar,” Undyne corrected.

“RIGHT. WHY WOULD GOOD GUYS SPAR TOGETHER LIKE THIS?”

Her head was pounding. Her breaths steadied. “I don’t know! That’s not my problem!” She shook her head. “Are you giving up, then!?” She hoped he would say yes.

Papyrus also shook his head, reading his sword and shield once more. “NEVER!” He charged forward. “I HOPE YOU’RE READY FOR MY NEW ATTACK!” He always had to warn her of his new attacks. Maybe he wanted to show off, or maybe he just didn’t want to hurt her. Either way, it couldn’t have been that special.

Undyne pressed her boots into the ground again, preparing. Papyrus swung his bone sword overhead, Undyne threw her hands into the air, preparing for an easy block with her spear. “NYEH-HEH!” Papyrus laughed. His sword glowed a bright sapphire, burning with energy. Undyne flinched, attempting to keep her spear prepared, but it went straight through! What!?

Bonk!

Undyne reeled backwards from the attack, unconsciously grasping at her head where the blow was struck. Her vision blurred, and three Papyruses posed before her, clearly impressed with themselves. “HOW DID YOU LIKE MY NEW BLUE ATTACK?” He said, explaining instead of finishing her off. “SANS TAUGHT ME THIS ONE! HE SAID IT’S CALLED ‘MIND GAMES!’”

Ugh. Of course, that brother of his was a bad influence. Surprising that lazy brother would even teach him a fighting technique. Must have been worried about his friendship with the leader of a dangerous enemies. The jerk.

“YOU SEE!” Papyrus continued. Alphys’ human documentaries always showed that historically all humans explained their attacks in great detail to the enemy for some reason. Papyrus enjoyed those parts. “MY BLUE ATTACKS ARE STRONGER AGAINST MOVING TARGETS! WHEN YOU HELD YOUR SPEAR STATIONARY, BUT FLINCHED YOURSELF, I WAS ABLE TO GO STRAIGHT THROUGH YOUR DEFENSES!”

“Yeah, I figured that out!” Undyne growled, rubbing her bruised temple. An attack like that should have done more damage.

“IMPRESSIVE, NO?” Papyrus asked.

… It was pretty impressive. The human even nodded. Little brat. “You know that’s not gonna work twice on me, right?” Undyne growled, her vision becoming clearer, pain subsiding slightly.

“NYEH-HEH-HEH! WE’LL SEE!”

Cocky. She wasn’t about to let him win. “You should have kept attacking while you had the chance,” Undyne growled, her strength returning. “You always do this!”

For once he didn’t reply.

“Bah, enough talking!” She groaned, spears materializing around his armored body. She had had enough of this. The human was too important to play these games. She clenched her fist, and the spears shot forward towards him. He’d be forced to block.

He did not. Instead he slammed his shield forward into her body, knocking the wind out of her, yet again. Each spear struck his armor, cracks spiderwebbing throughout, piercing through and striking Papyrus at the core. It must have hurt, since for once he didn’t even cry out in his goofy way. Instead, he pushed the attack, swiping his bone sword again.

Undyne regained her composure quickly, holding her ground steadily. The blue attack was strong, but she stood firm, and her block held. Soon, it was nothing but a flurry of blue and green. Each traded each other blow for blow, each strike hitting harder than the last. Papyrus no longer posed, no longer let up, but neither did she.

Her spears cut deep, and his bones bruised her scales, her flimsy leather armor barely absorbing the attacks. Without his usual banter, she slipped into a trance like state, attacking and countering, dodging and standing still to avoid his blue attacks. He was tiring. His armor was too heavy, his shield too cumbersome.

Soon, his shield was gone, a broken lump of useless metal, pierced to shreds. Papyrus still didn’t stop. His helmet’s teeth were broken, the replica skull malformed and dented. His chest no longer puffed out, no longer extruded an aura of buff muscles, instead caved in on itself. Still, Papyrus didn’t give up. His attacks were too easy to read, too slow now. He backed away, but she gave him no ground, her spears thrusting forever onward, a second wind in her fighting now.

Desperately, Papyrus swung horizontally towards her, the blue magic flickering out like a cheap lightbulb. It came to her naturally. She stood still, and it passed through uselessly. He was open. She struck forward again, a powerful blow, her spear dead center on his skull.

“N-NYEH!” He cried, finally, his skull flying off into the chasm. No, she breathed a sigh of relief. His helmet. But, she saw his face now, finally. Sweating, exhausted and bruised. Their spars had never gone this far. She hesitated as Papyrus stumbled backwards, appearing ashamed to have lost his skull, or maybe ashamed to show his face.

His crumpled boots fell to the rushing waters behind. It wasn’t deep, but the water had created a sticky mud that trapped the skeleton. He didn’t appear to have the strength to free himself anymore. In the next instant, a boulder struck him, and he toppled over like a plastic action figure.

“Papyrus!” Undyne yelled, her fighter’s high gone. He grasped the cliff’s edge, his body hanging dangerously over the chasm’s mouth.

“I’M FINE!” Papyrus replied with a stutter.

“No, you’re not, you idiot!” Undyne lunged forward, grabbing his gauntlet. Her power was drained, as was his. She could pull him up, but it would take every bit of her energy. Out of the corner of her eye, a movement, that damned brat! She saw it sneaking away. She tried to summon another wall of spears. She couldn’t.

“UNDYNE, I’M FINE!” He clearly lied. “YOU WON FAIR AND SQUARE! DON’T LET THE HUMAN GET AWAY!” His body hung limp. He had given up.

The Rebel Leader couldn’t let that human escape! Monsters were counting on her! It could hurt someone! This was their chance to be one step closer to being free! To giving all monsters the choice they deserved. She could help protect those too weak to defend themselves, too quiet to speak up for themselves! Lesser Dog died because of those disgusting humans!

“A FALL LIKE THIS WON’T HURT THE GREAT PAPYRUS!” He continued, but his eye sockets betrayed his confidence. “YOU’RE THE HERO HERE! GO, EVERYONE IS COUNTING ON YOU!”

Her grip lessened. She had to save the Underground. He was an enemy. She had to do whatever it took for her fellow monsters. The old king probably would have done the same. There was no chance for a grey area anymore. She could still catch that human if she let go now.

“No!” She screamed, holding on tight. “I’m not letting my best friend die, you bonehead!” With a grunt, she pulled harder, arms crying out in pain. “What kind of hero to monster kind would I be if I chose a human’s life over a monster’s?!”

“BUT YOU WON!”

“I don’t care!” She yelled. “This way, we’re both losers! Now pull yourself up, you coward!”

Somehow, it took him a moment to decide if it was worth it or not. But her words rang true. If he was a loser, at least he was a loser with his best friend. His other arm shook as he grasped the edge, using every bit of his energy to pull himself up.

With a grunt, she finally pulled him up to safety.

The two sprawled out in the mud, chests heaving, dirtied, disgusting and weak. For a while, Undyne simply stared up at the cavern’s ceiling, gazing at the sparkling drops of water, imagining if this is what the stars might look like.

“UNDYNE,” Papyrus huffed, still lying beside her like a sack of discarded bones. “I’M SORRY.”

She didn’t even have the energy to turn to him. She stared up at the sparkling cavern walls, dreaming of what could have been. “What are you sorry for? You didn’t do anything wrong, Paps,” she said finally.

He must have been looking up at the dark stalactites as well, imagining the twinkle of stars. “MAYBE YOU’RE RIGHT.” He stalled, as if it pained him to speak. “RIGHT ABOUT THE HUMAN. I SHOULDN’T HAVE GOTTEN IN THE WAY.”

Undyne snorted, a light laughter escaping her sharp fangs. It hurt too much. “You know, Paps, I was thinking the same thing. Maybe you’re the one in the right. Maybe taking the human is wrong.”

She heard bones rattling, dirt scraping. He sat up. “BUT, UNDYNE! THE OUTSIDE COULD BE WONDERFUL! IMAGINE HOW HAPPY EVERYONE WOULD BE!”

Again, she laughed, clutching her stomach. It hurt so much. Finally, this was what she wanted! Papyrus was on her side. But the funniest thing? She said, “I don’t know if it’s worth it, though, Paps.” Now she was on the opposite side still.

“IT MUST BE!” He shouted.

Even now, they couldn’t agree. “Look what I did to you,” she said, her laughter harsh and dry. She finally had what she wanted, yet she was no longer sure of herself. She was never sure of herself. “I almost let you fall, you know.” She had never felt such guilt before. The shame stuck to her, clotted between her scales like mud.

“BUT YOU DIDN’T!”

She stopped laughing. She couldn’t understand. He was right on that point, technically, at least.

“ONE OF US MUST BE RIGHT!” Papyrus sounded as unsure as her now, although slightly annoyed. It must not have been often he questioned himself either.

“Maybe we’re both wrong?” Undyne sighed, finding a more comfortable position in the dirt.

Papyrus made a loud ‘HMM’ to himself, rubbing his bony jaw audibly. “YOU MAY BE RIGHT.”

Again, she couldn’t help but laugh, but at least this time it didn’t hurt as much. Her strength was returning, at least a little.

“THIS MORALITY STUFF IS PRETTY HARD,” Papyrus admitted. “WHAT DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD DO?”

Undyne let out a grunt, feeling a renewed vigor inside her gut. She sat up with Papyrus and looked him dead in the eye sockets. She’d tell him exactly how she felt, she was confident now.

“I don’t know!”

“THAT’S NOT VERY HELPFUL.” He frowned.

“Who cares!” Undyne yelled. “I’ll figure something out!”

It wasn’t often that Papyrus played the voice of reason. “BUT WHAT ABOUT THE HUMAN?”

Again, she shrugged. She needed to kill the little brat. There was no question about that. The soul was of vital importance. On that, she would never falter. Even if it hurt her, even if it felt wrong, she needed to. For those that were unhappy. For everyone. Even for Papyrus. “Maybe nothing needs to be done just yet. Maybe we can work something out.”

She said the words aloud but didn’t believe them. Toriel would never hand over the soul, even if the human lived a full life and died of natural causes. She might have no choice. But, at least until then, she could try. She could keep an eye on the human, make sure it never hurt anyone. Maybe it didn’t need to die yet. Or maybe she just needed time to get her strength back.

“THAT WOULD BE NICE!” Papyrus said with a smile, but it wasn’t quite as confident as usual. Even he must have had doubts. Would he still get in her way? She wondered.

But, for now, it didn’t matter. She sat back with her friend, enjoying his company, listening to the droplets of water fall. “Only thing I know for sure now is, we’re both losers.” She grinned.

She’d never felt so happy to be a loser.

“THE BEST LOSERS!” Papyrus added. “NO ONE CAN BEAT US AT LOSING! NYEH-HEH-HEH!”

“Damn straight!” Undyne roared, laughing heartily again. “If only people could have seen us lose to each other! Our moves were so good!”

“OH YES! YOU WERE GREAT, UNDYNE! ALMOST AS GREAT AS ME!”

For a while, they forgot about the human, forgot about their rivalry. There was something so simplistic and fun in just sharing stories, or practicing their cool moves for their next heart-stopping spar. And maybe that was what was missing – a simple friendship where it didn’t feel like the fate of the Underground was set on her shoulders.

At the very least, her time with Papyrus was a nice break from her goal. That was all it was, she would tell herself, but she would enjoy the heck out of it for as long as she could.

#undyne #papyrus #undertale #toriel #gerson #fanfiction #one shot #sky's fanfics

16 notes · View notes