Undertale Fallen Determination: Book 1

Chapter 19: Chat with an Old Friend

Now, we come closer to the end of my story. The last few years leading up to my fall...

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It's been two years since Gaster started work on the CORE. Now it was halfway finished.

I was now 18, and according to Gaster, that would make me an adult on the surface. Not that I looked like an adult. This whole time, I hadn't grown much at all. I was still below five feet in height (four feet, eleven inches, to be exact), and looked like a twelve or thirteen year old. Augh, why couldn't I just get a couple more inches?

To make up for it, I tried to look a little more mature by keeping my hair short. I also changed my outfit again. I went back to wearing a green sweater with a yellow stripe, and brown cargo shorts, though now I wore black tights under them, to help keep me warm in the cold weather of Waterfall, and I still had my boots with the fuzzy white top hem and white puffs on the shoelace ends. Hey, if they still fit at least, then I'll keep on wearing them, and performing magic on them to keep them in good condition.

I was walking around Hotland, alone, looking out in the distance, where the CORE was in full. Thanks to my mastery of fire magic, the heat didn't bother me as much. I could even wear a thick winter coat in this magma-filled area, and I wouldn't even sweat a bit.

I stopped to take a break, sitting down on the edge of the cliff. "Soon," I said, looking at the CORE, "soon I can see the surface again."

But then I thought, what is there for me on the surface? I would never go back to my family on the surface. And the Dreemurrs... Asgore is just as bad. He betrayed me, betrayed my trust. Could I really...

He once called me the hope of both humans and monsters. This is what he wanted, right? For monsters to be free. But we had to it with the CORE, we had to make this teleporter work. We couldn't let Asgore hurt any more humans.

We had decided to keep the true purpose of the CORE a secret from the King. Well, that's what I wanted. Gaster felt it wouldn't be a problem to reveal our true intentions. Asgore was the kind of person who would agree to the plan, regardless of the risks, and the kingdom would probably be desperate enough to do anything to be free. And it's not like this would put me at any more risk of discovery.

But I felt if we were going to do this, then we (well, I, more accurately) didn't want recognition from Asgore until it was done. Gaster agreed, and we kept it on the down-low. The assistants Gaster and Asgore hired were sworn to secrecy by Gaster, and the workers building the structure... well what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

Anyways, I just sat there, thinking about my old families, the Dreemurrs especially. Besides my problems with Asgore, Toriel had disappeared without a trace, and... well, I guess it would be too painful to go home, when I knew Asriel wouldn't be waiting for me there. Only a dusty flower.

"Enjoying the view?" I heard someone say. I looked over... and saw the Captain.

I quickly got up and summoned a fireball. "You!"

The Captain stepped back. "Well now, you're a little aggressive."

"Yeah! For good reason!" I retorted.

"Oh, of course." The Captain drew his sword. I saw a fight coming, but then... he stabbed his sword into the ground, and left it there as he walked up to me. "I don't want to fight."

I staggered a bit, but held firm. "You sure?"

"Yes," the Captain then took off his helmet. Underneath was a head of golden flame, with white dots for eyes. A Fire Elemental, but not just any Fire Elemental...

"Girard?" I said, surprised. "You're the Captain."

Girard chuckled softly. "I've always been the Captain. It's just that... I didn't have so many duties back then. So when you... and the prince..."

"I... get it. It's hard for me to talk about it too..." I said, dispelling my fire. You see, the thing is, Girard was our babysitter. Occasionally, Asgore and Toriel would need to head out for important political business, so Girard would watch us. "I miss those times."

"Heh, well, you don't need me to watch you now, I'd imagine. You've grown up, even if... well."

"If I don't look like it?"

"...Yes."

"Yeah. Don't mention my height again."

Girard's gaze fell to the lava below. "That child... the first human... I still think about her."

I gripped my hand into a fist. "What of it!?"

"I... regret taking her to the king. She was so innocent. She didn't deserve her fate." Girard sat down over the cliffside. "I think the king regrets it too. But he feels that he must do it, to bring hope to the kingdom."

I calmed down, and sat down next to him. "I thought I was that hope."

"Chara... I don't think he wants to kill you..." Girard told me. "He misses you. He misses his family. He's alone."

I sighed. "Asgore... he's already gone too far. He's killed one of my kind. I can't go back! He doesn't deserve... I... augh!"

Girard chuckled.

"What? What is it?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing," he replied. "Chara, listen. I have a son now. He... was that child's age when she fell. Seeing her die... was hard on me. What if that happened to..." He leaned forward. "I'm old. I don't know if I can handle this anymore..."

"What are you going to do?"

"I... wish to retire soon, within the next few years, to take care of my family. I don't wish to be part of this cycle of violence any longer. But... I worry about what will happen when I leave. Things will have to change."

"I guess..." I was kind of sad now. Girard would be going away? I'm mean, I knew he'd still be around, but... "things ARE changing."

Girard got up. "Yes. ...I don't know why, but I feel you too have something planned for the future, and a fast-approaching, unavoidable fate. Whatever that is, I will not stop you. I promise you, Asgore will not hear about you." He sighed. "But Chara... please know that Asgore is still your family. You are his beloved daughter, and he does not wish harm onto you. Remember this."

"...I will," I said, but I didn't believe it. Asgore has changed. I've changed. We could never go back to how it was before.

"I must leave. I can't be seen with you..." Girard grabbed his sword and sheathed it. "This is goodbye, Chara. Perhaps forever."

That sounded foreboding. Did he not intend to find me again, when he was no longer in the Royal Guard? I mean, I guess I wasn't telling him where I was living, ...well, hiding really. And I didn't know where he lived, either. But still...

"...Thanks for chatting with me," I told him. "It was good to see you again..."

"You'll find you're path soon Chara. Just believe in yourself," he replied.

And then he walked away. I got up and started heading back to the CORE to meet with Gaster. If the captain could find me, anyone else in the Guard could, and I couldn't let that happen.

Still, it was nice to talk to an old friend. But, what did he mean by "unavoidable fate". I guess only time will tell...

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Author's Note: To start off the first of the three chapters of Act 3, we have an EXTREMELY short chapter (which I think is good, considering the length of the last chapter), where Chara talks with the current Captain of the Royal Guard (so, not Undyne). If you remember from the last chapter, she had a run in with the Captain, and it didn't end well. Well now, he is in regret of what he's done. And he's an old friend of Chara's, too. Don't expect to see any more of him, though. You'll see why soon.