Fighting A Literal Dummy

Frisk's POV

"Do you remember the tune?" Frisk asked, glancing over Poppy's shoulder. Poppy shrugged them off.

"Yes," she insisted, pressing her fingers against the keys. She tapped each one in order, playing a nice little tune. A thumping sound followed. Frisk glanced at the wall to see a new door-shaped hole.

"Nice," Kat nodded to Poppy before making her way through the doorway. Frisk trailed after her. Clover and Poppy were close behind as well. The tiny room that awaited them contained a small stand with a red ball on top.

"Woah." Kat and Clover were breathless.

"What is that?" Poppy asked, tilting her head to the side. Frisk shrugged.

"It's a legendary artifact," Chara informed. "Will you take it?"

"Legendary artifact?" Frisk repeated, taking a step toward it, "Heck yeah I'll take that." They reached out.

"You can't. You're carrying too many dogs?" Chara informed, their voice full of confusion.

"Too many dogs? What-��� Frisk's eyes widened. A little white head was poking out of their pocket. Frisk jumped back. The dog scrambled out of their pocket and onto the stand. It… absorbed the artifact. Then the dog walked off with a smug smile on its furry face.

"What just happened?" Kat asked, cocking her head.

"That filthy dog stole from us!" Clover exclaimed, gripping his toy gun.

"And left behind whatever this is." Poppy held up a shiny white substance.

"Ew, what is that?" Kat took a step back, her face turning green.

"It's dog residue," Chara informed.

"Dog residue," Frisk repeated, with a shrug. "Not sure what it is but it could be useful." Kat handed it to Frisk, and they swiftly pocketed the strange substance. Frisk then made their way out of the cavern. Teri and Shyren were still there, singing and dancing in the middle of a crowd of monsters. Frisk's eyes widened. They had passed them earlier to hear the piano tune when only a few monsters had been around. Now the crowd of monsters filled the entire room. Their cheers echoed off the walls and socks and gold flew through the air.

"Woah, they got popular fast," Kat mused, her eyes wide.

"Really fast," Poppy agreed with a nod. "Hasn't it only been a few minutes?" Frisk and Clover nodded. "Impressive…"

"Well, they are pretty good," Frisk replied, pointing at Teri and Shyren. After a few minutes, Shyren slunk out of the cave, the horde of paparazzi trailing after her. Teri picked up some gold, letting out a squeal.

"That was so much fun!" She exclaimed with a jump. She glanced at Frisk, her eyes bright. "Oh hey, guys!" Teri rushed toward them. "I had the best time with Shyren! We sang for a whole crowd of monsters, I got to dance, Sans was there to sell tickets for our concert, and she's famous now!"

"Dang…" Chara muttered.

"Nice!" Kat exclaimed, taking Teri's hands.

"You did all that for a stranger?" Poppy asked, cocking her head.

"Yeah!" Teri replied, doing a tiny spin. "And it was so worth it! I hope I see her again!"

"We might," Frisk replied, turning toward the next hallway. "But for now, we need to keep going."

Teri nodded. "Yes, of course." Frisk lead them down the corridor, where a wall of signs awaited them. Chara read them, and Frisk repeated them aloud.

"This power has no counter. Indeed, a human cannot take a monster's soul. When a monster dies, its soul disappears and an incredible power would be needed to take the soul of a living monster."

"So that's why monsters turn to dust when they die," Poppy murmured, gazing at her hands with wide eyes.

"They do?!" Kat gasped, her eyes wide. Poppy avoided her gaze.

"Like Spiderman?" Clover asked eyes narrowed.

"It… happens a little faster than… that." Poppy pulled her notebook into her chest, her head hung low and gaze fixed on the ground.

"There is only one exception," Chara continued. "The soul of a special type of monster called a 'boss monster.'"

"Boss?" Clover perked up. "Like in a video game?" he asked.

"This isn't a game, Clover," Teri replied, her brown eyes huge. "This is our lives! Sorry Frisk, please continue." Teri gestured to them.

"A boss monster's soul is strong enough to persist after death…" Frisk continued. "If only for a few moments. A human could absorb this soul but this has never happened, and now it never will."

"Do you think maybe the king is a boss monster?" Clover asked.

"Maybe," Frisk replied with a shrug.

"I don't see why that matters," Kat cut in. "Papyrus said only a strong soul is needed to cross the barrier, and according to this human souls are a lot stronger than monster souls."

"Yeah," Teri agreed with a nod. "We don't need the king's soul." Frisk nodded. They made their way down the corridor, passing the statue from earlier. The piano tune still echoed off its umbrella. In the next room was the umbrella bin, from which the five kids took one umbrella each. They continued down the next hall. Rain was now pouring down from the ceiling.

"How is there rain underground?" Poppy asked, tilting her head.

"Maybe the barrier allows rain to pass through," Kat suggested with a shrug.

"But why not sunlight then?" Clover asked, hopping into a puddle.

"Maybe the rain is from an underground lake?" Teri glanced at Poppy. "Those exist, right?" Poppy nodded.

"Yo!" a voice called. Frisk turned to see Monster Kid standing in the rain. "You got umbrellas? Awesome!" Monster Kid padded to Frisk's side, standing beneath the umbrella. "Let's go!" Monster Kid rambled to them as they made their way through the cavern. "Man, Undyne is sooooooo cool. She beats up bad guys and NEVER loses. If I was a human, I would wet the bed every night knowing she was gonna beat me up! Haha." Frisk exchanged glances with Poppy.

"Should we tell them?" she mouthed to them. Frisk shook their head. Their gaze shifted to Teri, who shook as she walked. Kat and Clover looked uncomfortable too, filling the tunnel with a tense silence.

"So," Monster Kid continued. "One time. We had a school project where we had to take care of a flower. The king - we had to call him "Mr. Dreemurr" - volunteered to donate his own flowers. He ended up coming to school and teaching the class about responsibility and stuff. That got me thinking... YO! How COOL would it be if UNDYNE came to school!? She could beat up ALL the teachers!!" Monster Kid's smile slowly faded. "Ummm, maybe she wouldn't beat up the teachers... She's too cool to ever hurt an innocent person!" Except for us, apparently.

"Yeah," Chara agreed. "Undyne has no reason to be chasing any of you, except maybe Poppy. You should fight back."

"We're not going to kill her," Frisk muttered. "There's good in her like there was good in all the others."

"If you insist," Chara grunted. "Just don't be surprised when Undyne causes you a crazy amount of resets." Frisk continued down a rocky path as their friends followed single-file. A castle loomed in the distance.

"The Castle," Chara muttered. "It's a long way off for now but you're only getting closer." Frisk gazed at the castle. The knowledge that it would be the end of their journey… it filled them with determination. Frisk put their umbrella away in the bin ahead. The others did the same. Monster Kid continued forward, stopping before a slope."Yo, this ledge is way too steep…"

"Yeah," Kat agreed with a nod. Clover stopped in front of the ledge. He attempted to grab the top, his fingernails barely grazing the top.

"We need a boost of some kind," Teri informed, tapping the ledge.

"I could do that," Monster Kid offered, jumping a bit.

"You don't have to," Kat raised her hands. "We could just find a rock or something and-"

"Nah, it's fine," Monster Kid insisted, ducking down. "You guys wanna see Undyne, right?" Frisk nodded.

"We wanna keep going," Teri replied, with a shrug.

"Climb on my shoulders… uh, probably one at a time…" Frisk nodded. They stepped on Monster Kid's shoulders, gripping the top of the ledge to pull themself to the top. Kat went next, then Teri, Clover, and finally Poppy. They glanced down at Monster Kid. "You guys go on ahead," they insisted.

"But what about you?" Kat asked, kneeling down.

"I can find another way around," Monster Kid replied. "I always do." They tripped before dashing off. The next hallway was dark, with two more signs and a save point awaiting them. Frisk touched the save points first. Then had Chara read the signs so they could repeat it to their friends.

"The humans, afraid of our power, declared war on us. They attacked suddenly, and without mercy."

"The humans started the war?!" Clover demanded, dropping his toy gun.

"For no real reason?!" Kat added, her eyes wide.

"In the end, it could hardly be called a war," Chara continued. "United, the humans were too powerful, and us monsters, too weak. Not a single soul was taken and countless monsters were turned to dust."

"That's horrible!" Teri gasped.

"The monsters did nothing wrong!" Clover exclaimed, throwing his hat on the ground. Frisk nodded. The outcries from their friends continued.

Even Poppy admitted, "Monsters kinda have every right to hate us."

"We have to show them that not all humans are bad," Frisk insisted, taking a step forward. "And free them all from this imprisonment… that's…" Frisk's eyes widened. "That's why I'm here." They glanced back at their friends. "That's… why we're all here... if you agree…"

"We do," Kat replied with a nod. Teri, Clover, and Poppy nodded too. Frisk rested their hand on their heart, which was beating steadily. They had been blindly determined since the beginning but now, with something now guiding their steps, Frisk burned with even more determination than ever before. They lead their friends through the next area: a blue bridge. Frisk skidded to a halt. Kat glanced at them, raising an eyebrow before a strange sound filled the room. Light blue circles appeared on some of the tiles. Once all of them appeared, spears shot up, stabbing the air around them. The group let out yelps. Undyne was standing below them on a purple bridge. Spears continued to emerge. Frisk shot ahead, avoiding the light blue tiles that would appear in front of them. The others followed close behind. The bridge twisted and turned and split into many directions. Frisk and Clover bolted in one direction, only to be met by a dead end. They went another direction. Another dead end awaited them, and another, and another. With the added stress of spears shooting up at them, Frisk's breathing became rapid. They glanced down at the purple bridge. It seemed to follow the blue bridge they were on, except for the dead ends. Then Frisk realized.

"Follow me!" They called, sprinting off. Narrowly dodging each spear, Frisk followed the path of the purple bridge, not bothering to see who had followed them. Finally, they made it to an open area. Frisk and the others weaved their way through the spears, only coming to a halt once they reached the final dead end. No more spears were emerging so Frisk fell to their knees with a gasp.

"Did we lose her?" Poppy asked, panting.

"I think so," Frisk replied, gripping their pounding heart.

"Where are Kat and Teri?" Frisk's eyes widened at Clover's question. They looked around wildly, squinting their eyes but Kat and Teri were nowhere in sight.

"Are they dead?!" Poppy gasped, leaping to her feet.

"No, they can't be!" Frisk's eyes welled with tears. "They're fine, they have to be!" I'll reset if they aren't! I can save them, I just have to pay attention! Something pounded across the bridge. Frisk looked up to see Undyne, marching toward them. Their eyes widened.

"I-I guess we're next…" Poppy's voice shook as she murmured. Undyne stared at them, her face concealed by the helmet she wore. The room was still. Three spears shot down from the sky. Frisk jumped back, but the spears passed by them harmlessly, passing through the bridge. The ground beneath them trembled before splitting away entirely. Poppy and Clover screeched. Frisk flailed around in the air, their heart pounding. Yet they kept falling. Down, down, down, the ground got closer and closer, and everything went dark.

"It sounds like it came from over here... Oh, you've fallen down, haven't you? Are you okay? Here, get up…. Chara, huh? That's a nice name. My name is-"

Frisk's eyes popped open. The first thing they noticed was the soft surface beneath them: golden flowers, just like the ones that broke their first fall. The second thing they noticed was Clover and Poppy. They laid in the flowers beside Frisk, still unconscious, though still breathing. The third thing they noticed was sobbing. Frisk looked around. It wasn't their sobbing and no one else was around. I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… Frisk guessed those were Chara's thoughts, as they weren't their own.

"Chara?" Their only response was sobbing. "Are you okay, Chara?"

They sniffled. "I'm… I'm fine," they sighed, probably wiping tears off their face. "Let's just get out of here as soon as possible." Frisk nodded. They crawled toward Clover Poppy, shaking them by their shoulders.

"Guys," they murmured. "Get up, get up." Poppy let out a groan. Clover and Poppy's eyes popped open, and they pushed themselves up.

"What happened?" Poppy grunted, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"We fell down," Clover grunted, glaring at Poppy. "Don't you remember? The better question is, where are we?"

"Looks like the dump," Frisk muttered, pushing themself into the murky water. Poppy and Clover followed them. As they continued out, they passed by piles of garbage. Ahead, was a save point. Frisk pulled themself out of the water, walking right past the save point.

"Frisk, why aren't you saving?" Chara exclaimed.

"I won't," Frisk muttered, slipping back into the water. "Not until I know if Teri and Kat are okay. If they aren't, then this isn't a timeline worth saving."

"You're such a fool, Frisk," Chara sighed. "You don't know what's out there. You could be killed too."

"Then I'll come back, and I'll get another chance to save all of them."

Poppy's POV

Poppy glanced at Frisk, who continued to mutter to themself. She pushed through the murky water. Beside her, she could practically feel Clover glaring at her. Poppy felt a pang of sadness. Deep down though, she felt she deserved her former friend's scorn. This wasn't a simple disagreement, Poppy had killed surrendering monsters, and this was a consequence of that. Could she ever truly make up for something like that? Frisk lead her and Clover through the dump, passing piles of garbage, a bike, a desktop, and more. Frisk stopped in front of the cooler. Pulling the lid off, Frisk fished out two bars from it. Poppy and Clover each took one.

"What are these?" Poppy asked, scanning the wrapper for some kind of label.

"I don't know," Frisk admitted, shrugging. "But it's food so we should take it." They continued through the dump, coming face to face with a training dummy, just like the one in the Ruins. Poppy stared at it, cocking her head. It looked to be in perfect condition, so why was it in the dump? She shrugged and turned away.

"It's probably nothing important. Let's get going."

"You sure you don't wanna beat it up?" Clover growled, narrowing his eyes at Poppy. She clenched her fists. It took all of her willpower not to smack him in the face.

She continued after Frisk. There was a splash behind them, making Poppy skid to a halt. Her eyes widened at the sight. The dummy appeared before them, its eyes narrowed at them.

"FOOLS!" It yelled. "You think I'd let you get away with your several sins?! I am a ghost that lives inside a dummy. My cousin used to live inside a dummy, too. Until… You… you did everything wrong when you encountered my cousin in the Ruins!" The dummy's flaming eyes locked with Poppy's. "You damaged their home!" The dummy turned to Frisk. "You... Shucks! You were really boring! They got annoyed and flew away like any self-respecting spectre!" They turned to Clover. "And you… you didn't even try anything! You're all disgraces and you're all going to pay for it!" Poppy stared blankly at the dummy as her soul appeared from her chest. Can you maybe not?

"Are they for real?" Clover asked, pointing at the dummy.

"Apparently," Frisk replied with a shrug.

"Feeble! Feeble! FEEBLE!" The mad dummy screamed out of nowhere. More dummies appeared beside it, though their expressions were more neutral. They shot cotton balls from their mouths. Poppy jumped out of the way of the cotton balls, some of them flying back at the mad dummy. It squirmed as the cotton balls pierced its skin.

"OWW! Watch where you're aiming your magic attacks!" It paused, its eyes widening at the three children. "Hey! You! Forget I said anything about magic!"

"Um… no," Poppy replied, crossing her arms.

The dummy's eyes narrowed. "Foolish! Foolish! Foolish! I'll defeat you all and take your souls!" More dummies appeared. Poppy weaved through the cotton attacks with ease. Clover and Frisk dodged them as well, so the attacks hit the mad dummy instead. So this dummy is literally a dummy? Great!

"Get out of here!" Frisk called, whacking a cotton ball away with their stick. "I can hold the dummy off!"

"We're not going anywhere!" Poppy snapped, splashing some water around.

"I'll use your souls to cross the barrier!" the dummy continued as its clones fired more attacks. Even the cotton balls that did hit Poppy, barely grazed her. It was like a papercut. Somehow, the attacks made the dummy squirm in pain when they hit him. Even as the dummy moved around, it still wasn't hard to direct the attacks back at him as he rambled about god knows what. The bomb dummies hit harder but they were even easier to dodge. All Poppy had to do was find the gap in the bombs, and they passed by harmlessly. After what felt like ages of this, the mad dummy started screaming.

"HEY GUYS!" The dummies appeared. "Dummies. Dummies! DUMMIES! Remember how I said NOT to shoot at me? Well..." The mad dummy flailed around like a doll. "FAILURES! YOU'RE FIRED! YOU'RE ALL BEING REPLACED!" The dummies backed away, disappearing in a puff. The mad dummy cackled. "Now you'll see my true power: relying on people that aren't garbage!"

"Takes garbage to know garbage," Poppy replied, pointing at the mad dummy.

"How dare you!" The dummy exclaimed, its eyes widening. Mechanical whirrs like those of a computer echoed off the cave walls. "DUMMY BOTS! MAGIC MISSILE!" Missiles? Crap. New dummies appeared, with oddly shaped heads. The heads parted from the dummies, firing at the group of children: missiles. Poppy pushed her way through the water. She was barely able to duck under the missiles, causing them to skim past her. Poppy looked up, her hands still covering her head. The missiles slammed into the mad dummy, exploding against its form. Somehow, it didn't leave a mark. The mad dummy launched another attack, flailing in the air like a doll. Poppy screamed as a missile pierced her back. Lunging out of the way of the next barrage, Poppy fell beneath the cover of the water. She pushed herself out of the water, coughing. Clover had been knocked into the cave wall, a burn on his chest. He shoved a cinnamon bun into his mouth and the burn marks immediately disappeared. Frisk still stood strong, glaring at the mad dummy.

"DUMMY BOTS! FINAL ATTACK!" the dummy screamed. Bomb dummies appeared from the sides, as well as missiles that homed in on their positions. Poppy weaved around the bombs, barely able to avoid the homing missiles. Some pierced her skin but she continued through the pain. She glanced across the pond. Clover was covered in bruises and burn marks, as a missile approached them. Poppy's eyes widened. Lunging at Clover, Poppy let out a yowl as the missile exploded on her ribs. She fell on her side in the water.

"Poppy!" a voice gasped. Tanned arms reached down into the water, pulling Poppy onto her feet. Coughing, she leaned against the wall. Frisk rushed toward her, splashing drops of water all over the place.

"Are you okay?!" Frisk gasped, resting their hands on Poppy's shoulders.

"I'm fine-" Poppy was cut off by a cough. She grabbed a cinnamon bun from her pocket, snarfing it down in one bite. Her throat and skin cleared up in moments.

"THESE GUYS ARE EVEN WORSE THAN MY OTHER GUYS!" The mad dummy screamed, directing Poppy's attention to them. "Who cares. Who cares! WHO CARES! I DON'T NEED FRIENDS!" A knife appeared in the air. "I'VE GOT KNIVES!" Loki, much? Poppy sidestepped the knife. It flew right past her and sank into the wall behind her. The dummy froze. "I'm… out of knives…" It began flailing again. "BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER!" Poppy's ears felt like they were bleeding. "YOU CAN'T HURT ME AND I CAN'T HURT YOU! YOU'LL BE STUCK FIGHTING ME. Forever. Forever! FOREVER!" The dummy cackled like a typical villain. However, the psycho's laugh was cut short by drops of water raining down on them. The dummy squirmed around in pain. "W-what the heck is this!? Ergh! Acid rain!?! Oh, FORGET IT! I'm outta here!" The mad dummy floated away and Poppy's soul disappeared. Another figure floated down toward them. This one was small and white, with the shape of a pacman ghost.

"It's you!" Poppy gasped, her eyes bright.

The ghost stared at her. "... sorry, I interrupted you, didn't I?" they murmured.

"You didn't interrupt anything!" Poppy insisted, taking a step toward the ghost. "You actually saved us!"

"R-really?" The ghost's voice was full of disbelief. Poppy nodded. "Well… I'm glad I could be of assistance… Um… I just came by to say hi so…. I'm going to head home, now. Oh… um... feel free to 'come with' if you want, but no pressure… I understand if you're busy. It's fine. No worries. Just thought I'd offer." Before Poppy could reply, the ghost disappeared through the doorway. Poppy glanced at Frisk.

"Is that the ghost in the Ruins you told us about?" they asked.

"Yeah, let's go with them," she insisted, pointing at the doorway.

"But we have to find Kat and Teri," Clover protested, stepping toward them. "They could be seriously hurt! Or… or dead…" Clover looked away.

"Okay, fair point," Poppy sighed, stepping out of the water. "We'll look for them first. Then we'll hang out with the ghost." Frisk nodded in agreement. They pulled themselves out of the water, walking into the cavern. The ghost was in front of them.

"Hey…" the ghost greeted, floating as usual. "My house is up here.. In case you want to see… or in case… you don't…"

"We'll come," Poppy promised. "Just give us a moment." The ghost disappeared down one of the halls without another word.

"Yo!" a voice called. Poppy recognized Monster Kid's voice immediately. She turned to see the child, and her eyes widened when she saw who accompanied them.

"Kat! Teri!" Frisk dashed past Poppy, wrapping their arms around Kat. Poppy threw her arms around Teri. Her friend copied the action, pulling Poppy closer. Clover did the same to Kat.

"Oh, thank goodness you're alive," Frisk murmured to Kat.

"When we lost you in the maze, we'd assumed the worst," Poppy admitted, pulling out of the hug.

"Well we're okay," Kat informed, patting Frisk on the back.

"Monster Kid found us after we got lost and lead us down here," Teri informed, pointing at the yellow monster behind them.

"Thank you," Clover gasped, pulling out of the hug.

"No problem, friends," Monster Kid replied, dipping their head. "I'll go on ahead." They disappeared down one of the corridors.