Chapter 7: Joining the Royal Guard
Our protagonists have finally had some time to rest, Papyrus and Chara are still training to strengthen Chara's magic, which has already evolved considerably, Sans has returned to his laboratory to work and Gaster has gone missing.
Chara has managed to master her magic enough to join the Royal Guard, but before she can do so, she has to prove herself to the Captain. So she sets off for Waterfall to meet her, seeing many things along the way including a hidden village, that of the Temmie, the eccentric little cats who run the village.
Chara has now arrived in the area of the echo flower fields, which have the particularity of repeating what they hear. Chara admires these magnificent luminous blue flowers until a noise emerges behind her, and she hastily turns around to notice that Flowey is behind her.
Flowey : Howdy Chara! It's been a while, are you all right?
Chara, who hadn't seen her friend since the incident at the ruins, didn't know what to say but spoke up anyway, happy to see him again.
Chara : Flowey?! I've finally found you, where have you been all this time?
Flowey looked surprised that anyone was worried about him, after all, he's never had any friends since he lives in isolation. He answers Chara looking embarrassed.
Flowey : Well… I had to do something urgent.
Chara gave Flowey a friendly smile, then replied, not blaming him at all.
Chara : I hope it went well! I'm going to meet Undyne, the captain of the royal guard, so I can be taken.
Flowey : Well then, I wish you luck.
Chara waved goodbye and headed further into Waterfall, while Flowey seemed preoccupied and disappeared into the ground. Chara continued on her way until she spotted a woman in armour, she recognised the person from the photos Papyrus had shown her, it was Undyne, the captain of the royal guard.
Chara approaches her timidly because of the massive armour the woman is wearing and the stress of the exam.
Chara : Um… Hello, I'd like to take the test to join the Royal Guard.
Undyne turns to look at the young human and lets out a slight laugh, knowing that a little girl wanted to join her army.
Undyne : Do you want to join the Royal Guard? Very well then, face me and I'll see if you're up to it!
Chara puts herself on guard to face the fish warrior, who conjures up a luminous blue spear in her hand and points it at Chara, intimidating her.
Undyne : Hit me once and you're done for.
Chara makes a reddish knife appear in her hand, determined to pass this test in order to join the royal guard.
Numerous red knives appear beside her and rush towards Undyne to cut her, but she parries them all with the spear in her hand and rushes towards Chara, punching her in the stomach.
Chara takes the blow violently and quickly recovers to move away from her, holding her stomach in pain as she wonders how to land a blow on such a monster. Of course, Undyne doesn't use all her strength to give Chara a chance.
Chara : How can I even land a blow?
Red knives continue to appear, hurtling towards Undyne who easily intercepts them all again with the spear in her hand, spinning it around.
This same spear is thrown at Chara with phenomenal speed, but before it can be thrown, a reddish shield appears on Chara's arm and she hits the spear, which deflects and ends up stuck on the wall of the cave.
Chara immediately made a strong impression on Undyne after this well-executed move. Numerous spears appear next to Undyne and rush towards Chara, cutting her from side to side, but her wounds gradually regenerate thanks to her unshakeable determination.
Undyne : Well then, is that all you know how to do? You're not going to win by taking my attacks!
Undyne lunged at Chara again, but before she could hit her in the face, she feinted and got behind her to land a powerful blow to her ribs - the human was in no position to parry.
On the contrary, she concentrated her magic in the palm of her hand to aim skywards, then caught Undyne's blow and the magic concentrated in her hand propelled itself into the air at the same time, while she was propelled to the side by the force of the blow.
The beam that Chara had fired into the air deflects and falls back on Undyne, who takes it head-on. The attack didn't do her much damage, but it's still the end of the fight, because the aim was to hit her.
Chara got back up and regenerated thanks to her determination; she had passed the test to join the royal guard. Undyne then sneers, seeing the young girl's potential.
Undyne : Well done! You've passed the test just as I'd hoped, by the way, what's your name?
Chara holds her head, still stunned by the power of the blow she'd just taken in the ribs.
Chara : My.. My name is Chara!
Undyne : Very well, Chara, then you're now a member of the Royal Guard. Rest well and head for New Home, where the main post of the Royal Guard is.
Chara : Thank you! OK, I'll be off then, see you soon Undyne!
Chara sets off in the direction of Hotland, crossing the bridge linking Waterfall and Hotland.