After some mental debate, Woona decided that Princess Temmie should stay with her Mommy, Temmie, rather than come with Woona, at least at first. For one thing, Princess Temmie only had 1 HP, and 0 ATK and DEF, making her literally helpless at her present size. For another, Woona knew she would be going up against Undyne soon, and she didn't want her little one involved in that. And aside from that, Chara seemed to really dislike her for some reason. For the moment, she decided it would be best if Princess Temmie stayed in the village...along with 1500 gold as a college fund for when she was ready.
You know you're starting to run low on gold, Chara pointed out as she left the village. Even the bits you brought with you from the surface are almost gone.
And...what else would I spend money on? Woona thought back logically as she illuminated her path through a darker maze segment with her magic, the light from her horn making most monsters greet her warmly rather than FIGHT, as they all knew that only Monsters could cast light spells.
Food to recover HP? Chara suggested as he guided her around another corner.
Infinite Temmie Flakes, Woona countered.
Armor?
I've got the SOULSTONE, my ribbon, my cartographer's cap, and my cape, Woona indicated. Do I need more armor?
Weapons? Chara suggested.
Why would I want to hurt anyone? Woona demanded, her voice offended as she entered a new area, the sound of waterfalls in the distance as she walked across a pool of water with her magic...only to reach a dead end with an Echo Flower.
...because Undyne's right behind us... Chara whispered.
Woona turned as the passage illuminated, the armored figure slowly approaching. Oh...right...her...
Woona braced herself as best she could, ready to FIGHT if that was what was to come. Undyne continued her steady approach, walking steadily closer to Woona. Then she spoke.
"Seven," Undyne stated firmly, her voice echoing through the helmet she wore, distorting it. "Seven human souls. With the power of seven human souls, our king, King Asgore Dreemur, will become a god. With that power, Asgore can finally shatter the barrier. He will take the surface back for monsters, the surface humanity banished us from..."
Woona struggled to speak, but she was frozen with fear.
"You are not human...but your soul possesses the right properties," Undyne explained. "Your death will set us free." She then braced herself in a running position, a blue spear of magic appearing in her hands. She closed the distance, and the FIGHT lines began to take shape.
"Undyne!" MK shouted as he dashed out of some tall grass in a wall alcove nearby, breaking the FIGHT lines as he appeared. "I'll help you FIGHT!"
"MK, are you crazy?" Woona demanded, now more terrified for MK than for herself.
"Oh hey, Woona!" MK greeted happily. "Are you here to help Undyne beat up the bad guys, too? Then again, she probably doesn't need it...but you've got front row seats to the FIGHT!" He glanced around, somewhat confused. "So, uh...where are the bad guys we're FIGHTing?"
Grumbling under her breath, Undyne dispelled her spear and grabbed MK by the cheek, dragging him off.
"Hey!" MK complained. "I wanna help FIGHT! ...you aren't gonna tell my parents about this, are you?"
Woona breathed a sigh of relief. "He's gonna be okay, right?" she asked worriedly.
He'll be fine, Chara assured her. Come on, we've still got a long way to go.
Nodding, Woona made her way back to the pool of water. A glowing path led north, making her confused as to how she missed it earlier. The path led across another watery road, past more Echo Flowers with snatches of a private conversation. At the end of the path, she saw a placard that told of a Prophecy, an Angel who had seen the Surface. It said that the Angel would return, and the Underground would go empty.
This seems important, Woona thought silently before continuing east.
Continuing onward, Woona found she had to cross a narrow wooden bridge over a wide chasm. She crossed it with no problems...but she heard someone calling her before she'd quite reached the end.
"Yo!"
She turned around with a smile. "MK!" she called happily, rushing back towards him. "I'm so glad to see you! You didn't get in trouble, did you?"
Much to her surprise, MK looked...upset about something. "I...I'm not supposed to be here, but...Undyne says you're...from the surface. Is...is that true?"
Woona nodded sadly. "It is. I came from the surface..."
"Oh man..." MK groaned. "This is...this is just so uncool. Undyne said to stay away from you, cause...bad stuff comes from the surface. So..." He hung his head. "I...guess that makes us enemies..."
Woona whimpered softly.
"I kinda stink at the whole enemies thing, though..." MK continued. "Could you...say something mean so I can hate you? Please?"
"But..." Woona teared up. "But I don't want you to hate me..."
"Please?" MK pleaded.
Woona struggled to find something mean to say. "...umm...why are you such a klutz?" she offered.
"What?" MK demanded. "That's your idea of something mean to say? My sister says that to me all the time!" He chuckled somewhat. "Guess I have to try." He cleared his throat staring down at Woona's teary-eyed face. "I...I..." After a time, he hung his head. "I can't do it..." He turned to leave. "I'm gonna go home now..."
As he raced back across the bridge, his footing slipped and he fell, barely clinging to the edge of the bridge. "Help!" he called out. "I tripped!"
"MK!" Woona called out worriedly, racing to help.
Undyne's right there! Chara insisted in warning, drawing Woona's attention to where Undyne was close on the bridge.
Forget her! Woona insisted, dashing up to where MK was barely hanging on and seizing hold of him with her magic. "Don't worry, MK! I've got you!" Carefully she lifted him back onto the bridge.
MK stared at Woona, stunned. As Undyne started to approach, he swallowed convulsively, turned, and stepped towards his idol.
Undyne stared down through her helmet as her little fan stepped towards her. She had a feeling there would be trouble if he continued hanging out with the pony. But...the pony had immediately leapt to save him. And now he stood between Undyne and her prey. The eye slots of her helmet glowed, showing her the little one's stats.
HP 100
ATK 2
DEF 2
Barely a threat to anyone. Unfortunately, attempts to scan the pony had given her nothing. The helmet's scan function was designed to handle magic up to one human soul. It wouldn't give her information regarding a soul with the strength of four.
"Y-y-yo dude..." MK proclaimed, stammering and shaking. "If...if you wanna h-hurt my friend..." He closed his eyes. When he opened them, his face was stern. "Y-you're gonna have to go through me."
Undyne noticed the stat readout shifting. She recognized the signs of a monster tapping Determination. Protocol for such a situation was very clear; determine the alteration of stats, and do not engage in battle. Fighting a monster that had tapped Determination would only result in said monster dissolving.
The new stats appeared, and Undyne's eyes widened.
HP 86
ATK 75
DEF 309
The lower HP was understandable, as that often happened with Determination...but the others...
Undyne slowly backed away, removing herself from the situation. Even if she wasn't worried about MK dissolving from Determination, those were not stats she would tango with lightly.
MK took a few deep, calming breaths as he felt that strange strength that had flooded him leaching away, his body no longer feeling like it would explode at any time. "S...she's gone..." he murmured. He was torn between amazement - he made Undyne back off - and despair - he'd confronted Undyne! "...you okay-"
His thought process was shattered as he felt soft lips on his cheek. Woona pulled back, her eyes shining as she looked up at him. "My hero!" she squealed happily. "You stood up to Undyne to protect me!"
MK blushed, chuckling. "W-well, you saved me first!" he countered, trying to make light of what he'd done.
"That was easy," Woona corrected, making light of her own efforts. "But you...I've never seen anything so brave!" She gave him as much of a hug as she could manage.
"Heh...I guess it was..." MK murmured, more than just a little flustered. "Hehe...so much for being enemies...I guess we'll just have to be friends."
Woona grinned happily at that idea. "Yes!" she cried happily. "But I'll never forget your heroism. You're a brave knight!"
MK's chest puffed up a little. "Y-yeah! I like the sound of that!"
"Then be brave, my knight!" Woona proclaimed, posing like a princess.
MK shifted his body to swing one sleeve of his shirt up to his forehead in salute. He then realized what time it was. "I gotta get home! My parents are gonna freak I've been gone so long!"
"Fare thee well, my brave knight!" Woona called after him as he dashed away.
Seeing her friend rush off, his purpose renewed, and his heroism fresh in her mind, filled Woona with DETERMINATION.