Chapter 49

Undyne, Papyrus, and Frisk were standing at the deck outside of the boat rental store. It was their last errand. Frisk and Papyrus still had little to no idea what was happening, but Undyne was grinning from ear to ear.

"Alright, boys," Undyne said. "We're ready."

"Undyne, what exactly are we doing?" Papyrus asked.

"Exactly, what I said before, we're going to help Frisk get over his fears," Undyne replied. "Now, Frisk, you have an extreme amount of fear in your head, and to face it, we're going to do the most extreme things I know how to do. First, we will be doing: TWO PERSON EXTREME WATERSKIING!"

"So, that's why we're wearing wet suits?" Frisk asked.

"Yep," Undyne said. "Think of this as danger exposure therapy!"

"How will that help Frisk?" Papyrus asked.

"Great question," Undyne said. "Simple, the calmer he is in this extreme and dangerous situation, the calmer he'll be when he's training, and the calmer he'll be under stress when he's facing an enemy. Papyrus' driving will only make it better. What do you think?"

"I'm not so sure about this," Frisk said skeptically.

"Yeah," Papyrus said. "Frisk is still anemic. What if he gets hurt?"

"That won't happen," Undyne said before slapping a football helmet onto Frisk's head. "There, now, he's plenty safe. Satisfied?"

"Okay!" Papyrus said excitedly climbing into the boat.

"If you say so," Frisk said allowing Undyne to pick him up and put him on her shoulders before she strapped on her skis and grabbed the handle on the back of the line attached to the boat.

"Papyrus, I'm waiting," Undyne said standing on the deck in her skis. "What's the hold-up?"

"I can't seem to figure out how to turn it on," Papyrus said. "Do you know how?"

"For the love of…Papyrus, turn the key!"

"Oh, okay!"

Papyrus turned the key and the boat roared to life. He sat on his chair and prepared to drive for the first time in his life.

"Hey, Undyne?" Frisk asked. "Shouldn't I have a life preserver?"

"Punk, I am the life preserver," Undyne replied.

Papyrus stepped on the gas, and Undyne and Frisk were immediately pulled off the deck and into the water.

Frisk wrapped his arms around Undyne's head to stay on top. He had never been waterskiing before, but he was determined to, at least, give it a shot. For the first few minutes, it wasn't so bad. It was kind of nice to get to see Waterfall go by like this, and overall, it felt peaceful.

Then Undyne yelled, "PAPYRUS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! WHY ARE WE GOING SO DAMN SLOW?!"

"I'm going as fast as I can while obeying the speed limit, Undyne," Papyrus replied.

"Speed Limits?! PAPYRUS, WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT LIMITING YOURSELF?"

"Uh! Not to?!"

"EXACTLY! NOW SPEED UP THIS RIDE SO WE CAN HELP THIS LITTLE PUNK GET OVER HIS FEAR OF DANGER!"

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!"

"Undyne," Frisk said timidly. "Are you sure this is such a good id-AHHHH!"

Frisk didn't get to finish his sentence, because Papyrus floored the boat as quickly as he could. The wind rushed through his hair and against his face. It was all he could do to hold onto Undyne's head as their surroundings turned into a blur.

"Undyne?!" Frisk said barely audibly above the rushing air and the sound of the motor.

"PAPYRUS, WHY ARE YOU DRIVING IN A STRAIGHT LINE?!" Undyne yelled. "THIS IS NOT AN OLD GRANNIES' BOAT RIDE! I WANNA SEE SOME TURNS AND CIRCLES, MISTER!"

"But isn't that dangerous?!" Papyrus yelled back.

"EXACTLY!"

"Oh, you got it! I hope I don't run into anything!"

Much to Frisk's chagrin, Papyrus started driving the boat in zig zag lines along the river at speeds even faster than before. Thankfully, no one was in their way, but Frisk knew this couldn't be the case for long.

"UNDYNE, STOP!" Frisk yelled shutting his eyes. "WE COULD DIE!"

"EXACTLY" Undyne replied. "ISN'T IT AMAZING?!"

"NO, IT SUCKS! I WANT IT TO STOP!"

"THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT'S GOING TO, PUNK! IN YOUR LIFE, YOU WILL ENCOUNTER SUCKY, OR MAYBE EVEN, DANGEROUS SITUATIONS THAT YOU CAN'T STOP WHENEVER YOU WANT TO, AND THAT'S OKAY! YOU CAN STILL ENDURE THEM AND FACE THEM DOWN! THAT'S WHAT I WANT YOU TO DO NOW, PUNK!"

"BUT WE COULD STILL DIE!"

"GOD COULD STRIKE YOU DOWN IN YOUR BED TONIGHT! IT DOESN'T MATTER AS LONG AS YOU FACE YOUR LIFE WITH NO FEAR! NOW, OPEN YOUR EYES!"

Frisk grimaced and gripped her head tighter.

"Do I have to?!" Frisk asked.

"YES, PUNK!" Undyne yelled. "Let your eyes see the danger!"

"If you say so," Frisk said as he slowly allowed his eyes to slip open and take in his surroundings.

Papyrus was still driving around like a maniac. The world around was still a blur. Frisk was also pretty sure he was about to throw up, but he slowly started feeling something calm inside him.

It was a calm in the chaos. It no longer feared the imminent threats outside him. It was a peace beyond his comprehension that came from the One inside him and slowly spread throughout his soul until He was sure Frisk knew that he was going to be okay. Whatever happened.

When that happened, Frisk smiled and started to let himself enjoy the event. His HP rose by one point.

"THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT, PUNK!" Undyne commented when she saw his HP raise. "GREAT JOB!"

"Hey, Undyne?!" Frisk asked. "I'm tired of spinning in circles! Could we go to other places?! Like Snowdin?!"

"NOW, YOU'RE TALKIN'!" Undyne replied. "PAPYRUS, TAKE THE BOAT TO SNOWDIN!"

"OKAY!" Papyrus said as he stopped spinning the boat and started going in a straight line again. "WHICH WAY IS SNOWDIN?! I'M REALLY DIZZY RIGHT NOW."

"WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT COMPLAINING, PAPYRUS?!"

"BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE I'M GOING!"

"JUST DRIVE STRAIGHT UNTIL WE KNOW WHERE WE ARE! WE CAN ALWAYS TURN AROUND!"

"OKAY, BUT THE WATERWAYS ARE GETTING NARROWER!"

"NO EXCUSES, PAPYRUS! KEEP DRIVING!"