Chapter Text
“Over here, Snowy!” hollered MK. The ball bounced off Snowy’s head and knocked them over. It went slightly off-kilter, and MK had to run across the field to catch it.
Jockington slithered in front of them and caught the ball. He passed it to Noelle, and she made an attempt to pass to Snowy, but they didn’t get on their feet in time, and it tumbled past them. It rolled, bouncing lower and lower until it reached an end at the feet of a tall, stocky girl. She stood against a tree, and had been watching them for a while.
Berdly quacked from behind them. “That’s my ball!” he said. The girl shot him a Look. He shut up.
She turned to the players. Her glare froze Snowy, and made MK feel a sense of fast-impending doom, but it disturbed Noelle most of all. The girl stepped back a foot or two, and with a deep breath flung herself at the ball and really kicked it. It made straight for Jockington, who dodged right before it was too late. The players stood in awe and horror as it flew across the street in slow motion …
And hit the roof of a police car.
Noelle’s heart skipped. The door opened, and out walked Officer Undyne. The poor kids looked petrified under her intimidating height. She sized the three of them up, hands on her hips, and they mumbled their prayers. The tall girl had sunken back to her tree and continued standing as if nothing had happened.
“Playing ball on the street, huh?” said Undyne. One by one they nodded and hung their heads. Undyne crossed her arms and gave them a good moment to stand and be afraid of her. “Now what made you think you could do that, without me?”
“We’re so sorry, Officer, we-” Snowy started. “Wait, what?”
Undyne grinned, and laughed. “Catch!” She scooped the ball from the ground and threw it at Noelle. “Come on, let’s see what you got! All against me, who’s in? If you win, I won’t tell your parents.”
With a shared look of confusion, MK, Snowy, Jockington and Noelle shrugged at each other. Noelle tossed the ball to Jockington, and they flung it to Snowy. Undyne tried to cut in front of them, but all too late, as the ball had already bounced off their head toward MK, who made for Noelle again. For thirty minutes the kids kept a steady rhythm, until Undyne laid her hands on her knees.
“Well played, well played,” she panted. “You punks have got a lotta stamina!” They all cheered. Jockington gave MK a high-five with his tail. Undyne stood up. “Well, go on without me. I have duties to fulfill.”
With that, she went back in her car, turned a corner and sped away into the sunset.
The kids cheered more and head-butted each other. Noelle turned to the tree, but the tall girl had gone.