Were We Doomed From The Start?

15.- Escaping

The armoured knight reappeared from earlier, and was now behind the pillars, summoning 3 more spears as Ninja rapidly grabbed Shadow and bolted away, Gaster defending them with his magic as they made a run for it, intending to not hurt the knight but also keep them at a reasonable distance between the three of them.
It was hard for all of them to dodge, but slightly easier for Gaster since this person was mostly focused on Ninja, who was still carrying Shadow [who weighed like, nothing].

The spears continued overheard when they made it to the next room, ducking into the tall grass and sitting still, hoping they wouldn't be found. Gaster had his back against the wall, disappearing into it and Shadow going into Ninja's backpack, yet ready to jump out at moment's notice.

The armoured knight walked over, into the tall grass as Ninja held his breath, awaiting whatever might happen next.

They stopped right in front of him, almost stepping on his feet by a few inches. They reached out, then grabbed something with immense speed and strength.

Gaster appeared up on the ceiling and silently charged up his attack just in case.

They pulled their hand up, revealing that they had grabbed the monster kid from before, and not Ninja.

Gaster let his attack discharge, seeing as they stared at this monster kid then put him down and proceeded to leave. Ninja scrambled to catch his breath and get out of the tall grass, stumbling as he got up and walked out of it. Monster kid followed behind him, looking behind himself then back at Ninja who stood there trying to catch his breath.

"Yo...did you see that!?
Undyne just...
...TOUCHED ME!
I'm never washing my face ever again...!

Man, are you unlucky. If you were sitting just a LITTLE bit to the left...!
Yo, don't worry! I'm sure we'll see her again!"
He said, running off and suddenly tripping, then standing back up no-handedly.

Ninja walked into the next room, putting his backpack down on the floor, allowing Shadow to crawl out as they both caught their breath.

Gaster oozed down from the ceiling and went over to Ninja, asking if he was okay, worried about his well-being and not wanting to see him hurt, yet Ninja reassured Gaster that he was fine, despite looking exhausted and out of breath.

Gaster nodded, and turned to look at Shadow, noticing how he was nearing a breakdown. He had no idea how to calm him down, considering how the trip thus far hadn't been exactly easy for him. Taking a deep breath, he went over to Shadow and calmly yet slowly placed his hand on Shadow's shoulder, trying to not startle him.

Shadow looked at Gaster's hand then up at him, starting to sign something as his hands shook more uncontrollably.
"Is it...even possible to leave here alive? I just..."

"Shadow..."
Gaster said as he pulled him a bit closer.
"...Look, I know what we're going through right now seems very scary, and that it seems impossible to get through this unscathed.
Yet, I promise you, there is always a way out of any sort of struggle we could potentially face. So please...
...Don't give up, Shadow."

Shadow sighed, his breath shaking on the exhale, with a slight shudder to accompany it. Gaster was too busy trying to calm Shadow down that he didn't notice at first, but it was the first time Shadow's sigh was audible. Shadow still seemed uncertain, so Gaster held his hands and pulled him into a cold embrace, helping Shadow to feel more at ease.

"I...promise...that I'll do my best to protect you during all stages of our journey, Shadow.
...So please, don't ever feel like you're alone here...because I'll be here, and so will Ninja, to protect and help you...so please...please never give up and keep trying..."

Ninja walked over, unsure of what to do but trying to calm Shadow down, grabbing his backpack and patting Shadow's head, slightly twirling his hair which was in fact extremely soft. Shadow sniffled a bit before letting go of Gaster and hugging Ninja, who was completely taken by surprise by Shadow's actions, unaware of what to do. Ninja looked at Gaster then back at Shadow, taking a few moments to react before slowly patting Shadow's hair as if discomforted by the sudden acts.

He slowly pried Shadow off him, slightly pushing him over to Gaster before walking to the next room, getting ready to face the armoured knight again.
The room they were in was empty other than a magical crystal grown on a piece of cheese and a mouse hole, with an Echo Flower next to it. Yet, knowing the mouse might one day extract the cheese from the mystical crystal filled them with determination.

Gaster made sure once more that Shadow was okay before walking over to the next room, which was a hallway with a telescope in it. Ninja ignored it, going over past the mine entrance, observing the bridge which led to more Echo Flowers.
He was walking away when something inside him made him stop abruptly, looking back at Shadow, who was still recovering from the ordeal. Ninja made eye contact with Gaster, giving him a stern look and nodding, walking down the hallway and taking a turn before leaning up against the wall, waiting for Gaster to walk over to him.

"Shadow, I'll be back in just a brief moment, alright? I just need to talk to Ninja for a quick second to clear something up. I promise you I'll come right back, and everything will be okay."

Shadow nodded and sat down on the floor as Gaster went down the corridor, turning the corner and seeing Ninja there, looking down at the floor, eerily silent.

"Okay, what...what did you need to talk to me about, Ninja?
Is it anything important?"
Gaster held his hands together nervously.

Ninja stood there and looked up, staring at the ceiling which was laced with sparkling stones resembling stars for a bit before looking back down to Gaster, with a look that made chills run down Gaster's spine, due to how devoid of emotion it was, as if the void itself was staring back at him.
He had briefly made a soft rattling sound due to this simply out of surprise and slight fear, and Ninja stared at him blankly for a bit more before speaking.

"I wanted to explain the plan, seeing how Shadow has gotten more scared and that armoured knight quick on our tail."

Gaster clenched his hands together, slightly relieved that Ninja had a plan but still worried for Shadow's safety. After all, Shadow was more sensitive, and Ninja was well...himself.

"It's true, he is very scared at this point. And that armoured knight is pretty dangerous...So what's the plan?"
Gaster asked, now getting a bit closer to Ninja to hear his idea.