Ness & Paula/In Battle

Ness & Paula are the two final bosses of the Obliteration Route in Section 2 - Oh, Mother. They appear right before the Delta Warriors manage to reach the Grey Door at the end of Lilliput Steps, impeding their progress. Right after their apparition, Kris will lose the Franklin Badge.

During the fight in Phase 1, Serious Mode will be active, changing Susie and Noelle's sprites. During Phase 2 their sprites will change again into a unique, more miserable version.

In Phase 1, both Ness & Paula will fight together, combining their attacks in numerous ways. When attempting to damage Paula with Kris (as Susie and Noelle will refuse to attack her), Ness will always heal her to max HP, making him the true target in this phase.

After depleting Ness's HP and killing him, Paula will desperately try to revive him with a Horn of Life... without succeeding. Paula will retaliate with a series of 4 perfect strikes with her pan, introducing Phase 2.

In Phase 2, Paula will fight on her own with enhanced versions of her attacks (including new ones and ones inspired by Ness). As the fight goes on, she will combine two of her attacks at once. Additionally she will even gain the ability to cast PSI Fire while the menu interface is open.

After depleting all her HP, she will try to hit the screen itself and making it crack with her pan as a last resort move, before finally dying, with her SOUL shattering into pieces.

After the battle, the player can get her Clean Pan, before leaving Section 2.

Attacks

During Phase 1, both Ness & Paula will have access to their own selection of attacks, which will randomly combine two of those in each turn they attack (which can also include two attacks from the same character).

Ness' attacks are:

PK Rockin'

• A shower of orange and blue projectiles will fall from the top left & right of the screen, falling diagonally into a straight line. The Orange ones will not harm the SOUL if it is moving, while the blue ones will not harm it if it's still.

Bats and Baseballs

• Multiple bats will appear on the sides of the Bullet Board, each one throwing a baseball that's affected with gravity, with varied angle and speed.

Paula's attacks are:

PK Fire

• A "+" shaped cross made by thin vertical lines and thick horizontal lines will be cast at the current position of the SOUL, summoning numerous fireballs that quickly expand horizontally.

PK Thunder

• Several bolts of lighting strike the Bullet Board, forewarned by "[!]" boxes.

PK Freeze

• Ice blocks will be summoned from the top of the Bullet Board, before falling down to the bottom. They can stack on top of each other.
  • During this phase, the ice blocks can be destroyed by Paula's PK Thunder.

PSI Magnet

• A vortex will appear on the top of the Bullet Board, attracting the SOUL towards it. If the SOUL gets into contact of the vortex, TP will be lost.

Bash

• An Undertale "attack bar" will appear over Ness & Paula; after 4 reticles strike near the center, a strike will summon a spread of sparks near the current SOUL's position, which will then quickly spread further, before fading away.

During Phase 2, Paula will use enhanced versions of her attacks, and when under 50% of her HP, she will combine 2 of any of her attacks together, for a potential of 15 different combinations.

PK Fire Ω

• Several "+" shaped crosses will be frequently summoned all over the Bullet Board, each one expanding a line of fireballs, with slightly angle variations.
  • When at less than 50% HP, she will constantly cast it while the Player is navigating the menu interface; it can bring every party member to a minimum of 1 HP left.

PK Thunder γ

• 4 waves of alternating Thunder Bolts will strike the bullet board, followed by 3 waves of bigger bolts, concluding with 2 Thunders at the sides approaching the center, before culminating with 2 final waves.
  • When used in conjunction with another attack, it will behave more similarly to when is used alongside Ness.

PK Freeze γ

• Ice blocks will be summoned more frequently, and will sporadically release small ice bullets that travel horizontally.
  • While other attacks are present, no ice bullets will be released from the ice blocks.
    • To note that in this phase, the blocks can be destroyed by Paula's PK Fire Ω, PK Thunder γ, and her Pans & Fireballs attacks.

PK Starstorm α

• Several giant stars will be summoned from above, which will impact near the Bullet Board, releasing smaller stars all around them.

Golden Bash

• An Undertale "attack bar" will appear above Paula, then after she scores all 4 reticles perfectly, a strike will summon golden sparks near the current SOUL's position, which quickly expand and spin clockwise further from the center of the hit, then shrink back into the original point.
  • When other attacks are present below 50% HP, the 4 reticles will come at a slower speed.
    • Additionally, any other attacks will have a reduced spawn rate.
  • At the start of Phase 2, Paula will always use an extended version of this attack, with 5 strikes instead of 4.
    • After depleting her HP, she will use a drastically weakened version of this attack, as a last resort.

Pans and Fireballs

• Several pans are summoned at the sides of the Bullet Board, each one throwing a fireball directly at the SOUL.
  • Acts as a more powerful version of Ness's "Bats and Baseballs" attack.

Attacks combinations while at less than 50% HP:

• PK Fire Ω + PK Thunder γ
• PK Fire Ω + PK Freeze γ
• PK Fire Ω + PK Starstorm α
• PK Fire Ω + Golden Bash
• PK Fire Ω + Pans & Fireballs
• PK Thunder γ + PK Freeze γ
• PK Thunder γ + PK Starstorm α
• PK Thunder γ + Golden Bash
• PK Thunder γ + Pans & Fireballs
• PK Freeze γ + PK Starstorm α
• PK Freeze γ + Golden Bash
• PK Freeze γ + Pans & Fireballs
• PK Starstorm α + Golden Bash
• PK Starstorm α + Pans & Fireballs
• Golden Bash + Pans & Fireballs

Mercy

Method

Both Ness and Paula can be spared using a specific sequence of ACTs. Uniquely compared to other enemies, each ACT will "sneakily" increase the Mercy Bar, instead of showing the "%" increase.

The method is as follows: Select "Reflect" on Ness (+25% Mercy) -> Select "Talk" on Ness (+25% Mercy) -> Select "Reflect" on Ness (+25% Mercy) -> Select "Talk" on Ness (+25% Mercy) [Total 100% Mercy for Ness]; after reaching 100% Mercy for Ness, his ATTACK will decrease.

Then, onto Paula's turn: Select "Apologize" on Paula (+50% Mercy) -> Select Talk on Paula (+50% Mercy) [total 100% for Paula], after both have reached 100% Mercy, both will stop fighting and can be spared, ending the battle.

Betrayal

After Ness and Paula reached 100% Mercy, it's possible to perform a Betrayal Kill with Kris (Susie and Noelle will refuse to attack), dealing immense damage and skipping Phase 1 in a single hit. Whoever target is chosen doesn't matter:

• Choosing Ness will instantly kill him, ending Phase 1.
• Choosing Paula will make Ness move and take the blow for her, killing him instead.

Mechanics

Disobey

During the second phase of the fight, Susie and Noelle will enter an unique state where not only they will look far more miserable with their faces covered in darkness, but they'll have a chance for their battle portraits to shift into a unique one that indicates that they will disobey certain commands during that turn (mainly attacks and offensive spells); the chance of it happening is around 1/5 for Susie, and 1/8 for Noelle. Any offensive spell attempted to be cast during that state will still consume TP.

• 

  Susie's sprite when she will disobey (note: in battle only the head will be visible).
• 

  Noelle's sprite when she will disobey (note, only the head will be visible).

Red Buster

Susie's Red Buster, despite acting similarly to the Disobey mechanic, is actually separate from the system: She will ALWAYS cast it the first time, but from the second time and onward, she will refuse to do it (and from the third time and on, she will even damage Kris, dealing 5 damage to them). Despite Susie refusing to cast it, all TP will still be consumed in the process.

X-Slash

X-Slash is a unique move for Kris unlocked at Phase 2 and only after ordering Susie to cast Red Buster two times. It costs 40% TP, but it deals very impressive damage (on average even more than a powered up Rude Buster), making it an invaluable offensive move during Phase 2.

Strategy

In Phase 1, Ness is the only target that should be prioritized, as all damage Paula takes will be healed immediately by him. Before dealing the fatal flow and proceeding to Phase 2, it is suggested to have all party members with as much health as possible, as well as the TP bar as full as possible. Alternatively, it's possible to fulfill the requirements to spare both, then begin gathering max health and TP, before killing Ness instantly.

In Phase 2, Paula's attacks will be drastically more extreme overall, requiring a much more intense use of Dual Heal for staying on the defensive. For the offense, it's possible to cast Red Buster once for a decent initial damage; however, after casting it one time, it will not be available for the rest of the fight, but after a second attempt it will unlock X-Slash to Kris, which is a low TP cost move but with very good damage.

After X-Slash is unlocked, the player can decide, depending on how much HP the party members have, to use X-Slash (and Rude Buster if there is enough TP and if Susie's not going to disobey) when staying on the offensive, and Dual Heal for the defensive, defending with Noelle or Susie if either will disobey a certain turn. It is suggested for Kris to have the Cracked Bat equipped, as they will get the highest damage output for X-Slash without having to worry about accuracy.

Quotes

Before the battle:

• Ness: Stop right there, murderers!
• Susie: What... are you doing?
• Ness: My name is Ness, and I'm going to put an end to this!
• Noelle: ?!?!
• Noelle: Get away! You're gonna get killed!
• Ness: Threats aren't gonna work on me.
• Susie: We're gonna trying to get home, you idiots!
• Susie: This isn't bravery, this is just stupid!!!
• Ness: I won't let you murder more people in more worlds.
• Ness: Your path ends here!
• Susie: ...
• Susie: Paula! Tell him to get away!!
• Paula: ...
• Susie: Ugh!!!
• Susie: Kris, if what you've been saying is true...
• Susie: For the love of GOD, PLEASE DON'T KILL THEM.

After dealing the fatal blow to Ness:

• Ness: Paula...
• Ness: ...
• Ness: Finish the fight... for me...
• Ness dies.
• Paula: Ness, please get up!!!
• Paula: You can't die!
• Paula: The world needs you...
• *Paula used Horn of life on Ness.
• *. . . . . . . .
• *It didn't work...
• Paula: Ness, PLEASE!!!
• Paula cries for a few seconds.
• Paula: ...
• Paula: You... monsters...

After dealing the fatal blow to Paula:

• Paula: Y... you...
• Paula: ...
• Paula: No... NO...!
• Paula: I... WON'T GIVE UP!!!
• Paula: I WON'T DIE!!!
• Paula: I can't...
• Paula makes one last attack as she falls to the ground, finally dying. Her SOUL breaks after this.

After the fight:

• Ness: ... [If spared]
  • Ness: You know, I...
  • Ness: This doesn't excuse what you've done at all...
  • Ness: But that feeling of being unable to control your fate.
  • Ness: It... gets to me sometimes.
  • Ness: ...
  • Ness: There are people in Twoson that want to know what's happening.
  • Ness: We're gonna say that the mole did it and bury it.
  • Ness: Just go.
  • Ness and Paula leave.
  • Susie: Thank you, Kris.
  • Susie: ...
  • Susie: Let's get outta here.
• Susie: ... [If killed]
  • Susie: Let's just go.

Flavor Text

Phase 1

• Ness and Paula block the way! [Encounter]
• Ness stares intently at your actions. [Neutral]
• The atmosphere is tense. [Neutral]
• Paula stands by. [Neutral]
• ... [Neutral]
• Ness is starting to worry. [Ness at low HP]
• Susie refused to fight. [When ordering Susie to attack Ness at low HP, or when a betrayal kill is possible on Ness and Paula]
• Noelle refused to fight. [When ordering Noelle to attack Ness at low HP, or when a betrayal kill is possible on Ness and Paula]
• Susie cast RUDE BUSTER...onto the wall. [Casting Rude Buster when Ness is at low HP]
• Noelle cast ICE SHOCK...onto herself. [Casting Ice Shock when Ness is at low HP, Noelle will take 5 damage]
• NESS - ATK 20 DEF 15 [Check on Ness]
• PAULA - ATK 20 DEF 15 [Check on Paula]
• But she couldn't think on anything to do. [S-Action and N-Action on Ness/Paula]
• You tried to talk to Paula, but she isn't listening. [Talk to Paula if Ness's Mercy bar isn't 100% full, and before Apologize]
• You tried to apologize to Paula, but she isn't listening. [Apologize to Paula if Ness's Mercy bar isn't 100% full]
• But you didn't know what to talk about. [Talk to Ness before Reflect, after first successful talk or when Ness's Mercy bar is 100% full]
• You tried to think...but nothing came to mind. [Reflect on Ness after first successful one, or when Ness's Mercy bar is 100% full]
• You thought about what led you here... [Reflect on Ness]
  • You were disgusted with your actions.

• You told Ness how badly you feel about what you've done. [Talk after Reflect]
  • He doesn't seem very convinced.
• You thought about Ness and his own part in this... [Reflect after first successful Talk]
  • Perhaps he's an essence holder like Paula.
• You talked to Ness about your control over the situation, and the sensation. [Talk after second successful Reflect]
  • He starts to understand. Ness's ATTACK dropped!
• You apologized to Paula for betraying her. [Apologize when Ness's Mercy bar is 100% full]
  • She nods her head.
• You have already apologized. [Apologize when Paula's Mercy bar is at 50% or 100% full]
• You talked to Paula out of fighting you. [Talk after Apologize when Ness's Mercy bar is 100% full]
• Ness and Paula are sparing you. [Ness and Paula's mercy bars are 100% full]

Phase 2

• Paula attacks. [First turn]
• ... [Neutral]
• Paula is shaking [Paula at low health, her sprite will visibly shake]
• Susie couldn't bring herself to do anything. [Susie when disobeying the order to attack]
• Noelle couldn't bring herself to do anything. [Noelle when disobeying the order to attack]
• You ordered Susie to cast RED BUSTER. Susie disobeyed orders! [Casting Red Buster a second time]
• You ordered Susie to cast RED BUSTER. Susie hits you! [Casting Red Buster a third time and onward, Kris will take 5 damage]

• 

  Ness & Paula blocking the way to the Grey Door, right before the fight.
• 

  Susie's sprite during and after the fight.
• 

  Noelle's sprite during and after the fight.

Notes

• Right before the fight begins, Ness and Paula's SOULs will flash together with Kris's one, as them being Essence Holders.
• Right after the fight, calling Home will give this dialogue with Toriel, with her portraits getting more and more confused as it goes:
  • Toriel: Hello, Kris.
  • Toriel: ...
  • Toriel: ... ...
  • Toriel: ... ... ...
  • Toriel: ...?
  • Toriel: Kris...? Hello?
  • (Click... )

Trivia

• Ness and Paula are currently the only enemies in the game where their CHECK description will only states their stats with no additional info.
  • This was actually an oversight, as RynoGG planned on giving them CHECK descriptions but forgot to do so. Despite this, this detail was left in in later versions, likely due to the lack of descriptions fitting the atmosphere of the fight.
• After the fight, Susie will have a new interaction when attempting to equip other weapons, where the game will tell the player that "Susie declined to equip the {name of the weapon}."
  • When attempting to equip the Clean Pan to Susie, she will respond: "... I'm not taking this."
• When interacting with Paula's body, the game will give an unique response compared to all other killed enemies, stating:
  • "(For some strange reason...)"
  • "(You felt a little less like yourself.)"
• As of version 2.07, Paula in phase 2 of the fight was nerfed. Prior to the update:
  • The snow bullets in the PK Freeze attack spawned at a quicker rate and spawned even when paired with other attacks.
  • The Clean Pan sparks had a chance to spin counterclockwise.
  • The spawn rate of other patterns didn't decrease when paired with the Clean Pan attack.
• Paula's PK Thunder γ and PK Starstorm α attacks are similar (though not identical) to some of Asriel's attacks from Undertale.
• One idea for this fight that was scrapped was to make it possible to kill Paula first, which would eventually lead to a troll death.