To those who read my 2014 epic Little Miracles, expect something slightly similar. To those who have not, you might like it if you're a How to Train Your Dragon fan. But no pressure.
Before anyone says anything, I am a libertarian and a political supporter of gay rights so homophobia accusations are not only completely ridiculous and small minded, they are dead wrong. If you are here to accuse me of something, do not waste your time.
And done with the less fun stuff! As a huge Undertale fan and a Psych fan, I thought of a wonderful combination that will satisfy your angsty Undyrus needs!
Story is co-written by the-lovely-dobostorte.
Against All Odds
Part One
Chapter One
With the morning stillness inside the house, no one would've guessed that there had been chaos in the nearby neighborhoods that night. Undyne dragged herself out of bed with a stretch and a yawn and headed downstairs to where her happy fiancé was busy at work in the kitchen. Shuffling to the kitchen table, she pulled over a chair and sat down on it backwards.
"GOOD MORNING, UNDYNE." said Papyrus as he cheerfully flipped a pancake on the stove. "DID YOU SLEEP WELL?"
"I guess so," she muttered, reaching for the TV remote and turning on the television. "Had a weird dream, though."
"REALLY?" Papyrus asked with interest. "WHAT ABOUT?"
Undyne shrugged. "I dunno… it involved you and some weird quest for a… new kind of pasta? You seemed excited."
"A NEW KIND OF PASTA? THAT SOUNDS INTRIGUING!" Papyrus said as he tipped a few pancakes onto her plate. "I HOPE THIS ONE COMES TRUE. WHAT DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD NAME OUR NEW PASTA?"
"Hmm…" She stared at the plate in front of her. "I guess we could make it like kids' pasta, only in the shape of spears and bones. And we can call it… umm… I don't know."
"'I DON'T KNOW'... UNDYNE, ARE WE MAKING A MYSTERY BRAND PASTA? IT SOUNDS MYSTERIOUS AND DELICIOUS."
"Different shapes in every box. Always a surprise." Undyne speared an entire pancake on her fork and took a bite out of it. "So, what's on your agenda today? First day off in like… what, 2 years?"
"VERY FUNNY." Papyrus deadpanned. "AND FOR YOUR INFORMATION, I WAS PLANNING ON DOING SOME HOUSEWORK, ALPHABETIZING OUR BOOKSHELVES, AND CLEANING OUT THE GUTTERS."
"So basically it's just like every other day." Undyne took another bite out of the pancake and pointed it at him with her fork. "You need to relax, my man."
"I RELAX WHEN YOU'RE HERE." Papyrus winked at her. "RELAXING IS FUN WHEN YOU HAVE COMPANY."
"Hmm maybe we need to take a day off together sometime." Undyne shoved the entire rest of the pancake into her mouth and grinned.
Their attention was diverted when the 'breaking news' music began to blare from the TV speakers. "This just in: police crews are investigating what appears to be a double murder out on Green Tree Drive. The bodies of two people, a man and a woman, were found just outside their home with stab wounds directly to the heart. No witnesses have come forward, and police are urging people to take extra precautions as this appears to be the latest in a series of serial murders."
"Damn it." Undyne muttered, taking out her phone. "And my phone's dead, they've probably been calling all morning. Perfect. Sorry, Papyrus, I have to get going."
The skeleton's face fell. "OH… ALL RIGHT. HAVE A GOOD DAY, UNDYNE!"
"Love you." Undyne said as she grabbed her bag and rushed out the door.
"I LOVE YOU-" Slam. "...TOO."
Papyrus sighed and put Undyne's two remaining pancakes in a tupperware for later. He knew she loved her job as a cop but sometimes it consumed all her focus, causing her to forget the little things. Like finishing breakfast. Or making small talk with her handsome fiancé. Or kissing said handsome fiancé goodbye before rushing out the door.
But it was all right. He could live with that as long as she was happy.
"Thank God you finally got here; did your phone die or something?" Chief Barkley shook his head as Undyne stormed in through the meeting room door. The other officers were gathered around the table, drinking coffee, tea, and anything else that could pry their tired eyes open.
"Sorry. It did." Undyne grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down.
The chief turned his attention to the projector screen behind him; images of the murder scene described on the news that morning appeared for the entire room to examine.
"Now listen to me, this is the third case this month and we still have no leads, no witnesses."
"But we know it's a serial case?" asked the officer sitting next to Undyne. "Sorry, the other department just assigned me to this."
"Every single victim was stabbed directly in the heart with an oddly-shaped, triangular weapon. None of us have ever seen stab wounds like it but the weapon appears to have been serrated. And each body is sprinkled with those sort of glow in the dark stars you see on kids bedroom ceilings. You can get 'em at any dollar store."
One officer at the back of the room put his coffee cup down. "Are we calling this guy the 'Starlight Killer' or something?"
"That's exactly what we're calling him. Or her."
"Sooo…" Undyne began. "Are we seeing any pattern in terms of who the victims were?"
Chief Barkley shook his head. "A white male in his 50s, a black female in her 30s, and an elderly Middle Eastern couple. No apparent connection between locations or the victims. This seems entirely random."
The new officer considered this for a moment before asking "do you think… the killer was human?"
"Are you implying a monster did it?" Undyne asked, eyebrow raised.
She raised her hands defensively. "No, no, I'm just considering all options."
"It's unlikely but you're right. We have to consider all possibilities in connection to this case." Chief Barkley took a quick sip from his coffee cup.
The man in the back spoke up once more. "Have the stars been dusted for prints?"
"Yes. The killer wiped them clean. Or, possibly," he eyed Undyne for a second, "didn't have any to begin with."
The fishwoman folded her arms. "Could've worn gloves, too…" she muttered.
"Officer Asgoreman, while it is true that monsters haven't gone on a serial killing rampage in the past, that doesn't mean it's not a possibility. We will explore all angles."
"I'm not saying we shouldn't, I just think it's possible that you're barking up the wrong tree. So to speak."
The newbie snickered for a moment before clearing her throat to cover it up.
"That remains to be seen." The chief finished his coffee in one gulp.
A stack of paper was unceremoniously dumped onto Undyne's desk, miraculously kept together by its own weight.
"Oh joy." Undyne muttered as the newbie sat down beside her. "Sorry, who are you? I didn't catch your name."
"Officer Jorgenson. Inga." she held out a hand for Undyne to shake. "You?"
"Undyne." Undyne reluctantly shook her hand. "So what did you do to get yourself dumped in monster central?"
"I worked on a similar case. Nutjob covered his victims in a weird paper mache casing. Pretty sick but your department needed some help from someone who has dealt with this before."
"You say that kinda nonchalantly." Undyne said as she dug into the paperwork.
Inga shrugged. "I've been on the force for eight years. Nothing phases me anymore."
"Well this is only my second murder case. First one we caught within 12 hours of the crime. But this… it's been a month and nothing. This guy's thorough. I've had to remind my fiance to lock the front door to the house, but he keeps forgetting. Or maybe just wants to let in any creep that wants to get in."
"Ahh, my husband is that total opposite. I swear, he'd deadlock that door if he could." Inga smiled, shaking her head at the thought, before digging into the pile.
"All officers to the meeting room! Now!" Chief Barkley shouted.
"We just finished a meeting but okay." Undyne stood up, exchanging a look with Inga as they traipsed back into the recently vacated room.
As soon as everyone was seated, the chief clicked the projector screen to an image of an envelope. "We just received this in the mail slot. The mail hasn't yet arrived for the day, and, judging by the copious amount of stars on this envelope, our culprit might be trying to send us a message." He clicked to the next page, showcasing a letter with cut-and-paste ransom letters. "And if that's the case, then our killer is not only a collage artist, but also a poet."
Everyone directed their attention to the note, which read:
To whom it may concern:
You've probably noticed my craft;
Oblivious ones are quite daft.
Under these circumstances,
Regarding your chances,
Forget it and throw them all aft.
I've got a small puzzle for you,
And it is just a trifle or two.
Now be good girls and boys
Cause you'll need all your toys
Ev'ry piece will be tailored for you.
In a home full of promise and hope
Sits a message with which you must cope,
There just isn't much time
On this watch, before crime,
And they'll be at the end of their rope
So with these words, I bid you adieu,
There's little time to find the next clue.
"What the…" Undyne muttered under her breath as she read and reread the poem. "This is gibberish. What exactly does the killer expect us to get out of this? And what does he mean by 'on this watch'?"
Chief Barkley held up a stopwatch counting down from 45 minutes. "I think he's given us a time limit to solve the clue."
Mr. Coffee at the back of the room pointed toward the screen. "Seems like there's something about another clue in there. What is this, a scavenger hunt?"
"Hold on…" Inga stood up and walked up to the screen. "Look at the first letter of each line."
"What's that got to… ohh." Undyne leaned forward. "Y...O...U...R...F...I...A...N...C...E…" her heart stopped. Taking a deep breath, she read the message outright. "Your fiance is toast."
"Anybody in here getting married soon?" Mr. Coffee asked. "Specifically to a man? Only one E in that."
Undyne needed only to look around the room once to confirm her worst fears.
"Oh my god." she muttered, standing up and getting out her barely charged phone. "Oh my god!"
"Officer Asgoreman!"
But Undyne wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention as she left for the hallway. Her fingers shaking, she navigated through to the contacts menu and tapped the entry for Papyrus. She felt violently ill at ease as she waited for his usual greeting.
"Come on…" she muttered through the rings. "Come on, you big dork, answer the phone."
A harsh, unfamiliar voice rang through the speaker. "We're sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in service. Unless you crack my clues. Better bring everyone on board. You've got less than an hour." There was a pause before a horribly familiar voice shouted from what sounded like the other end of the room, "IS THAT UNDYNE? PLEASE, LET ME TALK TO H-"
"Papyrus!" Undyne cried, knowing it was hopeless the moment she heard the click on the other end.
"Officer Asgoreman?" Inga poked her head through the door.
Undyne turned around, her phone still in her hand. "He's got him." she gritted her teeth, willing a surge of righteous anger to course through her. "He's got Papyrus."
A very special thanks again to my co-author, the-lovely-dobostorte, who did the poetry better than I ever could in a million years and also did some darn good descriptions.