Asriel wandered down the sidewalks of Kester, sighing as he once more looked down at the picture in his hand. The picture was of Cole. It had been captured during the earlier firefight the previous day. Luckily for them, one of the soldiers that had survived the attack was wearing a body camera which managed to capture a clearer picture of Cole than the CCTV footage. Undyne had managed to get the picture printed out just before Asriel set out.

The first step in surveillance would be to find out where Cole lived. Since they weren't able to retrieve an address from the facial recognition monitors back at Home, Asriel needed to do it the old fashioned way. He turned up the cobblestone pathway leading up to the front door of nearly the two dozenth house he had tried that afternoon, giving it a tired knock. A few moments later, the door swung open revealing a human woman. Asriel smiled politely.

"Good afternoon ma'am. I'm sorry to bother you but I was wondering if you could do something for me real quick."

The woman was already wary. "Depends, what is it?"

Asriel showed her the picture of Cole. "Do you know this kid?" The woman looked close at the picture for a moment before nodding.

"He looks familiar. I think he works down at a grill-house, Grillby's. If I remember correctly, he was one of the waiters there." Asriel took a breath of relief. Finally, some progress.

"May I ask where this 'Grillby's' is located?"

The woman pointed up the street. "Two blocks up, turn right, and it'll be right there for you."

Asriel nodded gratefully. "Thank you ma'am." She promptly closed the door, leaving Asriel alone on the doorstep. Shrugging he turned and walked quickly up the road. A few minutes later he turned the corner, then saw the grill-house just as the woman said. After taking a swift glance up at the sign above the building, he pushed the door open, making his way inside.

He looked around curiously. It was a quiet little diner. Not many customers were in at the time, but it seemed like on the holidays it could become packed. He found himself wandering to the bar counter where he sat down. A monster made of fire appeared from the back room, and looked surprised to see Asriel.

"Well! It ain't every day I get to serve royalty, Prince Asriel."

Asriel rubbed the back of his head. "Guess it was only a matter of time before somebody recognized me."

The fire monster chuckled, folding his arms. "Indeed. My name's Grillby, I'm the owner of the establishment. What can I get for you, your highness? Whatever it is, it'll be on the house."

Asriel once more took the picture from his pocket. "Sorry Grillby, I'm actually looking for someone. Do you know who this person is?" He slid the picture across the counter, allowing Grillby to look at it. Grillby adjusted his glasses and picked up the picture, giving it a brief glance before handing it back.

"Sure do. He's one of my best employees!"

Asriel decided to dig a little deeper. "Oh? Is he in today?"

Grillby sounded puzzled. "No, he ain't. Which worries me, because he should be here. The only time he's ever missed a shift was because he was sick once, but he's never just not shown up. It ain't like him."

Asriel's curiosity once more tugged at him. "Do you know where I might be able to find him?"

Grillby nodded. "I don't know the exact address, but I know the building. He's living in Harewood Apartments, a few miles away from here. That's all I know unfortunately. Is there a reason why you're looking for him?"

Asriel figured it was now time to go. "I'm unfortunately not at liberty to say Grillby. You've got a nice place here, I may come here again at some point in the future." He waved goodbye to Grillby, before proceeding out the door. He broke into a slow sprint down the sidewalk, eager to reach the apartment building. At last he was getting somewhere. Nearly half an hour later, he arrived at the apartment building. Now, it would be back to digging for information.

He walked inside, approaching the man sitting at the receptionist desk. He looked a bit older, likely in his early 60's. He looked up as Asriel approached, then looked down at his paperwork again, speaking somewhat gruffly.

"We don't have any available apartments."

Asriel decided to let it slide. He was aware that humans weren't exactly the keenest on monsters, even if they knew who they were talking to.

"I'm not looking for an apartment sir, more so I'm looking for somebody that's living in one of yours. Cole Nelson lives in this building, correct?"

The man looked up again as Asriel showed him the picture. He nodded once. "Yeah, what about him?"

Asriel pocketed the picture now that he had the mans attention. "I'm just trying to find him. Is he upstairs?"

The man shook his head. "No he isn't. He hasn't been seen anywhere from what I can tell ever since the attack yesterday. Never came back when he went out for a walk, never checked in when the curfew went into effect. He hasn't come back all night either."

Asriel's ear twitched. Things just continued to get more interesting. "I see...can I ask what apartment he's living at? I might go up and just see if he came home without your knowledge."

The man jerked a thumb in the direction of the elevator. "Fourth floor, room 49."

Asriel nodded in thanks, walking over to the elevator. On the fourth floor, the doors slid back open, allowing him access into the hallway. He looked for the numbers on the identical doors, finally finding room 49.

He first checked to make sure nobody was around, then tried the door handle. Locked. Still, the lock looked to be fairly standard, shouldn't be too hard to get through. Asriel nodded, a plan formulating in his mind. With this, he turned and walked back down the hallway.

THAT EVENING...

The dark sky glimmered with the occasional break in the clouds, revealing twinkling starlight overhead. Every footstep sounded like it could wake the whole street as Cole slipped through the back alleys of Kester. The conversation from earlier flashed back through his mind.

"How can I be assured I won't turn out like the members who were arrested?" The question had been to Chara. She looked inquisitively at him.

"You mean, the ones who were sent to Mount Ebott?"

Cole nodded apprehensively. "I'm no fighter. I've got no idea how to defend myself, hell I don't even own anything that could be used as a weapon. Unless a kitchen knife counts. Now I've been caught up in your war, and a monster, a soldier might I add, is dead because of me. There were cameras all over that street; they'll definitely be coming for me."

Chara thought about this for a little while, then responded. "We have a couple of safe houses spread over the occupied territories, and most of them aren't at full capacity. If you really feel like you need it, we can smuggle you out of Kester and get you set up in one of them until you've trained yourself how to fight properly."

Cole nodded, his tensions easing only slightly. "Sure, that can work."

"But…" Chara spoke again, making him pause. "If you go to the safe house, you're one of us. There's no turning back. This means you'd have to learn how to fight, or if not fight, contribute in some other way to the Republic. If you don't want any part of this, fine. We'll let you return to your life. But that means that if the monsters do come for you, we won't be able to protect you."

Cole looked down to his feet. It was a big decision. He had been not entirely happy with his life, but he had learned to accept it. At times, he almost enjoyed it. Committing himself would mean giving up everything he knew. It wouldn't be easy.

But, then again, it hadn't been easy leading up to this day either. What would he be throwing away? A life of drab monotony, of trying to quietly shuffle around patrols, of just another victim of war.

He looked back up at Chara, his mind made up. It was time to make something of himself. Hey, may even change the world for the better. "Alright. I'll do it."

Chara turned away abruptly. "I'll make the arrangements. If you have anything you want from your home, get it now. It might be awhile before you can return. When you arrive at the safe-house, we'll provide you with means of defending yourself."

Now, Cole moved as quietly as he could in the dead of the night, slowly making his way back to his apartment. As he approached his building, he saw a small patch of brighter sidewalk ahead. Thinking quickly, he ducked into the alley and pressed his back up against the wall. He held his breath as a small foot patrol turned the corner a few seconds later. They walked by on the sidewalk, flashlights on their armor illuminating the way in front of them. He exhaled when they had passed, silently grateful the patrol didn't peer into his alley.

He moved further into the alley, finally spotting the service entrance for the apartment building. Searching around with his hands, he found a pin nearby, and fiddled with the lock until he heard it click open. He slipped inside, closing the door silently behind him. Here, he took a moment to breathe. The patrols were far more frequent at night, and it had been like trying to navigate a minefield without a mine detector.

He began to make his way up the staircase, not daring to take the elevator this time. Too much noise. Finally, he reached his floor, and walked down the hallway. He took the key to his apartment out, and slipped it into the lock, then frowned as he tried to turn it. Yet, nothing happened.

He tested the doorknob, and felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up as he realized it was already unlocked. He remembered locking it this morning. As he pushed the door open a crack, he heard a single footstep from in the apartment, followed by what sounded like a drawer opening. Somebody was inside. Had the monsters come for him already?

He reasoned that if they had already found him, the building would be surrounded. If he tried to run now, he could easy get caught by a foot patrol. He had already pushed his luck in getting home without issue. Besides, if there were officers inside he could always play dumb.

He slipped inside, and closed the door behind him, turning the knob so the click wouldn't be audible. Every light was off, and only the dim street lights outside broke through the windows. He took a swift glance into the kitchen, seeing several cupboards had been opened. The sounds were coming from his bedroom. As he poked his head around the door, he saw a lone figure, dressed completely in black, with a hoodie over its head. It had opened one of the bedside drawers and was rummaging around. Seeing nobody else around, Cole made himself known.

"Hey!" The figure looked up, and he could see the surprise in the figure's eyes, a black bandanna covering the figure's mouth and nose. Clearly his arrival was unexpected. He just barely caught a glimpse of white fur in the orange light in the glow of the street lamps. It was indeed a monster he faced.

After a brief pause, the monster sprung into action. He jumped over the bed, swinging one leg out to give a sharp kick to Cole's chest, knocking him back from the door. Cole stumbled with a grunt, the wind knocked out of him. The figure sprinted past, and Cole just managed to see the figure leap from an open window to the fire escape. Scrambling to his feet, Cole followed. By the time he reached the window though, the monster was gone.

Cole took a moment to get his breath back. Whoever that monster was, it was fast. It was also clearly not interested in arresting him, at least yet. So why was it here? He walked back to the bedroom, looking into the open drawer. Nothing appeared to have been stolen, at least not from what he saw. Still though, it was a disturbing development. He quickly took out his phone, calling Chara on the secure number she had given him. She picked up and spoke briefly.

"Yes?"

Cole spoke rapidly. "There was a monster in my apartment. Whoever it was, he, or she, was looking through my things. Nothing looks to be missing, but I feel like it wasn't just some burglary."

Chara was silent for a moment, then responded. "Get what you need and get out. I've gotten transportation ready, my men will rendevouz with you on the outskirts in one hour. There's no time to waste." With that, Chara ended the call.

Thinking fast, Cole fished a backpack out, shoving three sets of clothes in, as well as a couple personal trinkets he held dear to him, before rushing back out of his apartment, not bothering to close the door on his way out. He moved rapidly down the stairs, soon exiting back out into the alley. He glanced up the alley towards the street once, before running in the opposite direction.

The routine of dodging the patrols and prying eyes of the street cameras once again took over Cole's actions as he slipped through the smaller back roads of Kester. It was just under an hour later before he broke free of the taller buildings in the city, entering a more residential and rural area. Soon parked a short way up the street, he saw a jeep sitting up the road.

As he approached, he saw a man come from a door, and a flashlight illuminate on the end of a rifle as he aimed it at Cole. Almost immediately he lowered it when he saw who it was, waving quickly to Cole. Cole picked up the walking pace, and hopped into the backseat of the jeep, with two of the militia soldiers sitting up front. The jeep quickly started up, and turned left off the road into a dirt path sitting by the road.

The jeep bounced along as they drove over the bumpy surface. While it wasn't comfortable, it was necessary to avoid the checkpoints the monsters manned during the night. After what seemed like over an hour, they finally re-joined a small country road, well out of the way. In the distance, Cole could see the darkened city of Kester just off to the right. He took out his phone, and the man in the right seat glanced over the seat.

"What are you doing?"

Cole looked up. "I was about to text my sister, just reassure her again that I'm alright. She sounded distraught."

The man shook his head. "No. If you send a message out, the monsters could find a way to trace it."

Cole was confused. "But, I was allowed to talk on the phone with her back at the main headquarters…"

The man replied. "We have signal scrambling technology at all our outposts. It makes communications easier. That, or we use direct secure lines."

Cole shrugged, and pocketed the phone, gazing out the window into the night. It was nearly four in the morning by the time they once more turned onto a hidden gravel pathway that stopped abruptly in the middle of the woods. Still, the driver proceeded onward through the trees, as if the trail continued. After another twenty minutes,

Cole saw a small house come into view. The jeep came to a stop, and the ignition was turned off. The soldier in the passenger side hopped out, as did Cole, taking his backpack with him. The soldier nodded at Cole.

"Chara insisted one of us stay with you. So, we may as well get to know each other. I'm Victor." Cole half nodded as he pulled the strap of the backpack. When they were both clear, the driver started up the jeep, and drove away.

Victor led the way to the house, unlocking the door and moving inside. Immediately he locked the door and sat on a couch in the next room, looking out the window. Cole in the meantime, decided to head to the bedroom. He sighed as he fell backwards, falling asleep almost immediately, the stress of the day finally taking its toll.

EARLIER…

Asriel scrambled a few steps up the fire escape ladder, and stopped just as Cole's head stuck out. He slowly peered downwards, watching as Cole's head disappeared back inside. Sighing in relief, he removed the bandanna, breathing in the fresh night air. The encounter had been a little close for comfort and he wasn't too keen on frequently relying on people's tendency to forget to look up. Yet, it had been revealing.

Cole as it turned out, was not an official member of the Torin Republic, at least to his knowledge. In fact he appeared to just be an average human trying to get by in life. He didn't even own a weapon, and certainly didn't know how to fight properly. Still though, the way he acted in the attack and his immediate capture, it was puzzling. Even more so now that he was out and about. It certainly threw in a wrench in the works. He took out his cellphone, giving a call. Asgore's voice came over the phone.

"King Asgore Dreemurr, who am I speaking to?"

Asriel smiled. "Hey Dad, it's me."

Asgore's tone brightened. "Oh, why hello Asriel! How's your assignment coming along?"

Asriel took a serious tone. "There's been...complications. The republic has released Cole, I just encountered him when I was snooping around."

Asgore sounded immediately concerned. "Are you alright? What happened?"

Asriel spoke reassuringly. "Don't worry Dad, I'm fine. He didn't really put up a fight, and he didn't see who I was." "At least, I HOPE he didn't." He added on quietly to himself. Asgore sighed.

"I see. This is...an interesting development to say the least. Did you find anything?"

Asriel took out a small picture he had found and pocketed while looking through Cole's things. On the picture was the face of a girl who looked to be in her late teens, similar age to Cole.

"...Yeah. I'll come back to Home, I'll show you there."