Chapter Eleven
(C is our narrator!)

Frisk stood at the bar, talking to Grillby while Bones spent the time petting the various members of the guard dogs. Grillby didn't have much more information that what he gave before. Just some dates, helping to confirm the times as Asriel had given them.

Frisk looked at her notes. "Based on what both Asriel and Grillby said, Heidi Jaydon would have been in her late thirties to early forties when she left Snowdin." She frowned and absently reached out to scratch greater dog behind the ears. A thought occurred to her and she smacked her own head. "I can't believe this. We are missing the most obvious place to get information!"

Bones looked up. "Oh?"

"Undyne." She fished out her phone and dialed.

The fish woman's voice came through loud and clear. "What's up, punk?"

"Hey, Undyne. Do you have Royal Guard records on the six human souls you have in containment?"

"I should. Why?"

Frisk grimaced. "Are you sitting down?"

"Oh no." The sound of a chair scratching at the floor came over the phone. "Sitting."

"Not at the piano."

Undyne snorted. "You're about to tell me something really bad, aren't you?"

Frisk sucked in a breath. "Yeah. It's bad."

"Give me a sec." I could here a door open and close, and then the sound of water. "Okay." She sighed heavily. "Lay it on me."

"The barrier takes seven humans to open it. Those humans have to want it to open. So..."

"MURDERED HUMANS AREN'T GOING TO WANT IT OPEN!" There was a loud crash on other end of the phone and the sound of the Dummy yelling. After a long silence, there was a huff and sound of Undyne hitting the ground as she sat. "Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"FUCK!"

"How many have you killed?"

There was a shocked silence on the other end of the phone. "None. The only human I'd encountered before you died before I got there." Undyne sighed deeply. "So now what?"

"So now, I check out the records. It may give us an indication on how the humans died. I know that at least one died of natural causes after living a long life in the Ruins and her soul was transferred to the capitol after her death. If the others had less than murdery fates, we still have a shot of getting the barrier open."

"Come to my place. I'll have the records by the time you get here. Bring me some cheese fries from Grillbys on the way." There was a moment of silence and then, "Thank you." The line disconnected.

Frisk stared at her phone for a moment, blinking. "Huh."

"What's wrong, Babe?"

She glanced at Bones for a moment before stowing her phone. "She thanked me."

Bones gave Doggo a good scrubbing on either side of his neck. "Of course she did. Despite everything..." He looked up at her with that one, glowing eye. "You're determined to help." He looked over his shoulder. "Hey, Grillby! A Captain of the Royal Guard size of cheese fries to go, please."

Grillby set a bag on the table. "Good luck."

Frisk picked up the bag and turned to find everyone in the bar staring at her.

"Are we really trapped here forever?"

"What if the souls don't want to open the barrier?"

"What are we going to do?"

The armless monster kid got right up in Frisk's face. "You can fix it, right?"

Frisk smiled. "I'm going to try. I'll have a better idea after I see Undyne." She looked to Bones, who patted Doggo on the head before standing and gesturing for her to go first. We headed out the door and to the ferry. The Riverperson waited for us on their boat.

"Would you like a ride today?"

Frisk stepped on the boat. "Yes, please."

"To where?"

"Waterfall," Bones supplied.

The boat rose up out of the water, suddenly running across the surface on legs. Frisk grabbed a hold of Bones to steady herself.

"Tra la la. I heard that Asgore has a favorite food. Tra la la."

The boat came to a stop at Waterfall's dock.

"Come again."

"Will do," Frisk managed, stepping off the boat a little too quickly.

Bones chuckled. "That was different."

"It's never done that before, right?" Frisk asked, eyes a little wide.

The skeleton shrugged. "Not for me at least."

Frisk smiled and they both laughed as they headed up the path to Undyne's. The door to the house was open, and Papyrus was clearly visible, drinking a cup of tea at the table.

Undyne stormed out of the house as soon as she saw us, jerking her thumb at the taller of the two skelebros. "That jerk knew about it!"

Frisk raised an eyebrow. "And yet, you don't seem that angry."

Undyne rolled her eyes. "I understand why he didn't say anything. But he's adamant that you'll open the barrier."

Frisk walked in the house and sat at the table. "What's got you so convinced that I'll open the barrier?"

"LOGIC, MY DEAR. YOU ARE VERY DETERMINED TO GET HOME."

The 'Frisk' in the office immediately perked up, suspicious. Huh. Was Frisk thinking that Papyrus knew something and wasn't saying?

Papyrus poured Frisk a cup of tea as she reached for the files on the table.

Undyne sat down next to Frisk. "I have them organized from the newest record on top to the oldest."

Frisk nodded, pulling out her notebook. In the margins of her notes where little, half sketched doodles, most of them scratched out or erased. I frowned, not really knowing what to make of that. She opened the first file.

"Sabri Vinil. Human male of advanced age. Walked to Snowdin with the help of several monsters from the Ruins. Passed in his sleep at the inn. Soul collected by Captain Undyne of the Royal Guard."

Undyne nodded. "The monsters from Old Home insisted on carrying his body to New Home." She frowned. "Sabri was nothing like you. His soul was strong, but his body had been weak, like he needed a medicine he didn't have and no one here could give him."

Frisk patted her on the shoulder. "Well, he seems to have made several good friends before passing, so that counts in our favor." She pulled the next file. "Cecilia Indigo. This is the one that fell as a child and lived out her life in Old Home."

She reached for the next file. "Hector Iola. Captured by members of the royal guard in Hotland and killed in an attempt to escape." Frisk frowned deeply. "He was a child. Not even old enough to learn how to drive a car."

Undyne, not knowing what to say, grabbed the next file. "Euridice Boyd. Nothing listed." She poked a line on the file. "It says to speak with Gerson."

"Who's Gerson?"

Undyne's smile was too big for her face. "The Hammer of Justice! He's so old, he fought in the war that trapped us Underground. He runs a shop just down the road."

Frisk nodded. "We'll talk to him when we finish up here." She took the next file. "Heidi Jaydon. From talking to Grillby, we know she worked as a cook in Snowdin before leaving."

Undyne's jaw fell open. "NO WAY!"

"Yeah." Frisk raised an eyebrow. "Why is that shocking?"

"Grillby is another of us 'oldsters,'" Bones answered. "He fought in the war, so he knows what a human looks like."

Frisk looked down at the file. "Died of heat exhaustion in Hotland."

"COMMON IN HOTLAND BEFORE THE CURRENT VENTILATION SYSTEM WAS PUT IN PLACE."

Undyne opened the last file. "The first human to fall down was Leo Cam. Adult human male. Died in an altercation with monsters outside Snowdin." Undyne dropped the file. "So far, two humans with definite reasons to not want the barrier open and maybe two more."

Frisk blinked. "First human? Did Leo Cam fall before Prince Chara?"

Undyne shook her fishy head. "Prince who?"

I sat down for a moment, drawing my knees up and hugging them. Had Dad really forgotten me? He'd declared war on all humans. Does that mean even my memory? Was Az the only one to keep it?

"You okay, C?"

No. I'm not. "I'm good. Just thinking about how to use the information in the P-2 folder."

Frisk didn't respond to that, but the 'Frisk' in the blue dress came in and hugged me, even as the real her stood. "Le's go see Gerson then."

As the four left the house, lightning bugs began to rise, lighting up here and there around the garden and it's little pond. Frisk stopped for a minute to watch. When Undyne reached out to take her arm, both of the brothers shook their skulls, motioning for the two legged mermaid to wait. Frisk watched the bugs and a memory of sitting on the porch of a house somewhere surfaced for a moment before fading again. She looked to Undyne and motioned for her to lead on, but something had happened. The 'Frisk' in the office and training room started working harder while the one in the blue dress only frowned, before smiling at me patiently.

Undyne led us to the cave opposite the ferry's dock. The cave interior glittered with shining crystals, giving the whole place a kind of magical glow. Another memory surfaced, one of a trip into a cave long ago, that was just as quickly shoved down. I frowned and opened the P-2 file again. The file had a lot of useful information in it, but I wasn't sure how to approach it.

An old turtle in a pith helmet and a button down with shorts an archaeologist would be proud of, cackled when he saw us. "Undyne! How's my favorite Captain of the Royal Guard?"

"Could be better." Undyne handed him the file. "Do you remember Euridice Boyd?"

The old turtle froze solid, and then his smile grew even wider. "So the Royal Guard is finally going to give me my comeuppance for helping Euri? I guess it was only a matter of time. Wa ha ha!"

Undyne swatted at him. "No, you old coot! The file says to ask you about her."

He chuckled under his breath and looked at Frisk as he spoke. "Old Euri! This would have been, what? A hundred or more years ago? I don't remember. But she came down here looking for a way out. And, as we all know, there ain't no way out of the cavern with the barrier in place. So she settled down here in Waterfall, making herself up to look like a monster, and becoming the local sheriff!"

The turtle frowned then, and I got the distinct feeling that it wasn't a normal thing for him to do. "Then one day, she said she had to leave. And she needed help packing her bags. She was looking pretty old by that point, so I helped her pack a few things and walked her over to the little park with the bench not far from here. She sat down and..." He trailed off for a moment and then pointed to Undyne. "Well, I called Captain Rithers, the lion monster who headed the Royal Guard long before you, and he carried her body to New Home while I carried her soul." He smiled, sadly. "She was a damn good sheriff. Always fair, always of service, and with a real eye to justice."

A tear welled up in his old, yellow eyes. "We all knew she was human. Us 'moldy oldies' anyway, but we didn't care. It weren't like her death was suddenly gonna open the barrier." He sniffed. "Sometimes she'd slip up. She liked a drink or two when she took a day off and she'd start talking about life on the surface and how much she missed her family. The three little ones that had to grow up without their momma. The husband who had to raise the ankle biters alone." He wiped at his eyes. "And Captain Rithers would pat her on the shoulder." The turtle shook his head. "He fell down a few days after she did. Guess he couldn't bear to lose such a good friend."

The distant echo of the water outside the cave was the only sound while Gerson handed the file back to Undyne. She leaned down, took his pith helmet off of him, and kissed the top of his scaly head.

He smiled before pointing at Frisk. "Here. This might come in handy." The turtle handed her a faded, yellow box. Inside was an old pistol.

"Woah. This is an antique!"

Gerson smiled, giving her a wink. "But still in working condition."

Frisk sighed. "I'm not interested in hurting anyone."

"I know. That's why I'm giving it to you. Some of the monsters down here have grown a little big for their britches. You can put them back in their place."

She frowned, looking it over. "It's old. Anyone using it would have to be a good shot to start."

"ARE YOU?"

Frisk looked up at Papyrus. "Yes. Yes I am."

Gerson's guffaws followed us out of the cave and back to Undyne's place.

I sat down on Frisk's shoulder. "So now what?"

Frisk shook her head. "I need to talk to the souls."

"Just like that?"

Frisk smiled. "Yeah. I know. It sounded weird even as I said it. But I'm pretty sure that's what I need to do."

"What about Asgore?"

She shrugged. "I'll cross that bridge when I get there. I still have to get past Mettaton."

Undyne groaned. "Oh man, that guy! He came over with Alphys once and all he did was lie on my piano, and feed himself grapes."

"SHE IS NOT VERY FOND OF OUR METAL FRIEND."

Frisk smiled. "I can tell."

"How about some lunch?" Bones asked. "Dyne hasn't even touched her fries yet."

"OH YEAH! I could really use them right now!"

Bones elbowed Frisk. "What do you want from Grillby's?"

"GRILLBY'S? WE'RE TOO REFINED FOR THAT GREASEHOLE."

Bones gave his brother a smile. "Ah, come on, Paps! It's not that bad."

"IT'S DARK AND FULL OF GREASE. PURGATORY OF FRIES... HAMBURGER ABYSS... YOU PRACTICALLY LIVE THERE!"

Bones shrugged. "So what do you want?"

Papyrus sighed heavily. "A CHEESEBURGER."

"Babe?"

"Cheeseburger and fries, please."

Bones disappeared as Frisk pulled out her notebook, immediately going back to work, looking over her notes and comparing them with the files. I stared at the contents of the P-2 folder. Frisk was still doing everything possible not to relax. I guess old habits die hard.

I quit reading for a moment and headed into the crafts room to sit since it was comfortable to do so. That and the smile of the Frisk in the blue lace dress was so infuriatingly patient with me that I needed a break from it. The Frisk in the craft room glanced at me, but otherwise did nothing. Literally nothing. She sat at the window and looked outside, not touching any of the half finish projects found around the room. When I thought about it, I realized that this Frisk hadn't left the window seat at all since I first saw her. This room, filled with things she loved to do, was gathering dust. I knew the Frisk in the office had been busy on a constant level since waking up.

I sat down as it hit me. She was avoiding things that made her happy, just working to cope rather than actually heal. I pulled down the AI interface and sorted the files in P-2. There it was: get back to doing things you love. I looked around the room. What could she start doing right now? Sewing was out. So was knitting. Drawing wasn't. That's just paper and pencil. She already had that in hand and even if she'd scratched it out, some part of her was desperate to doodle.

Looking around, I found a desk covered in paper, pencils, ink, and paints. I cleaned off the chair and organized the desk a bit to make an open area to actually work in. Satisfied that it looked right, I went over to the Frisk sitting at the window. Taking her hand, I pulled her from the window and sat her down at the desk. She looked up at me, face blank.

"What are you doing, C?"

I huffed looking into the air, still not used to her voice just being everywhere. "Trying to get you back into doing things you like."

"It's not really the a good time, all things considered."

"There's never going to be a good time." I reached for a pencil to force into the hand of the 'Frisk' sitting next to me and knocked over a bottle of ink, the black spreading over the paper.

'Frisk' shook her head, taking a brush from a cup, and spreading the ink around, pushing it over the paper. The other hand righted the ink well and dipped a pen in it before leaning over the paper to start working. Looking through Frisk's eyes, I saw her poking at a piece of paper from her notebook, and the pencil in her hand began to move.

Two boys appeared, twins by the similarity in face if not hair, one light and the other dark. Both dressed in matching pin stripe pants and white button downs, sleeves rolled up, goggles resting on their heads. They played with a finely dressed, female goat monster in a throne room filled with flowers. The light haired boy smiled widely with happiness, while his brother watched him with a soft, but thankful smile. The silhouettes of two large goat monsters watched the children play from the door way behind the three.

The sketch done, she turned the page. Under her pencil, a skeleton monster appeared, multiple wires attached to the back of his skull as he stared up in wonder at a computer screen and the little girl displayed there. She turned the page again and under the pencil a woman who looked almost exactly like Frisk began to look out at the paper at us, a camera in her hand. Frisk grabbed the set of colored pencils Papyrus slid next to her, coloring the woman's eyes in multiple hues.

Turning the pages back, Frisk added color to the images. The light haired of the two twins was given pink tips. The skeleton monster staring up at the monitor was bathed in a blue glow from the screen, the wires running with a bright green. The woman with the camera was surrounded by a major city at night, the shadows of the people passing around her very obviously not human.

Frisk set the pencils down and I looked down at the 'Frisk' sitting at the desk. The paper was blank, as if ink hadn't spilled across it at all. The drawings, completed masterfully in her head, now hung on the walls.

"Who are they?"

Frisk shook her head. "I don't know. But I dream about them." Frisk sighed, smiling a little. "Hey, C?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

I smiled. "Anytime."

The 'Frisk' at the desk stood, stretching a little, and went back to the window sill, but rather than look out at the forest beyond with a dead stare, she picked up one of the many books from the piles around the window seat, and began to read.