Another gamma-burst tore through the air. Its target reappeared a few dozen meters away and took aim at the alien, one paw tightly gripping a bow and the other drawing its elastic string. Luna ducked to avoid the first arrow and rushed the archer, hide tingling as another charged bolt passed inches by his right. Now face-to-face, he swung and stabbed carefully at the agile figure; who grabbed another arrow out of her quiver and pushed back with a few quick jabs of their own. The alien watched the purplish blur of the "dagger" as it thrust forward—perhaps a little too forward—he grabbed the enemy's wrist and forced the impromptu knife out of her paw.

The figure, only momentarily surprised, kicked her opponent away and summoned a ball of blue lightning, floating just above her left paw and zapping the air around it with forked bolts. Before Luna could reposition himself, the orb crashed into the earth before his feet and exploded into a blinding flash. The brunt of the attack had fallen short of hitting its mark, but when the light subsided, the alien's hide had puffed into a fluffy cotton ball.

"I can hear giggles! What'd you do to me?"

'Z' covered her mouth and snickered, "What? Static electricity is a good look for you! A little ridiculous, but now they'll be too busy laughing to defend themselves!"

A slightly unappreciative Luna materialized and launched a flare at Zephyr with his free paw, edge nearly grazing her shoulder as she evaded with a quick sidestep. 'Z' retaliated with a forceful telekinetic push, sticking out both of her palms to send her counterpart flying into the air. Another arrow in paw, she leaped toward the other monster for a tackle, kicking up a cloud of dirt beneath her feet, but stopped just short of knocking him over when something sharp brushed against her hide. When the dust settled, Luna had the sword resting beside 'Z's neck while 'Z' had the arrow's tip under Luna's chin. They locked eyes with each other for a moment, watching for the slightest twitch in the other's paw, but simultaneously de-summoned their weapons.

Luna HP: 275,000

Zephyr HP: 250,000

"Hmph, a stalemate. Guess that means I owe you an apology for those desk job jokes."

"Just like the good old days, hmm? You were right; I really need to get back out there; almost forgot how exciting the odd roll in the dirt can be."

"Definitely. Now, which of you three had money on a tie?"

Frisk grinned and stuck out both her hands. Asriel and Chara, standing by her left and right, both grumbled and handed their sister one pristine chocolate bar each.

"Darn it, I want a rematch! Double or nothing! His fur's already messed up, so it won't distract him this time!"

"Did you see how fast that lightning blast went? There's no way he can dodge it again!"

"But he uses swords! All he has to do is get close and 'Z's bow will be useless!"

"But then she'll just stab him with the arrow. Come on, Azzy, trust me on this and Frisk'll owe us four candy bars!"

"Hate to disappoint you three, but I do have a meeting with Mrs. Rockefeller in an hour. Missing people just don't find themselves, I'm afraid. We'll have to save that rematch for another time, okay?"

A starfighter de-cloaked on a patch of grass fifty meters away. 'Z' waved goodbye, hopped into the cockpit, and disappeared into the clear sky.

"I know her; she won't leave this without trying to get one up on me. While we wait, why don't we check on the Harvester? Just show us the way."

"The normal entrance will take us through all of Hotland; it's hot and gross but a shorter walk than going through the Ruins."

Luna and company trekked toward the cave in the east face of the mountain. After passing a familiar brick home, a sweltering cauldron of magma, and several refreshing neon-blue rivers, they found themselves before a dusty old piano and a solid wall of rock. Asriel sat down in front of the keys and played a light melody; as the notes echoed around the chamber, a rectangular slab of limestone retracted into the wall and slid aside. Inside the secret alcove was the red destroyer of planets, resting inertly on its stone pedestal. The alien picked it up, slowly turning and examining the sticky sphere in his paw.

"Whoa! Frisk!"

"What?"

"Your eyes! They're red!"

Luna turned around. Frisk's eyes were indeed glowing a faint shade of crimson, barely illuminating her face but not much else.

"But…but Chara's the one with red eyes. My eyes are brown! What's happening to me?"

"So, I take it that red eye color isn't common among humans; anyway, just stay calm…"

The alien gingerly approached Frisk with the artifact, first walking towards her with the sphere out like a flashlight and then wrapping her fingers around the sphere with his own, red aura growing a little more intense as the artifact came closer.

Frisk 70 AT ? DF

*HP: 19/19

*?!

"Talk to me, kid. How do you feel?"

"I…I feel okay, actually. My feet feel a little lighter somehow, and my hands…I feel like I could move a mountain with them if I tried…"

"But according to this scanner you've lost one HP. It's a tiny amount, but certainly you shouldn't be feeling healthier with your SOUL diminished."

"Maybe Dr. Alphys could tell us what's going on?"

"'Equilibria'…the city only fifteen miles east-southeast of Mount Ebott. Living this close to us, they're either friendly, brave, or cocky."

"I appreciate you meeting me like this, 'Z'. I know it must be awkward for you to venture out here."

"It's…fine…really…this is about you and your daughter, after all."

The goat monster and the lawyer were sitting on opposite sides of a booth, separated by a glass table against the polished window of a fancy modern café. Rockefeller tried to help her companion feel comfortable, ordering hot roasted coffee and wonderful-smelling pastries for the two of them, but 'Z' could never fully relax into her upholstered seat, legs crossed defensively and claws impatiently tapping the table's edge. Voices and murmurs kept pricking at her ears and out of the corner of her eye, someone at a different table always seemed to be staring.

"Over there! It's like a walking, talking bunny rabbit! What do you think it's doing with that lady?"

Then there was a flash from a smartphone's lens. And another. And another.

"For goodness sakes, I'm a monster, okay?!"

'Z' shot up from her seat like a spring. Anyone in the immediate vicinity who wasn't staring before was definitely gawking now. Embarrassed, the goat monster slumped back into the booth and tried to hide her face.

"I don't even like coffee, Ellie…and I'm not fine either. Just…tell me a little more about her; something to focus on might be exactly what I need."

"Well, actually, her name is Ellie."

"Oh! I'm sorry…I didn't realize—"

"It's okay. Cute, isn't it? 'Ellie and Ellie'. Anyway, she was nine. A little over four feet but a bit stronger and quicker than she looks."

"So, she'd be about thirteen now…maybe a little over five feet and being tough on the outside certainly helps her chances. Can you describe Ellie's usual outfit?"

"She liked—no, likes putting her long, brown hair in a ponytail. She wears glasses, umm…jackets, jeans, boots no matter the weather outside."

"Good. This is good. I don't think her wardrobe preferences would change so quickly, so the profile should start to come together now. Now, to make sure it's truly Ellie, could you tell me about her personality?"

"She's very curious, adventurous, resolute, the kind of person for whom 'giving up' doesn't exist—I told your coworker about how she always carried a journal with her…oh, God! What if that journal's all that's left of her? What if—"

"Shh…you're doing fine. I know I'm in no position to guarantee anything, but wherever Ellie is right now, she needs her mother to believe in her. We'll find her, okay?"

'Z' slid her still-full mug of coffee across the table, inviting the lawyer to take a nice, long sip.

"As I said: I don't even like coffee."

Rockefeller took a nice, long sip.

"Better?"

"Sort of."

"Now then, I'm afraid I may have saved the worst for last, but this is probably the most important. I need you to recall everything Ellie did on the day she went missing. If you can't, it's fine. If you feel uncomfortable, then tell me and we'll ease our way through together, but any detail could become a valuable lead."

"She had a school field trip that day…they were learning about ancient civilizations and organized a dig with the local archaeological society. I was worried it could be dangerous for her to be stumbling around some rocky ruins, but this was the one thing she was passionate about. How could I say no? I kissed her goodbye as she got on the eight o'clock school bus, but I didn't think her teacher would call and say…"

The lawyer stopped suddenly. It was admirable that she pushed so far, 'Z' thought, but surely the tears and despair were finally coming. The monster reached for a napkin, but then Rockefeller started chuckling to herself.

"Elena…? How are you feeling?"

"It's funny, isn't it? Surrounded by a bunch of staring people, feeling like a zoo animal on display, and you're worrying about whether I'm uncomfortable."

"Heh…I guess it is. I think some fresh air will do us both good; where did you say those ruins were?"

"Doctor."

"Commander."

Gaster was alone in the laboratory living room, cup of tea in one hand and the latest medical journal in another three. It was extraordinarily difficult for Luna to even hold a cordial conversation with his former nemesis of many years, but Frisk's condition demanded that he give it a whole-hearted try.

"How goes the test tubing?"

"Right on schedule; Dr. Alphys and Chara's brother should be commencing our first field test of Mettaton NEO momentarily."

"That's the magic calculator, right? What'd you do, make it solar-powered?"

"It's…classified."

"…"

"…"

(Gets his lab back and now he's all high and mighty and king of the castle…whatever, I didn't want to know anyway.)

The alien walked Frisk into the same glass chamber Alphys analyzed him with and started up the scanning procedure. While the teal laser glided over the human, Luna called Gaster over and handed him a few notes for comparison.

"So, this is Frisk before, and this is Frisk now after touching that artifact stashed in Waterfall. The drastic increase in AT and eye color shift would make sense if Frisk used the Harvester to absorb a SOUL, but that clearly didn't happen, so what happened to her?"

"Hmm…didn't your partner say that the artifact drew magical energy from nearby SOULs to power itself?"

"Yes, that's correct."

Gaster disappeared into a storeroom and returned with a rolled-up blueprint, plastering it on the table to show a highly detailed model of an inverted SOUL.

"Considering that it was invented for monsters by monsters, the siphoning was probably designed with monster SOULs in mind. We know monster SOULs permit the free flow of magical energy and human SOULs resist it; this is why we have these powers and they don't. But…if the Harvester forcibly drained magical energy from Frisk's SOUL like a vacuum, then would not magical energy technically be freely flowing through that SOUL?"

"So, Frisk's going to turn into a monster? No fair! I want horns to headbutt people with!"

"Um, no. Well, not quite. Frisk's SOUL turned just monster enough to put together an attack or two, and we're still not sure how long it'll last. But you already know a bit of magic, don't you, Frisk? If you tried now, you may find it more potent and less tiring to use."

The human stepped out of the chamber, concentrated with all her strength, and materialized a red, translucent, crystalline, Delta Rune-style shield in her left hand. She slipped it around her forearm like a buckler, and when she waved it around, red particles floated off the magical construct like windblown dandelions.

"Hey, Azzy. Didn't I tell you I'd learn a 'shield' spell before you did?"

Asriel folded his arms and pouted.

Plains with a peaceful, warm breeze. Sophisticated concrete ruins, lightly charred and scattered from a single epicenter. Snow-capped mountains in the background, two trails leading toward opposite cavern entrances. Among the piles of rubble expertly climbed a goat monster and awkwardly stumbled a human.

"Here? Their field trip was here? Who thought this was a good idea?"

"These are the most recent ruins in existence. Not of much value to an ancient historian, but contemporariness makes it interesting to otherwise bored kids. Plus, there was always the slight chance of spotting a 'mythical' monster, so how could a kid resist?"

'Z' picked up a hunk of rubble and sniffed it, asking over her shoulder, "Did Ellie like chasing monsters?"

"No, well, not really…"

"Hmm?"

"Between you and me…I snuck a peek in her journal a few times. I know I shouldn't have; it was a private place, but curiosity got the best of me and I had to know what she spent all day drawing about. It was like a taxidermist's pocketbook, just pages upon pages of sketched flowers and leaves and animals big and small. They were really impressive, too; she could have just as easily been an artist."

"And one of them looked like a two-legged goat?"

"I'm no biologist. I don't know if I could tell the difference between a strange-looking real creature and a strange-looking daydream, but drawing magic two-legged horned goats…that's a little frowned-upon today."

The magic two-legged horned goat had climbed a toppled wall to the upper floor of one-half of what used to be a two-story building, still continuing the conversation by shouting over and around moderately charred walls and dilapidated debris. Instinctively, certain things about the landscape began to pop out at 'Z'. The crisscrossing, rectangular grid of streets, the golden high ground at the center of the town, and the gates—one facing north and the other south—jumped and pulled on her strands of tactical nerves.

"Go ahead and check the other buildings at ground level; I'm just using a new perspective to see which directions Ellie could have wandered off."

Rockefeller started toward the doorway of an indefinitely closed bakery, but as soon as she turned her head, an energy projectile streaked across the sky and impacted against the building 'Z' was in. Already weakened by years of decay, the walls shook and buckled and sent the entire second floor crashing down into the first in a cloud of concrete dust.

"Whoa, what the…Hey! Are you okay?"

There was no reply, but in the agonizing milliseconds before the lawyer's stomach dropped onto the ground, a human-like silhouette came stumbling out of the cloud, coughing every few steps before dropping to her paws and knees. 'Z' was shaking and breathing heavily, but seemingly avoided the brunt of the unknown assault. Still face down, the monster mumbled something that sounded like it had an 'a' and a lot of syllables.

"What?"

"Artillery! Head for that building!"

"What?!"

'Z' grabbed Elena and hastily tugged her into the abandoned bakery. Poking their heads above the counter like a pair of terrified moles, they looked on as several more energy blasts exploded against the walls of buildings newly exposed behind the recently leveled heap.

"You…you have a lot of explaining to do…"

"What makes you think I had anything to do with this?"

"Fine…our only chance is to sneak toward whatever's firing off those bombs; we can't afford to wait until the next fighter makes rounds over the mountain and if we try to run away and get spotted, they'll blow us both to bits. No matter what happens outside, you stay here. Everything goes well, I'll be back to get you in a few minutes."

"Wait. Let me come with you."

"You can't be serious; you're a civilian! What could you possibly know about a direct combat situation?"

"I tear people apart four days a week on the witness stand. 'Far as I'm concerned, doing it here and now just gives me a chance to catch up on paperwork later."

"You can't possibly think that a live combat scenario compares to a courtroom…"

"I've literally been to space and back for the sake of this search. Listen to me, Fluffy: I'm going to find my daughter and I'll be darned if a little firecracker is going to stop me."

"'Fluffy?'…fine, I'll just keep a healing spell ready then."

The human and the monster nudged open the back door and peeked out the crack. Seeing nobody, they darted across the cracked cobblestone street and ducked into the next storefront, island-hopping across the town as more glowing shells arced above their heads. At the sixth building, 'Z' silently opened the door again but quickly shut it and backed away.

"What's the matter? What did you see?"

"One armored mech thing. It was using an arm cannon to lob those bombs. If I can get behind it, I think I can short it out with a well-placed shock. Sounds easy, but if it has a proximity scanner or a retractable blade or any other surprises to go with the main cannon, well, I could take a nasty hit or two…yes…we'll need a distraction."

"Should I go out and draw its attention?"

"No…it would have either left or started chasing us after destroying the first building if we were its targets, and not a single other soul is here, so it must be firing randomly at what it thinks are empty buildings. It doesn't know we're here. Anything you do will probably surprise it, so just throw a rock and duck back in."

Rockefeller nodded, weighed a small chunk of debris in her hand, and chucked it towards the invader, catching a glimpse of its metallic face as she slammed the door shut. The nervous lawyer held her breath as heavy, clanking footsteps approached what still smelled of thick wood but felt increasingly like a sheet of tissue paper shielding her from the mechanical monstrosity outside.

The doorknob jiggled.

'Z' took the cue and jumped into a vortex; one second later, an electrical discharge crackled from outside. The human counted to three and gingerly pushed the door open again, immediately slamming it shut when she heard a growl crossed with a mechanical whir. Several blunt thumps followed, stopping only when an unfamiliar voice joined the commotion. Rockefeller peeked outside; across the street, a yellow lizard monster, arms outstretched, stood between the fighting goat and the mech.

"My, my…you're a feisty one!"

"I'm the feisty one? You were bombing us into next week!"

"Both of you…I…I'm really sorry! I didn't know you were in that building!"

"Truth be told, I never really liked this town or any ofthe buildings it contains…but you need to watch your aim before you hit someone who isn't as…understanding…"

'Z' gave a toothy, pointy grin.

"Oh, you can lighten up a little; I'll admit that was kind of fun. That human over there probably won't agree, but it's good to get the blood pumping every now and then. So, you were conducting field tests of the NEO cannon using these old buildings as target practice?"

"Um…yes, Mettaton's a TV show host and entertainer, but we've been working on a variety of attachments to make the most of his modular design. The most exciting one so far is the NEO cannon, I guess. How'd we do?"

"Eighty-three-point five percent accuracy, Dr. Alphys. By my calculations, we'll reach 90% in only two weeks' time."

"Huh. Earth kids love action movies too, don't they?"

"Splendid idea!"

"Anyway…no one's lived here for years and no one wants to move back, so, why not? I mean, we've wanted to clear out this land for a long time and doing it this way feels…right. Like, getting back at them and showing what we can do. That's why we were out here, but what about you two?"

"I'm helping her find her daughter. Have either of you seen a young girl, by any chance? Early teens, about five feet, brown ponytail? Wears glasses? Jeans, jacket, boots? Carries a journal with lots and lots of animal sketches?"

"No, sorry…wait! I did find this page, though. It was buried under a pile of scrap metal. Looks like…a footprint drawing…and some handwritten notes."

Rockefeller grabbed the paper and held it up to her face as if it was a sweet-smelling flower.

"That's her handwriting! And her style! So, now we know Ellie definitely made it here, right?"

"Hmm…"

"Right?"

"Oh, um…yes, that's right. Can I see that?"

The lawyer passed 'Z' the drawing, which she perused for two seconds before plastering it onto the ground and setting her foot down beside it.

"Look."

The three-toed footprint strikingly resembled 'Z's left foot but scaled down to four-fifths in all dimensions.

"But…how? There's no way my Ellie could have possibly known how to draw that!"

"That's a good point. The barrier was still standing and my group's perfect when it comes to not leaving tracks…"

"Then what did Ellie see here? Was this one just her imagination?"

"Tracks…"

"Tracks? Did Ellie get onto a train?"

"But one of us did leave tracks."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Random theory: on the day we learned of the society of Earth monsters, Prince Asriel carried Chara to the center of the village. The moment he stepped out into the sunlight, his smaller feet left a trail in the dirt; then, the um, earthquake hit, and the fires baked them into the Earth like fossils. They would have easily survived a few years…anyone who followed them would have been led straight toward the mountain. Ellie clearly took great interest in these unusual paw-prints, and you said she isn't the type to pass up an adventure."

"Doctor Scientist Monster! What's the quickest way into the Monster Kingdom?"

Alphys gestured toward the west side of Mount Ebott, urgently explaining, "Over there's a trail that leads up the mountain and into a big cavern. If you hike all the way to the end of the cave, there's a big drop that will take you directly into the Underground."

"Lawyer, astronaut, and spelunker…what a marvelous story you'll have for your daughter. Well, let's go!"