Frisk 20 AT ? DF

*HP: 20/20

"It is with great pleasure that I hereby send away our hominid friend with a clean bill of health. No lollies though. I'm afraid I haven't much taste for those."

"Aww. Then how about one of these? Or one of those? What about this thing?"

Still expecting a prize, the human darted around the lab and helped herself to various intricate-looking scientific instruments. Gaster chased behind her, carefully removing and replacing a conga line of objects from Frisk's hands while repeatedly muttering "Don't touch that" each time another item was picked up. Frisk definitely had energy; all the more reason to conclude that the artifact hadn't permanently harmed her.

"Good thing the effects were temporary; the queen would kill me if only ninety-five percent of her child came home to the dinner table."

The alien paced chin-in-paw around the lab tables, examining the instruments for himself before stopping in front of a large bank of glass monitors. Their resolution was not exceptional, but he recognized a few places—the snow white of Snowdin, mesmerizing fluorescent caves, and endless volcanic oceans.

"Cameras?"

"Dr. Alphys's idea. She figured that a comprehensive surveillance system would facilitate the Royal Guard's duties."

"Is the artifact covered?"

"Absolutely. In fact, all Waterfall cameras have recently been outfitted with both infrared and ultraviolet sensors. Anyone who has even existed for a second in those caves—human or monster, magical or otherwise—was recorded."

"…anyone?" the alien replied, blushing for no discernible reason.

"Um, yes. Anyone. Anything you did in the caves—even if you were to hide your heat signature, the UV would still detect you."

Luna started typing furiously on the console, claws click-clacking against the plastic keys in a desperate search for something he'd rather keep buried in a mountain of footage. Accidentally, a clip of him losing a fight against the great Ruins door appeared on the display, but seeing that mishap again didn't fluster him in the slightest. He kept searching, causing several more clips to appear on top of one another like a cascade of popup ads. The last and front-most one showed a monster with a ribbon and a human in a suit walking into the snow.

Gaster approached the monitor, pointing at the video, and pointed out, "Wait. That feed is live. What business does that lawyer have here?"

Everyone gathered around the console, huddled and hunkered down as if they were tracking a deer through a forest. The monster and human seemed to be talking to each other, one of them describing something with a series of hand gestures and the other taking notes in an electronic notepad.

The monster stopped writing and turned toward the camera, squinting directly at the group of snooping eyes. An electric flash filled the screen, feed blacking out and then rebooting as static.

"Doesn't like being watched?"

"Guess not. That's our cue to get down there ourselves."

"There is a gondola that will ferry us from Hotland to Snowdin in a moment's notice. Your friend did a number on that camera, though; I'll see if anything needs repairs here and then travel to Snowdin myself."

"Right. Sorry. We'll reimburse you for that."

"In the meantime, I will be closing up for the day soon; your Highness, now would be a good time to take those two home."

Asriel went out the lab with his two accomplices and started for New Home, but immediately took off in the opposite direction.

"And you're absolutely sure that Ellie isn't in the Ruins?"

"It was like a garbage heap. I don't think anyone wants to stay in the Ruins. Furthermore, there was no trace of her—no journal, no glasses, no torn clothes—nothing to suggest Ellie didn't make it out of there."

Before Rockefeller could reply, something warm brushed against her shoulder. She flinched and let out a small yelp, but to her side was a familiar face. Heart rate slowly returning to double digits, the lawyer raised a finger and panted, "Why…"

"Just wanted to remind you that you're, as your clients would say, 'walking on our turf now'. No, actually, I'm just teasing; at first, I wanted to sneak up on 'Z' but she would have seen me in the snow. You and your paranoid self and that camera should get a room; I heard there's a few in this village."

One of the goat monsters playfully punched the other in the arm.

"I had a perfectly good, non-paranoid reason for doing that. It was Mrs. Rockefeller, you see, I was merely worried about the possible damage to her professional reputation if proof of her fraternizing with us leaked onto the surface. We have standards, fluffybutt. One out-of-context scene; a wrong impression, and they'd try to hire us to find every cheating spouse between here and the Moon."

"Those cameras are a secure network protecting the artifact, not to mention that Dr. Gaster lives in the same building as the console. This ship is airtight, 'fluffybutt'…now, what brings you two here? I thought the investigation into Mrs. Rockefeller's daughter was still in progress."

"Why don't you answer that? Why were we led here during the investigation?"

Luna looked surprised.

"Oh. You don't think that Rockefeller Jr. fell into the Underground too?"

"It's clearly not impossible if those two managed...perhaps the local law enforcement has some information for us."

The trio carefully stepped around an oversized barricade of wooden logs, taking in a whiff of fresh pine while avoiding a nasty fall into an endless abyss.

(Yikes…that bridge didn't even have handrails! Isn't that a little unsafe?)

(Remind me to mention that to the townsfolk later.)

Rockefeller saw a human silhouette moving around a nearby sentry booth; flagging down the figure, she started, "Excuse me, could you point me to the nearest police station? It's about a missing child."

"Police station? You must mean the Royal Guard! The Great Papyrus, Royal Guard Extraordinaire and Assistant Deputy Captain at your service. Allow me to help you, human!"

The lawyer mentally shuffled through greetings, trying to determine the most appropriate etiquette for her unusual locale. An awkward bow won out, followed by a typical warm handshake from the skeleton.

"Okay, captain, thank you. Could you tell me if you or the other guards have seen my daughter? She's about this tall, long brown hair, glasses, possibly carrying a little notebook?"

"Why, yes…I remember. She was one of the humans we tried to capture."

"...capture?"

"Yes. King Asgore asked us to capture any humans that come through. I tried my best, but she defeated each and every one of my puzzles; a worthy foe, indeed! But Undyne's one of the greatest Guards; she probably picked her up in Waterfall!"

"…capture?! Where is Ellie now? I'm an attorney; you can't hold her like this. Let her go at once!"

"Straight to the top, Rocky. If anyone knows what transpired, it's the king."

'Z' took off running towards an icy riverbank, beckoning the other two to follow her with a single claw.

For a thin, wooden vessel with an unhydrodynamic dog figurehead, the gondola offered rides smooth enough to make a cozy mattress jealous. All was quiet except for the occasional droplet of water dripping from the cavern walls. The river flowed endlessly by, hooded navigator standing stoic against the cool air, and none of the passengers seemed much for conversation. The lawyer and minister were enjoying every minute of having a seat to rest their tired legs, but the field commander looked almost seasick.

(Hey. How are you feeling?)

(Fine.)

(No, you aren't.)

(…)

(I know you've grown close to the royal family. Don't misunderstand me; it isn't that we're not allowed to keep acquaintances in our line of work, but you must realize the gravity of our being here.)

Luna nodded sadly.

(The barrier was still active. That's a fact. Best case scenario is that Ellie obtained a monster's SOUL somehow and escaped. Then, we'll simply have some more walking to do.)

(Rockefeller isn't saying anything; I think deep down she's hoping for the best.)

(Worst case scenario…well…)

(I think I'm actually going to be sick…)

'Z' shifted herself toward her counterpart and started rubbing his shoulder gently.

(You've helped to maintain peace between us and them thus far. Taking the time to learn about and listen to this place's problems is a resourceful move, not to mention plain admirable.)

Luna buried his head in his paws.

(But your job only demanded one of those things. When we arrive at the Dreemurrs' house…whatever we find there…we can control what information is leaked to the media but we can't hide the results from the Bureau itself. I won't force you to investigate them if you wish not to.)

"Seriously? None of these lava pools are cordoned off by guardrails?"

Luna shrugged, claiming, "I don't understand them either, but no one ever seems to fall in."

The three found their way to a familiar wooden door; only, knocking on it felt no more familiar than knocking on a stranger's for the first time.

"Hello? Your Highnesses? Are you home?"

The door creaked open. Luna waved inside and the inside waved back. Toriel's voice answered, "Yes? What can we do for you…and…Mrs. Rockefeller?"

"Never thought I'd see you again. Do you have my Ellie? Where is she?"

"Um…we're looking for her missing daughter. A thirteen-year-old, looks like a smaller version of her, glasses, notebook, et cetera…Anyway, we have a statement from the Royal Guard's deputy captain placing her here."

Toriel froze.

"Hmm? Is there something you know that we should know?"

Another voice from inside the house responded, "Tori, who is that?"

"Can we come in?"

"Yes, of course."

Everyone, trio and Dreemurr family save for Chara's scientist brother, gathered in the living room around a chair and dining table. The fireplace was extinguished. 'Z' was strolling around the table, voice randomly and suddenly appearing behind each human or monster as she floated around the chairs.

"We've quite literally travelled the stars in search of this child. We're tired of looking now. The royal guardsman we questioned claimed that Ellie was taken here. Two possibilities: either that monster was lying or you are all hiding something from us, and that monster doesn't strike me as the deceitful sort."

Nobody said anything. The Dreemurr parents looked uncomfortable. Their kids were downright terrified.

"Where is Ellie?"

Silence again. 'Z' felt her heart boiling under the impatience.

"Is she in here? The CORE? In a cell in the lab like a test monkey?"

Silence.

"Okay, then. Come along, Luna, it seems they don't know either."

'Z' started toward the door, but the moment she got a foot out into the foyer, there was a rapid purple flash and a loud thump. The scowling goat monster had reappeared in front the table and slammed a paw onto the wooden finish as the next stage of her psychological campaign.

"Do you all think this is some kind of joke? We aren't here on a leisure visit; bring us Ellie now or we'll find her ourselves."

(Is this really necessary?)

(Quiet, Luna.)

A deep voice replied, "I can't."

"You can't? Why not?"

"I can't tell you."

Asgore's scrunched-up face looked like it was in dire need of an aspirin.

"I see…"

'Z's glare cooled from icy to absolute zero as she reappeared behind the king, head just above his right ear.

"There's nothing to bring us, is there?"

It took a great effort on the king's part to shake his head "no."

"I'm sorry, Rocky…"

(No…there has to be an explanation…)

Something within the lawyer shattered; she crumbled against the table and let out a muffled wail of the depth and emotion only a mother could muster.

"You had her killed, didn't you? Just as the royal guardsman said?"

(There's no way they did this. I trust them.)

The fur on the queen's neck stood up, electric charge building up like water pushing against a cracked dam. A white light began to glow from her chest, as if being led out by Zephyr into the light of day.

"But we know who the real brains of the Monster Kingdom are, don't we? I can see the mark on your finger, your Highness, you left your husband after he carried out your plan to throw us off your trail, didn't you?"

(They're not street thugs, Zephyr, you don't have to…)

The charge and white light faded and a tingling sensation approached the prince's neck.

"Of course, we can't forget that Mom and Dad might be trying to protect their child…it was you who killed her, wasn't it? You and Chara knew that whoever struck back against the humans—your mortal enemies—would be hailed as heroes. So, you killed Ellie for the fame and glory and when Mom and Dad found out, they invented this convoluted human-capturing plan to hide your mistake."

"But…no…I…"

(This is insane, 'Z'! Stop this!)

"Give it up, your Highness. The proof's floating in front of your face."

There was a carousel of hearts in front of the prince: one white, one green, two blue, one orange, one yellow…and one purple. More soft footsteps surrounded the house and encroached on the living room from outside.

Blizz 95 AT 119 DF

Cryogen 78 AT 124 DF

*Volunteer firefighters.

"Come along, Asriel. We have a few more questions for you."

'Z' reached for the child, but her paw was stopped in midair by a crystalline barrier. It wasn't the prince's doing nor his parents; rather, the human SOULs she had drawn out were shielding their host with a magical force field.

"Now see here, partner; I don't appreciate you walking up to our friend all coyote-like."

"Can you not see that you are scaring him?"

"You wanna do something to the prince, you'll have to deal with us too."

"Hey! Purple! Anything you want to say to the mean goat lady?"

Everyone, except for a slightly embarrassed 'Z', turned toward the floating amethyst heart. The others seemed to be encouraging the Perseverance SOUL to lead the group with another witty comeback, but it remained telepathically silent.

"Purple? You there? Maybe don't stay up all night reading next time?"

"…mommy?"

The lawyer's eyes widened.

"Ellie? Is that you? Where are you?"

The purple SOUL was doing the armless, legless equivalent of waving and jumping in the air.

"Mom! I'm here! I'm right here!"

"But…where's my daughter? Where's the child I raised with my own two hands?"

"What are you talking about, Mom? I'm right in front of you!"

The purple heart reached out with a glowing aura, but Rockefeller jerked away as if it was a crime scene body.

"No…but…you're just a floating heart! It's a trick, it has to be! Where's Ellie?"

"I'm Ellie! It's me, your daughter!"

"No, you aren't! You're just a magic…thing…with her voice! Why'd you do this to me, Fluffy? Is giving me all that hope some kind of cruel payback for what I did to your friends?"

Rockefeller was in tears and shaking 'Z' by her shoulders, and the purple SOUL would do the same if it had tear ducts. As the other SOULs crowded around their hurting counterpart, 'Z' wrapped a paw around the despairing lawyer and whispered, "Ellie…magic doesn't work that way. Monsters can't fake human SOULs. Not only is that 'floating heart' most definitely your daughter, she's also someone who really needs her mother right this very second."

The lawyer sniffled and bolted toward her lost child, clutching the SOUL to her own in a tearful embrace.

"Oh, Ellie, I'm so sorry! After all these years…I didn't know what happened to you; if you were even still alive! What kind of mother am I, to turn away at her own child like that?"

"No, Mom, I'm sorry! I saw these cool paw prints and…I knew it wasn't safe sneaking away from the others…but I just had to see where they led. There was a beautiful cave and I climbed in to look around, but then I tripped and…and…it's all my fault!"

"Shh…no, it's mine…I never stopped looking for you, but after the first 48 hours…the police said they couldn't devote any more resources. Why, oh why, couldn't I convince them to keep searching?"

"But…everything's okay now, right? We're finally together again thanks to the goat lady, aren't we?"

"Yes, Ellie, everything's going to be all right now. But the things the goat lady said…human SOULs…if this is truly you, what happened to your body? Did…did you die?"

"I…"

Several of the monsters nonchalantly and sorrowfully turned their heads away. The facts were clear; Ellie's SOUL had no corresponding body in sight.

"Forgive me, Rocky, I didn't want you to bring you down here just to tell you bad news, but she's, um…it's complicated."

The most unexpected and seemingly impossible of all the answers that could have come out of 'Z's mouth, and it frustrated Rockefeller as much.

"What do you mean, 'it's complicated', Fluffy? She's either alive or dead, and she's dead, isn't she?! Just say it so I can get it over with!"

"Well…yes. And no. The Ellie who sat on the couch and watched TV with you is likely gone, according to all standards of forensic science. The Ellie who shared her dreams with you; who asked you for help with her homework and remembered your favorite crime drama to get you the perfect gift and counted on you to make even the worst days better, is resting in your hands and living on as a symbiote through the prince's body."

"So, you mean…she's really…"

"I don't know, Rocky. I really don't know. We haven't seen this sort of thing before either. Who Ellie was is still very much alive, but she can't survive outside of the host she's chosen. I can tell you'd like an expert opinion from me, but…all I can tell you is that you need to decide for yourself."

Biology and philosophy aside, the implications of Ellie's condition were clear. Rockefeller would not be leaving the Monster Kingdom with her long-lost daughter. Nevertheless, she could still help her to the best of her abilities.

"What happened to you, Ellie? Who did this to you?"

"I…it's all a blur…I can't…"

The lawyer kicked herself for her directness. She had seen firsthand how emotional questioning victims could get, and those were the ones who survived to tell their tales.

"It's okay, sweetie, you don't have to remember everything for me if you don't want to, but…do you think we could start with one little detail?"

"Okay…I'll try…"

"Did you feel cold?"

"Um…yeah…it was cold…and wet…and then I felt trapped. Like I was in a small space. There were others near me…five, I think."

"You're doing great so far, Ellie. Those five: were they humans or monsters?"

"I saw…floating SOULs…they were colorful like a rainbow…I remember now…I was floating around in a glass cylinder. It was dark, but I saw three more next to me in their own tanks. All I felt was how much I missed you…it was so lonely…but then those three introduced themselves and we passed the time by talking to each other about everything you could imagine. We learned the monsters' side of the story and, as the days passed, two more joined us in the darkness."

"Well…uh…glad to see you're making friends here!"

"Oh, Mom…"

"What?"

"That…it's just such a mom thing to say!"

The two shared a much-needed laugh, not only as family, but as friends reunited.

"And one day, someone carried us out of the dark into a bright hallway. They left in a hurry, but then Asriel and Chara walked in and we all started shouting as loud as we could. You should have seen it, Mom, he was so startled he fell over on his tail!"

"And then you asked him to...absorb all of you?"

"Yeah. We had a big discussion between ourselves and we were getting bored, and we agreed it was time to destroy the barrier…and…now we're all here."

"Wow, and here I thought I'd surprise you with my astronaut-spelunker story!"

"Astronaut? You went to space, Mom? Me too!"

"Wait, what do you mean by 'me too'?"

"It's another long story…"

'Z' whispered something into her partner's ear. Luna nodded and whispered something back. One of them asked, "Ellie, dear, do you remember who carried the canisters out into the hallway?"

"Of course! It was King Asgore! He's sitting right there at the table!"

(Motive, location, suspect, and victim, Luna. Are you ready?)

(No.)

"I see. In that case, your Highness, we'd like you to answer a few more questions under suspicion of the first-degree murder of Ellie Rockefeller, along with five additional murders of five currently unidentified human children."

The queen, visibly exhausted despite not having moved in the previous few minutes, shot up from her seat and shouted, "That can't be! There is no way my Gorey could ever hurt a child like that! No…it isn't true! I won't believe it!"

"…right?"

"Tori…we needed human SOULs to break the barrier. When I asked the Royal Guard to bring me seven humans, I didn't think there was any other way."

"But…why?"

"We were not the only ones hurt by our son and daughter, Tori. Our subjects needed hope; someone with a plan to carry them into the light of day. Now that that day has come, it is only appropriate for me to carry the blame for all of us."

"But…but…you can't take him! Our kids need their father!"

"Come along, your Highness; we can work something out to reward cooperation. Don't make this any more difficult for your family."

'Z's colleagues didn't need to move; Asgore approached them willingly.

"Wait!"

"Wait!"

Rockefeller bolted out of her seat to join the already-standing queen, sharing an awkward, heart-rending glance with each other upon hearing the other's voice.

"Rocky…he killed your daughter…don't you want justice for her after all these years? Our search is finally over! He's literally right there!"

"Fluffy…I can't thank you enough for helping me…but I have a little confession to make too."

"Of course. Take all the time you need."

"Up above, we have legends about this place. 'People who climb this mountain never return' and ghost stories like that. When the police couldn't find Ellie after she disappeared during a field trip near that mountain…a part of me already knew what had happened to her."

"Mrs. Rockefeller…"

"I bawled like a baby for weeks, Fluffy. I couldn't show my face around the office, let alone leave my house without seeing her running up the driveway from the school bus. Every day felt like another ninety thousand seconds spent waiting for something that would never come. I didn't understand what to live for anymore."

"Rocky…stop…"

"I was going through Ellie's room one day when I stumbled upon an old photo album. As much as it hurt, I started flipping through the pictures…maybe…just maybe I could understand why this happened to her; how I could have failed as her mother…"

'Z' sniffled but would never admit anything else to her partner.

"But then, I found a photo I took of Ellie on Take Your Child to Work Day. She was five and Thompson let her sit behind the judge's bench and play with the gavel…and she was so happy…I don't think I'd ever seen her so ecstatic at any other time. I realized just how much she looked up to me, the superpower-less superhero who could rescue an innocent person no matter how dire the odds looked. The next day was the day I returned to the courtroom; to keep fighting against a system that would rather bury defendants in plea deals than give them a fair fight; to defend our rights and freedoms when nobody else will, and to make sure that no family would ever be ripped apart by the law again. I've had years to move on, Fluffy; I'm sorry for dragging you all over the solar system…but…now that we're here, I think what I was truly after was closure…and for you to bring me so much more than that, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. But now…I think I know what Ellie would want me to do."

Behind the tired eye emerged a familiar combative spark.

"Tell your two agents to release Mr. Dreemurr at once. That confession reeked of coercion and I know you've found no other physical evidence to justify holding him."

"Now who's playing the cruel joke? This is for Ellie's sake, Rocky! Are you discrediting your own daughter's recollections?"

"I'm a defender, Fluffy. You may believe that we help people get away with murder, but our duty is to ensure that an exhaustive investigation leads to the right person getting a fair sentence. Believe me, nobody wants justice for Ellie more than I do, but if you want to bring Murder One to the table, you'd better be ready to do it right."

"Even if the confession is inadmissible, the witness slash victim still creates reasonable suspicion. Plus, we have the barrier as motive and an absorbed SOUL as proof of victim. What more do you want?"

"What about an actual crime scene? Or an autopsy? Or an actual murder weapon? None of what you've gathered so far specifically identifies Mr. Dreemurr as Ellie's murderer."

"Yeah! Heck, I'm still here, so how could you possibly charge Mister Asgore with murder?"

Luna's partner shot a disbelieving look at Ellie's SOUL. She had a point; the victim wasn't nearly as 'dead' as most murder victims.

"If you want to interrogate his Highness, then go out and establish probable cause first."