The studded tires crunched on the gravel. Cole grunted as he wheeled out the second of two quads. At last he shut the shed door behind him, then looked to the back door, watching as Frisk wandered out, Sans and Asriel in tow. The trio were carrying backpacks. Cole tightened the straps on his own.

"You got everything?"

Frisk gave him a thumbs up, picking up one of the helmets he had set out on the seat of the quads. Spying Julia lingering in the doorway, he glanced at their companions before walking up the couple steps. She folded her arms.

"I don't like this. There's too much in question."

"I agree. But at any rate, it's too risky to keep them cooped up here anyway. You know the plan if I don't come back or find a way to get in touch. The scientist, she doing any better?"

"Still sleeping," Julia murmured back. Cole nodded.

"Keep an eye on her all the same. We both know how tricky their type can be."

Julia frowned slightly at the statement, but nodded. He gave her a quick hug. "We'll try to be back in a day or two."

Julia nodded, turning around, walking back inside. Cole stepped down from the back porch.

"Any of you driven one of these before?"

Asriel and Frisk both raised their hands. Cole nodded, grabbing his own helmet.

"Alright Frisk, you ride with me. You two can take the other, follow behind us. Be careful. It's too risky to take the roads, we'll have to cut through the bush. Should be there in half an hour give or take."

Asriel stepped onto his designated quad, taking a second before firing it up. Frisk slid onto the back of Cole's as it purred to life. Leading the way, Cole immediately turned hard left, going along a narrow footpath into the trees. The going was slow, but still much faster than walking. For the first five minutes of the journey, they travelled in silence. Frisk was just starting to let his eyes wander as Cole suddenly called over his shoulder, just loud enough for him to hear.

"Your friends. Can I trust them?"

"What?!" Frisk leaned forward to hear better.

"Your friends! I haven't had the most pleasant of experiences with other monsters. I need to know that where we're going, I can trust them with my life/ Are they loyal to you?"

"We're loyal to each other," Frisk replied, as annoyance tinged his tone. "They've saved my life a couple times in the past, they're cool. What about this contact of yours? Can we trust them?"

Cole stole a glance at the second quad following close behind. Hesitating just a moment. "Dante's been good to me. He helped me get set up out here. If I can trust in them, you can trust in him!"

"So what's the plan anyway?"

"Dante'll meet us on the border. He should have some alternate transportation for us. We ditch the quads, and pick them up again when we come back; they aren't exactly common city vehicles. Should take us about a day to get in, and another to get out if everything goes smoothly. With any luck, we'll be back for supper tomorrow."

Frisk nodded, focusing now on not falling off the quad as they rumbled over the bumpy path.

The house was quiet, Julia noted. Well, it was always quiet when Cole left. But something about it just felt a bit emptier now. She shook the thoughts away, picking up the tray before carrying it down the hall to the guest room. Before she entered she peeked inside, pushing it the rest of the way open, smiling as she saw Alphys stir.

"Morning. Brought you some breakfast."

Alphys rolled her head over, breaking a smile of her own as she yawned.

"Y-Y-You shouldn't have…"

"Hey, don't worry." She smiled, sitting in a chair beside her bed, and helped the scientist sit up so she could eat. On the tray were two pieces of toast, a glass of water and a bowl of cereal. "Sorry it isn't much, we were going to do some shopping yesterday, but uh, well you guys kind of dropped in."

"I-It's alright. Where are th-the others?"

"Oh! Uh," Julia shuffled her hands. "They left to find some help. One of Cole's old friends might know how to get you guys home."

"How am I d-doing?"

"Truthfully? You need further help. But there's nothing we can do for you for now. They should be back in a day or two, and then we can quickly get you home, you can get help there."

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"What's it like in your world?" Julia finally queried, the curiosity practically eating her alive. Alphys shrugged.

"It's uh, it's alright. Doesn't l-look a lot different from this world."

Julia nodded slightly, then giggled. "Cole and I should visit sometime."

Alphys smiled cheekily. "W-Well, this place i-is in our nav logs now, we-we could come back here wh-whenever we wanted, technically!"

Julia chuckled again, before standing up. "I'll uh, let you get some rest. Just holler if you need anything, I'll come back in an hour or so to change your bandages. Just rest easy."

"I w-will. Oh h-hey!"

Julia paused as she reached the door.

"...Thanks."

"No prob." The sound of her retreating footsteps faded as Alphys was left along to her thoughts.

The path widened slightly as the group neared their destination. Cole gave the little horn on the quad two beeps as they approached a small clearing. Almost immediately, a sedan rolled from behind the undergrowth. The driver was a young man, looking similar age to Cole. He turned the quad off, jumping off as he approached him, a grin on his face.

"Dante, my man!" He chuckled, clasping the man's hand, the two giving each other a friendly hug. Dante grinned broadly.

"Cole, you son of a gun. How's your sister?"

"Julia's fine, thanks. I'll tell her you said hi."

Frisk hopped off the quad as Asriel rolled up behind them, turning his off too.

Dante peered over Cole's shoulder. "These the others?"

"Yeah, that's them. How's the car, everything set?"

Dante tossed Cole the keys. "Plates have been registered, so you shouldn't have much trouble there. Just stay away from the highways and any major roads. They beefed up patrols. Stick to the back roads, if you can. Do that, you should be right as rain."

Cole flashed Dante a thumbs up. "I owe you one, brother. Alright, let's go guys!"

"What about him?" Frisk asked as he followed.

Dante smirked. "Don't worry about me. I'm going to make sure nobody finds these quads, keep them safe until you get back. Hey Cole, just make sure you don't scratch one up this time, alright? It ain't cheap to fix."

Cole chuckled. "You know as well as I do, that was a one-time thing. We'll be back tomorrow unless I say otherwise."

Dante gave him a little wink. The trio climbed into the car with Cole, who peeled away down the dirt path.

"Settle in, guys. Got a long way ahead of us."

Twigs crunched beneath the feet of the two trackers. Renae fidgeted with one hand slightly, keeping her finger on the trigger of her plasma rifle. She rolled her head, keeping her gaze locked forward. There was a pause from her partner just up ahead as he glanced over his shoulder.

"You good?"

Renae scoffed. "Course I'm okay, Lance, just let him get one up on me. It won't happen again."

Lance eyed her, then gave a curt nod, pressing onwards into the gully. In front of them was the wreckage of the ship. One of Renae's scaled ears twitched. Silently they approached the open door, pressing their backs against the side. Renae stole a quick glance around the gulley, before giving Lance a firm pat on the shoulder.

Without a moment's hesitation, Lance stepped around the corner, walking inside, rifle raised, Renae right behind.

"Clear," Lance spoke from the cockpit. Renae nodded, walking back outside. She lowered her rifle, starting to examine the clearing. Then, she frowned as she spied skid marks running down one side. As she went to investigate, she heard Lance turn on his radio.

"Blackhawk to Panther, come back."

"Receiving you, Blackhawk." The familiar voice stated.

"We found the Comet. She's pretty damaged, they won't be going anywhere for a while."

"Any sign of the objective?"

"Negative. They fled the scene. Could be anywhere."

Renae climbed up the side of the gulley, a grin breaking out over her face as she stared at the dirt, looking off into the trees. Seeing her growing anticipation, Lance moved to join her. Renae set her rifle on the ground, taking her own radio with her now free hand.

"Panther, I don't think they've gone far. We have some tracks here leading away from the scene. Might be a complication though. You said there were four tangos? Well, there are five sets of prints. Looks like they found help."

The commander's voice crackled back. "Do you know how many exactly?"

"Negative. At least one, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were more. They might have a camp set up somewhere close by. Please advise?"

There was a moment of silence.

"Follow the trail, keep at a distance. If you find where they're holed up, do not engage. Report back first."

"Solid copy, Panther. Blackhawk out." She disconnected her radio again, picking up her rifle.

Lance smirked. "Well, you heard the man. Let's get moving."

Renae scanned the trees once more, while Lance kept his eyes on the dirt, following the trail deeper into the forest.