Sorry about how late this chapter is, guys – I came down with the flu the week after the last update, and it's really hard to concentrate on writing when you're practically hacking up a lung, PLUS trying to keep up on class assignments you're missing at the same time. Luckily, I managed to find enough free time to write this for you guys! (And by that I mean I was suddenly hit by the sledgehammer of inspiration, abandoned my homework, and jotted down this whole chapter last night)

Name suggestions for the series are still welcome! So far the roster of titles we've got includes:
-The Magic of Souls (1)
-Tales of Monsters, Humans, and Fairies
-Fairies and Monsters Gone Fowl (1)
-Stories About Fairies, Monsters, and Two Bizarre Humans
-Fairytales (daniel and I both like this one, but your votes still matter to us)
-Temporal Dynamics for the Magically Inclined
-Okay Flowey, Stop Traumatizing the Fairies (this suggestion made me laugh SO MUCH guys XD)
-Underground Fairies
I'll only be asking for name ideas for a couple more chapters, at most, and after that, you guys'll have to pick from the list we've got at that point! Some people have already voted, too. Feel free to let us know which title you like best!

Warning: F-bomb. (Not from Flowey this time, though.)

It was a tense few hours that followed the news of Frisk's kidnapping.

The monsters were silent in their hotel rooms. They'd lingered at the police station, waiting with baited breath for news of their missing Ambassador to come in, and Holly had waited, unseen and unheard, with them.

But so far, nothing. The human police hadn't been able to track the unwilling kidnapper's cart very far, the driver that had been driving said cart when the perp had supposedly boarded with an unconscious Frisk was nowhere to be found, and no other witnesses had come forward with information that could help track him or the missing Mud Kid down.

In other words, not a single lead to be found. Not on the human and monster side of things.

Foaly hadn't had much luck, either. He'd been clacking away at his keyboard the entire time, silent save for the occasional curse or especially loud sound of frustration – and save for the groaning of disbelief when confirmed Council orders were made known to the pair of fairies.

Holly had done more than just groan when she heard those orders. She'd had it up to her ears with the Council's stupidity.

"I thought the new Council members were smarter than this!" She hissed. " ' Mind-wipe the Ambassador when we find them?!' Are they nuts?!"

"Nah," Foaly said, immediately and without hesitation. "They're just stupid." A gusty sigh rushed through the speakers. "But orders are orders, Holly."

"They're stupid orders!" Holly glowered through the hotel room windows before her – the monsters were all still awake, and she had a good view of the flower and the short skeleton from here. The flower looked exactly as furious as she felt right now. "If the Ambassador overcomes the mind-wipe – and we know that humans can do that, and the kid's just as smart as Artemis was at that age - !"

"Holly," Foaly interrupted. "Look, I know you don't like it, but unless you want the Ambassador running around and possibly spilling fairy secrets they may or may not have recovered to human civilians and terrorists, then we've got no better options."

The elfin captain kept glaring for several long moments but then sighed and deflated. Unfortunately, Foaly was right, and though she knew, in all likelihood, that both the centaur andArtemis (and the twins, if they found about this) would take their protests directly to the Council, sometimes the Council's mind just couldn't be changed.

"I know, D'Arvit," she grumbled. "I know. That doesn't mean I have to like it." She narrowed her eyes at the monsters still clearly visible inside the building and tried really hard not to think of what might happen if any of the powerful beings found their Ambassador missing Frond knows how many memories that couldn't be explained away by trauma from a kidnapping. "Ireally don't like it."

I have some questions for you.

Those words sent a shiver of trepidation down their spine. They could count on one hand the number of times those words, or any variation of them, had led to anything less than a headache after their initial fall into the Underground, and that had been when the statement was made by a monster, or Chara, someone who meant them and their adopted family no real harm.

This man was not a monster, was not Chara. He was someone at least somewhat involved with HuRg, enough so that someone would send him to interrogate them – someone involved with a monster-hating terrorist organization . Even if, by some miracle, the man meant Frisk no harm, the same could most certainly not be said for the monsters, and that was so much worse than just a measly little headache.

The man seemed not to take their silence for the refusal to cooperate that it was, because once the door he'd stepped through had been carefully closed behind him, he crossed what little floor space remained between the two of them and crouched down in front of Frisk, sharp eyes making contact with theirs.

"I'm sure it goes without saying that your day's been less than stellar, Ambassador Frisk. If you cooperate and answer my questions, you will be released." His tone was cool, impartial, oddly professional – in all honesty, the clinical tone reminded Frisk heavily of the politicians they talked to during meetings. The man definitely was too calm to be the raving, fanatical monsterphobe that they'd halfway expected – which meant one of two things. Either the man was completely unshaken by having assisted, however indirectly, with the abduction of a twelve-year-old kid, which was a worrying thought, or he was very, very good at hiding that he was.

Either way, there was definitely no way the man would let them go if they answered his questions, no matter how honestly they did.

"I don't believe you," Frisk said, bluntly. "If you let me go, I'd be able to name you as an accomplice to the police."

The man blinked. "That would be a risk," he admitted, somewhat grudgingly, after a moment's pause, and Frisk silently congratulated themselves on unbalancing the man before he could do the same to them. "But regardless of your doubts, I fully intend to release you in the event of your cooperation." His words were carefully measured, carefully chosen… and Frisk noted that the man didn't specifically say what state of health they'd be in upon their "release."

*Probably in a body bag. Or at least in need of a hospital.

Unfortunately, that was probably true. Generally, terrorists willing to kidnap a kid were also likely to put said kid's life in danger.

Well, if they tried to ship me out in a body bag, then at least I'd be able to LOAD, and avoid the kidnapping attempt the second time around…

But then again, they might also decide to take it out on the monsters, and they couldn't let that happen, no matter how temporary those deaths would be.

"What are your questions?" They said, carefully. They wouldn't like the questions, they knew it in their bones -

"How did you know about the assassination attempts beforehand?"

And their bones were absolutely right. They really didn't like the question.

Someone knows that something weird was going on there, and sent this guy to pry the info out of me. Does that mean that there's a fairy controlling this guy? If there is…

I can't tell him about the SAVEs or LOADing, or the Resets. Even if he's not being controlled, he'd be able to keep me from dying, and I need that option in case things go too far south.

Their best bet was probably to use their "anonymous call" excuse, and any half-truth they could get away with.

"Luck," they said. "I saw the assassin in front of City Hall before he could shoot me, and managed to duck. I spotted one of the assassins near the hotel before we could get shot. And the two other times I got anonymous calls from people I didn't know, warning me in time for me to avoid them and inform the police."

Their interrogator raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Well, wouldn't that be convenient, if that actually happened."

Frisk pursed their lips. He doesn't believe me. Crap. "It did happen," they lied, hoping fervently that, despite the lingering headache and dizziness, their poker face held up. "I don't know who called me – they altered their voice somehow. I couldn't tell if they were a man or a woman. I think they waited until the attempts were only a few days away so people wouldn't suspect an information leak."

The eyebrow rose a fraction higher.

"Impressive poker face, Ambassador," he said, after another pause. "And your story is surprisingly well thought-out. But I know for a fact that there is no-one who could give away information like that, even anonymously." His expression hardened. "I made sure of that personally. And I've been with Humanity's Resurgence for far too long to miss something thatimportant."

He made sure of that personally? Just who is this guy?

*If he can make sure of people's loyalties like that, he must be pretty high up.

Or whoever has been hypnotizing these people got to him, and is using him as a puppet to speak their own minds… though if there was a fairy controlling him, presuming that they have to at least be audible to the guy, wouldn't we notice them at this short a range?

Regardless of how the man actually knew they were bluffing, he clearly wasn't going to be fooled. They needed to think of something else, and fast.

"Tell me the truth, Ambassador." The man said calmly, though his expression was still hard and sharp and unforgiving, just several icy inches short of being a full-fledged glare. "How did you know about the assassination attempts?"

Crap crap crap -

*Paranoia!

"Paranoia," Frisk said as calmly as they could, silently thanking Chara for the suggestion. "Humanity's Resurgence isn't the first group that's tried to have me killed." And this wasn't a lie either, which was a plus.

The man hmmed , still skeptical. "Is that so? Then why haven't we heard about these other attempts? That's something that would be on the news."

"We asked the news to keep quiet about it. If people didn't know about the attempts, then they'd underestimate me if they tried to have me killed." Again, not strictly a lie. They'd used this tactic in previous timelines, just not this one.

And again, the man hmmed, his eyes narrowing. "Clever, or at least it would be if that was actually what was going on. Paranoia alone can't explain how you've managed to avoid so many attempts in a row."

*Damn it, what's going to convince this guy?

"I don't want to have to repeat myself, Ambassador." The man's voice was downright icy now. "I've never considered myself a patient man. The truth."

Frisk's mind drew a blank, and, considering Chara's cursing, they couldn't think of something to say either. So instead of digging themselves in deeper with clumsy lies, they clamped their mouth shut and refused to answer, going so far as to avert their gaze.

The man let out an irritated sigh, and then leaned forward and used one hand to jerk Frisk's face back up so he could make eye contact again.

"The silent treatment won't do you any good, Ambassador," he said, and… did his voice sound different? No, surely that was just the stress getting to them.

Frisk blinked uncertainly. He's… not wrong. The silent treatment will just make things worse, right?

*Yeah, maybe, but what else can we do?! I'm thinking as hard as I can here, I can't come up with anything else!

" All I want is the truth," the man continued, soothingly. " It can't be that hard to tell me what's really going on."

*Oh shut up, asshole, we're not telling you diddly-shit, no matter how you try to sweet-talk us…

But the ghost's voice felt vaguely fuzzy in the back of their head, like they were speaking into a pillow or through a thick wall, and Frisk's thoughts were slowly, uncertainly taking a different route.

It's… I can't just tell him. So why does it seem like such a good idea now?

"I can't tell you," they mumbled, suddenly unsure of themselves. "You wouldn't believe me."

*Frisk? That's a really bad cover-up. Come up with something better, damn it!

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," the man said, almost conspiratorially. " I've seen some odd things. And monsters are something people used to claim didn't exist, and yet they do."

Well, when you put it like that…

*… Frisk?

"I promise I won't tell anybody," he continued gently. " I can keep a few secrets, you have my word." His tone of voice was almost fatherly now, and they couldn't help but suddenly think of Asgore, who despite all they'd heard from Toriel, warning them about death and the children that had fallen before them, had turned out to be one of the kindest people they'd ever met.

… Can it really hurt to tell him?

*… Oh my God. Frisk, you can't be serious.

Can it really hurt to tell him? Frisk repeated uncertainly. Something deep down was screaming at them that this was a bad idea, something other than their ghostly partner, but… If… if he won't tell anyone…

*Frisk, he's lying.

I don't think he is. It's… it's like with Asgore. Mom told me he was bad when I first fell, but he's not, not really, right? I think this guy's the same.

*Frisk, he's with HuRg . He wouldn't join them if he didn't agree with them about the monsters!

But how do we know that? Frisk protested, the idea gaining traction. How do we know he wasn't blackmailed into this?

*Then he can be blackmailed into giving up the information anyway! Frisk, what the hell is wrong with you?!

"Well, Ambassador?" The man said, still in that oh-so-soothing, strangely lyrical voice. "Come now, what's the harm? What're a few harmless secrets in exchange for your freedom?"

He's right, Frisk thought.

*No he's NOT.

He's right, Chara! We need to get out of here, right? And if he won't tell anyone –

*Frisk, what the fuck. This isn't like you at all! You're smarter than this, why –

But Frisk was already tuning the ghost out. Chara was just being paranoid, and while their paranoia was usually a boon, this time they were wrong. They didn't know how they knew, but they just knew. This man wasn't a bad person, no matter who he worked with. Someone with a voice like that could never be bad.

*… "Voice?"

Determined, Frisk opened their mouth.

*Voice… Wait a second. Frisk, STOP!

They ignored their desperate partner. "I knew becau –"

*Frisk STOP!

And then just like that, they were no longer in control. Their mouth twisted into a snarl, and instead of finishing the sentence that had been on Frisk's lips, Chara surged forward and smashed Frisk's forehead into their interrogator's nose with a crack.

The man yelped, and tumbled backward, obviously taken off guard.

Chara! Frisk yelled, equally surprised. What –

"You bastard!" Chara roared, struggling furiously to free Frisk's hands of their bonds. "It was you! "

Chara! Stop!

"It was you!" Chara repeated, practically rabid with fury. " You were the one that sent those assassins!"

Frisk's currently non-existent breath caught in their non-existent throat. What?

"I have no i-idea – " The man began, visibly shaken.

"Shut UP! Your voice! Those assassins all said they heard a musical voice giving them orders, and your voice sounds like a freaking angel choir!"

And just like that, the spell, the literal spell that had been cast over them, snapped.

Oh my God. Horror overwhelmed them, and had Frisk still been in control of their own body, they were certain that their heart would have stopped. Oh my God , he – I – I –

The man's eyes narrowed.

"Well," he said, coldly, all the perceived gentleness gone. "I can certainly say that this is a first. No-one's been able to resist this magic before."

Chara hissed at him. They were downright feral in their rage, now, and for once, Frisk wasn't about to try to calm them down.

I almost told him about the Resets. I – oh my God, I nearly told him –

The man stood up, reaching up to pinch his nose closed. There was a thin stream of blood oozing out of one nostril – that crack when Chara had headbutted him was definitely the sound of his nose breaking.

"I thought there was something unusual about you . " Despite his voice being so nasal with his nose pinched between his fingers, he still managed to sound viciously satisfied. "In the months I've been using this magic, nobody has ever shaken it off like you have. No matter."

He turned towards the door, and as he did his face twisted into an expression that gave even Chara pause. Gone was the subtle chilliness in his eyes, and in its place was something downright menacing.

" It might've made things easier for me, but I don't need this magic to get the answers I want out of you, Frisk Dreemurr."

Frisk just stared after him as he left the room, dread freezing them in place even as Chara slowly relinquished control to them once more.

The person controlling the assassins was a human. Not a fairy. A human .

A human that's a member of HuRg.

Their next thought, had it been out loud, would have been a whimper.

Oh God. Oh God, we need to get out of here. We need to get out!

*eagerly awaiting reactions to this chapter, rubbing her hands together and laughing maniacally * We've been SO looking forward to this chapter, guys, you have NO IDEA

And now, worldbuilding, MemorySteel questions again: "And on a calmer topic, what was human magic like? 'Power from within?' 'Believe in it and it will happen?' Or more physical, like potions and runes? Did it differ from mage to mage?"

Human magic varies greatly from person to person and so functions differently for each mage (though some magic naturally acts similarly to other types). Magics that have more to do with elements of nature tend to have an aspect of willpower to them - someone who controls or creates fire, for instance, has to WILL it to happen, and overwhelm said fire with their will. If they don't have strong enough willpower, it can backfire or just plain not work.

On the other hand, some kinds of magic had more to do with knowledge, and others occur based on outside circumstances, rather than something created by the mage themselves. An example of the first would be, for instance, a mage with power over complicated machines and other technologies. They would need to know how the machines worked, at least on the mechanical level, and the more they know about the machines, the better their magic works with them. An example of the second, on the other hand, would be magic that's constantly active or activates itself on its own - for example, someone having enhanced senses wouldn't be something they could concentrate on or necessarily control, it would just be something that is.

Potions aren't really a thing in this 'verse - magic is limited mostly to sentient beings, and differs from being to being, so magic as a general rule is too unstable for delicate potion-brewing, unless a human or monster specifically develops magic that could be used for it (which IS possible.) Runes are a thing, though - all you have to do is channel magical energy into them to make them work, so humans can use them for a variety of effects, though they tend to use runes that are related to their powers - runes for fire with fire magic, ice runes with ice magic, etc.