Toby Fox owns Undertale and all associated characters. Vigil belongs to me.

"I can't believe it's the last day before spring break already! It feels like it was still Christmas time just a couple weeks ago!"

Frisk and Chara sat on the bleachers overlooking the well-maintained football field just outside the high school, idly watching the cheerleading coach attempt to get a group of Temmies under control. None of them were wearing the proper uniform, but each one grasped a pom-pom in each paw like their lives depended on it.

Chara looked over to her brother, raising an eyebrow in amusement at his outburst.

"Well, you were sick for two weeks, I'm honestly surprised you managed to catch up with your schoolwork as quick as you did."

"Hey, I can work hard if I need to!" Frisk defended. "Just 'cause I don't, doesn't mean I can't!"

"I'm aware," Chara replied, idly fiddling with her locket as she spoke. "It was kind of refreshing to see you put effort into something other than trying to find a new makeout partner."

"Yeah, yeah," Frisk grumbled, digging into a small bag of popcorn. He shoved a fistful into his face, making Chara shake her head in revulsion.

"Real classy there, bro."

"Speaking of makeout partners," Frisk said, finishing his mouthful and swallowing before he spoke, "Where's Kid? I haven't seen him here today, and I'm supposed to go hang out at his place after school lets out."

"He's on a field trip, I think with his science class or something. He's supposed to be back after school, but he said he might be a little late."

Frisk gave a thoughtful hum, grabbing another handful of his snack as he did so.

"Ah well, I can always go ahead and wait for him at his place. At least it's not that far out," He grinned suddenly at Chara. "Aren't you a little worried? Me and Kid alone together while you're not around… anything could happen!"

Chara rolled her eyes at Frisk's suggestive tone.

"Unlike you, Kid has standards. I don't think I have anything to worry about."

"I have standards!" Frisk protested.

"Well I thought you did, but between that incident a couple weeks ago, and the fact that you just suggested flirting with Kid, I'm starting to wonder if your "female only" standard doesn't even apply.

"Are you still going on about that?" Frisk groaned, causing Chara to grin triumphantly. It wasn't often she was able to repay her brother's teasing, but when she could… she was merciless.

"What am I supposed to think? You were staring at that guy's ass for five minutes!"

"He was wearing a ponytail! It was very misleading!"

"Whatever you say, bro."

The two fell silent, watching the Temmies below them, who had gathered into a messy line. Their pom-poms flailed about wildly and they began to chant in unison.

"Gimme a T!" they cried. "Gimme a E! Gimme a M! Gimme 'nother M! Gimme an I! Gimme a E! Gooo Temmie!"

The cheerleading coach sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose for a moment before slowly clapping.

"Well done." Despite the praise, her tone conveyed only exhaustion and a hint of sarcasm. "You have, finally, after four days of practice, managed to correctly spell your own names. However, that still isn't what you're supposed to be chanting!"

Before there could be any reply, the sound of the bell going off caught everyone's attention. Frisk stood, pulling out his phone and depositing what was left of his popcorn into one of the dimensional boxes, then slung his backpack over his shoulder.

"You know, if you freed up some space in your phone, you wouldn't need to carry the backpack," Chara informed him as they made their way down the bleachers. Frisk cast her a condescending glance in response.

"But then I would have less popcorn, sis," he explained patiently.

"Oh the horror. I dread to even think of it." Chara replied sarcastically.

Chara sat in the living room, idly flipping through channels on TV. She wasn't really interested in what was playing, but she found it easier to think when mindless drivel was playing in front of her. She smirked to herself. Living with Frisk, that was almost a necessary skill.

Before she could settle down however, a familiar tune began playing from her chest. It was the sound of the music box she and Asriel had, back in the Underground. It was also the sound she had set up as her ringtone for when Kid called.

She casually turned off the television and closed her eyes, accessing the systems within her that allowed for cell phone capabilities.

"Hey, babe," she said aloud, a smile hovering around her lips as she used her pet name for the boy, knowing that he'd be blushing on the other side. "What's up?"

"Uhh… hey, Chara." The robotic girl's grin widened at Kid's voice, her boyfriend obviously trying to regain his composure. "Uh… yo, is Frisk not coming? I thought he was supposed to come over today…"

Chara's grin quickly turned into a frown.

"Yeah, he left right after school let out - he should've been there before you got back. Maybe he's trying to pull a trick on you?"

"I was wondering that too, but I can't find him anywhere. I even used that scan thingy on my visor, and he still didn't show up. Maybe he didn't come?"

"No, he was looking forward to visiting you," Chara assured him. "Did you try his cell?"

"I tried, but nothing happened. It didn't even ring, I called him like, three times just to make sure."

Chara stood up, her feet sinking slightly into the carpeted floor.

"Hold on a minute, I'm gonna see if Dad knows what's going on."

"Alright…"

Chara muted her internal speakers so that her conversation with her father wouldn't be transmitted to the boy. If she knew Asgore, he would be in the garden out behind the house. She narrowed her eyes. Whatever Frisk was playing at, he'd be in for a world of hurt if he made Kid feel bad.

Before she could get very far however, there was a knock on the front door. Chara hesitated for a moment, before letting out an irritated huff and changing direction towards the entryway, instead of the side door leading out back. Of course she would be the only one in the house when someone came by while she was trying to figure something out.

"Hang on a minute, Kid." She said, unmuting herself for a moment. "Someone's at the door, I might be a little while. Let me know if Frisk shows up in the meantime, and give him a smack for me if he does, okay?"

"I don't think I can manage it like you can, but I'll try, haha." Kid replied teasingly.

"Well, breathe fire at him or something then. He can handle it."

She re-muted her internal speakers to the sound of Kid's laughter, grinning for a brief moment, before her amusement was replaced with irritation as there was another knock on the door, more insistent this time.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." She muttered, reaching the door and beginning to turn the handle. "This had better be important."

She opened the door, and took a step back, her eyes widening in shock at the figure standing before her. Whoever it was, he was tall, not quite as tall as Asgore, but close. She couldn't make out any of the person's features, since they were completely covered in jet black, full plate armour, there was a small slit on the helmet for the eyes, but nothing could be seen through it, save for a red glow, reminiscent in colour to her own magic. There was a long tail stretching out behind him, coiled neatly on the pavement below him. It was a light grey, and looked to be heavily plated, though it seemed more of a natural armour than what they wore over the rest of their body, reminding her of an armadillo's plates.

"Is this the Dreemurr household?"

The figure's voice was deep and masculine, leading Chara to believe that whoever was under all that armor was male. The robotic girl narrowed her eyes at him, her guard raised slightly. Despite his humanoid appearance, from what she could tell without being able to see underneath his armor anyways, the tail meant he was a Monster, not Human, which kept her more relaxed than she would otherwise be, but it wasn't often that a heavily armored visitor came to their house, and never one that she didn't recognise.

"It is…" She replied warily, prepared to summon her magic at the first sign of danger. "Who are you?"

The man inclined his head slightly to her.

"My name is Vigil. You are… Chara, yes?"

"I am. Do we know you?"

"I am afraid not. However, I do have some important news for your parents. If they are here, could you bring them to me, princess?"

"Princess?" Chara growled, the red lights in her eyes shining brighter. "Are you mocking me?"

The man started, seemingly caught off guard by her reaction.

"What? No, of course not!"

"Why did you call me princess then?" The robotic girl demanded.

"You are the daughter of the king and queen, even if not by blood. That makes you the princess. But I mean no offence, I will not use that title if you don't like it."

Chara blinked in surprise.

"I… never thought about it like that," she admitted. "Uh, you wanted to talk to Mom and Dad right? Dad's in the back I think, I'm not sure where Mom is right now." She hoped she'd been quick enough to distract him from the whole 'princess' thing, she was going to need more time to process that particular reality.

"Could you get them for me?" Vigil asked. "My message is urgent, and it involves all of you."

"Alright," Chara hesitated for a moment, before opening the door wider. "Come in, I'll see if they're around."

Vigil stepped inside, his metal boots clanking against the floor of the entryway. He made no move to remove any of his armour. She was still wary of the man, inviting him in had been more so she could keep an eye on him than anything else.

Once again, Chara only made it a few steps before she heard a door opening. She heard both her parents talking, they must both have been in the garden. Good, that made it easier on her. Maybe they would have some idea what was going on. If not…

"Mom? Dad?" she called. "Someone's here to see you, he says it's important."

"We'll be there in a moment, dear!" Toriel called, her voice echoing from just beyond the kitchen. Chara looked to Vigil, who was staring through the doorway, his hands at his sides.

After just a brief moment, both Chara's parents appeared in the kitchen, both wearing dirty pants and t-shirts. Obviously, the two had been in the garden together, there was even a small tuft of grass stuck in Asgore's beard.

Upon seeing them, Vigil immediately fell to one knee, bowing his head so it nearly touched his extended limb, his thick tail curling about his ankles.

"Deregar aradreth dayo," He said, his voice taking on a reverent tone as he spoke. Both Toriel and Asgore stiffened at his words, staring in wide-eyed surprise at their guest.

"Your majesties," The armored man continued, his head still lowered. "It is my greatest honour to finally meet you, though I wish it were under better circumstances."

"It has been a long time since I heard that language," Toriel said softly, her gaze trained on Vigil. "Who… who are you?"

The man raised his head, looking up at the two Boss Monsters, though he remained kneeling.

"My name is Vigil. And I believe you already know what I am."

"Well, I don't," Chara spoke up, folding her arms in front of her chest. "Can someone explain what's going on here?"

"Perhaps, this conversation would be better held in the living room?" Asgore said, his voice slightly strained. "I could make some tea…"

"That might be a good idea, Gorey." Toriel reached out and plucked the tuft of grass from his beard. "But don't take too long, alright?" Chara's mother looked back to Vigil. "Please, come with me. And there is no need to kneel, we are not royalty any longer."

"Perhaps not," Vigil responded, rising almost reluctantly. "But you led Monsters through the most difficult time in our history. My respect is the very least I can give you."

Chara followed the two through the kitchen and past Asgore, who was already heating up the tea kettle with his magic, and was pulling cups out of the cupboards. They entered the living room, Toriel seating herself in one of the reading chairs.

"Please, have a seat," she said, gesturing to the couch. Vigil nodded politely, and strode over, settling himself down. Meanwhile, Chara leaned up against a wall, her gaze going between Vigil and her mother, waiting for someone to explain what was going on.

"I didn't think any of you survived the war," Toriel spoke, looking to Vigil. "I thought the Humans wiped you all out at the very beginning."

"They certainly tried," Vigil acknowledged, a hint of pride in his voice. "But some of us managed to escape. And with our powers, it wasn't too difficult to hide in plain sight, as it were." The man shrugged. "At least, I would assume so. The survivors didn't really have much interest in writing down their history, more's the pity."

"Hang on," Chara spoke up, her brows furrowing in concentration. "Are you… are you saying that you're descended from Monsters who weren't sealed Underground?"

Vigil inclined his head in affirmation. Chara just stared at him, wide-eyed.

"What… how is that even possible?"

"Before the war, there were many more distinct species of Monster," Toriel explained. "Most of them were completely annihilated during the war, though some of their traits live on in hybrid Monsters."

"My people were targeted before the war even began," Vigil continued. "Humans feared our power, and tried to destroy us before we had the chance to fight against them. I am a Shifter. My kind have the ability change our form to suit our needs."

Chara blinked, processing the information.

"Can you become… anything?" She asked.

"Not quite. But we do have one power that was very useful in keeping us hidden. You know that Monsters are made mostly of magic, with a limited physical form, yes?"

Chara nodded.

"Well, I, and my people, have the ability to change how much physical matter and magical matter we have in our bodies. I can become a being of pure magic like a ghost Monster, or fully physical like the Humans are, and everything inbetween. That is the power the Humans feared."

The robotic girl looked over to her mother for conformation, and Toriel nodded. Chara wasn't sure what to say, but she was saved from trying to figure it out by Asgore entering with a tray with several cups and the teapot balanced on it.

"That was quick," Toriel noted, her voice taking on an amused tone.

"Well, I have been making tea for centuries." Asgore grinned, balancing the tray with one hand and pouring the hot liquid into each cup with the other. "You pick up a few tricks along the way."

He passed a cup to everyone in the room, then settled down with his own in the other armchair, looking over to Vigil.

"It is good to see that your people survived the war. I am curious though. If you've been here on the surface, why haven't you contacted us before now? It has been over three years since the barrier was broken."

"We're used to being in the background," Vigil explained, holding his cup though he made no move to remove his helmet. "We've been hiding our presence from the Humans for centuries. Not to mention, there aren't very many of us, and those few are spread out across the world. We work best in the shadows. Until now it was best that you not know about us."

"Why is that?" Toriel questioned, sipping at her tea. Chara recognised her tone, it was the same one she used at the Human-Monster relations meetings, and she had begun mentally referring to it as her "queen voice".

"When you came to the surface, you quickly made it clear that you wished to integrate peacefully into Human society, rather than begin another war. So we decided to help. While you fought battles with wit and diplomacy to secure peace, we fought against the Humans who were uninterested in diplomacy."

"Were?" Toriel questioned.

"Are," Vigil corrected himself. "We have been mostly successful at keeping the worst of the Humans away from you. Unfortunately, in the past year there has been an increase in anti-Monster sentiment."

"Really?" Asgore's voice was surprised. "I thought we've been doing rather well, especially with Chara's help." He cast a proud glance over at his daughter, who tried in vain to keep her cheeks from coloring.

"Unfortunately, that is also the problem. When Chara first made herself known outside your son, there was an uproar amongst the Humans."

The Dreemurs nodded slowly, and Chara scowled.

"Yeah, they accused us of removing Frisk's magic and putting it in my body to keep Humans weak and unable to use magic. Idiots."

Vigil nodded, shifting his position slightly on the couch.

"There are still many who believe that, and they have been working to rally others to their cause. In particular, an organization known as Overwatch."

"Overwatch? I have not heard of them before."

"There are few who have," Vigil replied, turning to face the former queen. "They are a very very old group. They were formed just after Monsters were sealed underground. They were founded to find and wipe out the Shifters who still remained. Since the barrier broke however, they have found new purpose, and are dedicated to destroying Monsterkind completely."

Chara tightened her hands into fists.

"It's never enough for them, is it?" she muttered to herself.

"They are well-funded, and have powerful backers," Vigil continued. "And currently, they have more support than ever before. That's why…" He bowed his head. "Some of them managed to slip the net."

"What do you mean?" Toriel asked warily.

"Your son, Frisk," Vigil said reluctantly, and the other occupants of the room stiffened at his words. "They snatched him off the streets almost an hour ago, and I was unable to stop them."

"What!?"

Vigil winced slightly at the outburst.. Toriel was trembling in her chair, and Asgore quickly rose, going over to his wife and kneeling beside her while he watched Vigil.

"Why would they take him?" Chara demanded. "If they hate Monsters, why would they go after him first?"

"I don't know for certain." Vigil replied slowly. "But if I had to guess… they may still believe that Frisk once possessed magic, and are trying to learn how to reawaken it."

"How could this happen?" Toriel had buried her head in her hands and was noticeably shaking now. "You're… you're sure it was him?"

"I'm afraid so. I'm sorry, if I'd been a little faster I could have stopped this."

"We have to get him back," Chara declared, anger burning in her eyes. "We can't let them get away with this!"

"Agreed." Vigil stood, placing his teacup on the coffee table in front of him and rising. "I came to tell you what happened, and I have. I will devote everything I have to finding where he is, and when I do, you will be the first to know."

"We can help," Asgore spoke up, raising his head to look at the now-standing Shifter, a fire burning in his eyes. "Undyne is the chief of police, if we speak with her, she may have an idea of where we can look, and she won't rest until we find him."

Vigil hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"The more people we have searching, the better. Overwatch will likely be holding him somewhere in the city, or nearby. I will speak with my contacts, then meet you at the police station. Agreed?"

Asgore nodded.

"I will be there."

Vigil bowed before the room's occupants, before turning and swiftly striding out of the room. Asgore turned his attention to comforting Toriel, soothing her with soft words and holding her close as she began to cry quietly into him.

Chara unmuted her internal speakers and whispered quietly;

"Kid? You still there?"

"Yeah, still no sign of Frisk though," came the reply. "So, is he gonna show up or…?"

"I… think you should come out here," Chara replied. "Actually, scratch that. I'm gonna come and get you. It looks like there's been a change of plans, and I've got a lot I need to tell you."

Author's Note: I don't remember if I thought of the organization being called Overwatch before or after I heard about the game, but there's no intentional correlation here. I just thought the name fit.