Toby Fox owns Undertale and all associated characters.
Chara looked around the dining table at its other occupants. Her parents sat at each end, and both Undyne and Vigil were seated across from her. Kid looked over from his seat beside the robot, worry and sympathy both prominent in his gaze.
Not unexpectedly, Undyne was the first to break the silence, turning in her chair so she could stare at Vigil.
"Well? I thought you had something!"
Vigil nodded slowly in response, turning his head so his own gaze swept the table. He pulled a map of the city out from under the table, spreading across the table for all to see.
"According to the information I received, the Overwatch outpost is…" he reached out a armored finger and tapped at one section of the map near the northern edge of the city. "Here."
"I know that place," Chara muttered, knitting her brows together in concentration. "That's an abandoned warehouse, isn't it? The one with the old barbed wire fence?"
"There've been people petitioning to take that thing down and do something constructive with the space for years." Undyne narrowed her eye. "I always wondered why nobody actually ended up doing anything about it."
"If it really is an Overwatch outpost, then that would explain why. They have enough influence to pull something like this off."
"Well, then, what are we waiting for?" Chara demanded, rising. "We need to go there and-"
"Sit down, Chara," Toriel warned, and the girl hesitated for a moment before complying, though her eyes brightened in anger. "We know where the place is, but we need to know more. We cannot afford to go in blindly and risk returning empty-handed."
Vigil nodded slowly.
"The queen is correct. Our purpose here is to get information. If they realize they are being assaulted, we may be unable to get the data we need. They could send it away, or destroy it altogether. And even if we can interrogate them and get accurate information, which I doubt, it would take time that we may not have."
"Then, what must we do?" Asgore asked quietly. "You know more about this enemy than any of us."
"I'll tell you what we're gonna do!" Undyne interrupted before Vigil had a chance to speak. "I'm gonna bring the boys out there, surround the place, and drag each and every one of them out myself if I have to!"
Undyne, I appreciate your enthusiasm," Toriel replied, "But I do not think that is the best approach."
"Why not?" The fish-woman asked incredulously.
"I believe that this is beyond your jurisdiction as police captain," the Boss Monster stated quietly. "I have seen a few instances of this before, even if you captured them, they could easily be released by someone with higher authority. Besides, they would have gotten rid of the information we need long before you captured them."
"Give me five minutes in a room with one of them, and I'll know everything from his favourite color on upwards," Undyne promised, a gleam in her good eye.
"If we are not careful, this could easily be turned against us. As much as I hate to admit it, there are political implications here. If a Monster-run police force attacks a Human organization, there will be those who call for recompense… or war."
"To hell with that!" Undyne roared, smashing her fist against the table. "They started this! I'm not just gonna sit back and do nothing while the kid who single-handedly freed the entire Underground is in danger! Frisk risked his life for all of us, and I'd do the same for him in a heartbeat!"
"Undyne's right," Chara declared. "We can deal with the consequences later. Why should we pull any punches on these guys, when they're clearly not gonna do the same for us?"
"If I may?" Vigil spoke up, turning his head to look at the various occupants of the table. Toriel inclined her head and he continued.
"I do not trouble myself with political consequences, as that is not my duty. But I believe that it would be best to handle this situation with care. Above all else, returning Frisk is the priority, yes?" at the confirming nods of the others, he went on.
"Overwatch is a merciless organization. They will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. They could deliberately be trying to start another war. Even if that is not their primary goal, I believe they would settle for this." He was quiet for a moment, before saying softly;
"What if they are willing to move Frisk farther away, making it more difficult to find him? Or worse, kill him to elicit their desired reaction from you?"
"They wouldn't dare," Chara whispered, though dread coiled in her gut.
"You do not know them as I do," Vigil replied grimly. "They would. If we show up on their doorstep with an army, we could be condemning him to death."
Both Toriel and Asgore were visibly trembling now, their heads lowered, and even Undyne looked subdued.
"Then we approach with stealth," Toriel murmured, her voice surprisingly even.
Vigil inclined his head in agreement.
"It would be best with a small group, no more than five of us. And we will have to be very careful. We must not only find out where they are keeping Frisk, but keep the occupants from reporting to their superiors. If they realize what's going on, then it may already be too late."
"What if they don't have anything on where Frisk is?" Chara asked, voicing the worry that had been sitting at the back of her mind for some time now.
"Overwatch generally uses small outposts like these ones for communications, and sometimes for keeping records. I'm hoping that will include transmissions that relate to your brother." He sighed. "But there is no guarantee there will be anything. If we find nothing useful, we will be forced to search for him blindly."
"Then we must find what we need," Toriel said simply. She cast about the room for a moment. "Vigil, I will come with you to take this outpost. As will Chara and Asgore."
"Yo, what about me?" Kid blurted.
"Don't you dare try and make me sit this one out!" Undyne added, almost viciously.
"Undyne, I have no intentions of having you be uninvolved in this." Toriel held the fish-warrior's gaze in her own for a moment before continuing. "Once we have what we need, we will send you a signal, and you will come in with your people. I do not think you can hold them permanently, especially under the circumstances. But you may be able to stall them long enough that we can find Frisk and bring him home before Overwatch knows we are on their trail."
"Hah! That's more like it!" Undyne leaned back in her chair, seemingly satiated.
Kid, however, was far less pleased at the lack of response to his own exclamation.
"Yo, Frisk's my friend, too!" he pleaded. "C'mon, you guys gotta let me help!"
Chara placed a hand on his shoulder and shook her head, much to the reptile's dismay. It was Vigil who spoke first though.
"Overwatch is not afraid to get dust on their hands. If you were to come with us, you would be in grave danger."
"Frisk saved my life!" Kid argued stubbornly. "And I've been training with Chara! I've got magic, I can fight if I have to!"
"Kid, we've already got enough fighters," Chara soothed. "I don't want to risk you getting hurt too."
"Well, I can do something else to help!" Kid's eyes flicked about the room desperately as he thought. "I can… I can…" He sat up straight as realization dawned. "Yo! My visor!"
"What about it?"
"It's got a couple scanner thingys right? I can track people, and see computery stuff! You guys can't do that, and that's be really helpful if we're trying to be sneaky, right?"
"That would come in useful." Vigil admitted. "Though it might serve better if one of us wore it…"
"Yo, you can't just take my idea and leave me out of it!" Kid protested. "That's not fair!"
"We couldn't even if we wanted to." Chara sighed. "Alphys set it up so it only responds to his magic signature, nobody else can use it."
"I do not like the idea of putting you in danger," Toriel murmured, looking softly at the boy. "It might still be best for you to stay behind."
"We need to do everything we can to get Frisk back, right?" Kid countered.
"He's got a point." Chara admitted, albeit reluctantly. "Anyways, if he sticks with me, I can make sure he stays safe." Chara looked to her parents meeting their gazes and an unspoken message passed between them. Both Asgore and Toriel inclined their heads in silent agreement. None them wanted to see Kid alone in his house at a time like this.
"Alright then, you can come along." Kid leapt off his chair and danced around at Toriel's words, though he quickly regained his composure when he realized the others were looking at him. He gave a sheepish grin.
"Uh, yo, don't worry, I won't let you down!"
"If that is settled," Vigil began, drawing their attention back to him. "I believe I know how we can best accomplish our goal."
"We are listening." Asgore said quietly, while Kid sat back down in his chair, still grinning.
"According to my source, there is a hidden entrance to the warehouse not far from it. Chara and Kid are the smallest of us, and between his visor and her form, they may be best suited to perform the first strike. Your task will be to go in and disable their security as best you can, and see if you can locate their data storage."
"What would that look like?" Chara asked, focusing on the map before her.
"There should be one room filled with mostly computers and communications devices. It will not be unattended, but once you know where it is, it should be simple enough to secure it.
"Once you have done that, you will signal us. Asgore and Toriel can come in from the front, and hopefully take them by surprise. Incapacitate as many of them as you can, before they have a chance to alert the others. I will come in from above and secure the rest of the area. Between all of us, we should be able to make sure most of them are unable to escape, at least not before we signal Undyne. Does that work for you?"
The others slowly nodded.
"Good. Then two more things. First," He passed a flash drive to Chara. "If you get a chance, see if you can download their information, even before the rest of us come in. The quicker we are, the less time they will have to keep us from accessing it."
Chara nodded and pocketed the small device.
"The second, is that there will be one officer there. He should have a circle with an X through it emblazoned on both shoulders. We must not allow him to escape. Not only can he warn Overwatch of our attack, but he will have extensive knowledge of their current plans."
"Understood," Asgore rumbled. "Then, is there anything else we should know?"
Vigil shook his head.
"I do not believe so."
"Very well." Toriel rose, the other occupants of the table following suit. "We all know what we are to do?"
At the chorus of affirmation, Toriel tightened her hands into fists.
"Then let us begin. I will not rest until I can hold my son in my arms again."