A/N Seems Fanfiction finally fixed their email notifications. So in case you missed it, The Last Hope has finished. And during the email blackout, I started posting this story. So, enjoy.

Frisk was at Alphys' lab, being examined by the lizard. Toriel was in the room outside, pacing anxiously. Frisk still felt weird being examined by the doctor. But now that Frisk knew they were human, Alphys wanted to be sure they were alright. In addition, she also said that she was closing in on a theory as to how Frisk was able to use magic. She just needed this final exam to hammer out the details.

"S-so, how are you d-doing?" Alphys asked.

"It's an adjustment, that's to be sure," Frisk admitted.

"Yeah. I c-can't even imagine w-what it's like for y-you," Alphys said. "Believing you're one t-thing your whole life, then f-finding out you're s-something else. It must have been earth-shattering."

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around it," Frisk added.

"And your f-friends?" Alphys asked.

"Well, Papy didn't seem all that bothered, though he did admit it was a huge shock. MK was stunned and apologized for all the bad things he said about humans while I was in earshot. Susie and Berdly… they didn't like it, but they didn't hate it either. And Noelle, she laughed and said that it explained all the things her dad said about me."

"Did he know?"

Frisk shrugged. "Maybe. He never said anything. Um, did you know?"

"Yeah. Pretty much right away," Alphys admitted. "Part of my work involves researching humans so I know what they look like."

"And you never said anything?"

"Well, your mom and Sans didn't want me to. I g-guess they were just trying to p-protect you."

Frisk sighed. "That's almost touching."

Alphys finished her examination. "Okay. With this, I should get my answers."

She led Frisk out to return them to their mom. Toriel hugged them as Alphys went to her computer to look over the results.

"So, how long will this take?" Toriel asked.

"Not long. T-there is one thing I need to check," Alphys answered. "I'll be r-right back." She went to the elevator that led to the basement and left the two of them alone.

"So, did she treat you well?" Toriel asked.

"Yeah, she always does," Frisk assured.

"That is good to know," Toriel said. "I just want to be sure that she is treating you fine."

"She's a doctor. Isn't that her job?" they sarcastically replied.

Toriel was about to retort when the entrance to the lab opened. They both turned to see Asgore walking in. Toriel pushed Frisk behind her as she stood up.

The king looked up in surprise when he saw her. "Oh, Tori. I did not know you were here."

"Do not 'Tori' me, Dreemurr," she retorted. "Why are you here?"

"I came to see my scientist. I have a project for her."

"What is it?" Frisk asked, poking their head from out behind Toriel. She tried to push them back, but they resisted.

"It has to do with the Barrier," Asgore said.

"What about it?" Toriel demanded.

"I am still looking for a way to break it," Asgore explained. "I was hope she might have an alternative solution."

"Oh, is your current plan not good enough anymore?"

Asgore looked down in shame when she said that.

"Okay! I think I got – " Alphys cut herself off when she exited the elevator and saw the scene in front of her. "Um, d-did I interrupt something?"

"Did you find out how I'm able to use magic?" Frisk asked. They didn't know what was going on with their mom and the king but they knew they had to change the topic.

"Oh, yeah, I did. And what I found changes everything we know about ourselves and humans," Alphys answered. "Okay, so as we know, humans usually can't use magic without extensive training because their bodies are mostly physical matter, while we Monsters can use it with ease because we are mostly magic."

"So why is Frisk able to use it?" Toriel asked.

"Well, I went through all sorts of theories as to why and spent years analyzing them to figure out why they were able to use magic," Alphys explained. "But it wasn't until a couple days ago that I found what I believe is the explanation: Frisk is mostly magic."

"I am?" Frisk asked.

"Yes. I did an analysis and you're only about ten percent physical matter. The rest is magic. Which is why you can use magic so well. You're as magical as we are."

"But Frisk is human," Toriel said. "How can they be mostly magic?"

"I asked myself the same thing and I have a theory," Alphys said giddily. "You see, Frisk has been living Underground their whole life. They've lived like us for eight years. And that means they've been eating the same stuff we do. Our food is mostly magic. That's why Frisk is magical. You see, humans need nutrients in order to grow. Most of it comes from the food they eat. Frisk's only source of nutrients has been our magical food so their body metabolized the stuff as needed. It's also why a small portion of Frisk is physical. That would be the matter from before they ate Monster food."

"So, since I've been eating magic food my whole life, I've become partially like a Monster?" Frisk asked.

"Physiologically, yes," Alphys confirmed. "You share many traits that a Monster would possess on a biological level."

"Alphys, would this also work the other way?" Asgore asked. "If a Monster ate human food would they gain a physical form?"

"I believe so, but it would take a while before there'd be any actual changes," Alphys explained.

"So, I'm basically a Monster?" Frisk asked.

"Well, technically you're human, but you do have many traits that a Monster would possess," Alphys clarified.

"That makes me sound like I'm a Monster," Frisk said. "I'm basically a Monster in every way that matters."

"Except your Soul, which is still human," Alphys pointed out.

"On the topic of that, I have a new project for you, doctor," Asgore said.

"Oh. W-what is it?" she asked.

Toriel glared at the man as he spoke.

"I need you to find an alternative way to break the Barrier," Asgore said to Alphys.

"An alternative?"

"Yes. We only need one more human Soul to break the barrier, but I'd rather not wait for another to show up," he admitted. "So, I need you to find a way to make up for the remaining Soul with what we have."

"W-well, I guess I can try," Alphys agreed. "Though, I-I don't think I'd be able to make much progress without a living subject."

"Can I help?" Frisk offered.

"Frisk!" Toriel shouted.

"I want to help, mom," they insisted. "If there's anything I can do to get us out of here, I'll do it."

"W-well, I might be able to learn something," she agreed.

"I am not comfortable with that," Toriel informed.

"I-I won't do anything harmful," Alphys assured. "J-just some scans and the l-like. I-I promise I won't h-hurt them."

Toriel sighed. "As long as you do nothing harmful," she stated. "And I expect you to respect their limits."

Alphys gulped. "I-I'll do w-what I c-can."

"So, is there anything we need to do right now?" Frisk asked.

"Well, there might be s-something," Alphys stuttered. "I-if you could come with me to my lab."

Alphys started walking to the elevator, Frisk followed after getting their mom's approval. The elevator took them down to Alphys' lab. Frisk had only ever caught glimpses of it before. The halls were very extensive and polished, just like on the upper level.

Eventually, Alphys brought them to a room with examination tables. "Okay, just sit on one of those and I'll get a scanner."

Frisk did as requested and perched on the table. They waited for Alphys to find the machine she was looking for. She held it over them, running an analysis.

"Okay, this should give me a reading on your Soul," Alphys said. A few moments later, the machine beeped. "Well, it's definitely human," she said. "And it's… red. Huh."

"What?"

"Well, that color is rare, to the point where we don't know what it's trait is," Alphys explained. "To be honest, I thought it would be green, for Kindness."

"My Soul is rare? Cool!"

Alphys giggled at their reaction. "Okay. Let's see what else… whoa!"

"What is it?" Frisk asked.

"Something in your Soul is spiking hard," she explained. "I'm not sure what this is but the other human Souls have something similar, but weaker."

"What does that mean?"

"…I don't know," she admitted. "I don't know what this reading means."

"How come?"

"Well, my predecessor worked with the Souls for a while and left these notes on them," she explained. "He had some ideas, but nothing ever came of them."

"Well, do you think you might know what it is?" Frisk asked.

"Maybe," she admitted. "I know Monsters don't have any of it, so it's the thing that allows human Souls to persist after death. Though, I wonder why yours is so much stronger?"

"Maybe because I'm still alive?" Frisk joked.

"I don't know. I'll look into it to see what it is," Alphys said. "Well, thanks for doing this. I should probably get you back to your mom before she suspects something."

"Good idea," Frisk agreed.

Alphys copied the readings she got from Frisk's Soul before escorting them back to the elevator. They ascended back to the ground floor. But when the door opened, they both caught the tail end of an argument between Toriel and Asgore that was cut off by their arrival.

"What's going on?" Frisk asked.

"Nothing," Toriel interjected before Asgore could speak. "Are you finished, doctor?"

"Oh, y-yes," Alphys said. "I w-would like them to come back at s-some point, though."

"See you later, Alphys," Frisk said as they left with their mom. After they left the lab Frisk asked their mom, "Is something wrong?"

"No. Why would you think that?"

"You were shouting at the king when I came up," Frisk observed.

"I was not shouting," she insisted. Frisk returned her glare. "Okay, I was shouting."

"Why?"

"It is nothing," she insisted. "Do not worry yourself, my child."

Frisk didn't fully believe her, but they didn't push.

A couple days later, Toriel brought Frisk to Alphys for a follow-up.

"Hi, Alphys," Frisk greeted.

"Hi, Frisk," the lizard returned.

"So, why did you call us here?" Toriel asked.

"It's about Frisk," Alphys answered. "It's nothing bad, but I do have a few questions."

"I can answer them," Toriel said. "Frisk, if you could wait outside."

"Sure!" Frisk ran out, leaving the two women to themselves.

"So, what is it?" Toriel asked.

"It's about their eyes," Alphys revealed. "I was doing a few tests and I noticed they were having trouble reading things at a distance."

"Yes, they have always had difficulty," Toriel said. "Actually, their sight in general at distances is rather poor."

"Right, well, that is a condition, that… um… basically, it means there's a deformity in their eyes that causes things to be blurry at a distance," Alphys explained.

"Can it cause long-term problems?" Toriel asked.

"Other than having difficulty reading things far away, not really," Alphys said. "Though I have noticed that despite that problem, they don't ever squint."

"I have trained that out of them," Toriel revealed. "It is rather rude for them to squint, after all."

"Well, if it's okay, I can look into options for them to help with their near-sightedness," Alphys said.

"Like what?" Toriel asked.

"Well, the common way is glasses, like mine," Alphys explained, adjusting her spectacles. "I might be able to make a pair specifically for them."

"Are there other options?" Toriel asked.

"Well, there are corrective surgeries I could do to fix it," Alphys said. "They're safe, so Frisk won't be in any danger."

"Surgeries? Will that not involve cutting their eye open?" Toriel asked.

"Not optical ones," Alphys assured. "There are a few, but the ones I had in mind wouldn't do that."

"I will need time to think about that," Toriel said.

"No problem."

Frisk was wandering in the cavern outside the lab. They carried their coat over their shoulder, but kept their scarf on. They occasionally glanced down at the pools of magma below. They were tempted to touch the stuff, but Toriel warned that just getting too close would burn them.

They wondered what their mom and Alphys were talking about. They hoped nothing bad. Their mind kept wandering back to the other day, when they caught their mom shouting at the king. They couldn't help but wonder why. What did she have to be so mad about with him?

"Hey, what are you doing here?" a familiar voice asked sharply.

Frisk turned to see Undyne there. They could see a sheen of sweat on her scales and she wasn't wearing her armor.

"Just waiting on my mom," Frisk said. "She's talking to Alphys."

"Why?" Undyne demanded.

"I don't know," Frisk admitted. "I think it has to do with my checkup, though."

"Really? That's it?" Undyne asked.

"Yeah. Why else?"

Undyne growled, not answering.

"Now I get to ask a question. What are you doing here?" Frisk asked.

"None of your business, punk," Undyne answered.

"That's not fair," Frisk said. "I answered your question. You should answer mine."

"I don't care."

"That's mean."

Undyne chuckled, but not in humor. "That's rich, coming from a human."

"What do you mean?" Frisk asked.

"Your whole species is a bunch of shitheads," Undyne answered.

"What?"

"They are cruel," Undyne simplified.

"How?"

"What do you care?" Undyne retorted.

"Well, I've never known any humans," Frisk admitted. "And from what I've seen, our records on them seem to be… uh… bad."

"Really?" Undyne snipped. "You don't know anything about your own kind?"

"I just said I've never seen any others," Frisk repeated. "Heck, I didn't even realize I was human."

"Wow. So you're stupid, too."

"Rude," Frisk retorted.

"I don't care."

"What's your problem?" Frisk asked. "I'm just trying to have a pleasant conversation to pass the time. But you can't go two sentences without insulting me."

"You really don't know?" Undyne asked. "Fine. Let me spell it out for you: you're our enemy. You are all that stands between us and freedom and you have the audacity to believe you're one of us. You're not."

"I know I'm not actually a Monster but I'm one of you in every other way," Frisk responded.

"No, you're not," Undyne insisted. "You're not a Monster in any way."

"Yes, I am," Frisk insisted. "I'm mostly magic, same as you. I can use it on command, like you."

"But you're not one of us," Undyne insisted. "You don't have exposed bones, scales, fur, or anything else that makes you like us. Your Soul is the wrong shape and I'll bet it's not white. You're not like us, so stop pretending that you are."

"But I am," Frisk insisted, Undyne's words stinging. "I was born down here like all of you. The Underground is my home, too."

"This isn't a home. It's a prison," Undyne corrected. "A prison your kind created for us. Whole generations have been born, lived, and died down here, because of your kind." She leaned down so she could look them in their face. "You are just as responsible for our predicament as any other human, because that's what you are. You're not a Monster, never will be. Get that through your head."

Frisk stepped back, tears threatening to spill. "Why are you being so mean? What did I do to you?"

"Can't you figure it out?!" Undyne snapped. "We only need one more human Soul to get out of here; yours. By all rights, I should impale you and take your Soul to our king. But he ordered me to not kill you unless you proved yourself a threat. So just remember that. If you ever act out, if you hurt any Monster at all, I'll kill you, take your Soul to the king, and use it to smash the barrier myself!"

Frisk started walking away, tears flowing. They ran back to the lab, leaving their coat behind.

Undyne stood up, watching Frisk run. A small part of her lashed out at how cruel she was, but she tried to silence that. Frisk was the enemy, plain and simple. She couldn't afford to be attached to them. She walked away, fuming that Frisk had dared to compare themself to her people. They were nothing like a Monster.

So consumed in her own anger, she didn't pay close enough attention to the uneven floor. She tripped on a rock, falling forward. She didn't react fast enough to catch herself before her fall, the stalagmite covered floor rushing up to meet her, one heading right for her left eye.

End of Chapter 11