*leans down extremely close to their face and over-enunciates* Are you okay? Do you need medical assistance???

Hello! Are you okay? Do you need assistance?? I can help! *proceeds to x-ray them*

????? 10: (softspoken, but seems to be safe) Uh, yeah, a bit of help would be nice... (clutching a stuffed orange-and-white cat with creepy black button eyes) (whispers) Don't worry, Pumpkin, we're not falling anymore. We're underground.

KITTY I SWEAR IF THIS IS A HUMAN!

????? 10: Uh... I don't know who "Kitty" is, but I am a human... nice to meetcha? (chuckles despite her pain)

HELLO MYSTERIOUS NUMBER 10
I'M ASSUMING YOU FELL DOWN A GIANT HOLE
DON'T BE SCARED. SOMEONE WILL FIND YOU SOON ENOUGH.
DO NOT MIND MY CONSTANT YELLING, I DO THIS ALL THE TIME.
WHILE WAITING I WILL ASK YOU QUESTIONS, BUT BEFORE THAT, *tends to the wounds as best as they can*

????? 10: Heh, thanks... (sits up slowly) Ow... think I broke my ankle...

•Do you remember anything?

What's the last thing you remember?

????? 10: I remember... my friends... we lost a bet to a classmate, and we had to climb the mountain... there was me, and three other girls... I tried to look down the hole, but the ground crumbled and I fell... my friends and I were all screaming and crying, then I passed out when I hit the ground... (starts to sniffle a bit, already missing her friends, hugs Pumpkin)

Hey buddy welcome to hell, here are your complementary cookies and shipping photos.

????? 10: (giggles a bit) Thanks... and, uh, don't worry, hell is normal for me. (eats a cookie while looking over shipping photos)

•On a scale of 1 to 10 (hehehehehehe) how much of a shipper are you?

????? 10: Well, it depends on the ship... (sees a Sansby picture and picks it up)

????? 10: (eyes light up) Aww, that's so adorable!!

•this isn't really a question, but if you happen to see a human, a robot, a goat, a skeleton, a walking candle, a sadistic flower, or a monster kid, it means that you'll be saved

????? 10: A... walking... candle...? What, like Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast, or, like a fire... uh, monster? (forgot the word for "elemental")

you okay??
uh what's your name?
do you know anyone here???

????? 10: I think I'm okay... and my name is Caitlyn, but people just call me Claire or Clarity... I don't really know anyone... sorry...

* A few sets of footsteps ahead. Claire gasps, startled.

Claire: Monsters. (looks at her plush) Pumpkin, what do I do??? They might want my SOUL!!

* The plushie seems to move a bit... maybe it was your imagination?

Claire: Okay...

* Claire lies on her side, closes her eyes, and relaxes her body, playing dead. The plushie moves again. Either you're crazy, Claire is crazy, or that thing isn't just a normal plush.

* Asgore, Toriel, Alphys, and Gaster almost walk right past the room with the flower patch. Gaster notices Claire out of the corner of his eye, stops dead in his tracks, and tugs on Toriel's arm, not sure what to say.

Toriel: Hm? (turns to look at him) (they aren't in fron of the doorway anymore, so she doesn't see the child) Dr. Gaster? What is it?

Gaster: (frantic signalling towards the doorway, still lost for words)

Alphys: (peeks around the corner, screams)

Asgore: (startled) Dr. Alphys?!?!

Alphys: THERE'S A KID!!!

Toriel: (heart stops, looks at Gaster) Is that what you were trying to say??

Gaster: (nods quickly)

* He runs around the corner, dragging Toriel by the arm. They both kneel down to see if Claire is alive. She's apparently really skilled at pretending to be dead, and doesn't move a muscle.

Toriel: (eyes start to tear up, thinking the child is dead)

Gaster: Keep it together, Your Majesty. She isn't dead. Her SOUL hasn't exited her body.

Claire: *DANG IT!*

* Asgore and Alphys trot up behind them. Gaster turns Claire on her back and puts a hand on her chest. Her heartbeat is still there.

Gaster: She's alive. Probably either unconscious or playing dead. She might be scared of us.

Alphys: Th-That stuffed cat is m-making me u-uncomfortable...

Gaster: It's just a toy, Alphys, it's not going to hurt you.

Alphys: (takes a step back anyway)

Asgore: Dr. Gaster, how is she?

Gaster: Alive, Your Majesty, but not by much. 0.2/20 health. At least her injuries have been patched up for the most part — probably by the askers, considering they can literally go everywhere and usually know what's going on before we ever do.

* Claire is so scared of them, she actually passes out while playing dead — none of them can tell the difference. Gaster picks her up and hands her to Toriel, placing the stuffed cat gently in the child's hands. He seems to already have fatherly instincts towards the child, even though they're a human.

Gaster: Queen Toriel, you keep watch over her. You're good with children.

Alphys: M-Maybe you should bring her home...

Toriel: She could use a bit of rest. I will return home and stay with her until she wakes up.

* Toriel leaves, holding Claire gently but firmly and leaving Asgore, Alphys and Gaster alone.

* Meanwhile, Undyne is stomping through the snow, fully intent on confronting Papyus about the stolen SOUL and all his experiments.

He ain't sellin it.

BUY IT NOW BEFORE IT RUNS OUT

He isn't selling anything.

And he's not selling it
*gets slapped*

Me: Ay, four in a row! Yahtzee!

I wouldn't either if I hadn't seen it happen.

Undyne: You saw that shit?? Why didn't you tell me, Turtle?? (not mad at them, just concerned)

TRUCKING HECK UNDYNE HE'S YOUR FRIEND!

Undyne: My friend, my trainee, and a traitor to all of monsterkind. That SOUL is one-seventh of the power we need to break the barrier, and he just took off with the thing! Who DOES that?!?!

*bolts to Undyne* *stands in front of her and doesn't let her get past* Undyne, if you confront him, he will know that Sans told the group, and will make him more stressed. And it might ruin the relationship him and Sans have, and listen. We askers have already tried to reason with him physically and emotionally. *spreads wings a bit* We're pretty persistent. We will find a way. But confronting Papyrus will just lead to MORE chaos. So please, hold on and let's see if me and da asker gang can do anything. *begging dragon eyes that nobody can resist*

Undyne: ...

* She stops and thinks to herself for about thirty seconds, before looking back up. She gently pushes the dragon out of the way.

Undyne: He's paying for this. Now.

* She stomps off, and keeps walking until she sees Papyrus' silhouette in the distance.

Undyne: PAPYRUS!! WE NEED TO TALK!!

Papyrus: (genuinely in a good mood, turns to see her) Oh, Undyne! Hi!

* Even with his intelligence, he's still his overly-innocent self, and doesn't realize how angry she is with him.

* His cheer stings her, but she ignores it. She tugs him forward by the scarf, startling him badly. His heart— er, SOUL— starts thumping loudly.

Undyne: WHERE is the green SOUL?!?!

Papyrus: (shocked) Huh?!

Undyne: Don't you fucking "huh" me!! Sans told us all about it. How you hurt the kids, how you stole the SOUL, how you planned to work around me to get into the Guard. Now show me where that soul is — NOW.

Papyrus: *Sans... you promised me you wouldn't say anything... why would you lie to me...?* (looks down, tearing up) ...

* Undyne yells at him for almost a solid two minutes before he looks up, the feeling of betrayal being replaced by heated anger.

Undyne: (too angry for her own good) DON'T YOU GIVE ME THAT FUCKING LOOK!!

* She tries to apprehend him like a police officer. Acting fast, he turns her around, twists her arms behind her back, and roughly throws her to the ground, knocking her spear away into the snow.

Undyne: Ghk... (looks up, still mad)

* He's standing over her, eyes flaring brightly, confidence and fighting zeal practically radiating from him.

* She gets up and tries again to apprehend him. He quickly sidesteps to the right, letting her fall on her face. This continues about two more times before he gets tired of it and just picks her up with blue magic. She's still fuming.

Undyne: PUT ME DOWN!!!!!

* Sick of her shit at this point, Papyrus decides to mess with her, unaware that Toriel has stopped dead in the entrance t the clearing and is watching the whole show, still holding Claire.

Papyrus: (sings) Oh I could throw you in the lake or feed you poison birthday cake, I won't deny I'm gonna miss you when you're gone~

Undyne: (thinks he's going to kill her, anger turns to shock) ?!?!?!?!?!

Papyrus: Oh I could bury you alive, but you might crawl out with a knife, and kill me when I'm sleeping, that's why!

* He summons spike-shaped bones under her.

Papyrus: I can't decide, whether you should live or die! Oh you'll probly' go to Heaven, please don't hang your head and cry, don't wonder why~ My heart feels dead inside, it's cold and hard and petrified!

* The spikes raise, they're now just under her feet. Fear sparkles in her eyes.

Papyrus: Lock the doors and close the blinds, we're goin' for a ride~

* He tosses her to the side and makes the spikes go away, turning to look at her.

Papyrus: Undyne, I still love and respect you. But stay, out of this. I will talk to Sans myself.

Undyne: (dizzy as hell, passes out in the snow)

* He walks towards the lab, only to bump into an invisible wall facefirst.

Papyrus: What the?!

* A sticky note is stuck to thin air. With a confused expression, Papyrus takes it off and reads it.

*puts a barrier around the lab that cannot be broken by anything for the next 2 chapters*
NU! YOU REST •^•

Papyrus: (sighs) Goddammit. Foiled by the same cursed magic that I'm trying to defeat. (gives a sideways glance to the Asker) Fine. I'll take a break for now. (walksover to Undyne and picks her up) Let's get you inside before you turn into a frozen fish stick.

* Papyrus goes inside, puts Undyne to bed, and then goes up to his room to make an entry on his laptop.

* Toriel watches him, then silently puts Claire inside, setting her to bed in the guest room.

Toriel: Get well soon, my child. (places her cat plushie delicately in her arms)

* Meanwhile, Sans, Grillby, Olivia and Fuku are getting stalked by Ginger, Winter, and Ambrosia.

Ambrosia: (unsheathes a knife) Hehehe. Nowhere to run now~

* Ginger and Winter sneak up on Olivia and Fuku when the adults' backs are turned. They tranquilize them and set them down around a corner.

* Winter claps a hand over Grillby's mouth and tranquilizes him as Ambrosia grabs Sans.

Sans: (scared out of his mind) W-what did you do to him?! Where are the girls?!

Ambrosia: (calmly holds a knife blade millimetres from Sans' neck) Calm down, buddy. We've just got a bit of... business to rake care of with that brother of yours.

Ginger: Now let's see if Boss actually holds up his end of the deal this time.

Winter: ...

* She's the only one who didn't want to do this.