Against All Odds

Part 1: Chapter 2

As Inga went back into the room to inform Chief Barkley and the others of the news, Undyne stood still, her eye still fixed on her phone. It was the last thing that Undyne would've expected that morning; Papyrus, the love of her life and best friend, being thrust into her world of murder and mayhem? And of all things, the case with presumably the one known as the Starlight Killer? The rug had been thoroughly and swiftly yanked out from beneath her feet.

She stared at her phone, the voices replaying over and over in her head. Papyrus had sounded so frightened, so panicked... There wasn't much in the world that could scare Undyne, but this? This topped that very small list with no trouble.

"Okay," she whispered. "Papyrus needs you. Pull it together." She took a deep breath and counted to three as anger flared within her. She let it course through her, taking over all her other emotions, allowing it to eclipse the panic she felt right to her core. "This SOB is going down."

Inga stepped out of the meeting room and stood next to Undyne, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry... I told them about what happened, and Chief Barkley's organizing a team to handle this case, but we still need to figure out the rest of the clue. You coming?"

"Let me at it." Undyne stomped into the room and peered at the poem again.

Mr. Coffee stood in the back making his usual direct observations. "It says something about a home; think that's important?"

"Maybe it's our home." Undyne bit her lip and read it over for a third time. "Damn it, I'm terrible at this. Alphys was always... oh. Wait a minute. The thing about getting everyone together or... pieces being tailored... screw it, I'm calling Alphys."

Xxx

"Arrgh! But that's got to conflict with dating etiquette somewhere!" The aforementioned Alphys was, at that very moment, arguing with an anonymous entity online about the severe lack of ethics displayed in Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2 when her phone rang. She jumped a little before realizing that the ringtone was the one she'd assigned to Undyne's number. A pang of nervousness jolted through her as she answered it. "H-Hello?"

"Alphys, I need you. Now." Undyne's voice came in loud and clear. "You always solved all those cryptic clues when we played those puzzle games together; I need one now."

The dino-like monster quickly glanced at her clock. "Umm... aren't you at work?"

"Yeah, and it's a literal matter of life and death."

The color flushed from her face as soon as those words were spoken. Life and death? What a way to start a Monday morning. "U-Uh, I-I'll be there as soon as I can."

"No time. I'm sending you the picture now. Figure it out."

"U-Uh, even better?" She watched as the new email notification danced onto her screen, with a cheery 'meow' for its arrival. It was hardly a matching tone for the content inside. A few clicks later had her staring face to face with the letter's photograph.

"W-Well," she began. "I-It's mostly written in limericks... and, um..." her eyes widened. "Omigod, whose fiancé is... Undyne?"

"It's Papyrus." Undyne said, gritted teeth audible even from the receiver. "So I need this information now."

"Is he okay? Is he-"

"No, he's not okay; focus, Alphys!"

She jumped once more, this time at the sudden increase in Undyne's volume. "R-Right, sorry!" Her eyes quickly flew over the poem as she desperately tried to make sense of it. "It's the house. The next clue is at your house and he wants all of us involved."