Frisk made her way toward the house, every muscle in her body aching from training.

Her arms felt heavy.

Her legs were worse.

Every step reminded her of the past hour. The bruises she could already feel forming beneath her clothes. The soreness in her shoulders. The dull ache in her ribs where Undyne had knocked the air out of her more than once.

She had thought she knew how to fight.

Apparently, she knew how to get hit.

Undyne remained in the backyard, stretching her arms while Papyrus gathered the equipment they hadn't been using.

"I'M GOING TO PUT THESE AWAY!"

"Leave the heavy bag," Undyne called. "We'll use it later."

"UNDERSTOOD!"

Papyrus picked up the smaller training equipment and started toward the back door, but Undyne stopped him.

"Actually, leave that stuff too. I'll put it away later."

Papyrus looked at the pile in his arms.

"ARE YOU SURE?"

"Yeah."

Frisk watched them for a moment.

Neither of them seemed interested in what she was doing.

That was good.

She reached the back door and paused.

"I'm getting water."

Undyne waved her off without looking.

"Kitchen's inside."

Frisk nodded.

"Okay."

She opened the door and stepped into the house.

The door shut behind her.

For the first time since training had started, she was completely alone.

The sudden quiet felt strange.

Outside, she could faintly hear Undyne and Papyrus talking. Their voices were muffled through the walls, their words indistinct.

Frisk stood there for a moment.

She could still hear Undyne's instructions in her head.

Keep your eyes on me.

Don't lean forward.

Again.

Frisk rubbed one aching shoulder.

Then she remembered why she had come inside.

Water.

She headed into the kitchen.

The house looked different when she wasn't sitting in the middle of a conversation with someone.

It was simple.

Practical.

There weren't many decorations. Nothing expensive. The furniture looked like it had been chosen because it was useful rather than because it looked nice. Even the few things on the walls seemed connected to Undyne's life.

Training.

Fighting.

Family.

Frisk looked at one of the photographs for a second before forcing herself to look away.

She grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it from the sink.

The cold water helped.

She drank half of it in one go.

The glass was still against her lips when she stopped.

Her eyes drifted toward the back door.

Through the glass, she could see movement outside.

Undyne.

Papyrus.

Still talking.

Still completely unaware.

Frisk slowly lowered the glass.

Her hand tightened around it.

The package.

Evelyn's voice came back to her.

You can get into places we can't.

Exploit that access.

Frisk stared at the water in her glass.

She had been carrying the devices for days.

Every time she had found herself alone, she had thought about planting them.

And every time, something had stopped her.

Fear.

Guilt.

Bad timing.

Excuses.

But now she was inside Undyne's home.

Alone.

Nobody was watching.

Frisk set the glass down.

Her heart started beating faster.

She looked toward the window again.

Papyrus had his back turned.

Undyne was talking to him.

Neither of them was paying attention to the house.

Frisk slowly slipped one hand into the inside pocket of her jeans.

Her fingers closed around one of the small devices.

She pulled it out.

It was tiny.

Barely bigger than her fingernail.

A little piece of technology that could turn everything Undyne said in this house into information for people who wanted to destroy the Family.

Frisk stared at it.

It didn't look dangerous.

That almost made it worse.

She remembered Evelyn sitting across from her.

Calm.

Confident.

Explaining exactly what Frisk needed to do.

She remembered being told that the monsters were dangerous.

That they couldn't be trusted.

That the Family was nothing more than a criminal organization hiding behind smiles.

She remembered believing every word.

Frisk slowly closed her fingers around the bug.

Then she looked toward the door.

Nobody.

She moved.

Quietly, she slipped out of the kitchen and into the hallway.

She had only been inside the house a few times, but she had paid attention.

That was what she was good at.

Watching.

Remembering.

Finding ways into places she wasn't supposed to be.

Frisk reached a small table against the wall.

She crouched.

Her hands trembled slightly as she leaned underneath it.

She pressed the first device into place.

It stuck.

Frisk pulled her hand away.

The bug disappeared into the shadows beneath the table.

Nobody would see it unless they knew exactly where to look.

She remained crouched for another second.

Her chest felt tight.

She could still stop.

She could take it back.

Frisk reached underneath.

Her fingers brushed against the device.

She hesitated.

Then she pulled her hand away.

She stood.

One down.

She looked toward the hallway.

Still empty.

Frisk moved deeper into the house.

Every sound seemed louder now.

The floor creaked beneath her shoe.

She froze.

Nothing.

She waited.

Outside, Papyrus laughed loudly about something.

Frisk relaxed.

She continued.

The second hiding place was behind a shelf.

Frisk crouched again.

This time her hands shook more.

She couldn't understand why.

She had stolen things before.

Money.

Food.

Jewelry.

Anything she could sell.

She had broken into places she wasn't supposed to be in.

She had lied to people.

But this felt different.

Maybe because the people she was spying on had actually been kind to her.

Maybe because Undyne had spent an hour teaching her how to defend herself.

Maybe because Papyrus had trusted her without needing a reason.

Frisk pressed the second device into place.

A tiny click sounded.

She froze.

The sound had been almost nothing.

Barely audible.

But suddenly it seemed deafening.

Her eyes darted toward the doorway.

Nothing.

Frisk held her breath.

She listened.

Footsteps?

No.

Voices?

Outside.

She slowly exhaled.

Her hand rested against her chest.

"Okay."

Her voice was barely a whisper.

"One more."

She moved toward the living room.

She stopped beside a piece of furniture and glanced toward the window.

Papyrus was still outside.

Undyne was standing beside him.

Frisk could see them clearly.

Neither was looking inside.

She reached into her pocket.

Her fingers touched the final bug.

She pulled it halfway out.

Then she stopped.

Something about the room made her hesitate.

It was ordinary.

That was all.

A couch.

A table.

A few things sitting on shelves.

Nothing remarkable.

But Frisk had sat here before.

Papyrus had talked endlessly.

Undyne had complained about him.

They had laughed.

For the first time, Frisk wondered what would happen if they knew what she was doing.

Would Papyrus still call her a friend?

Would Undyne still train her?

Would Sans point a gun at her again?

Her stomach twisted.

Frisk forced the thoughts away.

She had a job.

She was here for a reason.

She pulled the device from her pocket.

Her hand moved toward the furniture.

Then footsteps sounded behind her.

Frisk stopped breathing.

"Frisk?"

She spun around.

Undyne stood in the doorway.

Frisk's heart slammed against her ribs.

The final bug disappeared into her palm.

Undyne looked at her.

Then at the furniture.

Then back at Frisk.

Frisk couldn't move.

For one terrible second, everything inside her went cold.

She knows.

Her fingers closed tightly around the bug.

She saw me.

Undyne's eyes narrowed slightly.

Frisk could feel her heartbeat pounding in her ears.

There was no time to think.

No time to plan.

Her mind went completely blank.

"What are you doing?"

Frisk stared at her.

Her mouth opened.

Nothing came out.

Undyne waited.

Frisk forced herself to breathe.

She glanced down the hallway.

Then toward the kitchen.

Then back at Undyne.

"I was looking for the bathroom."

The words came out quickly.

Too quickly.

Undyne stared at her.

Frisk's stomach dropped.

Too slow.

Too suspicious.

She had made it worse.

She could feel the bug pressing against her palm.

Undyne's eyes remained fixed on her.

Frisk didn't move.

She didn't dare.

The silence stretched.

One second.

Two.

Three.

Frisk thought about running.

She thought about hiding the device.

She thought about throwing it somewhere.

She thought about every possible explanation and none of them sounded convincing.

Undyne's expression remained unreadable.

Then, suddenly, her face changed.

A grin spread across it.

"Seriously?"

Frisk blinked.

Undyne shook her head.

"You're such a dork."

Frisk stared at her.

Undyne pointed down the hallway.

"Bathroom's that way."

Frisk followed the direction of her finger.

"Oh."

Her voice came out quieter than she intended.

She felt like her knees were going to give out.

Undyne laughed.

"You were standing in the middle of my living room looking completely lost."

"I didn't know where it was."

"Yeah, I figured."

Undyne walked past her.

She didn't look down.

Didn't look at the furniture.

Didn't notice the tiny device hidden nearby.

She didn't seem suspicious at all.

Frisk remained frozen.

Undyne stopped halfway down the hallway.

"Coming?"

Frisk swallowed.

"Yeah."

Undyne nodded and continued toward the kitchen.

Frisk waited until she was several steps away before slowly opening her hand.

The final bug was still there.

She slipped it back into her pocket.

Her fingers were shaking.

Undyne hadn't noticed.

She hadn't seen the device.

She hadn't figured anything out.

Frisk slowly let out the breath she had been holding.

Her shoulders dropped.

For a moment, she simply stood there.

Then Papyrus's voice suddenly echoed from the kitchen.

"FRISK! UNDYNE! I HAVE FOUND THE SNACKS!"

Undyne immediately shouted back.

"DON'T EAT ALL OF THEM!"

Frisk couldn't help it.

A small smile appeared on her face.

It disappeared almost immediately.

She looked toward the places where she had hidden the devices.

Nobody knew.

Nobody suspected anything.

And somehow, that made the guilt sitting in her chest feel even heavier.

Frisk turned toward the hallway.

She started walking toward the bathroom.

Behind her, Undyne and Papyrus continued arguing in the kitchen, completely oblivious to what had happened.

Frisk reached the bathroom door.

Her hand settled on the handle.

She stopped.

She looked back down the hallway one last time.

The house was quiet.

Safe.

Warm.

Normal.

And now it was being listened to.

Frisk lowered her eyes.

Then she opened the bathroom door and stepped inside.