The next room proved to be disquieting. The entire hallway was filled with white mannequin heads, staring in all directions. There was only a single pathway past them, and it required the group to walk in single file. The walls had three giant portraits of the mannequin heads bigger than some cars Frisk had seen with looming gazes. A shiver of unease ran straight up Frisk's back.

"*Ugh." Chara summed up perfectly.

"This place is just becoming worse and worse." Garry muttered, unknowingly agreeing as he grabbed his own elbows. He watched the heads on the ground warily. Frisk hoped dearly that none of them would cause some kind of harm.

Eve went to the single table in the room and signed her name and Frisk's again in the diary there. Garry followed after her to also sign his name. Frisk didn't feel very reassured by a Save in such a place. They felt distinctly threatened by the room despite the fact nothing was moving.

"Let's just get out of here." Garry suggested. Eve nodded in agreement, clutching her rose and skirt tightly in her hands as she walked forward. Frisk went next with Garry taking the back. The heads were so close to the wall and together that there was no way they could possibly step between them. Frisk felt as if their eyes were following them. Eve kept her gaze determinedly forward.

Chara floated over the heads and watched the portraits as they passed by. "*Did that picture's eyes move?" They wondered aloud, pausing to stare at it. The picture's eyes stared after Frisk's group but didn't move. Eve tensed at Chara's murmuring, her grip tightening on her skirt. Frisk patted her shoulder comfortingly. They exited the room quickly.

The new room they entered was gigantic. There were a few walls displaying some pieces of art across the walls, but what attracted Frisk's attention were the multiple paintings of Ladies hung up on the far side of the room. Garry and Eve both froze as they saw them as well. They all held their breath, waiting to be attacked, but none of them did. Even so, the group made the silent decision to go in a different direction away from them, heading south of their position instead.

There were four headless metal mannequins standing sentry at the end of each wall. There seemed to be alleyways created up and down this half of the room. Frisk could see a painted Lady between each alleyway, her picture hanging up on the far wall. They all had different colored outfits. Frisk wondered if that was important.

They stumbled across a single door, but when they went to open it, it was locked. Garry gave a frustrated sigh as Frisk kicked the door just a little bit.

"This room is not good for my health." Garry murmured as they turned and continued their search. He couldn't seem to stop looking over his shoulder. Frisk could tell he was on edge just like them. Nearly dying from one of those Ladies was bound to do that. "Eve, Frisk, we should find a vase. Just to make sure our flowers don't start wilting."

"Can they do that?" Eve asked, worried.

"I'm not sure. . . But it's better to be safe rather than sorry."

"*This translating stuff is really becoming tedious." Chara grumbled to Frisk as they crossed their arms and floated on their front next to them. Frisk's fingers reached out and touched one of the headless mannequins. It didn't come to life. "*Why did that stupid orb not take us somewhere where the people speak our language?"

Frisk only shrugged in response. Now that they thought about it, they had yet to find out where that orb went. If they needed that orb to return, then they needed to find it soon. Frisk didn't mind being out of the Underground . . . but they had been hoping of possibly helping the monsters in some way. They had been hoping to find a way to free the monsters while they had been heading for the exit to the Underground. They supposed that, at the moment, it was moot point.

"What orb?" Eve asked quietly, gazing at Frisk and Chara.

"What's all this now?" Garry also asked, missing part of the conversation. "I'm guessing Chara spoke? What did they say?"

"*This is so stupid. Translating people talking about me." Chara griped again.

Frisk opened their mouth to explain what orb they needed to look out for (the more people keeping an eye out for the orb the better), however a door caught their eye. They pointed at it and then rushed over. They attempted to turn the knob, but it only clicked. It was locked. There was a Save diary on the table next to it. Eve walked over with Garry to write in it.

Suddenly Garry squeaked in surprise, startling the children. Frisk and Eve spun "O-Oh, sorry . . . I thought I saw something crawl across that window." He seemed vaguely embarrassed by his little outburst, ducking his head to finish signing the diary. Frisk tilted their head and watched the window, but didn't see anything move.

"*Soooo brave and dependable." Chara mocked again.

The door seemed to be connected to an isolated room in the middle of the large gallery of sorts that they were in. There were more alleyways that were lined with even more Ladies. So far none had moved, but Frisk knew better than to trust them. They had been safe in the last large room they had been in, but this was suspicious.

They followed the wall of the room around to the back to find even more doors. There were two with a stool in between them. When they approached the door on the left, they discovered some writing.

"Enter password." Garry read. There was a panel with rolling numbers. The password called for four numbers. "Did either of you see anything like a password?" Frisk and Eve shook their heads. "We should look around a bit more, then." Garry leaned around the corner to eye the Ladies. " . . . But let's be careful. I don't like how many there are . . ."

Eve walked over to the second door. There was another number input necessary for this door as well. "'How many paintings of women are there in this room?'" She read. "We need to count them."

"There are four on that side of the room." Frisk said and Chara relayed.

"Then let's check the right side." Garry suggested, leading the way to the upper part of the room. The four of them stayed near the opposite wall as they walked and counted. They needed to go up and down the alleyways. Still none of the Ladies attacked them. It was as they were passing down the third row did Frisk realize there was an odd painting out.

It was a man suspended by his legs and hanging upside down. Frisk didn't need either Garry or Eve to read the plaque to guess the name of this piece. He was wearing a number on his shirt, however all of the numbers were upside down.

"Ah. This was one of the paintings in the gallery." Garry noted. He tucked his hands into his pants' pockets.

Frisk examined the hanged man's face. He seemed distressed rather than content. They decided they didn't like this painting at all. The strokes of it were rough and haphazard, as if the painter had been in a fury when he had made it.

"*You thought that you would never visit an art gallery again after this." Chara said. Eve shot both Frisk and Chara an amused smile. Frisk smiled back. They weren't sure if Chara had been narrating Frisk's or Eve's thoughts.

"Could this number be the password?" Garry suggested. "6295."

"Oh." Eve breathed, realizing the numbers were upside down. She leaned a little forward to gaze at the numbers before straightening again. She pointed at one of the Ladies. "We should finish counting." She suggested.

"You're right. Don't forget the number now! 6295!" There were only a few more painted women in the gallery after that. Frisk counted a total of fourteen. They eagerly hurried back to the doors to enter the passwords. Frisk entered The Hanged Man's password into the door first. There was an unlocking sound, and the four entered.

It was a small room that they entered with a single vase on a table, and an easel of what seemed to be a painting of the vase. There was a stool in front of the easel. Frisk stared at the stool.

"*There is no one around, but you feel a presence . . ." Chara noted. They had already drifted over the vase. Something shattered outside and the humans jumped, spinning to face the door. Frisk's heart rate skyrocketed, their pulse fluttering with a sudden injection of adrenaline. Eve scrambled away from the door just in case and then fell silent. They waited for a long moment, but they couldn't hear anything.

"Are we . . . safe?" Eve asked. Chara didn't need to translate for her. Frisk was starting to recognize some words already. At least for simple sentences.

"*The door will hold." Chara said.

"That's good." Eve breathed.

"What was that?" Garry asked. Eve kept forgetting to translate for Chara. She quickly explained and then apologized for not being faster. Garry shook his head. "No no, it's quite alright. It's just a little . . . difficult."

"I won't forget again." Eve promised. Garry smiled at her. His face seemed so much younger when he did.

"Thank you. For now, though . . . This seems to be a good place to stop. At least there aren't any Ladies in here." Garry sighed. Nobody approached the stool, however, and instead sat on the floor. "I don't believe we have been here very long, and yet I feel so hungry and tired."

"I have . . . some food." Frisk admitted. This time Eve was quick to translate for Garry right after Chara translated for Frisk.

"*She has to be becoming annoyed by this double translating as well." Chara muttered.

"You do?" She responded eagerly.

Frisk nodded, and then paused. They glanced at Chara briefly before they tugged at their shorts. "The food . . . might not fill you up very much. Its purpose is more to . . . heal your Soul rather than to really fill you. But it's tasty! And . . . at least your stomach won't growl."

"Heal our Souls?" Eve asked slowly after she had repeated Frisk's answer for Garry to hear. Frisk nodded and reached into their inventory. They pulled out their stick, two Cinnamon Bunnies, and a Nice Cream. They offered their friends the choice of food they wanted. Eve took the Nice Cream and Garry grabbed a Cinnamon Bunny.

"How did you fit those in your pockets?" Garry asked, baffled. He was mostly looking at the stick. Frisk couldn't possibly explain their inventory. Instead they opened their Cinnamon Bunny from its wrapper and took a bite. Already they felt a lot better as it practically melted in their mouth. They weren't the only one who sighed as they ate. "These are delicious!" Garry exclaimed. "Where did you get such things?"

"*That is a lot of translating if you explain." Chara said, their only warning to Frisk that they weren't going to repeat everything they say. Frisk had to simplify it. Hopefully they would understand enough.

"I . . . fell into the Underground," They explained slowly so Chara and Eve had time to translate, "and discovered monsters. They're very friendly . . . but some are . . . dangerous. We're eating monster food. It heals your Soul."

"Wait, are you saying monsters are real?" Garry asked, his one visible eye widening.

"*We are in an art gallery that is trying to kill us. *Your Souls are connected to roses. *Monsters surprise you?" Eve couldn't possibly relay the amount of drawl that was in Chara's voice. She didn't even try.

" . . . I suppose you have a point." Garry admitted.

"How did you escape?" Eve asked as she bit into the cone of her Nice Cream. The crunch of it was rather loud in the small room.

Frisk glanced away, gazing around the mostly-empty room. The grey walls were dreary rather than relaxing. It was quiet outside of the room. The atmosphere still felt a little oppressing. "I didn't." Frisk finally said. "There was a magic orb . . . called the Legendary Artifact. When I touched it . . . It brought me here, to the gallery."

"So you're far more lost than we are." Eve said quietly, her eyes softening with sympathy.

Garry finished off his Bunny and shoved the wrapper into his pocket. His face was serious as he said, "When we get out of the gallery, you should come with us. We'll somehow get you home, Frisk." Eve nodded in agreement.

Frisk smiled at their kindness, but didn't respond to it. Chara didn't agree or disagree with the plan. Frisk knew that Chara would go with them wherever, so Frisk supposed Chara didn't have much of a choice. Still, Frisk would've listened to them if they had voiced their opinion.

"I need to find the Artifact." Frisk told them instead. Chara floated upside down now, spinning in place. It was actually rather creepy, except for the utterly bored look on their face. That was almost funny. They translated everything in a monotonous voice.

"What if it just sends you back to the monsters?" Eve fiddled with the wrapper of her own treat. Frisk held their hand out to take it, and Eve handed it over. They placed it back into their inventory to discard later. They shrugged in response to Eve's question. If they were sent back, then they were sent back. At least they would be in somewhat familiar territory, even if they were more likely to die. Frisk didn't tell them this.

"I'm not sure how comfortable I am condemning a child to monsters . . ." Garry said. "Haven't you faced enough dangers?"

Frisk shrugged again. "It's okay."

"What about you, Chara? How do you feel about all of this?" The man asked as he glanced around. He couldn't see Chara, but he still made the attempt to let them know they were including the spirit. His gaze landed on the ground and stayed there as he frowned a little in confusion.

Chara appeared surprised to be addressed. They righted themselves and landed on the floor as they considered their response. They doubted that Chara would ever admit it, but the spirit seemed pleased to have more than Frisk to talk to. Now that they thought about it, Chara had seemed somewhat glad to have Frisk to talk to when they discovered that Frisk could see and hear them. They had been a rather talkative in the beginning. Maybe Chara was lonelier than Frisk had considered before.

"*. . . I would prefer to return to the Underground. We have . . . unfinished business." They finally admitted.

"Oh." Frisk said simply. Well, then they were decided. They stood up and picked up their stick to carry in their hand. It wouldn't be good in case of defense, but it may be able to distract an enemy when the time comes. They tilted their head at Garry and Eve to show they were ready to go.

"Wait, before we leave." Garry stood and helped Eve to her feet. "There are holes here on the floor.

There were four small indents on the floor where Garry was pointing. They looked spaced out enough for a small table. Eve was already on the move, pushing the table with the vase's table over to the holes. It only took a little bit of effort before the table clicked into place. As they listened, it sounded like someone stood up and left. Somewhere outside there was a sound. The group looked at each other with confused curiosity.

Frisk and Eve were headed back towards the door, but Garry went instead to examine the vase. He sighed a little. "It's empty."

"Do you need it?" Eve asked, concerned.

Garry reached into his pocket and gently pulled out his rose. He opened his mouth to answer, but then stopped as he stared at the rose in surprise. "It's fully healed!"

"The food worked!" Eve cheered, turning to Frisk happily. "Do you have any more?" Frisk shook their head. Eve deflated a bit. "Oh. We ate all of your food?"

"It's fine." Frisk assured her with a pat on the shoulder.

"Well, thank you Frisk." Garry smiled at them and motioned to the door. "Shall we get going?" Both children nodded and opened the door before they exited. Frisk immediately noticed something different as a splash of white caught their eye. They stared at the mannequin head resting innocently between the doors next to the stool. They couldn't recall such a thing being there earlier.

" . . . Was this thing here earlier? I . . . don't think it was." Garry said. They didn't have long to contemplate the sudden appearance of the head, however, as a familiar scraping sound caught their attention. Something was dragging itself slowly across the floor. Frisk recognized the sound of wood screeching against the tile of the room.

"Oh no." Eve moaned, pointing into the gloom. A familiar Lady in Red was on the move, and from the sounds echoing in the room she wasn't the only one.

"In here!" Frisk called, waving them over to the only other door they had noticed. They quickly inputted the amount of women in the room and the door clicked. The four of them shoved into the room and shut the door, listening carefully. The scraping of the wood against the floor became louder as a soft growl was heard. Frisk didn't know if the Lady had seen them or not. She wasn't attacking the door, so that was a good sign.

The scraping stopped briefly, listening. Nobody made a move. Frisk knew, logically, that the Lady couldn't open the door to get at them, but they couldn't help but think about her somehow bursting through the door. They clenched their stick tightly in hand. Eventually, though the scraping continued. Frisk thought they heard two of the Ladies mutter to each other.

Garry sighed. "I think we're safe." He turned to survey the room they were now in. It was another small room with a bookcase and a vase on a table. This one appeared to have water in it. There was also a sign hanging up. Garry was already moving over to read it. Frisk glanced at Eve, though. Her eyes were wide as she clenched her rose tightly to her chest. There were a couple of tremors rolling across her skin. Would she be alright? She was holding up well enough, but she was so young.

Chara joined Garry to gaze at the sign, repeating as the man read, "'Please do not touch the displays. If by any change you damage any exhibits, you will . . .'" Garry stopped, squinting at the paper. "I see." Is all he said.

"*Some of the letters are missing." Chara explained Garry's sudden silence. Frisk wondered what the rest had to say, but they had a feeling about what it was. This gallery wasn't exactly subtle about wanting to kill them, for whatever reason.

Eve quietly moved over to the bookcase and pulled out the single book that was sitting there. She flipped it open to read slowly, "'Wonderful Days'." A loud crash was once again heard outside, causing everyone in the room to jump. Chara hissed a curse under their breath. Frisk was starting to wonder if they would ever be able to relax again. At least they were safe in this room, right?

Hesitantly Eve continued, "'The gallery is like a spooky amusement park with lots of strange things! It's so much fun playing here, the day was over before I knew it! Isn't it a fantastic place? Why don't you join me here? You'll never be lonely with all of this company . . .'" She stopped and shot her companions a worried glance.

"Who would write such a book?" Garry muttered, scratching at his neck nervously. It felt very foreboding.

"*It is almost as if the gallery was expecting you." Chara said. Eve's eyes widened more at the comment, alarmed.

"Let's just get out of here." Garry continued, not knowing what Chara had said. Eve placed the book back on the shelf. "The sooner we leave, the better we'll be, I think."

Even though he said this, all of them were reluctant to return back to the main room. They could only hear a couple of Ladies moving around, but who's to say that all of them wouldn't come to life at some point? They needed to be careful. Something in the room had changed, and Frisk wasn't sure if it was for the better.

They moved quickly but as quietly as they could around the walls, heads turning this way and that for any signs of change. Other than a couple of Ladies missing from where they had been hanging, they couldn't spot anything. The Hanged Man almost seemed to grin at them as they passed by him, mocking them. Frisk tried not to look at it.

"*There is a door here." Chara pointed out.

"Door?" Eve asked hurrying backwards towards Chara's voice. "Was this here before?" She asked.

"*We did not look." Chara rolled their eyes a bit as Frisk and Garry joined them.

"Lady." Frisk warned, hearing scraping sounds coming closer. The four pushed inside without hesitation, and then paused at the sight of the mostly empty room. There was a single mirror on the far wall . . . and that was it. This was the only room they had yet to explore besides the locked one. There must be a trick in here.

"Just a mirror." Eve said, sounding relieved. She glanced around the room and brushed her fingers over the leaves of her rose. Frisk considered asking her if she wanted them to carry the rose in their inventory, but decided against it. She seemed to be using it as a safety blanket for the moment.

The three of them approached the mirror. It was long enough to show them all above the knees, and wide enough to accommodate all three of them. Chara floated above Frisk, leaning forward to study the mirror, however their reflection didn't appear in the glass. Frisk had kind of expected them to even though Chara had never appeared in the glass before.

"*It's you!" The spirit said, grinning a little in amusement. Frisk couldn't help the small smile as well. It was indeed them. They looked somewhat tired and dirty from travelling through the Underground, but physically fine. Their sweater wasn't in the best shape with bits of it torn up from traveling through the cold Underground and from attacks from monsters. Their knee still had the band-aid on it.

Eve and Garry, on the other hand, were clearly becoming tired. Garry already had some darkness around his eye before they had really gone through these trials, but now it appeared to be more prominent. Eve was pale despite her calm face. She was still fairly young and probably needed a nap. Frisk thought a nap for all of them would be rather appropriate, actually.

"I don't see anything strange about this mirror." Garry finally said once they were all done with examining themselves. They waited one more moment, checking the mirror one last time. Silence reigned until suddenly something crashed again. They all jumped back from the mirror as Garry shrieked a little.

"Good gosh!" He cried, and Chara mocked as they repeated it. "How many times is that going to happen?" He clenched the front of his shirt, leaning against the wall and letting his head thunk against the surface. "This isn't good for my heart . . ."

"*Look." Chara said immediately after, and Frisk turned towards the doorway. It was blocked now by a mannequin head. They rushed over to it.

"What the . . . ? When did this get into the room . . . ?" Garry asked, baffled and frowning.

"Can we move it?" Eve asked, already reaching for it. Frisk stopped her, though, wary.

"Don't touch the art?" Their voice tilted up in a question at the end that Chara relayed.

"They're right." Garry agreed. "But what do we do now? It's blocking the door."

Frisk pointed back towards the mirror questioningly. There had to be a reason why the door was blocked, but there was only one other thing in the room. Maybe they actually had missed something. The four of them approached the mirror again to look, but as soon as they peered into the glass they noticed a new figure. The mannequin head was floating, gazing with them in the mirror over Garry's shoulder. The man screamed and threw himself to the side as Frisk and Eve scrambled backwards in the opposite direction. Garry fell backwards onto the ground as the mannequin head landed on the floor as well.

"*I did not even see it!" Chara gasped, shocked as well.

"W-Wh-WHAT is THAT?!" Garry cried. A beat passed as he processed the head, and then he stood up swiftly. His face darkened with anger, abruptly furious. He stormed over to the head and pulled his leg back. "Why, you . . . !"

"Wait!" Eve cried, rushing over to grab Garry's arm and pull him back a bit. "Don't hurt the art!"

Garry paused, clearly still seething as he glared holes into the expressionless mannequin, before he looked to Eve. Her eyes were wide with worry as she gripped his sleeve. He took a couple more breaths before he finally lowered his foot with a sigh, his anger leaving him with the whoosh of air. "R-Right, Eve. My, that was immature of me . . ."

"It's okay." She reassured him with a grateful smile. Garry patted her head in thanks as he glanced at Frisk as well.

"Sorry about that. I just . . ." He trailed off, unable to finish.

"*Understandable." Chara muttered. Frisk nodded in agreement.

"They understand." Eve explained.

Calmer now, the man smiled. "Well . . . let's go." He told them. They moved around the mannequin head and exited the room again and headed south. There were more scraping sounds. Frisk wondered if all of the sounds of things breaking indicated more Ladies were coming to life. Their theory was confirmed as a Lady in Green turned the corner. She was absurdly fast, crawling her way down the path towards them.

"This way!" Frisk cried, running towards the side. The Lady was swift on their heels, faster than any of the Ladies they had seen yet. Frisk had to hop to avoid her grip as they kept Eve in front of them. As long as the rose was protected, it was fine.

"Here!" Garry gasped as he spotted a gap in the wall big enough for all of them to shimmy through that the Lady couldn't. Her frame was too wide. Garry slipped in first and grabbed Eve's hand to tug her through. Frisk came to a stop in front of the gap and brandished their stick. "Frisk!" Garry called. Frisk threw their stick with all of their might. The Lady paused, watching the stick fly overhead to land behind her. She gave the stick a confused look before she reared back on Frisk, her grin sharpening as she attacked again. Frisk fled.

"*That failed to accomplish anything." Chara declared as both of them leaped into the gap and shimmied to the other side. Garry helped to pull Frisk through.

"Eve?" They called, realizing the girl was missing.

"Here!" She called, a couple of meters away as she picked up something from the floor. She held it aloft. The grey key shined in the low lighting.

"Good-" Garry started, when glass shattered again as the Lady in Red near Eve burst from the wall. Eve cried out in shock. "Eve!" Garry yelled. Eve ran away from the Lady with the painting on her heels. Garry and Frisk moved to follow her, but a Lady in Blue turned the corner and charged at them. Garry grabbed Frisk's hand and ran away, muttering what sounded like possibly bad words under his breath.

As they darted past the alleyways, they could see Eve running as well. "This way!" Frisk called to her, waving an arm to get her attention. Eve dashed towards them, barely avoiding the hands of the Ladies following her, and rejoining her friends. She held Frisk's stick in her hand and she swatted hard at the Lady in Blue's hands as she reached for Garry. The Lady hissed in annoyance. Eve squeaked.

"Run!" Garry shouted, scooping Eve up and under his arm as he spun on his heel to run back towards where he and Frisk had just come from. For a moment Frisk quickly wondered what in the world he was doing before they realized he was running towards one of the locked doors. Eve's key had to go somewhere!

Despite his load, Garry was able to dodge around the Ladies rather deftly. Frisk easily dodged their grabby hands as well, although they got their sock torn in the process. The man had already taken the key from Eve and placed her down at the door as he scrambled to open it. They were lucky that it was the right door on their first try as he gave a cry of delight and shoved it open.

"Hurry, hurry!" He ushered the children, waving them in. Chara, Eve, and Frisk rushed through before Garry ran in as well to slam the door shut. All three of them pressed themselves against the door to hold it shut as multiple Ladies pounded on it angrily. None of the humans moved until the Ladies reluctantly gave up and they could hear the paintings scrape away. Frisk's pulse did not slow until the adrenaline started to fade away. Only then did the allow themselves to slump to the ground with a sigh. Garry was hunched over panting again from running. Eve leaned against the door and took a couple of steadying breaths.

"Are you alright?" Frisk asked the little girl, climbing back to their feet to touch her shoulders. She nodded, her face even paler but clearly unharmed. She turned to Garry and thanked him quietly.

"I'm just glad we're all okay." He responded, straightening now that he had his breath back. He brushed his hair briefly out of his face, but it fell back to cover his eye right away. His exposed eye darted around the children to check on them. Frisk felt particularly safe now. They couldn't explain it, but they were happy to have an adult with them on this terrible adventure. They weren't used to such supervision, so it was a little strange, but they were glad nonetheless.

They ran their hands over their face to wipe off the sweat there. They hoped rather futily that this room would be the climax of their adventure here. Frisk was determined to get these two kind people home.

Eve held out Frisk's stick to them as both of them returned to their feet. Frisk was grateful that she had managed to pick it up even as she was being chased. They placed the stick back in their inventory as they gazed around the room they were now in. It was much more furnished than any of the previous rooms with bookshelves, a couple windows (too foggy to see through), and a strange white couch in the middle of the room. There were a couple of stools as well. The couch looked amazingly comfortable, and Frisk's feet coaxed them to sit upon it, however their gaze was drawn to the large portrait in the room that Garry and Eve were standing at and staring.

"*'Couple'." Chara repeated what Garry read. "*It depicts a familiar man and woman . . ." Frisk had never seen the people in the painting before. Chara wasn't looking at Frisk, however, and instead was gazing at Eve. Did Eve know the people in the painting somehow?

Eve had frozen as she stared at the painting. Her red eyes welled up a little with tears, but she didn't cry. Instead she clenched her skirt and stiffened, shoulders shaking with repressed feelings. She swallowed thickly. These two were . . . !

"What is it, Eve?" Garry asked quietly, confused by the girl's reaction. He shot a concerned glanced at Eve's face. The girl didn't respond for a long moment. She seemed to struggle to form her words, yet even as she spoke it was so soft that Chara didn't hear it. Garry caught it however as he exclaimed, "Huh?! The people in this painting are your dad and mom?"

Frisk did a double take, looking harder at the painting. The woman wore a red business suit with a long skirt. Her brown hair was done up nicely. She had red eyes similar to Eve's. The man also had brown hair with dark eyes that matched his grey suit. The quality of their outfits matched well with Eve's. They must have quite a bit of money, Frisk thought.

Garry smiled. "Aha . . . They do resemble you a bit, Eve." He frowned at the painting, crossing his arms in thought. "But why would such a painting be down here?"

Eve sniffed loudly and shook her head, clearly trying to rein in her emotions. Her voice was still tremulous and weak, however, as she said, "We haven't . . . found any other people from the gallery. What if . . . what if my mama and papa are here? Where . . . where are they?"

Chara glanced at Frisk and murmured lowly, "*To think this is what gets her . . ." Frisk nodded silently.

"Ah? Where are they?" Garry hummed in consideration. "Well, I can't say that I know either." Eve sniffled again and ducked her head. She was shaking still. Garry fretted a bit, quickly to reassure her, "D-Don't worry. They must be somewhere!" Eve didn't respond as she continued to wipe at her eyes. She pulled out a lace handkerchief from her pocket and patted at her face. For just a moment she buried her face into the soft lace, taking a deep breath. Garry's eyes softened with worry and pity. Frisk reached forward to rub Eve's back.

"*She is tough," Chara murmured more to Frisk where Eve couldn't hear, "but this place is beginning to get to her as well."

"Here," Garry suggested, gently leading Eve over towards the couch, "why don't you rest a bit while Frisk and I look around? This couch appears to be awfully comfortable!" Eve didn't fight him as she walked over to the couch and hopped up onto it. She sunk into the plush seating and leaned back without a sound. Her eyes stared at the handkerchief in her hands as her fingers ran over some embroidery that Frisk assumed was her name.

Garry motioned Frisk over so that they could look at the bookshelves together. They had a number of books in them, but nothing that particularly stood out to them. One tall bookshelf was singled out as it sat next to a window. Frisk gazed at it curiously. Garry examined the bottom of the bookshelf. There were signs that it had been moved.

"Ah. I think this could be moved." The man commented idly. Frisk tapped on his shoulder and motioned to the right. "What's this? You want it moved right?" Frisk nodded. "Okay! Step back a little, Frisk.." Garry moved around to the left side of the bookcase and heaved. The bookcase groaned a bit, but moved easily enough across the floor until it met up with the other bookcase. Garry sighed and stepped back to wipe his forehead. "Ah." He scratched his head. "It's covering the window. Oh well." Frisk glanced around to see if there was a switch or something in there, but there was nothing.

"*That was pointless." Chara muttered from where they gazed at the markings on the ground from over Frisk's shoulder. They moved to hover around Garry, playfully sitting on his shoulders where he couldn't feel them. Frisk grinned, and then got an idea.

They walked back over to Eve and squatted a bit to look her in the face. She met their gaze, appearing a bit steadier now. Frisk tilted their head some and picked up the rose she had placed next to her before playing catching it between their teeth and winking at her. They posed overdramatically, hand coming to their forehead as they swooned, before they spun in a quick circle to point finger guns at her. Eve smiled a bit, giving a soft laugh. Pleased, Frisk returned her rose to her.

Garry stood across the room leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, watching with his own relieved smile. It was good to see Eve finally returning to herself. "Are you two ready to go then?" Eve slid off of the couch and reached for Frisk's hand, taking it in theirs as they walked back over to join Garry. Both her and Frisk nodded. Garry turned to the door and turned the knob . . . but the door held fast. He tugged on it and jiggled the handle, but nothing happened.

"*The door won't open." Chara said, confused. They moved off of Garry to stand by Frisk, leaning forward expectantly. "*That cannot be good."

"Wh . . . are you kidding me? The door was wide open . . ." Garry grumbled, baffled. Just then something banged loudly on the door. The group scrambled back as the entire door shook, but held. "T-That sound . . . is that coming from outside?" Garry cried. The pounding occurred again, angrier this time. Garry's hand found Frisk's as he pulled the children closer to him. Eve's grip tightened around Frisk's hand. "Something's at the door . . . Be careful, guys."

The banging echoed now, seeming to fill up the entire room. The entirety of the gallery seemed to shake under the force of it. They were under siege, but how could art have such power? The three of them moved away from the doors and looked around for some kind of exit. Frisk couldn't think over the walls groaning under the assault from the outside. They could hear the creatures outside banging around the room looking for a way in. Eve attempted again to yank the door open, but it was almost as if it was nailed shut. Sweat broke out across the Frisk's skin as they held tight to their companions' hands. Garry was muttering something to himself, but Chara couldn't translate. They were also stay close the group, their back to Frisk's.

Eve yelped a little as something pounded on the window that was blocked by the bookcase. Frisk was abruptly glad that they had asked Garry to move the bookcase in front of the glass. They were positive that something would've broken in through there. They didn't receive much time to celebrate this small victory, though, as the wall nearby groaned and caved with a crash. Ladies growled as they burst into the room.

Nobody had time to even scream in horror before Frisk was moving. There was no way to talk to these things, so they decided to take a lesson from their fight with Undyne and FLEE. They yanked their companions after them as they made a mad dash towards their only exit. They only made a small noise as one of the Ladies's hands grabbed Frisk's sleeve and yanked hard, cutting furious lines into their skin. They didn't have time to complain as they ducked through the broken wall and out into the main area with Garry and Eve.

It was havoc outside as almost every piece of art in the room seemed to have come to life and was on the hunt. Frisk didn't know what had angered them, but they didn't want to stay any longer to find out. But they didn't know where to go! All of the other doors were dead ends, and they were blocked by those cursed mannequin heads! They dithered, panicking a bit.

"*The final locked door! Run for it!" Chara yelled, already flying off. Eve didn't hesitate to follow, and the three ran as quickly as they could after the ghost. The children ducked out of the way as a headless mannequin swiped at them, but Garry had to release Frisk's hand in the effort to not get caught. He cried out as the metal slammed into his shoulder. Frisk and Eve pulled to a stop, horrified.

He yelled something at them as he darted around the mannequin and leaped madly away from the groping hands of a Lady. Frisk didn't need a translation as they yanked Eve after them and ran after Chara again. With his longer legs, Garry quickly caught up to them. His coat flapped behind him as he held up the rear. The final door was indeed ajar, and the humans shoved through it and slammed the door behind them. They didn't stop running down the long hallway until they were sure they were safe, eventually slowing to a stop.

Frisk hunched over, panting along with Eve and Garry. Their legs shook terribly, almost enough to cause them to collapse. They hadn't been that scared since they had first been attacked by Undyne. Chara cursed loudly, not caring about the young ears around them as they shook their head.

"*What is WRONG with this place?!" They cried.

Garry straightened and ran a hand into his hair as he gazed back towards the doorway. Nothing appeared to be coming after them. He said something, and Chara quickly went back to translate, "That should be . . . far enough, I think." The man grinned, huffing a laugh as his shaking hand held his injured shoulder. He didn't seem to be in too much pain if he was laughing. "We certainly showed THEM!" He crowed with well-deserved cockiness.

He grinned at Frisk, who moved to stand next to him and look as well. The door was holding firm. He high-fived the younger human before his smile calmed down into a relieved one. Frisk grinned back at him, glad to be out of such a terrible room. They had escaped with minimal damage this time despite the blood slowly running down their arm. It throbbed some, but not too badly. They'd certainly had worse.

"My . . . well then," Garry crossed his arms and turned to Eve, who was a little bit away from them, "let's keep go . . . Eve?" Frisk turned as well to see Eve on her knees. Her gaze was foggy as she swayed, her face bloodless. Garry and Frisk quickly dropped to their knees in front of her. "Oh my, what is it?" Garry asked.

"Are you okay?" Frisk added.

"*Clearly not!" Chara said, hovering a little angrily with their anxiousness next to them.

Eve didn't respond as her eyes fell shut and she collapsed. Both Frisk and Chara cried out as Garry's hands moved to support her. "E-Eve?! Stay with me, now!"

"Eve!" Frisk cried. The three of them called her name, but the girl didn't wake. Garry scooped her up immediately, cradling her in a princess hold. Her limp form in his arms made Frisk's body feel as if it was drenched with ice water.

"Frisk! Grab her rose! We need to find a safe place to rest!" Garry commanded, nodding to the rose that Eve had dropped. It was missing a couple of petals now.

"*Grab the rose." Chara repeated as well. Frisk did as commanded and held the rose to them. It seemed a little wilted.

"Hurry!" Garry called, and together the three of the went off in search of a safe room. If there wasn't one, Frisk thought, then they would make it safe. They just hoped Eve was alright.