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Chapter Text

The sun had set, and Alphys was desperate to see the stars. She knew that there was still so much to do, to say, even, but right now, all she could think about were the stars, and seeing them for real. She knew it was partly avoidance, as she'd just called the families, and not only told them everything, but telling them to come pick up their missing loved ones up at last, and bring them home. She'd made the calls - then realised it meant seeing them. And she was not ready for that, yet.

So, instead, she became selfish: she ran back to her bedroom, hurriedly grabbed her phone charger and bag, and ran away, as fast as she could, gone long before the first Amalgamate left. She had been so ashamed, so upset, that she'd forgotten what she wore under her usual white coat, and didn't remember the entire journey back to the ramp to the surface.

It was then, and only when her always-bare feet touched the real, solid earth, and the real, actual fresh air touched her hot, sweaty face, that she stopped, realising just how out of breath she now was. She hunched over, one hand to her knees, panting and holding her other hand over her racing heart.

Oh, dear, she thought, deciding to sit down to catch her breath, holding her dizzy head in her sweaty hands. She crossed her legs and shut her eyes, wishing for perhaps the millionth time that she was more fit. Why did I run like that?

It was rhetorical; of course she knew why. She sighed in-between breaths, embarrassment flooding through her. She knew she was alone, as everyone had gone their own ways once on the surface, and she had fallen behind - wishing for the 999,999th time that she was more fit. But she'd wanted to catch up to Undyne, and had tried as hard as she could - but still fell back. As usual, as she did with the human - Frisk, she reminded herself - and Mettaton, as she always did with Undyne...

"Ugh," she groaned, but she felt better, already, the cooling autumn breeze flowing down the slope to where she now sulked and recovered. It definitely helped. Was there magic in the surface air after all?

So for long as she could, aware that time was of the essence, Alphys got to her feet, moved to brush the dirt off of her clothes - and then stopped, her stomach falling and her eyes widening, as her hands pulled out from under her coat the hem of the dress she was wearing. Or, rather, the dress she still wore: the polka-dot dress, her best, favourite dress.

"Oh, no, no, no," she sighed, brushing the soil off of the back of the dress, relieved it was easy to get rid of. "I forgot to change..."

With another sigh, she leaned her head down and raised her arms, sniffing under each one, before she winced and quickly reached into her inner coat pocket, pulling out deodorant and reapplying it generously - just in case. Only then was she okay to go forward, and she adjusted her bag under her coat before going up the ramp. Alphys then realised she was trembling, but she wasn't afraid. She was excited, filled with anticipation. All she knew about stars was what she saw on her TV screen, phone, or laptop; not even the crystal rooms were equivalent to these images. She knew she could never imagine what she was about to see, and this time, in more ways than one.

But first, the surface, a miracle in itself.

It was almost completely dark, and the entire world looked almost eerie in the dusk light. Once her eyes adjusted and realised what she was seeing, she froze in place, her head already tilted up and towards the sky above her. She felt her knees give out, and she sat down - before an idea came to her, and she grinned. She shuffled, making sure she found a soft, grassy spot, one just below the widest swatch of sky visible, and, using her bag as a pillow and her coat as a blanket, she laid down on her back, crossing her ankles and looking up into the sky above, now so much easier while lying down. It took a few more seconds to get completely settled and comfortable, and once she was, her eyes focused, her body relaxed - and she froze, stunned at once.

Above her was indeed unlike anything else she'd ever seen before. Her breath caught, and her hands, flew up to her mouth, smothering her gasp. Thanks to how far away she was from the city, the sky was crammed with stars: clusters and constellations, clouds and satellites, even a few wisps of nebulae - and eventually, she saw hints of the galaxy closest to Earth - The Milky Way, her stunned brain supplied weakly.

Suddenly, without control, Alphys burst into tears. She was so overwhelmed, brimming with so many mixed emotions, that she couldn't hold it back - not anymore, not after all that had happened. She hadn't been allowed to cry since the very start, well-aware that if she began, no matter what happened, she wouldn't be able to stop, not until she knew it was all over, and all was well. No, it was better to wait until she knew it was over, then she could cry. And clearly, now was that time.

Since she was certain that she was alone, Alphys let herself weep. She lowered her hands, wrapping her arms around her middle, raising her knees and curling her tail around her legs - before she just let loose, unable to control any of the sounds that escaped her. Her mind raced alongside her tears, going through all that had happened, all that she'd gone through, to even get to this point, to be able to watch these stars grow brighter as the sky grew darker. She could still see those gorgeous, celestial lights, albeit through tears, and despite those tears, she couldn't stop staring at those lights.

Everything had changed in a single day, and now her entire life lay in complete disarray. Her research was over, the human souls long gone; the Amalgamates were now gone, too, her secrets laid bare alongside their homecoming; her relationship with Mettaton was barely held together by the thinnest of threads, terrified she would snap it, so she hid from him, too...

Hell, she realised with a dry, bitter laugh, I don't even have a job, anymore: Toriel fired me, and because he wants to please her, Asgore agreed.

Alphys understood him, more than she cared to truly admit to herself, but she was still a bit mad at him for doing that -- especially after all she'd gone through up to that point, only to be canned like rubbish.

And speaking of rubbish, her relationship with Undyne was in the bin, too. Despite how kind Undyne had been, despite their almost-kiss (one she was sure Undyne probably hadn't even wanted, and had felt pressured into), the facts remained: Alphys had confessed to Undyne, and Undyne had literally thrown her away as her reply.

Now, the tears took on a different form, a different variant, and without control, Alphys actually closed her eyes to the beauty of the sky. She leaned over to curl up on her side without control or thought, and she sobbed, her hands now held over her chest. Despite it all, despite all of the good, the worst - well, one of the worst - had happened.

Yes, Alphys was on the surface, shivering under real, surface-aired chills, the breeze the kindest caress she'd ever felt, especially upon her hot, wet face...

But Alphys also had to start all over again - literally, all over from scratch. She needed a new job - a new career, really, and who would hire her, once everyone knew what she'd done? - a new home... Basically, a new life. She hoped to move up to the surface one day, like Frisk had admitted they wanted for the monsters, but she now realised that she had no clue how she even could, or how she could even start. She didn't even know if she had any friends left at all, even Frisk, not even mentioning Undyne and Mettaton...

Plus...

There was still one last secret that she had kept, one that no one, not even Mettaton, knew, one she was certain would be the last nail in the coffin of her relationship with Undyne, both platonically... and especially romantically...

With a sinking gut, Alphys suddenly choked on that thought, unable to move past it.

Why should I even try to, then? she thought, Why should I ever leave the Underground, ever again? Not even Frisk would miss me, not for long...

She was wrong, about all of that, but of course had no way of knowing. How could she? She expected everyone to hate her, now, once her secrets were known in depth by them all; maybe this was going to be her only chance to see the stars before she was arrested for those secrets?

All of it, all at once, was so much, too much, and Alphys broke down, so sure was alone, so sure would now always be alone, forever, but she was wrong.

She was not alone.

And she would never be alone, again.

Because someone had come back to the entrance of the Underground - and just in time to see Alphys curl up on herself and start to sob with grief - and that someone had seen it all.

Undyne and sans were both required to drag Papyrus back up the hill and away from the city, as fast as possible, thanks to both instinct, and a text from Frisk: "Stop anyone from going to the city, yet, please! Not until they know to expect you! Can you use the Guards, Undyne?"

It had been sent to everyone in a group chat, and Undyne had already begun dragging her best friend back by his cape when she read it and showed it to him. Upon reading it, Papyrus calmed and stopped fighting, looking disheartened, but of course he would listen to Frisk - and Undyne.

"they're right," sans added, patting his brother's hand when he saw the message, and his brother's expression. "very smart, that kid. we need to go back home, anyway."

"DO WE?" Papyrus sulked, arms now crossed. He looked up for a moment - then kept looking up, his eyes widening.

"WOWIE," he breathed out, unable to add anything else.

And so, too, were sans and Undyne now speechless, their own heads now tilted back and gazing up - and seeing the stars. Silence fell upon the three for a moment, one shared in amicable, shared awe, amazed and pleased that they could share such a special moment together.

Then, Undyne suddenly blurted out, "I want Alphys to see this, too."

Her voice was barely audible, but the brothers heard it and looked over at her, both sharing varying degrees of surprise, for differing reasons. She refused to look at them, though she felt her body flush hot under their scrutiny.

"Where is she?" she added, trying so hard to see casual and cool. "Did either of you see where she went? Did she go back already?"

When more silence met her questions, Undyne finally lowered her head, her eye darting between them quickly. The light around them was dim, but she could still see their faces, and she was surprised, now: their expressions were that unexpected - because Papyrus looked very embarrassed, and sans stared at her like she'd just flashed him. She stared back, her stomach suddenly clenching with unexpected dread.

"What?" she demanded, her fear making her voice sharp. "Why are you both looking at me like that?!"

"UNDYNE," Papyrus said, his voice suddenly gentle, and he touched her shoulder. "ALPHYS TURNED BACK A WHILE AGO. YOU DIDN'T NOTICE."

It wasn't a question, but Undyne answered him like it was. "Because I was chasing you!" she protested hotly.

"dude," sans broke in, "did you also forget what you did to her, before the shit hit the fan?"

Undyne opened her mouth, then closed it, her eye widening and her entire body breaking into a horrified, cold sweat.

"But..." she croaked out. "It was a joke! It was a joke!!"

"SHE CONFESSED TO YOU, CAPTAIN," Papyrus reminded her carefully, looking at her with both pity and sadness. "AND YOU LITERALLY THREW HER AWAY."

"and into a literal garbage can, too, captain," sans added unhelpfully.

By the time sans was done talking, Undyne was shaking, looking absolutely terrified, now, an expression rarely seen, if ever seen, at all.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head desperately. "But, she was fine, she was joking and laughing with us, and... and--,"

"and that was because she had to," sans explained, looking more surprised. "you couldn't tell? it was fake, for show, for the human."

"FOR YOU," Papyrus then added, and she knew it was true, all of it. She'd screwed it all up, when she thought she'd made it alright. Instead, she'd missed the one thing she'd dreamt of for years, now, and had made it all out to be a joke.

"Fuck!!" Undyne shouted, unable to hold it back.

She screamed it, her voice breaking, before she scrambled up and shoved between and past the brothers, going back towards the base of Mt. Ebott, as fast as she could. She repeated the cuss with each third step, unable to help her growing panic. This was supposed to be the best night of their lives, of all their lives, everyone's life, but instead, she had ruined it all, with one careless, stupid joke, gone completely wrong.

Undyne stopped cussing halfway up -- but only because she couldn't, anymore; she was in tears, now. This was the moment she'd been waiting for, but not to spend alone. What was the point of that? After all she'd done, After all Alphys had endured, all she wanted to do now was to grab Alphys's hand, drag her down into the woods, find a perfect clearing, a convenient nook, and--

Suddenly, Undyne stopped, her body halting in place before her mind caught up to it. When it did, she heard a sound she recognised -- one that made her heart and soul ache: the sound of Alphys, crying. She couldn't see Alphys, but she could hear her, and the sound had petrified her. She dropped to her knees, her own tears now oddly quiet, unable to make a sound, now. No, upon hearing the naked grief she had caused, a pain she had never wanted to inflict, Undyne was barely able to breathe, now, feeling grief of her own.

However, the movement, however sparse, had still made a sound, and with it came a choked gasp from Alphys.

Undyne went still, suddenly awash in shame, something that worsened once Alphys spoke.

"Come-come out," she snapped, though weakly. She had sat up upon hearing the noise of the bushes rustling, and she was so humiliated that all she could feel was hatred for herself. "Just c-come out, I-I know you're there!"

But Alphys didn't know the whole of it, because when she heard more movement and looked up, she saw the last person both above and below that she'd ever expected to see: Undyne. She stood up, revealing her hiding spot, and she was now all Alphys could see - including the expression on her face, one that brought Alphys quickly to her feet, despite it all. At the sight of it, Alphys forgot her own sorrow, all at the sight of Undyne's; now, all she could think about was how sad Undyne looked, how crestfallen she appeared before her - practically a stranger.

When had Alphys ever seen Undyne cry like that, before? Never. And it brought her out of her own fugue immediately.

She stood before Undyne, before Undyne could even take a breath to speak or a step forward, and even in the growing darkness, Alphys's face was also clear: scared, yes, but worried, above all else.

Even now, clearly while nursing her own broken heart, Alphys still cared about Undyne.

Even after all I've done to her, Undyne thought bitterly.

"Undyne," Alphys then said, her voice hoarse, but soft and gentle, careful, "are you alright? Did something bad happen? Is someone hurt?"

Undyne opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She gaped at Alphys, instead, her throat closing up, her face growing hot, even beneath the constant outpouring of tears streaking down her cheeks. Her lips quivered for a moment, stunned, and she knew why she was: for perhaps the billionth time, without even trying, Alphys had Undyne falling for her all over again, and all without trying.

Carefully, her eyes searching Undyne's face closely, Alphys raised her hands and held them up, as if approaching a deer. "Undyne," she repeated, her voice louder, her voice breaking with worry. "Please, what had--what did--? Are you--are you okay? Are you s-safe?"

"No," Undyne blurted out right away, and Alphys wondered if the captain was in shock, and why -- until Undyne moved forward, closing the distance between them. She then lowered her head, dropped to her knees, and lunged forward, grabbing Alphys and pulling her towards herself, before embracing her, and tightly. On her knees, they were practically the same height, and Undyne easily found the perfect place for her face: the curve of Alphys's neck. She did just that, gathering Alphys nearer, but she trembled, desperate to speak words but only able to speak with action, yearning for something -- anything -- from Alphys. Undyne even tried to speak after a moment, one Alphys spent stunned and still, but as she did, she felt it: Alphys's tense body began to slowly soften and relax within her arms, and soon, those arms, warm and plump and soft, encircled Undyne at last, and held fast.

Alphys was shaking, too, but with more tears; she clung to Undyne, desperate for her touch, now, but she still felt lost, still felt confused, and thus she felt scared as a result of both.

Nonetheless, Alphys didn't let go of Undyne. And Undyne didn't let go of her.

For a long, peaceful -- if slightly tearful -- pocket of time, one spent in silence, broken only by hiccups or sniffles or even choked breaths. As the darkness fell in full around the two, so did a sharper chill, but neither felt it within the warmth of the other's arms, snuggling so close that they only felt each other.

Then, fearfully, Alphys's eyes closed and her forehead pressed to the top of Undyne's head, feeling both her soft hair and the fuzzy stubble. Undyne nuzzled closer in reply, which made Alphys brave enough to ask, "Undyne, are we--? Are we... fr-friends, again? Pl-please?"

Undyne went rigid in her arms, so quickly, Alphys tried to take it back, fearful that she'd crossed the line - until Undyne raised her head, the act alone silencing her: Undyne's expression was clear, even in the dark, but Alphys was unsure that what she saw was even real. She had never seen such a look on Undyne's face, before, not outside of her dreams, and yet...

"Alphy," Undyne choked out, her eye wavering with fresh tears, completely unwanted. "Of course we're friends, again, if anything, we're... we should be..."

For a moment, her eye darted between Alphys's, who was staring back with huge, bewildered eyes, her own expression one that set Undyne's soul ablaze. Which was why, as her reply, instead of saying the words she had held back for over a year, she said them once again with action: she leaned forward and kissed Alphys, right upon her lips.

Right away, Alphys responded, kissing back and holding onto her tighter, unable to help herself. But as soon as she felt her own body respond, reality crashed into her,  and she pulled back with a whimper of regret, hurriedly moving back and pushing Undyne away, shocking her, too.

"No," Alphys gasped, with obvious regret as well as terror. "I-I'm not-- I'm-- we can't, we can't, we can't! You're-- I'm-- I-I-I--,"

"Wait," Undyne pleaded, trying to pull her back. "Alphy, please, nothing you are would ever--!"

"I can't!!" Alphys wailed, then, pulling herself free, before she sobbed out Undyne's name, turned around, and ran away, back down the slope, back through the courtyard -- and then back to the Underground, retreating into the closest elevator and vanishing into it.

And all before Undyne could even get to her feet and attempt to follow her, let alone speak. She slumped forward, then, trembling with both cold and shock now -- the shock of realising that something was wrong, very wrong, but she didn't know what.

Undyne sat there for a long time, shivering in the dark and weeping as silently as possible, staring off blankly toward where Alphys had left her behind.

Then, "wow, what did you do to her this time, captain?"

Undyne closed her eye, wishing she could either disappear - or kill sans for even asking. "Please go away," she begged, hoping that a rare show of real vulnerability would make him pity her and leave.

Instead, he walked over to her and sat down beside her, his eyes fixed above him, still, as if his neck were stuck that way, now.

"Please get Papyrus," she tried again.

"nope," sans replied. "he's chilling with the others in snowdin right now."

She purposefully ignored the pun, though admittedly, it was difficult. "Then please, just go away."

"nope," he repeated calmly, and she groaned, curling around her folded up legs and hiding her face into her knees.

sans glanced at her for a moment, then nudged her shoulder with his own. "c'mon, captain, spill; what'd you do?"

"I kissed her," Undyne muttered, her voice choked up, again.

It had been wonderful; the hug, the feel of Alphys against her, the smell of her, like sharp sweat and sweet bubblegum deodorant, the way her kiss had tasted like tears, but also of softness, of smooth pleasure, of sensual bliss...

"ohhh, you done fucked up," sans agreed calmly, leaning back and lying down, his arms behind his head, his eyes searching the skies above him.

"Clearly!" Undyne snarled. "But how?! I thought she -- I thought we were--?!" She groaned, long and loud, before going quiet, her shoulders shaking. She then waited, tensely, honestly hoping that sans not only had something to say, but something that would actually help her.

sans was silent for a moment.

Then, he asked, so casually that it was deceptive, "hey captain... you're totally gay, yeah?"

Undyne's head jerked up so sharply that her neck cracked, and she glowered at him hoping her expression was as incredulous as she felt.

"Obviously!" she cried, throwing her hands into the air briefly before letting them drop heavily into her lap.

"okay, cool," sans replied. "so... are you a terf, too, or nah?"

Undyne felt several things all at once from that: she felt confusion, because it was a question that seemed like a non-sequitur; she felt surprise, alongside a keen understanding, as part of her reached the proper conclusion before the rest of her did, and had already made her decision without her even realising it, yet.

But most of all, despite everything she felt, she felt fury above it all: bright white, scorching hot, blood-boiling rage. The question insulted her, hurt her, and made her feel real, genuine -- if brief -- hatred.

So when sans blinked, next, and realised that not only was he not seeing stars anymore, but speartips before his eyes, but there was a speartip pointed at each vital spot over his body -- including three over the heart -- and there were a lot more than three.

sans sighed. "you would only need one, captain," he replied to this, as calmly as he could.

At that, they all vanished with his next blink, and with another snarl, Undyne dropped down onto the grass beside him, her arms covering her face.

Weakly, she pleaded, her voice muffled, "Please just help me get her back."

sans grinned. "leave it to me -- and frisk," he advised. He got to his feet, then held out his hand to her, one she frowned at sceptically. "c'mon, captain, you got no other place to sleep, and we have some room, still."

Undyne sighed in defeat, then took it, before saying, her voice oddly small, "What if she does something to herself, and I'm too late...?"

sans pulled, and she got up. "she won't," he replied easily, so much so that she felt herself believe him, just enough to hold onto her hope. "do you trust me, yet?"

"For now," she agreed, her voice as shrunken as she felt inside. "If you really will help me-- help us."

"i already have a plan," he confirmed.

She hoped so. She certainly was out of ideas - and bravery.

For now.

Chapter Text

Alphys didn't remember the trip home, or how she even got home -- least of all without being stopped or spoken to -- but once she was back behind that steel door, once she heard the locks whirl into place, once the lights flickered on and revealed the only home she'd ever known...

Well, only then was she able to come back to herself, to allow her soul back into her traitorous body, one she usually was fine with, but now so very much despised, for obvious reasons...

Slowly, with her back pressed against the door, Alphys closed her now-swollen eyes and slid down to the floor, upon which she promptly crumpled into herself, her entire being aching, but...

Somehow, she'd run out of tears.

Instead, an odd, curious emptiness seemed to take over.

She still felt her pain and her humiliation -- but as if from, far, far away, happening to someone else, someone who looked like her but couldn't be her...

But it was.

For longer than was probably healthy, Alphys sat there, willing herself to break down, again, only now, in a safe place, where she wouldn't ever get caught, but...

Nothing happened.

She just felt... empty.

Blank.

Everyone else had a new start in this new world but her. The surface was a new beginning for everyone else, everyone that mattered, but her.

For her, it was all gone, and thus, in this new world, she clearly didn't matter.

At that, the calm turned cold, and lethal.

When Alphys opened her eyes, all she could feel was distant despair. All she could see was a future with no point.

That was, until she finally got to her feet, trudged up the stairs and to her room--

--and found Mettaton, there, offline and waiting.

Waiting for her to reawaken him, to bring him back online, back into his true body, at last, just where she'd left him, right before she'd been called away, and...

Alphys sighed deeply, then, her whole body sagging alongside it. That lethal darkness disappeared, though she knew it was of course temporary -- she still felt blank and detached. But it wasn't enough to ignore this: her friend, one she'd used and been gross to, just to make herself look good, who probably now hated her as a result, and would leave as soon as his beautiful legs could carry him out, but...

But he had to wake up first, and only Alphys was able to help him do that, at the moment.

So, with a resigned nod, Alphys took off her bag and coat, sat down at her work desk in her favourite dress, and got to work.

Looking back, in that moment, it was all that kept her held together.

But barely.

For two nights and a day and a half, Alphys worked on Mettaton.

It was all she could do; her brain had either short-circuited or was blank to protect her, but either way, she felt nothing as she worked, save the urge to work. She barely remembered to take care of herself, not really seeing a reason why -- unless it got in the way of fixing Mettaton.

If he comes back, Alphys thought, then I can live with whatever else comes.

But... but if I fail...

Well. It was best not to consider failure.

That first night, she fell asleep at her desk, having only repaired one of his arms.

When she woke up, for a blissful moment, she had forgotten all of it: Frisk, Mettaton, her lies... Undyne... and...

The tiny yellow flower...

The bright white flash...

The painful despair...

No, for that moment, she thought it was a normal day, and she'd just overslept past her alarm while working on Mettaton's new body -- hence the confusion and disorientation.

Then, she raised her head to stretch -- and saw Mettaton's relaxed, dormant face, and all at once, she remembered.

The shock of it forced her to her feet, a shocked sob escaping her as she recalled it all, all over again...

And again, in that terrible moment, before she could even react to her new, horrible reality, that blank numbness took over, so fast that she swooned a little, trembling and trying to catch her breath.

Then, and only when she breathed normally, did she allow herself to see to her own needs, before she got back to work.

During that long, closed-in day, Alphys ignored everyone and everything save Mettaton's repairs. Her phone rang, her doorbell chimed -- and at one point, she thought she even heard someone start to bang on the doors -- but she didn't care. She knew that if anyone sought her out, they'd give up, eventually, so why bother prolonging her eventual abandonment?

Even Mettaton would leave her once he recovered.

So who cares?

Do I even care, anymore...?

It turned out that there were a lot of people who cared, and she was about to find that out. But right now, she had only her ignorance.

The second night, she managed to drag herself to her bed, activating it just before dropping into it, her exhaustion now painful. It was the only reason why'd she'd stopped working; her vision was now fried, too.

But she was almost done; all she had left was the battery replacement and testing the batteries, and that was easy.

And once that was done, she knew, so was she.

For a moment, Alphys couldn't sleep, despite wanting nothing else. Her thoughts spoke up, making it worse, but she got no Mercy.

Tomorrow, Metta leaves me, forever, just like the rest, and that will be that.

It'll all be over, you'll never hurt again.

You'll go to the abyss, and...

Her phone suddenly chimed, and for a moment, she considered looking at it, but she was too frightened. She was certain the messages would be nothing but bad.

Why bother...?

Alphys sighed, closing her eyes. Her mind went blank, and she was granted Mercy, at last.

When her phone chimed again, she was already asleep, and heard nothing.

The next morning, Undyne woke up so early that even Papyrus was still in his room, his door still closed. She couldn't help it; she'd barely slept, her mind racing so fast that she had no choice.

How could she? Today was the day.

Today is finally the day.

Thanks to both Frisk and sans, as promised, with Asgore and Toriel especially helping Frisk, the humans of Ebott rediscovered their monsters at last, an event that, had the town been any other, perhaps would have brought disaster.

Instead, especially once Toriel and Asgore were seen and identified, the town seemed oddly excited. The stories they'd all grown up with had been true after all, so if anything, it was actually rather gratifying, and the city seemed as though they'd been waiting for such an event -- especially if one judged by how the Dreemurrs had been received, with Frisk alongside them. As such, just like Frisk had hoped, the town wanted to celebrate, to welcome them all properly, and since the next day -- the 17th -- was said to be unseasonably hot and humid, it was only natural that a beach party was proposed as a result.

Undyne was already over the moon about that part, the idea of real water, within a real beach, making her heart soar once she realised what could -- should -- happen as a result.

The problem, she knew, was still there: Frisk had invited everyone, and all but two had replied: Mettaton, which was expected, as everyone knew he was still offline for repairs -- and Alphys, who'd been unreachable for over 36 hours now, despite numerous attempts from practically everyone.

Undyne was worried, yes, but truly, she hoped Frisk had kept trying, at least until they got an answer from Alphys, at least. She chose to be an optimist for now, but truly, after what happened the night the Barrier fell, she wasn't so sure.

She could only prepare for the worst -- and hope for the best.

That very same morning, Alphys woke not to texts, but an actual phone call, one that required speaking -- a prospect so repulsive and awful that she cringed, moving away from the noise as soon as she heard it, holding her head. It hurt; she'd fallen asleep in her clothes, after hours of hard work and little food, and she now felt so hungry that it was nauseating. She curled up into a ball, hoping that doing so would make her phone shut up, but it didn't. It refused to.

So despite herself, she felt a twinge of perplexed, curious fear. Who would be calling her at this time, and so insistently? Did something go wrong? Was it her fault? For whose pain was she responsible for, now?

On the fifth restart, Alphys groaned in defeat and dragged herself back towards her phone, realising it wasn't on the bed, but on the floor. She reached down with another hoarse groan, grabbed it, and looked at it, before quickly pushing herself back up and onto the bed, stunned.

There, upon the screen, was "The Human calling..."

Her guts turned to stone and sank, but she quickly answered, knowing that if she didn't, she never would. Her voice was weak with disuse and rather vocal grieving, but she spoke nonetheless.

"Hello...?" she rasped out.

"Hey, Doctor Alphys, it's the human, Frisk? I've been trying to reach you; are you alright? You haven't answered anything I've sent to you, and I've tried. Is something wrong?"

Alphys blinked, her eyes widening. When had the human ever spoken this much to her, before? Had they ever spoken this much, before?

"Uhm..." she stammered weakly, rubbing her eyes in growing confusion. "I'm fine," she lied, "is there something wr-wrong with you?"

She heard Frisk inhale sharply, then breathe out slowly, before taking a few more breaths, and suddenly, Alphys felt a pang of unexpected guilt.

"Are you alright?" she whispered, sitting up slowly and putting her glasses on, concern giving her strength, as it always did. "Wh-what has-- what's happened? Did I--? Did-did I mess something el-else up? What-- What h-have I done, n-n-now?"

There was a brief pause, before, "No, Alphys," Frisk said, their voice soft and calm, now -- gentle. Patient. "You've done nothing wrong, Doctor, and the problem is that I don't think you know that."

Alphys went utterly still, feeling herself start to tremble.

Oh, she thought, Oh, no no, Oh, no no no. This isn't real, no one cares about me, I made a fool of myself before this human, I was gross, I was... I am...

"Alphys," Frisk was saying, their sharp tone startling her. She had no way of knowing why, had no way of knowing what Frisk had discovered about her, when they had rescued her stolen, lost soul. Therefore, she had no clue that Frisk knew how much she truly hated herself, right now -- and all that that entailed.

"I'm still here," Alphys whispered weakly, her throat still sore. Her fear was growing into wariness, now -- and more humiliation.

"You did nothing wrong," Frisk repeated, before adding, "and it's clear that you've been by yourself for way too long. You should come back up here, Alphys, with the rest of us. There's gonna be a beach party, today, and you're invited. You should definitely come."

Alphys could think of nothing worse. A strange place, an alien landscape, and possibly hostile encounters...

And all while in swimwear?!

But then again, it was Frisk who was asking her, so she hesitated. "Do you...? Do you really want me there...?" she murmured, not really expecting an affirmative.

"I need you there, Doctor," Frisk corrected, again surprising Alphys. "I need everyone to see you, to see the real you, and to see what you're really about. And it's not just you," they hurried on, right before Alphys tried to break in. "Everyone from Underground is invited."

Alphys flinched, then forced herself to ask, "Will Undyne be there?"

Frisk paused, then answered, "She's invited, but she said she probably won't be there, no; something about her house, and the damage that was done to it, uh, while cooking."

"Oh," Alphys sighed. She was conflicted. In a way, she did want to go, just from curiosity, alone, and she wanted to go with Undyne, too, even if they were still just friends. But at the same time, she felt a small sense of relief: she could take a break, see the surface by herself, and not have to worry about seeing Undyne, which would only cause them both grief, the very last thing she wanted.

Therefore, it was no small shock that Alphys heard herself agree and accept, if not to spend a lot of time there, then to just show up and show herself for long enough, before finally fleeing back Underground to safety.

Frisk, after promising that they would tell Alphys if Undyne changed her mind, sounded rather pleased about all of this, and promised to send her all the details via text -- before hanging up so quickly that Alphys wondered if they had done so before she could change her mind.

There was no danger of that, but it didn't matter.

Seconds later, Alphys got the promised text, and slowly, automatically, she got to her feet and started to get ready to go to the beach.

Just this once, she thought. Then...

On her way out, she replaced the tested batteries into Mettaton's power core, then plugged him into the wall beside her desk, for an added boost upon his awakening, so he'd be good to go, and right away.

Then, with a deep, sad sigh, Alphys looked at him one last time, before she left. She was well aware that when she came back here, he'd be long, long gone -- and she didn't want to think about it, anymore.