A/N: Hi everyone, its been awhile. Thank you Clnne and KittyKatUzamaki for showing interest in this story. I'll see you at the end of the chapter.
Sans sighed running his hands down his face, careful not to catch his phalanges in his eye sockets. He leaned to his right, squinting against the bright blue light of the monitor screen. His mandible was resting on his metacarpals of his right hand as his left phalanges drummed against his desk. The corners of his permanent smile dropped a little at the sight of the scant paragraph.
The Undernet was a great place to find information on 'who's who' of monsters. Looking at the page created for the nobles, Sans quickly found that the page was severely lacking. The most glaring evidence of this was the section devoted to the Royal Healer. Whether this was the Crown's way of protecting its crowning jewels or just there was no dirt on them, Sans had no idea. The picture on the page was of the skeleton's back, her skull looking over her shoulder. It was poor quality, but considering the lack of skeletons in the Underground, it was sufficient to identify her. Sans read through the healer's biography. He was able to read it twice within a couple of minutes.
She was apparently dropped off in the New Home orphanage by some unknown monster at the age of five. For some reason, there wasn't even a description of the monster. She was considered a prodigy at healing magic. She helped at the New Home Hospital until she became the Royal Healer a year ago at the age of eighteen. Sans reread the last sentence again. Avenir was the same age as Papyrus. The fact was strange to consider, but Sans filed that away as unimportant. He couldn't afford to connect the two skeletons even if it was something trivial as age. He shut the program and pushed himself away from his desk. His eyelights lazily drifted to the self-sustaining trash tornado in his room. The trash within it swirled rapidly in its small funnel. His thoughts felt the same; circling and circling in an endless cycle. The skeleton was still conflicted about the choice he was given a couple days ago. He wanted to turn down the offer, but it was tantalizing with its golden future. But could he really trust a monster who he just met? Especially after the Riverperson's ominous message that couldn't get out of his head.
A knock on his door broke his thoughts, causing him to jump slightly in his seat. "SANS, I AM LEAVING FOR WORK. I HOPE YOU ARE AWAKE," Papyrus's loud voice carried through the door.
"Yup, I'm up," Sans replied as he walked to the door, opening it to see Papyrus standing, his hands on his pelvis. The shorter skeleton leaned on the doorway.
"I MADE SOME DINOSAUR EGG OATMEAL FOR YOU SO YOU CAN BE ON TIME TODAY. I NEED TO GO NOW, BUT I WILL RETURN HOME AT THE USUAL TIME." Papyrus left quickly after saying goodbye to Sans. Even though none of the monsters he worked for cared when he showed up, Papyrus insisted on waking and leaving early. Sans understood his brother's reasoning: the more houses Papyrus cleaned the more gold in their pockets. The shorter skeleton clenched his fists; his brother deserved better. Of course, if Sans agreed with the healer's deal, there wouldn't be a need to clean houses. He shook his head trying to clear his thoughts; it was too risky.
Sans tried to keep his mind off of the healer's offer as he ate the slightly chilled oatmeal. It was bland, but it was better than Papyrus's pancakes. Papyrus could really use some cooking lessons, but they didn't have the money for that luxury. Sans looked at the worn kitchen appliances, his bored eye-lights taking in each flaw. His brother deserved better. He put his chipped plate in the sink. They deserved better. Sans pulled on an old blue jacket. He deserved better.
The shorter skeleton zipped up his jacket. Opening the door to the cold wind, he stepped into the snow. He lowered his head to keep the wind from blowing across his sockets. He trudge forward, his feet sinking in the snow. His slippers were getting soaked from the snow. No one was out yet, that made it easier for him to get a seat. The skeleton opened the door to the small diner he neared. He didn't need to read the painted name, he could walk here in his sleep. Sans took his hand out of his pocket and pulled the door open. He stepped into the warm restaurant.
The bar was empty except for the bird and fish monster, but they practically lived here so it didn't matter. The fire elemental behind the bar looked up from the glass he was cleaning. Sans shuffled to the bar and pulled himself up to the stool. "Heya, Grillby," the skeleton greeted.
"Did Papyrus make pancakes again?" Grillby asked.
"Nah, I just wanted to pick your brain." Grillby set down the glass in his hands. Although Sans couldn't really see it, he was sure that the barkeeper was curious. "What do you know about Avenir, the Royal Healer?"
The flames on the fire elemental's head crackled. "I don't stick my nose where it doesn't belong."
"The skeleton girl," the red bird interrupted. " Yeah, I was there when she was promoted or at least when she took the spot light." The monster ruffled his feathers. He was clearly unsettled. Sans settled into a comfortable position. "She's a killer and a EXP stealer." The bird monster's eyes narrowed. The skeleton rose his brow bone. "I am surprised that Asgore didn't punish her."
UT~UT~UT~
Alphys was grateful for her job; she told herself this over and over as she hurried through the warm streets. She chewed on a piece of dry toast, careful not to drop the bread from her mouth. The job's flexible hours were perfect for her. Staying up all night watching anime isn't the best way to be at work early. She mentally insulted her lack of foresight as she yawned once again almost dropping her meal. She pulled her lab coat close to her body, embarrassed. There wasn't many monsters on the streets of Hotland, but the few that were standing by the side of the red dirt road were staring.
The lizard tried to ignore the glances, keeping her snout down. She wished she was like the other nobles; they all could stand so confidently. No one would dream of attacking them. Her breaths sped up; these monsters wouldn't dust her, she reassured herself. There were too many witnesses; it would be foolish to attack. Their whispers were loud and though she couldn't hear the words, she knew they were plotting something. Her mind was unhelpfully adding various plots to dust her. The details were quite gruesome.
Her dark eyes darted to the beings watching her. She would say something, but she knew that her voice would betray her nervousness. Her yellow clawed hand reached for her cell phone in her lab coat.
She pulled it out, turning the screen on. She looked at the pitiful sort list of contacts. Her personal guard was near the top and with a press of a button he would be at her location in a moment. With a deep breath, Alphys pressed the dial button. The phone rang once, twice. Her nerves were too much and she hung up.
She looked up; she was almost at the lab. She could make it. Her clawed feet hurried to the familiar sight of the plaid metal building. She swiped her key card while the red dirt settled and the metal door open. Alphys hurried in and the door slid to a close behind her. She breathed a sigh of relief as the locking mechanism filled the lab with its noise.
The lizard monster padded to the hidden elevator. The tile floor cool against her scales. Once inside she pushed the button to go down to the True Lab. Her most sensitive projects were performed down in the dimly lit labs below the ground. The yellow lizard walked a bit more confidently in the safe confines of her hidden labs.
She grabbed her notebook from her office before heading to the lab holding the golden flowers. She hummed the theme song to the anime she watched the night before as she unlocked the door. She flipped through the pages of the notebook, her eyes quickly making note of the subjects' previous heights. "He-help," a small voice called out; it was soft, child-like and scared. It clenched at her SOUL and Alphys lowered her notebook quickly. She started to get nervous; no one should be down here. Her hands shook sightly. It was just a child and surely nothing to fear.
"Uh- I- I- am right here wh-where are you?" she asked shakily, her dark eyes looking for a small child. The only thing she could see were the golden flowers on the silver lab table.
"I am on the table," the voice answered still sounding tense. Alphys looked at the golden flowers. Her eyes scanned carefully until she saw one of the plants move. It waved its leaves, drawing the scientist's attention. Alphys's claws went slack and her notebook clattered to the ground while her jaw dropped. A simple face was in the center of the flower, looking a little uncomfortable. Fear was still clear in its eyes while its mouth tried to convey nonchalance. "H-howdy, Ms. Royal Scientist," the flower continued, his voice still strained, but trying to be calm.
Alphys tried not to panic which seemed like a losing battle. What did she do? How was this even possible? She berated herself for the long pause she had let settle in the air. The poor flower looked so lost and desperate for a response. "H-hi, you can just call me Alphys," the lizard monster said as she stepped over the fallen notebook to walk closer to the flower. "Wh-what is-is your name?" she asked gently. She nearly face-palmed; the flower wouldn't have a name. Unless flowers had names that they referred to each other. Did flowers even communicate with each other? Did flowers have feelings? Was that something that she could test? Alphys's mind raced that she nearly missed the plant's response.
"Asriel," the flower responded. "My name is Asriel. Please help me. I don't know what's wrong. I can't feel anything. What happened to me?" Asriel asked, his beady eyes pleaded with the scientist. It made the scientist feel ill.
Alphys knew that name sounded familiar. Where had she heard it? She had to answer the young flower. "I-I-I don't really know what happened to you. I in-injected you an-and all those fl-flowers with DT. Y-you a-a-appear to be the only one that is, um, conscious."
Asriel tilted his petaled head to one side to look at the plants beside him. "C-can I see a mirror?" Asriel asked. Alphys nodded and told the flower that she would be back soon. She ran quickly not wanting to leave the frightened flower for long. She returned to the flower who wilted slightly before noticing her.
"H-here," Alphys stuttered as she held out a small handheld mirror. Asriel looked at his reflection. His beady black eyes widened.
"Wh-wh-what happen to me? Why am I a flower?" the child asked. "I want my dad. He'll know what to do. Take me to my dad." The panic in his voice was rising.
"Wh-who's your dad?" Alphys asked wringing her hands together. She was failing at keeping the other calm.
"Asgore. King Asgore. Please I want my dad," Asriel pleaded. The lizard monster could feel her magic freeze. The name 'Asriel' finally clicked into place. She could remember the stories of Prince Asriel and his human sibling. Alphys started to shake at the gravity of the situation hit her. She revived a dead monster; a monster that had been dead for years. "Ms. Alphys?" Asriel's voice called out breaking her thoughts.
"Oh. Y-y-yeah. I-I-I'll get you to your d-d-dad," Alphys reassured. The lizard monster was gentle as she picked up the flower in its pot. Asriel wrapped his leaves around the lip of the pot tightly. "It is okay. I won't d-drop you," Alphys comforted making sure her claws secured the pot in her hands.
"Thank you, Dr. Alphys," the flower said lifting his head to look at the lizard monster. Alphys just nodded her head as she padded to the door. The flower grew silent for a moment as she made her way to the elevator. "How am I back? I-I died," he asked quietly looking up to see the scientist.
"Uh-uh. I th-think I have a th-theory about that. Monster Dust is s-said to imbue objects with that monster's essence. I-I was s-studying a substance c-called D-DETERMINATION. I b-believe that is w-what separates m-monster's from h-humans. So-so I w-was experimenting to s-see if I could trick the B-barrier by creating a mock SOUL." The lizard started the elevator and it climbed with a small jolt.
"My dust was on the flowers," Asriel filled in, "And DETERMINATION brought me back?"
"Th-that's what I h-hypothesize," Alphys stuttered. "The d-diluted solutions m-must not have been enough to revive the other flowers."
"That is a relief," Asriel admitted looking down at his leaves. "It would be weird for there to be more than one me," he tried to say lightly. The lizard monster didn't know how to continue the conversation. What could she say? This whole situation reminded her of a book she read; a book about a human scientist who tried to raise the dead. If she remembered correctly it didn't work out for him. It was unsettling to say the least.
The flower in her hands quieted as he looked at his leaves. He furled and unfurled them as Alphys exited the lab. The heat of the Hotland air made both flinch. Asriel's leaves curled tightly. "S-sorry. I should have b-brought a w-water bottle. Uh, the e-elevators are close for maintenance so w-we'll have to go through New Home and its h-hospital to get to the th-throne room." The flower nodded his understanding as the lizard monster walked through Hotland. The pair passed a couple of reptilian monsters.
Asriel turned his head to watch them pass. Their eyes widened, confusion on their faces. Alphys picked up the pace while holding Asriel closer. "Uh- may-maybe you should pretend to be a normal flower," she stuttered as they left the monsters' hearing.
"Oh, okay," Asriel relented rotating his head so he looked straight ahead. Alphys sighed in relief continuing their trek. The quickest way to the castle beside the elevators was through the coliseum. "That's new," Asriel stated quietly his eyes wide.
Alphys looked at the eerie stone structure. "Y-yeah, um it was built after you um, you, um-"
"Died," Asriel finished tilting his head up to see the top of the building as Alphys entered one of the entrances for fighters. "It's okay. I'm back, so harm in talking about it."
"R-right, there shouldn't be any-anyone here. So l-let's get out of here," Alphys stuttered feeling a little uneasy about being here. She could tell that the flower was taking everything. She kept her eyes up ahead. She didn't look at the stairwell to the audience seats or to the bits of the fighting arena that could be seen. She might have answered a couple of questions from the flower. He seemed a little troubled, but otherwise okay.
Alphys could see the exit up ahead and she released a pent-up breath. "Alphys, darling. Where are you going in such a hurry?" a sauve male voice asked. The lizard monster turned around her claws tightening on Asriel's pot.
A rectangular robot rolled down the hall. "H-hi, Mettaton," Alphys greeted.
"Greetings darling, how is my new body coming along? The public is dying to see it," the robot asked hands on his sides.
"Oh, um, I'm st-still working on it. I um, have some pressing ex-experiments do per-perform."
"I understand, darling. I have a couple of modifications that I would like to suggest," the robot said pulling a roll of paper from his inventory. He held the roll to Alphys who tried to grasp it with her left hand's fingertips. She kept both hands on the pot not wanting the flower to feel at risk. Mettaton chuckled at the strange movement before just balancing the roll across the top of the pot. "I would love to chat, but I have a recording to do in fifteen minutes. Some insane monster went on a killing spree in New Home. I have complete access to the story. Anyway, thank you darling for your work," the robot called out as he rolled away.
"Who was that?" Asriel asked as he wrapped his leaves around the paper.
"Oh, he um, he is a ro-robot I made. He's the Royal Entertainer now," Alphys stuttered as she left the coliseum behind. She explained to the flower a little about the Underground as she walked. The red dirt slowly faded to gray stone as the pair entered New Home.
From the elevated path, she could see the Capital. It was just as colorless as the rest of the region. "There's a lot more houses now," Asriel noted softly. Alphys didn't complain about him speaking since there were no monsters around.
"Yeah, It- it has been a long time," Alphys replied as she prepared herself to enter the New Home Hospital. She really didn't like entering the Royal Healer's domain, but it was the quickest path to the castle. The glass doors slid open quietly and her nose was assaulted with the scent of disinfectants.
She kept her head down and walked quickly across the waxed floor. The halls were empty as she walked. Occasionally, she would see a nurse or doctor walk by. The pair exited the building without any hassle. From the hospital, it was a quick journey to the castle.
Asriel seemed to take in everything they past. He seemed especially interested in the final corridor before the throne room. His eyes were fixated on the stain-glass windows and the stories they told.
Alphys only stopped walking when she reached the doors to the throne room. She shifted her weight from foot to foot. "What are you waiting for?" Asriel asked.
Alphys glanced down at the flower who gazed at her innocently. She didn't know how to say that she was terrified of his father. She didn't know how to explain that his father was different now and that he would probably dust her once he found out what she had done. The lizard wanted to turn back, but one look at the flower's beady eyes changed her mind. She sighed and pushed the door slowly.
"Your- your Majesty," she stuttered as she entered. The giant of a monster sat at his throne, his red trident at his side. He lowered his head slightly.
"Alphys, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he rumbled his eyes narrowing at the small lizard. His gaze locked onto the flowerpot in her hands. "You have results from your test?" he asked.
"Uh- Y-yes. Of- of- of a sort," Alphys stuttered shaking as she looked at the powerful monster. Her claws tightened around the pot.
"Dad!" Asriel called waving his leaves. The roll of paper he was previously holding fell to floor. Alphys didn't bother to grab it. She swallowed roughly as everything seemed to freeze.
Asgore stared down at the flower in the scientist's hands. His eyes narrowed as he frowned. "Dad, it's me Asriel," the flower said again, his voice pleading. The boss monster growled before getting to his feet, his paw-like hands grasping his trident. Alphys scrambled back holding the pot closer to her body. Her eyes widened in fear and her mouth became dry.
"Do you mock me?" the king boomed. Alphys sputtered all words failing her. Her tail curled around her legs.
"Dad. It's me. Why don't you believe me? Remember that time Chara and I made that pie?" the flower asked, his voice shaking slightly. Asgore didn't take this lightly. He clenched his jaw and Asriel lowered himself in fear. "We used buttercups instead of-" Asgore thrust his trident through the flower's face cutting off the sentence. Alphys didn't even have a chance to yelp before the red weapon continued its path through her lab coat and chainmail.
The lizard froze as time seemed to freeze. She sputtered and choked as dust filled her lungs. Her dark eyes looked up at her king as she gasped for air. Her claws loosen their grip of the pot and it clattered to the floor. Its dirt scattered across the golden flower joined with silver dust.
A/N: So please review. It encourages me to continue this story. If there are any questions, I will be able to answer them or clarify in the story.