I don't own Undertale, that was made by Toby Fox

Frisk and Alphys sit in silence while she sobs quietly. If they had any tissues in their inventory, Frisk would offer some to the monster. She sniffles and says, "You know… before I left the Underground, I was terrified of what awaited me on the surface. I kept telling myself I could always rely on you guys to back me up. Now I realize that was selfish of me. I can't have my friends carry my burdens."

"We wanted to help Alphys because we care. Just like you help us because you care." Frisk points out to her.

"And whenever I try to help I just make things worse. Frisk, thank you but I'm not worth all of this effort. Just…just go home, I'll head back in a little bit-"

Suddenly in the distance they hear an ominous, enraged shout that makes them jump. Frisk stands up ready to defend Alphys who meekly cowers behind the child. Whatever made that sounds is getting closer and growling. Though it sounds somewhat familiar. Frisk braces for an encounter ready to ACT if necessary, just as someone emerges from the shadows.

Or in this case falls flat on the ground.

"NGAHHHH! I HATE THIS STUPID HEELS!" Undyne roars after tripping for the 7th time. "I don't care if these are Mettaton's, I'm chucking these in the woods right- ALPHYS!" Crawling faster than she ever has, Undyne embraces her girlfriend while completely ignoring the human. "Thank goodness I finally found you. This is the last place I could think of that you'd run off to."

"Undyne…."

"I'm so so so sorry I made you get together with your mom. I had no idea it was that bad. Please tell me you're alright. Are you hurt? How did you get here so fast?"

"Undyne…..you're crushing me." Alphys wheezes. Undyne lets go to give her some space and only now acknowledges Frisk's presence.

"Wait a sec, how long have you been here? Why aren't you back at your place? Toriel is getting worried. And why didn't you call me when you found her!"

"Undyne, don't be upset." Alphys says cutting off Frisk before the human can try to justify their reason to be there. "Frisk was just trying to comfort me and I started talking about what happened between my mom and I. It's my fault, as usual." Alphys sighs.

Undyne turns back to her favorite nerd and takes charge of the situation. She gives her another crushing hug and tells her, "Don't you ever say that Alphys. I know for a fact that you would never do anything bad on purpose."

"But…but I end up messing things up anyway and you guys end up cleaning it up."

"Who cares? I mess up all the time and I don't let it bother me. We all make mistakes. I'm pretty sure the kid even made some mistakes we don't know about." Neither monster are aware that Frisk's eyes are nervously darting from side to side as if there's something they know that everyone else doesn't. "Nobody's perfect you dumb genius. That's why we got each other's backs. If I didn't have you to even me out, I'd probably be in jail or homeless or in homeless jail."

"I-I'm not that great. People only listen to me once you make them." She admits, though her mood isn't as somber as before.

"But you're still great none the less. You make tons of cool gadgets, you practically made half the city, you make anime sound awesome, you taught the humans what monsters are really like, and you rock that dress!" Alphys can't stop herself from blushing now and shows a small smile. It had gotten ruffled and stained with mud when she got to the forest but it can be cleaned. At least, she hopes so.

"S-s-so do you. Sorry it went to waste."

"Are you kidding? I'm totally keeping this next time we go out. I'm not keeping the shoes. You better keep yours. We got to go to some snooty, fancy restaurant and show off to all those rich jerks." Alphys is smiling more thanks to her girlfriend and wiping her steamed up glasses.

"S-so how did you know I'd be here? I-I mean, I'm glad you did and all b-b-but I thought-"

"It wasn't easy. We checked every place I thought you'd be at. That comic book store, the beach, the tech store, Bratty and Catty's place, the arcade, then it hit me. Where's the one place Alphys would run off to get away from it all and be alone with her thoughts that's not our place?"

Alphys chuckles and looks back at the lake. The moon shines above them with its reflection gleaming on the water and stars dotting the nightsky. "The lake where we had our first real kiss." Alphys isn't sure whether to feel stupid to think that Undyne wouldn't find her here or feel touched that Undyne did know to check here. It feels like the perfect time for them to share another kiss but Frisk is with them and Alphys realizes something. "What did you mean when you said 'we'?"

"Your mom and me. I dragged her along to help me out. She's right over-" Undyne points to where she came from but Ternal is nowhere to be seen. "What the-! I thought she was right behind me. I can't believe I felt sorry for her after she told her sob story." She snarls while grinding her fangs together.

"It's….it's probably for the best. Maybe this is something that we can't fix." Alphys says woefully. It's just as bad as Alphys expected it to be, and she hates being right about this. As much as Undyne wants to hunt down Ternal and drag her by the tail back over here, she decides to let this one go and tend to Alphys. She could always track down Ternal another time, Alphys needs cheering up pronto.

"Hey, let's forget your dumb old mom for a sec and tell me how you got over here. Have you been holding back on our runs? Cause if you have, then I'm going to amp it up from now on and stop holding back."

Alphys frantically shakes her head not wanting to work out any more than she has to. "No no no no no, I'm nowhere near as good as you are. I-"

"Wait, don't tell me. You got your jetpack app to work didn't you?"

"…..yeah." She answers guiltily.

"Aw that's amazing. I can't believe I missed it. You have to let me test it out. I swear I won't crash into anything...on purpose."

As the couple reconnects and ignores Frisk completely, Ternal is not far off making her way back to the main road. She stayed long enough to see Undyne raise Alphys's spirits then left knowing that her daughter is in good hands. The last thing she needs is to ruin everything all over again. "She's better off without me anyway. I'd just ruin everything she's built." Ternal mutters to herself, once again alone and running away from her daughter.

"I wouldn't say that." Says a new voice.

Ternal jolts hearing this new voice fearing that someone was trying to jump her but instead finds a certain casual skeleton blocking her path. "Oh, i-it's just you Sans. I d-d-didn't see you-"

"No but I see you, running away from your problems again. I see where Alphys gets it from, 'cept she's actually working on fixing them." His words cut deep yet she cannot deny that he's right.

"I know it's wrong and cowardly of me, but Alphys doesn't need me anymore. She hasn't needed me for a long time. You've seen how things get when I'm with her. She hates me, and I don't want to cause any more trouble than I already have."

"Yeah you two got it rough but I can't let you leave just yet." Before she can even think about taking another route, Sans's eye glows blue and several large bones emerge from the ground barricading her in. She franticly looks around trying to find a means of escape until she discovers Frisk standing right behind her. "Not til the kid says what they got to say."

"Ternal, Alphys does need you. More than you realize." Frisk pleads with their innocent eyes.

"Frisk, I…I….I can't…." Ternal starts but gets caught off once more.

"Just hear me out before you go. Alphys wanted me to talk with you and I want to help her. There's more to this than you think." Frisk tells the fleeing monster. Ternal looks over her shoulders at Sans who remains in the same position.

"What the kid said. I'm only here so they can do what Alphys asked." He sits back and leans against one of the bones getting comfortable in case this takes longer than a few minutes.

It's clear that she can't get out of this without listening to the child so Ternal admits defeat and lets the human say their piece. "Very well."

"Alphys told me everything that happened between you two. It's obvious she loves you but it's also clear she fears you. She's been trying for years to impress you with her work but every time you stopped her from acting on her own, she worried more that she would disappoint you. She wanted to prove to you that she can be a great scientist on her own. That's why she's been hiding from you. She blames herself for what happened all those years ago and has been doubting herself ever since. She's worried that you'll finally scold her for what happened long ago and never let her move past this."

"She….she what? How could she-?" Ternal is baffled by the revelation, although most of it she is fairly aware of. She doesn't even notice Sans lower the barrier he conjured around them or the footsteps nearing them. "I need to find her before it's too late. I can't lose her again." She turns around to head back to the lake only to discover her daughter walking side by side with Undyne towards them. This is it. What might be the last chance for the mother and daughter to make amends.

"Alphys, i-it's good to see you're still here. Th-there's s-something that….I've been meaning to tell you ever since I came to y-your house." Ternal says with her fingers clenched and lip wavering. Alphys dreads what's about to happen but having Frisk and Undyne here reassures her that no matter, her friends will be there. She braces for the worst. So does Undyne who plans on retaliating if Ternal says anything that will send her crush bawling again. With a sniffle, Ternal tells her daughter what she's been aching to say for years.

"I'm sorry."

Ternal fights the urge to run knowing well that saying those two words weren't going to be enough to make up for all those years of mistrust. Before Alphys can even clarify, Ternal continues, "I'm sorry for not trusting you more. I'm sorry forcing you to change your robot's design and insulting your friend. I'm sorry for trying to talk you out of buying that dress. I….I…I'm sorry for everything. For isolating you from other children, for controlling your childhood, for invading your privacy, for doubting your skills, for embarrassing you and making you feel horrible, for making you put up with me, for ordering your food, and most importantly, for not telling you this when I should!"

She takes off her glasses to wipe her tears away but it's not enough. Ternal drops to her knees and sobs into her hands remorseful of all that she has done. "I'm a terrible parent. I wanted to protect you bu-but I did more harm than good. It's my fault your Determination project failed. I've hated myself for meddling in your work. I thought I had lost your love for good. I thought I could make amends but I'm not worth forgiving. I've stopped you from living a normal life and making incredible scientific achievements. If anyone deserves to stay stuck Underground it's me."

Alphys won't stand there and let her mother weep before her. Rushing in front of her now at eye level, she tells her, "Don't say that, y-you had every right to be worried. The project WAS doomed from the start. I was just too stubborn to realize it. All I wanted to do was be like you and help out the monsters of the Underground using science and technology. I should have gone to you a long time ago a-and received whatever punishment I deserved."

It looks like Alphys is about to start crying too but then Ternal says, "What are you talking about? You're nothing like me. You're a far better scientist than could ever dream of." Ternal wipes her tears away and looks her daughter in the eye. "I was just a simple repairwoman. I could never compete with you and your inventions. You've built fully functioning robots with AI, jetpacks-"

"Our place, a machine that turns seaweed into ice cream." Undyne adds.

"Exactly! Plus you've garnered so many friends that care about you, especially Undyne. All of this you did on your own, without any assistance from me."

The two share a sweet smile as Alphys can barely contain the joy she's feeling. "I m-may not have had y-your help, but without you I wouldn't be the monster that I am today. As controlling as you were, I couldn't have become the royal scientist and meet my friends if you hadn't taught me everything you knew. S-s-so….thank you mom."

If they hadn't bawled their eyes out half an hour ago the two monsters would be crying tears of joy right about now. Before that ends up happening, Undyne butts in and asks, "Okay so you forgive her, and she forgives you. Does this mean you too can stop acting all awkward and weird and self-loathing and just make up already?"

They share a look and nod. "Absolutely," The two nerds agree simultaneously, embracing each other in a heartwarming hug. The onlookers smile at the mother and daughter reconnecting and putting the issue to rest. For Frisk it's worth any trouble that Toriel might dish out when they get home. Sans is snoozing against a nearby tree while Undyne is ecstatic seeing her girlfriend work things out with her mother.

They let go and Ternal stands back up. Ternal adjusts her glasses and adds, "By the way, your girlfriend here is a wonderfully caring, albeit intimidating monster. I've never seen anyone so passionate in my life."

Undyne just chuckles sheepishly and rubs the back of her neck. "Aw thanks, you're too-" She and Alphys go wide eyed for a moment caught off guard by what she said. Even Frisk and Sans, who just woke up, didn't see that coming.

"YOU KNEW!" Alphys and Undyne exclaimed. The nerdier monster stammers, "H-h-h-how did you know?" Undyne shoots Sans a dirty look assuming that he's behind this.

"A-actually, I've known for s-some time." She says uncomfortably. "You s-s-see, I um may have used an alias to get you to friend me on UnderNet s-so I could follow your posts. I found out about you two when you changed your r-relationship status and started writing about your dates and um how much you c-care for each other." The couple blush at the thought of Ternal reading the lovey dovey posts Alphys has posted or the ones Undyne commented on sappily. "I-I had my reservations at first about you dating the Captain of the Royal Guard but she's surpassed my expectations. I think I can count on her to take good care of you. Er, that is if you need it b-but I'm sure you're more than capable of handling things yourself.

Frisk covers their mouth to suppress a giggle even with the irritated look Undyne is giving. Sans takes the kid's hand and says, "Well, this has been fun and all but I should get the kid back home before Toriel flips. Later."

He and Frisk walk away while Frisk smiles and waves back at the monsters who clearly have a lot of catching up to do. It looks like all their problems are finally over. Well, except for one….