Chapter 11: G-14 Classified

It was a long elevator ride up to the Capital, which had given him enough time to have another monologue.

Murk 'im, stay here, murk 'im, stay here...

Sergio weighed the options in his mind, both choices volleying for confirmation. He'd escaped his mother's wrath and the ire of street gangs by falling down here, but he still didn't escape making difficult moral and survival choices as he did on the surface.

One easy choice to rule out was dying. Dying didn't do him any good, obviously, but even then, this civilization (if one could call it that) wasn't worth dying for. Too many of them either had an active or passive bloodlust, whether by hunting him down and fighting him or by watching Mettaton those last few hours. These monsters also had a king who straight iced six kids down here (although, to be fair, Sergio didn't know what the kids were doing before they died). Plus, he didn't have any obligation to help these monsters just because he happened to fall there. Too many monsters seemed entitled to his soul. He didn't know them, and they didn't know him. Most of the time, he wanted to keep it that way.

Now that he thought about it, why did he want to get out of here? He considered what Sans said in the restaurant:

"Maybe sometimes it's better to take what's given to you. Down here, you've already got food, drink, friends...Is what you have to do really worth it?" Sans low-key knew that Sergio had to kill Asgore in order to escape. The skeleton had a fair point. If he did want to stay here, he'd be taken care of by people who actually cared about his well-being, something that he hadn't experienced in eight years. Sure, there were some monsters that posed threats to him, but that was no different from living in Harlem. After all, it was the reason he had the piece in his waistband in the first place.

But while humans predictably telegraphed what they did, from balling up their fists to reaching for their sides, monsters were in a completely different boat. No two monsters had the same attacks, so any new monster who came up to him would keep him on his toes. It was unpredictability that nearly appointed him with the Grim Reaper not too long ago. If Mettaton wasn't the worst the underground had to offer, Sergio shuddered to think what would have been next.

Not only that, but Flowey's words had resonated within his mind as well: "What will you do when you meet a relentless killer?" Sergio assumed that the murderous plant meant Asgore. The king certainly fit the description. Although Sergio hated to admit it, Flowey was quite shrewd in his observation. Even he knew that Sergio needed to kill Asgore in order to get out. Everybody seemed to know that, except him!

But killing Asgore had to have been part of Flowey's plan. Sergio's eyes widened in realization. He recalled Flowey saying that he was the prince of this world's future. Prince. Asgore was a king. If Sergio killed Asgore, Flowey would have taken control being a self-proclaimed prince of the world. After seeing what the flower could do without having so much political power, Sergio thought it best to avoid such an uprising.

So, if he needed to kill Asgore, he needed to destroy the other human souls AND destroy Flowey. The blood-covered route appeared to add more necessary tasks as time went on. The more he thought about it, the more he doubted that this course of action was worth it. Then again, he didn't survive all that he had just to back down from his mission now.

So many decisions to make, and such little time. He wouldn't have been surprised if he grew a few grey hairs just by thinking about this.

I'mma jest see how bad dis Asgore really is. If he beefin', I won't hold off the squeezin'. If not...well, it'll make my decision harda.

The elevator door opened, revealing a dull, quiet, grey landscape that contrasted with the colorful, noisy area of the Core. The path branched out to ones leading to the main city to his left. Experience told him to keep going straight on the path, so he took that route. Here, it appeared to be nighttime, disregarding the ever-present darkness in the underground. As opposed to Snowdin, Waterfall, and Hotland, where many people were out and about doing who cared what, the Capital seemed completely vacant. Maybe around here, everybody was supposed to be asleep at the time. He checked his phone. It was 3:15 P.M. At first, it seemed odd to think the majority of beings were sleeping at this time, but it wasn't as though the underground dwellers could rely on the sun's cycles.

As he walked through the city, he realized that the area looked quite normal compared to regular cities on the surface. The architectural style of the buildings looked a bit old, but Sergio couldn't have told you what era they most resembled. He turned left onto a somewhat prominently displayed path that eventually led to...a house. Taking a quick look around, Sergio couldn't find a castle anywhere. Asgore was a king, wasn't he? Castles made a bit more sense to him. Nonetheless, he got the feeling that this house in the middle of the Capital was where he needed to go. There was ample space between the house and the surrounding buildings. Upon closer inspection, Sergio realized that it looked just like Toriel's house back in the ruins, from the size, to the structure, to the brick material. He remembered that the king did first make his residence there in the underground, and then moved here.

The front door was wide open, as if inviting anybody to come in. If this was the king's residence, why weren't there guards set up around the place? The White House had a Secret Service guard posted in nearly every exterior corner on the rooftop! Undyne also said that the Royal Guard was meant to keep the king safe as well as take the fight to humans. But the only guards he saw were the crazy fish and the ones he narrowly escaped from in Hotland.

Makes my life easia.

He knocked on the open door with a short hip hop cadence before entering the house. Nobody had answered. He got the sneaking suspicion that the house was actually abandoned, and he needed to look further for Asgore's actual castle. He saw the familiar winding staircase in the center of the room. The way to the staircase was blocked with two padlocks connected by a chain extending from the stair rail to the wall. On the chain was a note that read, "Howdy! I'm in the garden. If you have anything you need to get off your chest, please don't hesitate to come. The keys are in the kitchen and the hallway." If anybody could have come in and talked with him, what was the point of having the padlocks? It made less sense considering that Sergio could have jumped over the railing and continued on.

Nonetheless, he did a little poking around the house. He first went to the kitchen, looking for any food items he could have scrounged up to help him in his potential battle. He found a lonely piece of butterscotch pie in the refrigerator, putting it in with the squished pie in his backpack. In the hallway rooms, he found a heart-shaped locket and a dagger that DEFINITELY looked used. Sergio tried not to think about the possibly history of the weapon and stashed it into his backpack. There was hardly anything more damning to one's character than walking up to someone holding a deadly weapon.

Throughout the whole house, Sergio found golden flowers in vases. This recurring motif in Asgore's supposed residence made him think that Flowey was somehow involved with the king. Sure, the flower had plans to take over the underground, but how connected was the flower to the monarch? Was the flower created by Alphys as an additional line of defense against humans?

He hopped over the railing and continued his walk through the Capital. The stairway led to another part of the main city, with more buildings surrounding him. Again, no monsters were out and about at this time. Sergio figured that that was better than any alternative.

The end of the path led to another elevator, which fortunately appeared to be functional. However, the path branched out to a corridor on his right. Perhaps there were more things he could collect in it. He turned to the corridor.

On both sides of the corridor were tall columns that supported the ceiling. The left wall held large windows that let in large amounts of light, despite the fact that there was no sun here. Sergio didn't even try to figure that out as he progressed. The windows had the same symbol he saw on Toriel's robe and on the door between the ruins and Snowdin. His footsteps echoed in the long hallway, the sound bouncing off the marble floor.

He could barely make out a shadowy figure further along the corridor, but the height and shape of it had confirmed who it was. Sergio stepped from a column's shadow and into the windowlight and said, "Sans?"

"So, you finally made it." The voice was the final confirmation. "The end of your journey is at hand. In a few moments, you will meet the king. Together, you will determine the fate of this world. That's then. Now, you will be judged."

Sergio gave a bit of a nervous laugh. "First, a entrepreneur, now a low-key priest? Seem like you do it all, bruh."

Sans seemed to have ignored him and said, "You will be judged for your every action. You will be judged for every EXP that you earn. What's EXP? It's an acronym. It stands for 'execution points,' a way of quantifying the pain you have inflicted on others." Sergio blinked as he remembered his own words to Mettaton: "I should execute cha for all dat nonsense you put me through." And that exchange was broadcast throughout the whole underground. It would have been surprising if Sans didn't know about it by now. "When you kill someone, your EXP increases. When your EXP increases, your LOVE increases."

"Wait, LOVE? How does...?" Sans waved a hand, urging Sergio to stop talking.

"LOVE, too, is an acronym. It stands for Level Of ViolencE, a way of measuring someone's capacity to hurt. The more you kill, the easier it becomes to distance yourself."

Sergio took a sigh of relief. None of the weapons he had on his person had monsters' bodies on it. Whatever judgement Sans could throw at him wouldn't have been bad.

"The more you distance yourself, the less YOU will hurt, and the more easily you can bring yourself to hurt others." Sans emerged from the shadows, showing his smiling self. "Some monsters can see how much LOVE and EXP others have. The two can apply to monsters and humans. Most people I see down here, they don't have anything that makes 'em stick out." Sans closed his eyes. "But you...You're a bit of an exception."

The human furrowed his brows. "Whaddya mean?"

"Well, it's no secret that I've been keeping an eyesocket out for ya ever since you came into Snowdin," Sans said with a wink. "Partly to keep you safe, but also to see how you reacted to different situations. From what I've seen, you can be quite clever, but you're no pacifist." He sighed. "However, as stressful as things got, you never brought yourself to kill anyone. In turn, you have gained no LOVE or EXP."

"'I gained no LOVE.' Well, you ain't wrong," Sergio said, scoffing.

"I mean, you gained no LOVE, but you also gained love. Does that make sense?" Sans put different inflections on the different means of "love" to emphasize his point.

"I...guess so?"

"I hope it does. However, this is what makes it so confusing for me: You haven't gained any LOVE or EXP from what I could see, but I'm sensing something similar, yet different within you. See, what I can sense is if you had killed any monsters down here. Execution Points are detected by magical energy transferred from a dead monster to the killer. But the energy I'm getting from you isn't quite the same. Is that making sense, also?"

Sergio was speechless. Even Sans had an inkling that Sergio may have led a worse life than the human let on. The memories flooded back into his mind, memories of the events that had brought him to the underground in the first place.

. . .

"Come on, D, ice 'im and let's get outta here!"

The one called "D" aimed a gun at a rival gang member's head, the orange-clad youngster's eyes filled with tears. He was about to pull the trigger, then hesitated.

"Nah, I'mma let Serge do it."

"What?" Sergio said in disbelief. D shoved the gun flat on Sergio's chest, making the smaller gangster stagger.

"You gotta prove ya self, Serge. Consida dis ya initiation. You murk dis sucka, you officially part a' the group."

Sergio looked at the rival gangster, who was not much younger than he was. The kid had rolled with the enemy gang who encroached on the Sixth Street Clique's territory in an impromptu attack. Sergio's gang emerged victorious in the encounter, with most of the other gang lying in pools of their own blood. One shot, and the South Side Vipas were history. One shot, and the Sixth Street Clique could expand their territory.

One shot, and Sergio would pledge his allegiance to these thugs.

He had stopped to consider what that meant. He would spend the rest of his days being loyal to those who probably didn't care about him. He had joined this gang because he wanted the protection, safety, and validation absent from his life since his father's death. At one point, he thought he got all of those qualities. But how could one feel safe in a group that actively sought conflict with others every day?

He was definitely an asset to the Sixth Street Clique, though. He was the only one with any sort of weapons training (thanks, Manny), which made him a better pistol marksman than the rest of them. As a result, he had gunned down six thugs who were shooting at him, with one shot per thug. From that, he felt nothing.

This was different. Sergio had kept an eye on the urban battlefield and knew that this kid posed no threat to Sergio's "friends," other than warning the other Vipas of their position. Judging by his age and his demeanor, he was probably brought to the fray as part of an initiation, just like Sergio. He saw all of his partners in crime killed, the cement painted red.

The kid was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Sergio held no animosity towards the kid because of his increased perception of the situation. He didn't really feel like executing the poor guy in cold blood. He could have scored a moral victory by refusing to kill the other gangster. But the moral victory wouldn't have meant anything given his recently-acquired bodycount, and the fact that he probably would have died along with the other gangster.

In the midst of his thought process, he heard sirens quickly closing in. Whether they were police cars or ambulances, it didn't matter. If he was going to make a decision, he needed to do it now.

D pushed him to bring him back to earth. "Come on, man! One ta the wig and we get outta here!"

Sergio's breathing got heavier as he brought the gun up to the rival gangster's face, which showed a countenance of a silent plea for his life. He steadied his trembling hand to keep up the appearance of apathy.

BLAM! The shot rang out throughout the alleyway. The rival gangster's brown eyes eventually saw nothing as blood trickled from his cranium. The gun's slide was stuck in its rear position, indicating that the last bullet had just been expended. Sergio moved the slide forward and stuffed the gun in his waistband.

The sirens were getting much louder now. He could hear the tires screeching in the distance. Sergio scanned the streets for any police cars approaching.

"Yeah, Serge got the juice now! Now let's get outta here 'fore them pigs show up!" D announced. The other gangsters nodded and headed for their safehouse. Sergio stayed for a bit, eyeing the seventh body he collected. He just murdered this poor boy in cold blood. It was clear the kid didn't want to pursue a life of crime. If not that, what would he have become?

Nah, forget about that. I ain't dyin' jest so he could be somebody, Sergio thought with spite.

Images flashed in Sergio's mind as the next events happened quickly. He was running through the alleyway with his new comrades. Police cars had surrounded the neighborhood. Officers got out of their cars with weapons drawn. More gunshots rang out. D along with other gangsters took shots, blood staining their purple and black clothes. Yet others decided to avenge their fallen friends, practicing boyish bravado and firing back at the cops, the bullets hardly piercing their Kevlar vests.

Sergio was

not going out like them. But to whom would he run? His mother proved that she was no longer there for him, as she started drinking during the day again. Her most recent attack had prompted Sergio to join the gang in the first place. The other gangsters would be incarcerated if they weren't shot dead. And his father was long gone.

So, he went to the one place the cops wouldn't think to look for a gangster. He went to the abandoned forest on the east side of town. The area was dedicated to an unknown child who had fallen down a ravine and presumably died. As a result, rumors spread about how the forest was haunted. Few people dared venture into the forest, and if they did, they didn't venture far.

It was so dark in the forest, but Sergio couldn't risk turning on a light, lest he be detected. He slowed to a panicked jog, feeling his way throughout the forest. The plan was to escape to the other side of the forest and see what he could do on the other side of town.

But a tree root had other plans for him.

. . .

"Have any ideas why things are as they are?" Sans asked.

Sergio showed no emotion that betrayed his guilt. He said, "I dunno, man. You know more 'bout magic than I do. If you don't know, how would I?" A logical point, he thought."

Sans nodded, although clearly not satisfied with Sergio's answer. "What I do know is, you're about to face the greatest challenge of your entire journey. Your actions here will determine the fate of the entire world. If you refuse to fight, Asgore will take your soul and destroy humanity. But, if you kill Asgore and go home, monsters will remain trapped underground. What will you do?"

Sergio responded with silence. Sans didn't do anything to help his decision. Rather, the skeleton reminded him of how difficult the decision was to make.

Sans closed his eyes. "Well, if I were you, I would have thrown in the towel by now. But you didn't get this far by giving up, did ya? That's right. You have something called 'determination.' So, as long as you hold on, as long as you do what's in your heart, I believe you can do the right thing."

The sentiment would have been more meaningful if Sergio still knew what the right thing was. Both decisions had terrible consequences for one group of people. Save the humans that allegedly put the monsters here in the first place, or save the monsters that will launch a genocide against humans?

Well, if Sergio wanted to think of it that way, fewer people would die with one decision. If he was concerned about the right thing, he would have taken that factor into major consideration.

"All right. We're all counting on you, kid." Sans winked again. "Good luck." Before Sergio's very eyes, Sans disappeared, leaving the human with his own devices once more.

He took a deep breath and continued down the corridor. It turned out to be the path he needed to take anyway, as the corridor eventually led to a doorway labeled "Throne Room." This had to be it.

The throne room was actually a garden, with a bed of golden flowers in the midst of green and purple vegetation. In the flowerbed Sergio saw a tall, burly figure wearing a purple cape and golden shoulder plates. The creature had long golden hair and two horns. He was standing behind the creature. If Sergio wanted to, he could have used the phone-gun to Abraham Lincoln the creature and make his life easier. However, he was more cautious than that. He didn't want to pose a threat to the king without saying two words to him.

The area was lit with...natural sunlight, surprisingly. There were a few holes in the underground canopy to allow actual light to shine down. Consequently, the room was filled with sounds of birds chirping, accompanying the happy humming coming from the king as he tended his garden.

"Asgore." Sergio's voice broke the serenity of the garden, the birds from the surface now quiet.

"Oh, someone's here? Just a moment, please. I have almost finished watering these flowers." The king hummed to himself again as he ended his chore. "Here we are!" He turned around to face the human, who analyzed his facial expression. For a split second, the king looked friendly, fatherly. He had black eyes that held kindness, regret, and old age. It was strange, then, to see the rest of his body. He still seemed spry and strong, healthy enough to take Sergio down with one fell swoop. His cape was closed with a Golden Snitch-like emblem on his chest. He was a goat-like monster, like...Toriel.

When Asgore got a good look at Sergio, his expression changed from one of joviality to one of shock, his mouth hanging agape. He dropped his watering can as his eyes widened.

"What? Tobias? You're...still here?" Asgore asked, almost trembling where he stood. His voice was desperate as he called to someone who may not have been there.

Sergio frowned. "Who's Tobias?"

Asgore said nothing, sizing Sergio up as if to confirm his suspicions. "You...you have to be him! You look just like the first human who fell here!"

"So, the first sucka who done fell here was a black kid. Ain't much of a surprise," Sergio remarked as he crossed his arms.

The king's expression darkened. "No...I can tell by your speech patterns that you are not him...But it's uncanny how closely you resemble him."

"What's it matta if I look like dis Tobias dude? That don't change nothin'."

Asgore sighed. "You're right." He folded his hands and walked to one side of the garden. "Nice day today, huh?"

Sergio brought his umbrella in front of him, planting the tip in the ground. He was wary of any deceptive tactics the king would try in order to bring him down.

"Birds are singing," Asgore continued, "flowers are blooming, perfect weather for a game of catch."

Yeah, a game of catch these hands. What was Asgore trying to do? He was trying to lull him into a false sense of security had already been tried on him, and it failed. Sergio wasn't going to let his guard down now, not when he was so close to his destination.

Asgore shot him a sad look. "I can tell there's no distracting you. You know what we must do. When you are ready, come into the next room." The king walked past the throne and entered a room behind it. Sergio followed suit, keeping a firm grip on the umbrella. He reached for the knife in his backpack and stuck it in his cargo pocket.

The king retained his sad expression as he looked at Sergio, who held a stern countenance as he closely examined Asgore. "How tense," Asgore commented. "Just think of it like...a trip to the dentist."

"I don't go to the dentist, but if I did, I wouldn't trust no dentist that dirtnapped six kids."

Asgore's shoulders slumped. Sergio could tell that he wanted so desperately to defend himself against these accusations, but the king knew that would have been futile. He certainly looked regretful for his decisions. Of course, the king was a politician. It was his job to lie in order to make people feel better.

He led Sergio to the end of the next hall, then stopped again.

"Are you ready? If you are not, I understand. I am not ready, either." Asgore spoke slowly, thoughtfully. Sergio walked into the next room without answering.

The human saw what appeared to be a narrow endless hallway, with light moving across it and then returning to the room's entrance. Sergio reached for one of the walls and was almost surprised to find it solid.

"This is the barrier. This is what keeps us all trapped underground," said Asgore, approaching Sergio from behind. The human snapped his focus to him as the king went on. "...If...if by chance you have any unfinished business-" This is undaground rap, got the game down pat...Sergio's phone rang just as the king said that. He pointed to his headset, silently asking if he could answer the call. Asgore nodded.

"Yeah?" said Sergio.

"Hey...! Uh, this is Undyne..." It was different to hear her sound nervous about something. Apparently, a certain skeleton thought it was funny. "Shut up, Papyrus, this was YOUR idea!" She reverted to her impassioned nature. "HUMAN! You have to deliver something for me! Uh, please?"

"I gotchu. Where I need ta go?"

"I'm at Snowdin in front of Papyrus's."

"You expect me ta walk all the way over there? You know I was in Hotland a minute ago!"

"You don't have to walk all the way back. There's a river person who can take you directly here. You should be able to ring them with a bell beside the river."

"Gotcha. Aight, be there in a few." Click! Sergio turned to Asgore. "Yeah, if it's all the same ta you..."

"I understand. Take your time." It sounded as if Sergio running this errand would have been beneficial to both him and Asgore.

The human left the barrier room and took a couple elevators down to Hotland, finding the river after a few minutes. Surely enough, there was a bell set up beside the river. He rang it and waited.

A minute passed before he heard water sloshing on his left. He saw a cloaked figure riding on a boat with no paddles or oars. It wasn't the strangest thing he'd seen down here, though.

The boat stopped in front of Sergio. The figure turned its head toward him, who couldn't make out its face.

"Tra la la. I am the riverman. Or am I the riverwoman?" the cloaked figure added mysteriously. "It doesn't really matter. I love to ride on my boat. Would you care to join me?"

"Depends. You goin' ta Snowdin?"

"Snowdin it is, then. Hop on." Sergio carefully stepped on the slender boat, lowering his center of gravity when it began moving; there were no handles with which to stabilize himself as the boat autonomously moved. However, the boat was pretty stable in itself, so it became less of a concern.

"Tra la la," the river person continued. "I heard Asgore has a favorite food." It was the only thing spoken between them during the short ride to Snowdin. As the atmosphere got colder, Sergio put his jacket and hood back on. Nevertheless, it was still refreshing from being in Hotland the last couple hours.

When they reached Snowdin, Sergio hopped off and thanked the hooded figure. The snow crunching under his feet, he followed the path to Papyrus's residence. He turned left and was about to pass by the ill-labeled library when he felt something solid and cold hit him in the back of the head, the item dissolving. A snowball? He turned around to see two kids behind him, one a mouse with a scarf along the length of its body, the other a monster with devilish horns and an orange winter coat.

The former said, "That's for Mettaton!"

"What?" Sergio asked, wiping the excess snow from his hood.

"You killed him!" the latter monster clarified.

The human scowled. "Ain't you hear what Alphys said? Mettaton's still okay!"

"Liar!" The mouse picked up another snowball and threw it at Sergio, who dissolved it with an umbrella swipe. Keep this up, and you gon' be next, homeboy.

"HEY!" a gruff female voice called out in the distance. Undyne stormed towards them, dressed in her same black tank top and blue pants. Peculiar it was to see a non-furry creature dressed as such in cold weather. "Leave him alone!"

The kids' anger shifted to apprehension when they saw the Royal Guard member approach them. They also looked confused as to why she, of all monsters, would defend him. Nonetheless, they noisily absconded from the premises.

Undyne's tone changed to one of sincerity as she asked, "Hey, you all right?"

Sergio laughed through his nose. "Neva betta."

There was no fooling her; Undyne shot him a thoughtful look, clearly examining his facial expression. "You still bitter about Mettaton?"

Whoa. Somebody actually cared about him more than that stupid robot for once! This actually meant a lot to Sergio, but he didn't want to let his feelings be the focus of their conversation. "I'mma be fine." He changed the subject. "Whatcha need me ta deliva?"

It worked. Undyne said, "Right. So, uh, I have a favor to ask you. Uh, I..." She shifted around on her feet as she pulled out an envelope. "I need you to deliver this letter for me, to Dr. Alphys."

Sergio took the envelope, eyeing it with suspicion. The monsters down here had their own kind of internet, as well as cell phone service. Undyne said she didn't have a phone earlier, and apparently the message was so important that she couldn't have used Papyrus's phone or contacted Alphys via computer. It seemed even more important considering that Undyne needed a courier to deliver the letter instead of doing it herself.

Whatever was in the envelope, it must have been G-14 classified.

"Aight, I'mma take it there," Sergio promised. Hope she'll let me in afta I yelled at 'er.

"Oh, and if you read the letter, I'll KILL you!" Undyne threatened, gritting her teeth.

"Pfft, you ain't the first person ta say that, and ya won't be the last. Whateva this is, it's safe wit me."

The monster's attitude changed to gratitude, a wide smile across her face. "Thanks so much! You're the best!"

Ya know, she really ain't that bad. 'S kinda nice ta do somethin' for 'er.

Sergio thought more of the situation that had just happened as he walked back to summon the hooded river person. The confrontation he had with the two kids didn't seem that significant, but it was one of the only times a monster had stood up for him when no one else would have. It seemed a safe bet to assume that other monsters would have reacted similarly if they noticed him, although with much more lethal means. His track record of repaying his gratitude toward monsters who helped him was less than promising; he beat up the first person who helped him and potentially made the second person distance herself from him.

He would not mess up a third time.

The boat came back to Snowdin, only this time sporting a dog head in the front. The figure turned its head and spoke in a carefree voice, "Tra la la. You're back. Where are we going today?"

"Can ya take me back ta Hotland?"

"Hotland, eh? I can take you there." Sergio stepped on the boat before the figure continued, "Off we go."

. . .

When Sergio made it to Alphys's lab, the locale produced an entirely different vibe from when he first came in here. He didn't know what to think of the lab before, but now the lab seemed...empty, as if there was an inexplicably significant item removed from the atmosphere, yet rife with danger. His immediate impression was to turn back right then and forget he'd ever come here, but he still made a promise to Undyne he intended to keep. Furthermore, if the lab seemed dangerous, it was likely Alphys was in peril, considering if she came directly back here after tending to Mettaton.

The lights were on, which provided some relief, albeit small. Either she left the lights on when she left, or she was here. Nothing about the lab seemed out of the ordinary until he saw a note taped next to the elevator.

Every time I try to help someone, it always makes people's lives worse. As a result, it seems that nobody can make my problems magically go away. I want to be a better person. I don't want to be afraid anymore. And for that to happen, I have to be able to face my own mistakes. I'm going to start doing that now. I want to be clear. This isn't anyone else's problem but mine. But if you don't ever hear from me again...If you want to know the "truth," enter the elevator here. You all at least deserve to know what I did.

"Oh, naw!" Sergio dropped the note and immediately entered the elevator, pressing the only button he hadn't pressed on a control panel before. The elevator doors closed, and he began to descend.

Whatever this thing was that Alphys had to solve by herself, it sounded perilous, even fatal. Sergio couldn't shake the feeling that he was a huge part in her doing this. She must have held this in the back of her mind ever since he fell down here, maybe even longer. She even said herself that this undertaking could kill her. He was NOT going to let her die partly because of something he said.

The elevator seemed to have reached its floor, but then began falling rapidly, Sergio hearing a deafening low rumble. A computerized voice announced, "Warning! Warning! Elevator losing power! EM tether stability lost! Altitude dropping!" Sergio backed into a corner, holding on to the walls as he felt the sinking feeling in his stomach.

CRASH! The elevator landed hard, sending a violent shockwave of force throughout Sergio's entire body. He stumbled, feeling agony in his feet and legs, but he still felt as if he could walk the rest of the way.

It was pitch black in the elevator, so dark he couldn't see his hand in front of his face. Then the elevator door opened, letting a dim light in. He took a few steps outside the elevator and found himself in a dark room with tile floors. He turned on his phone's light to get a better view of the area. He jumped when the elevator door closed behind him.

Something just didn't sit right with the place he was in now. While the lab above had the occasional beeping noise from the technology around it, this room was deathly silent. Sergio would stay on his guard as he traversed the second part of Alphys's lab.

You ain't dyin' on my watch, Alphys.


Lateness, thy name is AquaRock.

Had this in the back burner for so long, my house should have caught on fire. Regardless, now you have more of an inside look into Sergio's pre-underground life. I believe this answers a question you had, 17nicholasc.

I think the last part is good when read with Silent Hill 2's Promise Reprise theme in the background.

I'd like to thank those who've been with the story since the beginning and those who are new here who decided to stick with me. It's gonna be a fun ride these next few chapters.

Sergio is procrastinating the ultimate fate of the underground to complete a favor for Undyne, but he has no idea what he's walked into. What began as a simple delivery will turn into an accidental uncovering of a dark conspiracy. If Alphys is still living, can things be resolved between her and Sergio? Or will Sergio's trust in her be further strained? Stay tuned for the next installment of There Goes the...Underground?