Undyne rapped her fingers on the table, trying to keep her breathing steady. The dry air in Grillby's always irritated her slightly, but now it was the only thing she could focus on. She forced herself to; otherwise half of the town would have been in ruins by that point. At the moment, a little dry air was the least irritating thing on her mind.
She was not good at patience, she knew that, but she also knew that she was not young enough or naïve enough anymore to think that there were not some things that required it. That did not mean she had to like it, though.
Snowy and MK were arguing about something in the corner by the door. She knew this only because she kept looking back at it. She drowned the two of them out, not wanting to get involved. In the mood she was in, that would not have been good for anyone.
She had not seen Papyrus all day. She knew he had the tendency to disappear sometimes like his brother, but it would be nice if he told her when he was going to do it. She could have used the skeleton there and then. Ever since they had first started 'training,' she had realized he was very good at keeping her levelheaded, if only by being something for her to hit some of the time.
It had been a while since she had seen several of her friends. Funny, how easy that word was now. It was weird having people around who were not just perpetually intimidated by her. At first, it aggravated her, but eventually she grew to like it, perhaps a little too much. She felt their absence strongly, and hated feeling like it was partially her fault.
Her fingers continued to drum on the table, nails digging into the varnish. Grillby would have a fit about that, but at the moment she did not care. In fact, a part of her hoped the fire monster would snap at her. She itched for an excuse to fight, and Grillby had always seemed to her like someone who had a few tricks up his sleeve.
Before that could happen, however, the door to the restaurant opened and the monster she had been waiting for walked in. "Anything?" she asked Ayame as she sat down at the table across from her.
The Astigmatism shook her head. "She's made up her mind," she said. "She's moving back to Hotland over the next couple of days."
Undyne took a breath and tried to keep herself contained. "Are you sure you tried everything?" she asked.
"Everything I could think of." Ayame told her. "I was even obvious about it. I told her none of us wanted her to go. It didn't work."
So, Undyne thought, he scared her that well. She had been surprised at how shaken Ruby had been the day Ryan disappeared. And apparently it had been enough for her to want to be as far away from him as possible, regardless of what any of them said. She could not help but feel guilty about that. You really messed up this time, Undyne. In more ways than one.
"I even tried to get Sallie to talk to her." Ayame went on.
The guardswoman regarded the Astigmatism curiously. "How did that go?"
The other monster dropped her gaze. "Not well," she admitted. Undyne shook her head.
Everything had managed to become quite the mess, and she had been doing her best to try to get things back to as right as she could, but it seemed more and more of the cracks were never going to be filled. She tried to remind herself that nothing lasted forever, that everything changed, but it was hard that time.
"She did give me this, though." Ayame slid a piece of paper across the table. The creased page was unmarked on the outside. "Apparently it was left at her door. She told me it had nothing to do with her."
Undyne unfolded the note and looked it over. She read it through twice, eye narrowing with each pass. "A week. And this is it?" she asked as she looked up from it.
"At least we know he's still alive." Ayame said.
Undyne grunted and looked at the note again. She had recognized Alphys's messy hand immediately, and all it said was that she and Ryan were fine, and that he was with her. It said that they would be gone for a while and that they were working on something important; that no one could bug them. At the bottom, was one line in a different hand – she guessed it must have been Ryan's. It simply said, I'm sorry.
It left her with more questions than answers. She glanced over at Snowy. He had been pretty shaken himself when he heard about what had happened between Ryan and Sallie. She did not think this news would help make him feel any better. Poor kid… He had already lost one family; he did not deserve to lose another.
She had more than half a mind to just go to the lab anyway and start making demands of her two rogue friends, but she knew Alphys well enough to know that if she said not to interfere, there was a good reason for it.
She did not like any of this. She felt restless. She had to do something. She said as much to Ayame.
"There's nothing we can do." She told her. "At least not now."
"Then what?" the warrior asked, throwing the paper down on the table.
The monster shrugged. "I guess we wait."
Undyne let out a groan. More waiting… Just what she needed.
.
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CD P:\DT\EXF10W3Y\Data\
ExperimentLog
7: I've chosen a candidate. I haven't told Asgore yet, because I wanted to surprise him with it. In the center of his garden, there's something special: the first golden flower that grew before all the others. The flower from the outside world. I wonder… What happens when something without a soul gains the will to live?
9: The flower's gone.
Ryan turned the screen off as he heard Alphys walking up behind him. "What are you looking at?" She asked him.
He stood up from the desk and took the robe she handed him. "Just confirming something." He told her. "Everything ready?"
She seemed to accept his answer, and nodded in response to his question, but she raised a hand to stop him before he could walk past her. "I know we've already talked about this," she said, "but I need to be sure. This is probably not going to be very pleasant. Do you still want to do this?"
Ryan took off his shirt and put on the robe. "I already made up my mind, Alphys. This is something I have to do."
The doctor looked him over, trying to find the slightest hint of doubt. There was none. "Okay then," She said and beckoned him to follow. Ryan nodded. It was time.
.
.
.
Asgore Dreemurr, The King of Monsters, woke with a start as something tickled the edge of his perception, like a serpent trying to crawl up his back. Age old habits kicked in, and he was on his feet and alert in an instant. He looked around the throne room's vine covered length warily until rational thought finally caught up with him.
He let his guard fall and let out a breath. Of course there was nothing there, what could be? No one had stepped foot in that part of the castle but him in a long time. How long had it even been? He no longer knew. It must have been something in his dreams that woke him. They had been growing worse, as of late. He knew that, yet he could remember nothing about them upon waking. Sometimes, he would get glimmers, flashes of scenes almost too horrible to describe. Strange, that his past would haunt him now, and yet, he did not entirely feel like that was it.
He looked back at his throne. He had fallen asleep in it again, lost in thought. What did that throne mean to him anymore? Nothing, he had decided. Not until he could get back what he had lost.
But, he could never get it back. He knew that fact, yet still…
His eyes wandered to the throne's twin, tucked into the corner of the room. It sat covered by a sheet. It was the last remnant he had of that old life aside from the flowers he spent most of his time caring for, and he could not bring himself to get rid of it, no matter how much it hurt to have it there. Once more, it made him think that maybe he was wrong, that there was still a chance to try something else and maybe even redeem himself.
No. It was too late to stop now, not after what he had started. He would get back what hope for his kingdom that he could. It was all they had left.
Yet, he wanted to give them something more: a future beyond this buried tomb. He knew how to get it but, at the same time, he hoped that day never came. For when it did, he would need to do something unforgiveable yet again.
But at least then it would be done.
The King sat back down on his throne and did the only thing he could. He waited, unaware of the shadow that watched him.