CHAPTER 8: True Lab, Hidden Secret
"Entry Number 1. This is it… Time to do what the King has asked me to do. I will create the power to save us all. I will unleash the power of the Soul."
"Entry Number 2. The barrier is locked by Soul power. Unfortunately, this power cannot be created artificially. Soul power can only be derived from what was once living. So, to create more, we will have to use what we already have… The Souls of monsters"
"Entry Number 3. But extracting the Soul from a living monster would require incredible power… Besides being impractical, doing so would instantly destroy the Soul's host. And, unlike the persistent Souls of humans… The Souls of most monsters disappear immediately upon death. If only I could make a monster's Soul last."
"Entry Number 5. I've done it. Using the blueprints, I've extracted it from the human Souls. I believe this is what gives their Souls the strength to persist after death. The will to keep living… The resolve to change fate. Let's call this power… 'Determination.'"
Alphys' voice echoed from screens in the wall as Nafi walked past. She knew they were desperate, but experimenting on themselves? Not that she could really say anything and not be a hypocrite given what humans did to themselves when the undead came.
Although that might be why Alphys was so jittery if this was what he was hiding.
Wondering about morals aside, she had a mission. Alphys was still somewhere in here and he had answers to her questions, both the ones she came down here for and the new ones.
Leaving the hallway of screens, Nafi entered a bigger room with a large door across from her. It was labeled 'Power Room' so unless the power was out Alphys was probably not in there. There was an odd machine with food in it and two other paths, one to the left and one to the right. Nafi glanced at the machine and went left.
"Entry Number 6. Asgore asked everyone outside the city for monsters who had 'Fallen Down'. Their bodies came in today. They're still comatose… and soon, they'll all turn into dust. But what happens if I inject 'determination' into them? If their Souls persist after they perish, then… Freedom might be closer than we all thought."
Yet you're still down here, something must have gone wrong.
Nafi walked into the next room. Operating tables were lined up against the wall with an odd fluid she refused to touch staining their surface. She spotted sinks on the other side of the room and, feeling dirty just looking at the tables, walked over to wash her hands.
Another screen played its message on the way.
"Entry Number 9. Things aren't going well. None of the bodies have turned into dust, so i can't get the Souls. I told the families that I would give them the dust back for funerals. People are starting to ask me what's happening. What do I do?"
Nafi shivered as the end Alphys' recorded message echoed through the room. Did she pity him? Did she fear him? For the time being, she wanted to wash her hands and try the other hall.
She went to the sink farthest away from the stuff-covered tables and turned it on.
Nothing came out of the faucet at first, but eventually something did.
It was not water.
She backed up against the opposite wall as the white goo flowed out of the faucet and into the bowl, wriggling and gurgling as it did. Soon it was overflowing the sink, pulling itself into three odd spherical shapes. Nafi stood aghast at the pulsing, pained faces that made up the gooey creatures. Then her Soul was revealed, and she realized they weren't just going to stand there.
Yet...her HUD gave her nothing. What-?
She gripped her ears as the things let out a horrible blast of static, distracting her from the odd white dots that surrounded her. Finally noticing when they exploded into odd wiggling faces, she sidestepped around each of them until they stopped.
Her phone made noise and she grabbed it, hoping it was someone she knew.
There were voices, but she didn't recognize them. "Come Join The Fun," they said
The dots started again, and as she dodged she cried, "I would rather not!"
They stopped and her Soul disappeared.
She stood there as the creatures left sliding into another room next to the sinks, leaving behind a red key.
Nafi looked into the room, mumbling to herself, "At least they're polite creatures?"
A small red slot was the only thing in the room besides the creatures, so she headed back the way she came.
At the end of the right path was a door with red lights that were unlit.
Then she went back and washed her hands and the key. She slid by the creatures to get to the red slot, none of them doing anything to stop her. The key slid in and the slot lit up a deep red, the sound of the door opening able to be heard.
On the way back out of the room, one of the creatures handed her a piece of paper. It was covered in the same symbols as Sans' stuff, but there was no translation.
She handed it back.
The voices started coming from her phone again.
"Entry Number 17. Dark darker yet darker. The darkness keeps growing. The shadows cutting deeper. Photon readings negative. This next experiment seems very very interesting. What do you two think?"
In her opinion, those things were creepier than Endermen. At least they were polite.
She nodded thanks and fled back towards the now open door.
Through the door was another path of screens
"Entry Number 12. Nothing is happening. I don't know what to do. I'll just keep injecting everything with 'determination'. I want this to work."
"Entry Number 13. One of the bodies opened its eyes."
The next room was full of beds, one of them unmade. There were two exits, both in the corner farthest away from her. She went around the beds, almost tripping on an empty dog bowl, and took the door on the left. It led immediately to the middle of another hallway where she turned left again, following more screens.
"Entry Number 14. Everyone that had fallen down… has woken up. They're all walking around and talking like nothing is wrong. I thought they were goners…?"
"Entry Number 15. Seems like this research was a dead end… But at least we got a happy ending out of it…? I sent the Souls and the vessel back to Asgore. And I called all the families and told them everyone's alive. I'll send everyone back tomorrow."
"E-entry Number 16. No no no no NO NO NO NO NO!"
As Alphys' recorded screams of denial echoed with a disturbing finality to them, Nafi stared at a giant head like machine taking up most of the new room and another white goo creature next to it that was staring right back.
Nafi called out, "Hello?"
It opened the tooth filled mouth that sat on top of the sinuous body. "Welcome to my special hell," echoed in a dozen different voices as Nafi's Soul was revealed.
It tried to bite down on her and Nafi threw herself to the right, heading to a room she spotted.
She pulled out her sword, blocking as the teeth came down again. The strength of the strike forced her to actually flex to keep it back.
It backed up and flexed back.
She backed away into the room as it left the way she came.
Time to explore before it comes back, starting with the room she's in now.
The room itself was full of bookcases, none of them holding books, rather videos. The really odd thing about them were their titles. 'Mew Mew Kissy Cutie'? 'Sailor Moon'? 'Ouran Highschool Host Club'?
In the middle of the shelves was a TV, a video of black paused on it. Nafi pressed play.
A voice that wasn't Alphys came out of it, saying, "I... I don't like this idea, Chara."
A second voice, quieter than the first said, "You're crying."
"Wh... what? N-no I'm not…"
"I know the solution to this. Repeat after me. 'Big kids don't cry.'"
"...Big kids don't cry."
"Better?"
"Yeah, you're right."
"Did you doubt me?"
"No! I'd never doubt you, Chara… Never!"
"Then don't doubt the-"
Nafi turned off the TV. She pointedly tried to forget the video and not question why Chara's voice sounded so familiar, like someone she had heard all day. She had never heard him before, why did she feel like this? No, not wondering. Move on, let it stay a mystery.
On the other side of the previous room was the label for the head machine. 'DT Extraction Machine'.
Nafi left the room quickly, only to go back the way she came when the room she entered was so full of fog it was impossible to see.
On the way back past the screaming screen, she found a room she missed with something in a shower that was definitely not Alphys.
She continued past and down the other side of the hallway.
It was a room of fans and fog.
In the fog another screen echoed, "Entry Number 11. Now that Mettaton's made it big, he never talks to me anymore… Except to ask when I'm going to finish his body. But I'm afraid if I finish his body, he won't need me anymore… Then we'll never be friends ever again… Not to mention, every time I try to work on it, I just get really sweaty…"
On the other side of the room was a switch that, when Nafi flipped it, turned on the fans revealing a giant dog-like goo creature.
Nafi petted it and it let her go.
With the fans on, she wondered if the other room of fog was cleared. A little bit of backtracking revealed that, yes, it was.
This room was filled with fridges and more screens.
"Entry Number 19. The families keep calling to ask when everyone is coming home. What am I supposed to say? I don't even answer the phone anymore."
"Entry Number 20. Asgore left me five messages today. Four about everyone being angry, one about this cute teacup he found that looks like me. Thanks, Asgore."
"Entry Number 21. I spend all my time at the garbage dump now. It's my element."
Nafi passed by the last fridge and moved to the next room
"Sno...wy…"
She spun around to see Snowdrake standing where the fridge was. Except it wasn't Snowdrake, it was melting all over the floor.
Nafi thought quickly and hesitantly told a joke, "I got hit in the face with a snowball recently, it left me out cold."
It laughed, "I ...remember…"
She told another one, "What did the snowman say to the bird? I have Snow idea."
It laughed some more, "Thank… you…" and scooted away, handing her a blue key on the way by.
The room she was heading to was empty except for a green slot, so she made note of it and headed back.
Back in the bedroom, she entered the other door.
It was full of yellow, six petalled flowers, mirrors, and, oh look, more screens.
"Entry Number 7. We'll need a vessel to wield the monster Souls when the time comes. After all, a monster cannot absorb the Souls of other monsters. Just as a human cannot absorb a human Soul… So then… What about something that's neither human nor monster?"
"Entry Number 10. Experiments on the vessel are a failure. It doesn't seem to be any different than the control cases. Whatever. They're a hassle to work with anyway. The seeds just stick to you, and won't let go…"
On the way to the door at the other end of the room, she was stopped by a large bird-like creature.
Given the others were so polite, Nafi asked, "Please don't hurt me?"
Surprisingly, it does nothing more than say a few lines and walk away.
Finally, she found Alphys.
"Where is it? I thought I had that blue key on me somewhere?"
Nafi cleared her throat.
Alphys spun around.
"O-oh…" he said, staring at Nafi in shock, "I... I didn't expect you down here…"
"I have a lot of questions," Nafi started as Alphys seemed to shrivel up on himself, "The least of which is about the goo creatures."
Alphys looked up at that, asking, "You-ou don't h-hate me for the A-amalgamates?"
The Amalgamates, apparently the real name of the goo creatures, scooted into the room at the mention of them.
"I'll let you know when I figure it out, you said you needed the blue key?"
Nafi, Alphys and the Amalgamates were walking past the elevator when it opened, depositing the rest of the people who had been at the table.
It was impossible to not notice the gooey monster mixes, and reactions were mixed as everyone filed out.
Sans and Undyne stood there in silence, and while Sans didn't give anything away, Undyne's face was a mask of horror.
Toriel just gasped in sorrow, "Oh my…"
Papyrus locked eyes with the Snowdrake look-a-like and quietly, for him anyway, asked, "ICEDRAKE?"
Alphys wilted yet again. Staring at the floor, he quietly admitted, "I guess I have some explaining to do."
Once Alphys had gathered the required papers, everyone gathered in the room full of beds. Mostly because there weren't enough chairs for the five monsters, one human, and four Amalgamates.
Nafi already knew most of the story having heard it from the screens, but hearing it in Alphys own voice gave it a visceral edge. The ending was something new though.
"... a-and it's been over t-twenty years. No one's s-s-sent me any letters in so long, but t-that makes it worse. I-I've kept them here s-so long, th-their... families... f-forgot...
Alphys buried his face in his hands and sobbed, sinking further into the bed he sat on.
The room was silent as everyone thought about what they just heard and what they were hearing. The silence stretched for minutes, long past when Alphys finished crying.
Finally, Papyrus broke the silence first, "YOU TRULY REGRET WHAT YOU DID?"
Alphys nodded, mumbling an affirmative.
"THEN YOU NEED TO TRY AND FIX IT," he continued.
"But HOW?" Alphys almost screamed as he unfolded, startling everyone, "I've already ruined my chance by keeping them down here this long with nothing to show for trying to fix this! Nothing I do works, and no one is going to forgive me, I can't even forgive myself! I-I'm afraid t-to…"
He sunk back down, hiding back in his hands, "I'm afraid I'll...do something… cowardly."
Nafi clenched her jaw as she realized just what Alphys was referring to. Undyne must have realized it too as she ran over to give some sort of comfort, Papyrus right behind her.
Ignoring what was going on, Nafi looked over at where Snowdrake's mother was trying, and failing, to pet the large dog. Yes, Alphys made a mistake in not saying anything. He regrets that mistake every day, and apparently is so torn up that he would do something drastic just to escape the glares.
She looked back over to the cuddle pile that had grown much larger and cleared her throat to get everyone's attention.
"What are you planning to do now?" She asked the lizard at the bottom.
Alphys extracted himself from the pile, looking down, in thought or shame she didn't know "I need to tell everyone about what I've done," he said, voice shaky but not stuttering, "It's the right thing to do, but it's going to be hard… Being honest... Believing in myself…"
Nafi knelt to get on eye level with the lizard.
"Look at me," she said and waited for him to look up, "You can do this. You are smart, you have done great things. If you need help, we'll be right behind you."
A wet hand plopped itself on her shoulder and she added, "Them too apparently."
Alphys smiled shyly and looked around, "Thanks guys."
Nafi stood up as the others chimed in with a, "Your welcome."
She looked around for a moment before asking, "Now that we have dealt with that, can we get to the reason we came down here in the first place?"
Alphys blinked in confusion before remembering what she was talking about, saying, "Oh! Oh yeah, I was getting papers to explain."
He grabbed the folder from where he had laid it, spreading the pages inside on the bed.
There were various blueprints, readings, one page of the odd code, and lots of theories.
Alphys started his long explanation, "So, first, the previous royal scientist made a bunch of stuff, not all of it I could figure out what it did. When the earthquake happened, the first thing I did was make sure the Core wasn't going to explode. It wasn't but for some reason the power it was producing was much larger than it should have. Then I noticed a bunch of other gadgets were going bonkers," he pointed at some papers that had lines going every which way, "And after a few seconds they stopped, most of them even stopped working entirely. Now, I don't know what they did, but whatever they were tracking suddenly went up A LOT. So, obviously, a lot of it, whatever it was, happened all at once. My previous theory was that a lot happened at once, an earthquake just happened! My current theory, now that I have more information, is that the excess energy from the Core got funneled into the Barrier and that caused the Barrier to hold us not only down here, but in time as well. Then the energy was used up and we were released. That's just a theory, but it's the best theory I've got."
There was silence as the large amount of information processed.
Nafi spoke first, "Well, that explains things."
Everyone looked at each other, then Alphys looked at Nafi, "I would love to test this, but Mettaton isn't going to let anyone get to the capitol until he has his fight with you. Given that's where the Barrier is..."
Nafi nods, "If it's a fight he wants, a fight he will get." she smirked, "Let's go."