It wasn't w-wrong, what she was doing. Alphys was even helping them! If The Human d-didn't know the truth, then it couldn't hurt the girl. I-Ignorance was bliss. Right?

In her heart, Alphys knew that was another a lie. A lie she told herself to make her feel better and to tolerate the stress of it all. If she convinced herself it was all for someone else's benefit and not hers. Or at least... not just hers...

The Human was just having so much fun. Alphys was just having so much fun... She hadn't felt this good in a very long time. Not since she first got her job as the Royal Scientist.

But all of that had been built on a lie, too.

And now The Human was figuring that out. And there was nothing Alphys could do about it but hold her breath.

Alphys had seen The Human come out of the junk shop Bratty and Catty ran through the cameras. The Human had began to make her way back the way she had came, something in her hands and determination in her step. The Human seemed to be excited. Like she had had a sudden idea or revelation. And that revelation, Alphys soon learned, was where a certain key belonged. The Human had raced all the way back to Waterfall, and Alphys watched, the camera the scientist had set up specifically to keep an eye out for Mettaton's old home, for security, now let Alphys watch with an intense sense of dread. The Human was gone for a considerably long time... Alphys couldn't dream what she could possibly be doing.

The Human emerged, her head down, the excitement cut short.

Alphys felt herself sputter. As if she could talk to The Human through the screen. She could see The Human piecing things together, or already had, and all Alphys had gained was slipping through her fingers. Her first lie was out in the open and the rest could soon tumble out of control. But- Somehow... Something stirred in Alphys' chest. Like she wanted them to.

Lying had been... so... stressful.

But with the lies tumbling away, so would everything in her life. Alphys didn't think she could live with it all.

B-But... E-Even if The Human knew about Mettaton not being an actual robot, that she hadn't c-created a Soul, it wasn't that big of a deal. The Human was still going to leav-

Oh all of this was such a mess!

But Alphys just had to keep going through with her plans. This didn't change everything else. This-

*Ring Ring...

Alphys nearly jumped out of her skin. She hadn't been paying enough attention to the screen in her panic. The Human had her phone in her hands.

Alphys was fumbling around the Lab, not wanting to answer. Sweating and panicking and her heart racing. She didn't end up answering.

*Ring Ring.

The phone rang again.

And again.

And again.

It was the letters all over again. Constant. Knowing. The Human on the screen, if the girl had been weighed down before was now growing visibly upset. Furious, even. The Human looked directly at Alphys through the screen, as if the girl knew where the camera lay hidden. Her eyes were pointed and piercing. The phone rang.

"Answer the phone!" Alphys saw her say. Alphys couldn't read lips, but what else would she be yelling.

The Human turned away from the camera and stormed forward. Alphy's stomach dropped in realization that if she didn't answer the phone, The Human would come all the way there.

"H-Hello." Alphys began, trying to sound absolutely, positively normal. No lies here.

"You lied!" The Human nearly yelled. The Human came to an abrupt stop on the screen, and the anger seeped out into what sounded a lot like pain. Her voice had cracked. "You lied about everything!"

"W-Well, n-not, I, u-uh-"

"I-!" The Human continued. "The Soul thing being fake makes sense, that all makes sense! But-!" The Human had both hands on the phone. One pressing it tightly to their ear and the other at the base of it. Alphys was still panicking, but she was frozen at realizing that The Human was not as much angry, but scared. "I could have killed him!" They shouted now. "I could have really killed him! If he was just a robot you could repair him! If he was just a robot I wasn't really hurting anybody! I COULD HAVE KILLED HIM! REALLY KILLED HIM!" The Human stopped, seeming to have difficulty breathing. More than just... difficulty. The hand on the base of the phone lowered and The Human pressed it against her chest. She was... She was having her own panic attack. Everything was slipping.. tumbling...

"H-H-Hey!" Alphys jumped in, not knowing what to do.

"What would have happened to you?" The Human said with a large gulp of air, her voice deepening with an intense sob in the back of her throat. "If I'd killed him, what would you have happened to you?"

Alphys... Alphys found herself paling at the very thought... But how The Human had jumped to that train of thought she didn't know and put her even more at unease. Someone that small... shouldn't be having panic attacks. Someone that small shouldn't be...

"I could have killed him!" The Human cried again. "I can't..."

"I-It's okay! Y-You wouldn't ha-have killed him!"

"But I would have!" They sobbed. "If the Fight hadn't ended when it did, I would have-! And I wouldn't have realized it! I wouldn't have gone ba-!"

"Hey!" Alphys tried again desperately. "Those Fights weren't even Fights!" Alphys covered her mouth in horror as the words registered but The Human didn't seem to react any more worsley to it. The Human was shaking, their breathing through the phone uneven and sharp.

"You should have never lied to me about anything." The Human told her. "You should have never lied-"

Someone that small shouldn't be lied to and manipulated like she had been.

Alphys felt like she was being crushed by a thousand bricks and she deserved it. Her mouth was open but her words were gone and she watched the screen sadly.

"And the Soul.." The Human continued and Alphys panicked before she remembered that The Human was referring to Mettaton's Soul. "There goes half of my options-! My plans!" Alphys blinked.

"W-Wha-What?" The Human pressed the phone to her forehead. Cringing as she took in deep breaths.

"What am I going to do?" She asked, but Alphys felt like it wasn't meant for her. "What am I going to do?" She took in another deep breath but as soon as she spoke, her voice broke again into a cry. "It's all going to end the same..!"