"S-so… um…"
"...yeah?"
"N-nothing."
You're sitting on an uncomfortable folding chair, your injured leg propped up by a stack of textbooks. Alphys is standing in front of her desk, watching the electric kettle with feigned interest, her claws fiddling with a button on her lab coat. The fluorescent tubes above cast harsh shadows on her face, her eyes half hidden behind the rim of her glasses. Fine by you. It's not like you're planning on looking her in the eye anytime soon, and you suspect she's not particularly keen on looking at you either.
The kettle turns itself off with a faint click, and the lizard monster pours the boiling water into the ramen cup, making steam rise and fog up her glasses. She takes them off and wipes them clean with her sleeve, then opens the flavor pack and empties the contents into the cup. You wait. And wait. And wait.
And wait.
After a small eternity, the noodles are ready. Still avoiding your eyes, Alphys offers you the steaming cup and a plastic fork, and takes a seat next to the desk. You take a cautious sip, and thank all the forces of the universe that you don't have a palate as it'd probably be burning right now.
"Has it… c-cooled off enough?"
"sure."
You sink your fork into the still-mostly-flavorless mixture, swirl it around, and take a bite. The pain in your kneecap recedes a little. It's all fine. Everything is fine. At least you're not interrogated by Undyne this time.
"D-do you want some… uh… s-some..."
"thanks, i'm good."
"O-okay."
Another bite, another merry round of chewing and swallowing in utter silence. Alphys fidgets on her chair, occasionally opening her mouth only to decide not to say anything in the end. Agonizingly slowly, you finish your noodles, drink the last drop, and stare at the empty cup, waiting for something, anything to get you out of the situation.
Time passes.
Oh for fuck's sake.
"so how did you -"
"Ah!"
Alphys' startled squeak nearly makes you drop your fork. Great start.
"Uh… heh, um, s-sorry, you just... g-g-gave me a little… s-scare, that's all."
"sorry for that. i just, well. just wanted to ask how you found me."
"O-oh! That. Um. Yes." She picks up a crumpled sticky note from the desk, then immediately puts it down again. "The s-secondary monitoring system detected someone with a large amount of d-d-determination walking around in the l-lab. I was w-worried that the human might have g-gotten in somehow."
She clears her throat, clearly unsure how to proceed.
"But… it t-t-turned out to b-be you."
"yeah."
"Y-yeah."
You force a grin, desperate to keep the conversation going. Anything but the silence, please.
"quite the a-maze-ing construction you got there. you might as well say -"
"The flower."
You blink at the unexpected interruption. Alphys' voice is all of a sudden flat, low, and when you finally gather your courage to look at her, you see dejection in her eyes.
"what?"
"It was the f-f-flower, wasn't he?" She pushes the glasses higher on her nose with a robotic motion, then drops her hand back in her lap. "The one who t-told you about... the lab. You… you t-talked to him, r-right?"
You briefly consider your options. You can probably tell some lie, no matter how transparent, and call it a day - it's not like she has the courage to call you out on it, especially now that she thinks her secret is about to be brought out in the open. You can just refuse to answer, and ask her to let you out immediately and not tell anyone, and she'd probably let you out immediately and not tell anyone.
Probably.
On the other hand, she might just gather her courage enough to confide in someone, most probably Asgore, and getting a polite call from the king inquiring about you having broken into a secret lab is not something you want to deal with right now.
Besides… seeing Alphys like this just makes you uncomfortable. She looks utterly defeated, her voice heavy with pain and shame. She doesn't even dare to confront you about your transgression. She's expecting you to expose her, humiliate her, make her even more of an outcast that she already is. Quite coincidentally, that's the same thing you were afraid she was going to do. Although right now, it looks like you have the upper hand. Yay.
"yeah. i did."
"I see." She turns her head, the lights flashing on her glasses for a split second. "What did he s-s-say?"
"not much," you shrug. "he just told me to check the place out as it'd be important for me to see what's in there."
She doesn't say anything to that, just nods, her gaze idly resting on an old DVD case. She's clearly aware of the implications of you deceiving her. She knows you didn't trust her. She knows she doesn't deserve to be trusted. You stifle a sigh.
"look. i won't tell anyone. none of my business anyway. so, uh, don't sweat it."
You're not sure if you've just told a lie or not. They aren't your loved ones and relatives, after all. They aren't your responsibility. You shouldn't care about them. In fact, it'd be better if you just forgot about the whole endeavor. Your smile wavers as you try to shut out the memory of Endogeny sleeping peacefully on your lap, try to push it back into a dark nook where it can be left to wither and die with every other memory you deemed unwanted.
You try, and you can't.
"S-sans, I… I know it's m-my fault, and… and that it was wrong of me to not s-say anything -"
"'s okay, really," you interrupt her, wishing she'd just drop the subject already. "trust me, i have plenty of other stuff to worry about."
Alphys falls silent once again, and you take this as your cue to leave. Your knee in tip-top condition again, you get up, hoping that she takes the hint and opens the door.
"...It's the human, r-r-right?" She looks up at you, a shadow of a smile on her face, then quickly averts her eyes. "I'm n-not sure if it means anything, but… I still think it was very k-kind of you to protect them."
"uh. no problem."
"D-did you… did you do it b-because they can influence the timeline?"
The world comes to a screeching halt so abruptly, you can practically smell the tires burning. For a long moment, you can do nothing but stare at the scientist, who's pointedly looking at a random spot on the floor, her face flushed. You're perfectly aware that the best - and least complicated - course would be to play dumb, but you just can't. You can't. This is the first time someone has ever brought the resets up by themselves, and you can't let it slip. Even if it comes from Alphys, the one monster who you've never thought about as someone you could confide in.
Alphys, our only remaining partner-in-science.
You slowly sit back on the chair, your thoughts racing chaotically. How long has she known? How did she first react when she learned the truth? Did she tell anyone? Did she try to reach out, to find someone, anyone who she can trust, only to find herself, ultimately, alone?
Can she… can she maybe -
Can she understand how it feels?
Overwhelmed and unsure what to say, you stay silent, wordlessly prompting Alphys to proceed. Sensing the sudden shift in your demeanor, she goes on, her voice uncertain.
"I mean… I've been suspecting s-something like that for a while n-now. The Amalgamates… s-sometimes they remember things that didn't h-happen. At least at first, I didn't b-believe they happened. I was c-convinced that they were just disoriented by their… um… c-c-condition."
You tense up at the mention of the residents of the true lab. If they talked with Alphys about their memories, there's a fair chance of them dropping the tiny detail of her demise at your hands. And if that's the case, she might just pull herself together enough to try and hold you back. You force yourself to remain calm, your pupils glued to Alphys' face, looking for something, anything that might reveal how much she knows.
"As it turns out, h-human souls have some very interesting p-properties."
That's one way to put it.
"such as?"
"As far as I can tell, m-monsters can create their own determination in some rare c-cases, but it's usually a negligible amount, and it's also somewhat d-different," the lizard monster carries on. "It might make them s-s-stronger, but I don't know if it has any influence on their c-capability to remember anything that happened… earlier."
She clears her throat.
"So, um, what I wanted to ask is… d-do you remember? Like… l-like they do?"
"...sometimes."
It's technically true, you suppose. The events of the earliest timelines are nothing but a thick fog in your mind, with the occasional flash of clarity: Toriel's laughter coming from the other side of the door, Papyrus' boots crunching in the frozen snow as he tells you about his latest puzzle, the whisper of an echo flower, repeating someone's wish to the bare cave walls, Undyne standing in front of the throne, swearing to kill the human with her own hands. Gigantic, writhing vines and tentacles, the cackling of Flowey as he prepares to strike you dead. But it's all been flattened into an intangible mass, long overshadowed by what came after, pushed into the farthest recesses of your mind.
There might have been happier times, long ago. But you sure as hell don't remember them.
"I s-see."
Alphys' voice drags you back to reality. She doesn't look proud of herself for figuring out the truth. If anything, she looks even more dejected. You raise a bony eyebrow, trying to make sense of her behavior.
"Is that why you… why y-you..."
She bites her lower lip, hesitating.
"why i what?"
"...Why you killed me?"
Your left hand trembles in your pocket, and you can barely suppress the urge to grind your teeth in frustration. So she knows. So much for hoping that they won't rat you out. So much for hoping that she would leave you in peace. And once again, you must think fast, try to outmaneuver your opponent, try to dodge her questions, her suspicion, her accusations, the blame, always, always the blame, and the mere thought makes you feel exhausted. You don't want to go through all of this right now. Or ever again, for that matter. Your less than cordial chat with Undyne was more than enough.
"come again?" you say, careful to keep your voice even.
Alphys takes a deep breath, staring somewhere into the middle distance.
"When I c-came back to the - to the lab, the Amalgamates warned me to stay away f-from you since they saw you fight me and - and k-k-kill me. They told me they once watched it through the c-camera system I had installed for them." She swallows, still looking at nothing in particular. "That was… in an earlier t-timeline, wasn't it?"
"okay," you say firmly, getting up from the chair. "i haven't the faintest idea why those guys said what they did, but to be frank, i couldn't care less. it's enough that a human is running around messing with the timeline, getting accused of murder is a bit much for one afternoon."
"They - they remembered it," Alphys repeats stubbornly. "And I know they were telling the t-truth. I can feel it. I know s-something's not right, Sans. And I - I won't let you h-hurt anyone else."
Getting defiant, huh.
"hey, it was you who told me a minute ago that those guys might have just been confused from being pumped full of determination," you say coldly. "'interesting properties', if i remember correctly."
The scientist winces at the blow, but still doesn't look up. She obviously doesn't believe you. You feel anger rising up inside you. How dare she, of all people, call you to account? How dare she blame you for keeping secrets? How dare she distrust you?
She should -
She should understand.
And yet, she acts like she knows nothing. She acts like she's better, like she would have done any differently. Your mouth feels bitter, like she has somehow betrayed you. You shouldn't have trusted her in the first place. You shouldn't have trusted anyone.
"Did you… d-did you do it because of the human?" She inhales sharply, her claws tightening around the corners of her lab coat. "Did you do it b-because you remembered?"
"let me out, alphys. i don't have time for this."
A bead of sweat appears on her forehead, her voice becoming strained.
"N-no. Not until you tell me the t-truth."
"sure thing. the truth is, i'm fed up with your garbage. can i go now, or do we have to go back and forth a few more dozen times?"
"Then tell me what's g-g-going on. I need to know. I… I d-demand you tell me." She looks up at you, her gaze uncharacteristically hard. "Why did you d-do it, Sans?"
Your hand curls into a fist in your pocket, your grin twitching for a moment. So she's curious, huh. You step closer, and she involuntarily shuffles on her chair, her breath becoming faster, shallower, like she wants to flee, like every cell in her body screams at her to get out of the situation, get away from the danger you have become.
"you wanna know why?" you growl. "well, doc, i did it because i finally had enough. i was fucking sick of living a nightmare where i was stuck dealing with the human and their trillion resets while the rest of you were busy making friendsies with them. or -"
Or playing the hero when they decided to turn you all to dust.
You stop yourself before you can finish the sentence. You instinctively know that you shouldn't tell Alphys about the genocide runs. You shouldn't tell her about the human who decided to give in to their fear, and the demon who took advantage of it to slaughter and torture you. You can't tell her. You know she won't be strong enough to pretend that she doesn't know anything, and you shouldn't let Chara suspect that something's off about their little pacifist frolick through the Underground. It's more than enough that she knows about the resets.
And yet - deep down, you can feel that's not all of it.
A picture of Alphys enters your mind, her eyes on the screen, following Frisk and Undyne while they were trying their best to cook.
"I knew they'd work out a s-solution!"
You remember the joy in her voice. The hope that you lost so, so long ago. The genuine happiness that made you envious to the point that you wished they all knew and suffered just like you did.
"It's almost like… like s-something's about to change, I think?"
You let out a huff, irritated by your own uncertainty. Why do you even care? It's not like it'd make any difference to you if Alphys knew about any of this. She deserves it just as much as you do. Frisk deserves it as much as you do. They all deserve it.
"anyway," you go on after a moment, averting your gaze. "fragile little babybones i was, i couldn't take it anymore, so i decided to shake things up by gaining a few levels. you were in the way. end of story. trust me, you weren't special in any way."
Mettaton and Undyne met the same fate, you want to say. All of her friends died. She couldn't save them in the end. She couldn't save anyone.
You just shrug instead and turn away, your voice flat again.
"so. now you know. half the battle and all that. and since you can't really do anything about it without raising suspicion about the human you seem to be such a fan of, i'd say it's high time we wrap this up and go on our merry ways. unless you want me to blast your door to pieces first."
Silence. You're waiting for her reaction, your body still tense with suppressed rage. You don't even care anymore if she tries to hold you back. It's not like you can't defeat her in a few rounds if you put your mind to the task.
"Ha ha…"
...What?
Alphys' reaction is so out of left field that you can't help but glance back at her, and see that she's… smiling?
"So… there is n-no hope for us after all."
She's slouched over in her chair, her hands lying limply in her lap. Your eye-lights search her expression, looking for the revulsion you saw on Undyne's face, but you see nothing of the sort. Alphys is not scared of you, or disgusted, or even disappointed. She doesn't condemn you - at least not any more than she condemns herself.
She's defeated.
Your anger dissipates as quickly as it came, a sinking feeling taking its place, and as you step a little closer, trying to figure out what to do, you realize it's remorse.
You shouldn't have told her. You should have lied until she let you alone for the sake of both of you. You should have just kept your damn mouth shut. But you've always been a selfish one, haven't you?
"I was… blind, wasn't I?" the lizard monster goes on. " I was so s-sure that things were finally about to ch-change. But I was wrong. We're s-stuck here. We toil and we fight and we s-suffer until we lose hope… and start k-killing each other."
You see the dark circles under her eyes, speaking of her exhaustion. You hear the same quiet despair in her voice that had been chipping away at your sanity until it finally broke you. Because there's no more effective method to break someone than to show them that there is no hope. You know this feeling. Intimately. You're far, far too familiar with it by now.
And this time, it's all your doing.
You sit back on the chair, your hands resting on your kneecaps, your mind grasping for something, anything that might help her. You can't just leave her like this. You can't.
"doc. it's, uh, going to be okay."
Nice job. And you thought that Papyrus was bad at lying.
"i shouldn't have dropped all of this on you. sorry."
"It's alright, S-sans. I should have known. I should have known that it was all for n-nothing." Alphys hangs her head low, her voice a whisper now. Not a good sign. "I know you're n-not the only one who - who fought me. I know the human must have… g-gained levels in some runs."
You feel coldness spreading out in your chest.
"...the human?"
She takes a deep breath, her hands curling around each other.
"I... remember. I remember th-their eyes. They were… red."
Such a deep red. Such a deep well of hatred and determination.
And she knows. She knows about the fallen child, she knows about how they killed her, how they killed everyone, how they have returned from death only to never leave, only to torture you until the end of time. She knows. You close your eyesockets, trying not to give in to the feeling that you've messed up once again.
"I should have f-faced this… this reality l-long ago," Alphys continues. "But I've always been a c-c-coward."
"alphys," you say, helpless, sensing that she's slipping away from you even as you speak.
"I d-did go through with it in the end, didn't I?" She smiles, a pathetic, broken little thing. "S… s-suicide, I mean. I just… left everyone behind to d-deal with it all."
Her voice is oddly calm, almost peaceful, and once again, you feel like you're looking at a twisted version of yourself. Talking about taking her own life like it's the most natural thing in the world, like it's not even worth making a fuss about. Like she's nothing more than a piece of trash, useless and forgettable.
But she isn't.
Her body was half melted, her voice trembling, her soul heavy with secrets and remorse and self-loathing. Her heroine dead, along with her king. But she kept going. She kept fighting for those she loved. She kept living for those who needed her.
She doesn't deserve this. None of them deserves this. They deserve better.
They deserve to live.
"you didn't."
Alphys looks up at you, speechless, and the feeling of whatever got hold of you in the true lab -
- to have mercy -
- returns with such force that your voice breaks for a moment.
"you fought just like undyne."
Her eyes widen with disbelief.
"R… really?"
"sure. in fact, you got me good," you grin awkwardly, desperate to lift her spirits somehow. "the rocket launcher was a nice touch. it, uh, really blew my mind."
After the initial shock, she can't help but burst into a fit of giggles at that, covering her mouth with one hand.
"cutting edge stuff you have there, doc," you go on, winking at her. "best of the in-dust-ry. and you were a real de-terminator. with bulging muscles and all that."
"T-too bad I had such a m-meltdown!"
Before you know it, you're snickering. You exchange a glance with Alphys, who's still laughing at her own horrible joke, and you can't stop yourself from joining in, feeling like a preschooler who's just discovered the exotic realm of cuss words. You don't even care that the conversation has taken a turn for the utterly bizarre.
Finally, she seems to calm down, taking her glasses off and wiping the tears from her eyes. Tears of what emotion, you don't know. At least she looks marginally better.
"look. i'm... kinda fuzzy on the details, but i do remember some bits from earlier," you say awkwardly. "in some of the timelines, you did come clean. about the true lab and everything."
"And what did… what did the others… s-say?"
"they forgave you."
A small, sad smile appears on her face as she looks into your eyes.
"Thank you."
You sit in silence for a minute, both of you trying to gather your thoughts.
"How long d-did you know?" Alphys asks finally. "About the resets?"
"for… quite a while now."
"And you didn't t-tell anyone?"
"i did," you shrug. "told asgore a few times. not that he could do anything about it. and, well... i told you. once or twice, that is."
She nods slowly, her glasses slipping a little lower on her nose.
"Neither of us can d-do anything, c-c-can we?"
"...no."
"I'm sorry, Sans. I'm s-sorry you had to go through this by y-yourself."
Your eye-lights nearly go out from shock.
You couldn't have heard this right. You must have misunderstood something.
"I wish you had someone to t-t-turn to."
Alphys' voice is earnest and gentle, and for a brief moment, you're so overwhelmed by gratitude, it almost feels painful. Undyne's face appears in front of you, her words reverberating in your mind.
"You were my friend."
Your soul beats heavily in your chest, pulsing with an intangible, chaotic mess of emotions, and you wish the feeling would stop immediately and last forever at the same time. You don't know what to think, what to say, what to do with it. You only know that Alphys understands. She understands what it feels like to be utterly alone. To have no-one to turn to. To spend every waking moment knowing that she cannot tell anyone.
She understands.
You look her in the eye, more vulnerable than ever in so many lifetimes, and for a moment, for a fleeting, ethereal moment, you feel like you're not alone.
"...thanks."
The moment passes, and Alphys quickly adjusts her glasses in embarrassment, her face red.
"S-so… what do we do n-now?"
"well. we, uh, can't really do anything, strictly speaking," you say hesitantly. "it's pretty much all in the hands of the human. i just wanted to make sure they make it alive as far as they can without resetting." You clear your throat. "so i guess what i'd like to ask is - try and help them if you can."
"I will," Alphys says, her voice firm. "If you think it'll make things b-b-better… I'll help them."
You give her a curt nod.
"I just w-want to know one more thing, Sans." She frowns, a shadow of a doubt returning to her face. "Are they… the s-same human who k-k-killed me? And… and Undyne, and..."
Mercy.
You shake your head, trying your best to look confident.
"no. they aren't. it's a bit complicated, human souls being as they are, but i know for a fact that… that one human's been gone long ago. they might have -"
You're interrupted by a loud, rhythmic beeping coming from behind you. Startled, Alphys springs up from her chair and rushes to the main display screen.
"The human!" she exclaims, her earlier excitement returning in almost full force. "They're about to enter Hotland!"
She turns back to you, her movements frantic.
"M-mettaton! I c-c-completely forgot! Where's the - oh stars, I need to - s-s-sorry, I must -"
"no worries," you say with an airy grin. "i'll just take my leave. don't wanna be a third wheel."
She hurries you to the back door and, after some fumbling, opens it with a remote control. You step outside and prepare to take a shortcut, when Alphys stops abruptly, her hand resting on the doorframe, her voice uncertain once again.
"S-sans…"
"yeah?"
Her face falls.
"I know I c-cant ask you any favors, but… please d-d-don't… don't do anything that… that might c-cause you any… harm. O-okay?"
Ugh. She just had to come at you with this in the last minute, didn't she?
"sure thing. thanks for the input."
"Goodbye, Sans. P-please take care."
The automatic door shuts behind you with a faint hiss, and you're left alone on the warm, red sands of Hotland. The white walls of the lab tower over you, silent, impenetrable, guarding their secret. You take one last look at the door, the feeling of gratitude still lingering in your soul.
"...you too."
Checking on the save points in Waterfall does little to reassure you. The one at the garbage dump is still there, with only a faint crack on its surface, as well as the one in Temmie Village. The other ones, though…
...they are gone without a trace.
Not good. Not good at all.
You go back and forth a few times between the save point locations in the hopes of running into Flowey by chance, but he's nowhere to be seen. Finally, you teleport to your sentry booth on the second floor of Hotland, mostly because you have no idea what else to do for now. If your calculations are correct, Frisk's about to arrive soon-ish, depending on how fast they can take on the nasty surprises Mettaton has prepared for them. You use the remaining time to take account of your emergency ketchup stash. Two packets left. You should probably save them for later in case you get injured again. Who knows what's about to come.
Screw it.
You tear one of the packets open and sip on the contents lazily, closing your eyesockets, enjoying the taste. You didn't even realize how much you've been starving for the good stuff, especially after those noodles. The monotone droning of the Core machinery, along with the sweet, sweet taste of artificial flavoring and assorted preservatives, do wonders for your nerves. After a few minutes, you can even think straight. You take out a few buns and put them on the counter to warm them up a little.
Alright. No need to panic. Even if the children manage to get themselves killed, they still have two fixed points in the timeline to fall back on. You just have to make sure Chara doesn't take any notice that most of the save points are gone. You just have to hope that they are having a good enough time to forget about resets for a change, and focus on whatever grabs their fancy.
You just have to hope.
Hope, huh?
You don't even see how pathetic you've become.
What if it's all their doing?
What if they have found a new way to make you miserable?
What if they -
You're shaken up from your musings by the nearby elevator letting out a small ding! as the doors open. Frisk steps out, their hands covered in flour, bits of confetti stuck in their bushy hair. They are busy tapping on their newly modified phone, and you say a silent thanks to Alphys for her cooperation.
"Sans!" they exclaim as look up from their phone, slipping it in their pocket. They look genuinely happy to see you, which makes you all the more uncertain about what's going on.
"hey, kiddo. thought i'd drop by to check on your progress." You give them a half-hearted grin, reaching for a bun. "care for a hot dog or two?"
They shot you a dirty look.
"It's just water sausage again, isn't it?"
You shrug lightly.
"nothing escapes you, pal. care for it anyway? got a special discount for ya."
Hearing the word 'discount', their eyes light up. Looks like you're not the only one short on money. Or HP, for that matter. Upon receiving the hot dog (and frankly, it's pretty much a steal at 29 G), they dig in with the ferocity of someone who's been living on ramen noodles for three months straight. Which might or might not have happened at some point, actually.
"you okay, buddy?" you ask, eyeing the small, black holes in their sweater. "you look a bit, uh, scorched."
"Um." They swallow the bite they've been chewing on, looking awkward. "We... might have accidentally burned Undyne's house down?"
...The hell?
"She's okay!" Frisk says hurriedly. "I mean, she wasn't hurt or anything! It's just that she wanted to teach me how to cook, and it - um - it got a little out of hand."
Oh.
You don't remember anything like this from before. Which might be the result of your faulty memory, but you highly suspect it's not the case. This is something that hasn't happened before. This is something new. Alphys' words come back to you, naive, innocent, unknowing.
It's almost like something's about to change.
"don't sweat it," you say, shrugging lightly. "i know how the captain can be. speaking of - where is she right now?"
"She left for Snowdin to stay at your - stay with Papyrus for now."
Good. At least you don't have to worry about running into her in Hotland. Not that that was a plausible scenario anyway.
Frisk wipes their mouth with the back of their hand, belly full, pockets empty, looking ready to leave. They smile at you and -
- they collapse, falling on their knees, clutching at their chest.
"kid?"
Alarmed, you kneel down next to them, and they reach out and grab your hand, holding on with all their strength. Their face is pale, their breath coming in shallow, uneven waves.
"frisk, you okay? want me to call alphys? i can take you to the lab in no time."
Still holding tightly onto you, they shake their head, their bangs swishing wildly, their face contorted in a grimace of pain. After a long minute, their breathing gradually evens out, and they let go of your hand. You help them stand up and pat them cautiously on the shoulder.
"feeling better?"
"Yeah," they say with a faint smile. "It's just a little stuffy here, that's all. I got dizzy for a moment."
"want some water? i have a spare bottle in the booth. lukewarm, but better than nothing."
"That would be very kind of you, thanks."
You fully expect them to chug down the entire bottle in one go, but to your surprise, they put the lid back on after a few sips.
"are you some sort of cactus, pal? that couldn't have been nearly enough."
"It's fine, thank you. I'm fine now. Good to go!"
"...alright. you know best, i guess."
Despite their initial protests, you manage to convince them to take a few spare hot dogs just in case they run out of food in the middle of nowhere. They wave to you as they continue their journey into the heart of the Underworld, their steps once again swift and confident.
But perhaps a little less swift and confident than before.
Leaning against the side of your booth, hands in pockets, you watch their figure as it gets smaller and smaller, until it turns around a distant corner and vanishes from your sight. The hot air vibrates all around you, heavy with riddles, heavy with worry and unease. For the first time since you agreed to Flowey's plan, you feel lost - lost in a maze of charades and deceit and lies.
Because all that bullshit about being 'dizzy'? You pulled the same trick way too many times to get fooled by it.
Frisk was lying.