Chapter 4: THE SCIENCE


Braedan walked along the dark caves of Waterfall, humming as walked. He finally stopped before an underground river, where he sat down, still humming as he waited for the River Person, and more importantly, Undyne, who was meeting him there. Undyne, after a few months of brutally kicking his bones around twice a week, had decided to introduce him to her close friend, Dr. Alphys, which prompted this trip. Braedan leaned back to take a nap, when he heard a voice.

"Hello, hello."

"Sup, River Dude."

"Very little. I recently spoke to a Man Who Speaks In Hands, who told me to say hello."

"Gonna explain that further? Or just continue to confuse me?"

"Ha ha. I have explained quite enough, my skeletal friend. Will you be riding with me today?"

"Yeah. Just waiting on Undyne." Braedan nodded casually.

"Well, get the hell up!" Undyne said excitedly before just picking up her traveling partner.

"Undyne, I just realigned my spine this morning, and then hung out with Papyrus for a bit. Cut me some slack." Braedan teased.

"How about I cut you somewhere else?" She growled back.

"Take a joke!" Braedan laughed. "I'm here aren't I? Let's get a move on." Undyne responded by just tossing him into the boat, narrowly missing the River Person.

"Alright bonehead!" Undyne hops on the boat as well. "To Hotland!"

"Row row row, your boat…" The River Person droned on as the boat grew legs and started running across the water, an abnormal sight even in the underground. Undyne stood triumphantly at the prow of the ship, leaning over the water, while Braedan just kinda lay casually on the floor, figuring if he tried to stand up, he'd fall over again anyway. Once the boat stopped, he stood up, cracking various joints, including his neck.

"Man, every time you throw me, I get a crick in my neck."

"Oh, grow a pair." Undyne said back casually, leaping out of the boat. Braedan went for the more casual, yet still perfectly successful form of just stepping out.

"Thanks for the ride, Riverman." He said, stretching. The Riverman said nothing, his boat simply sliding away into the darkness. "... That guy is weird."

"Yeah, whatever. Come on, bonehead! Either get moving or I drag you."

"Sheesh, I'm coming." Braedan sighed, before following Undyne out into the sweltering air of Hotland. Undyne grinned, waving Braedan onwards, as she quickly began to sweat in the heat, even without her armor. Meanwhile, even in his fall jacket, Braedan just felt a mild warmth in his bones.

"Wow Undyne, I guess this place must be pretty hot. I can even sorta feel it, and I don't even have anything to heat up."

"You bet it is. If I wear my armor into Hotland, it gets hot enough that it can burn me if I'm not careful."

"Seriously? Man. Metal must be a real pain to touch around here then."

"Most of the people here are fans of the heat. Like Alphys."

"You haven't told me much about her." He sighed. "Like, what's she like?"

"You'll see for yourself, bonehead. Her lab's just up ahead."

"Oh goody."

"Is that sass? Are you sassing me? DO I NEED TO PUT YOU IN A HEADLOCK?"

"Oh no." He said sarcastically.

"I WILL START THIS!"

"BRING IT, FISHFACE!"

"YOU ASKED FOR IT, BONEHEAD!" Undyne tackled Braedan, attempting to get him into a headlock, and he went limp, making it the most awkward attempt to put someone in a headlock ever. Of all time. Eventually, she gave up, grumbling.

"... Should be embarrassed. A skeleton going boneless. Bones are literally all you have."

"I should be embarrassed? You're tackling me literally fifteen feet from your friend's lab!"

"Don't you start with me, Braedan!"

"Fiiiiiiiine. Let's go say hi. Bet 20 gold she saw the… fight?"

"Ugh… fight just sounds too dramatic."

"Spat?"

"... Something less nerdy, bonehead."

"Wrestling match?"

"Good enough." Undyne sighed, before brushing off the dirt and walking to the door to the lab. Braedan followed, dusting himself off as well. She raised her hand to knock before the door slid open, revealing a yellow lizard woman in a lab coat and glasses. She was short, particularly compared to Braedan and Undyne, who both stood around 6' (although Undyne was a bit taller). She stood around 4'10, maybe a little taller if she stood up straight. Her glasses were thick and the frames nerdy. She blinked, surprised to see Undyne had been about to knock.

"O-oh! Undyne! I-I didn't r-realize the t-time!" She said nervously, wringing her hands in front of her.

"Calm down, Alphys. It's just me. Oh, and Braedan's here."

"Sup." He casually waved a hand.

"Um… h-hiya."

"Anyway, I wanted you to meet him, maybe introduce him to some of those cool shows! Like the one with the giant robots with laser swords!" Undyne said excitedly. "Or the one with the cool sharpshooter guy in space! Or the one with all the-"

"I uh… um…" Alphys said nervously, obviously not interested in trying to talk over Undyne. Braedan, however, had no issue doing so.

"Undyne! Stop. Talking." Braedan said, managing to catch Undyne's attention.

"Sorry, guess I got a little carried away." She just laughed.

"R-really, it's f-fine." Alphys stammered. "I-I'd be h-happy to show him."

"Great! I'll leave you two to it!" Undyne grinned before patting Alphys' head. "Thanks, Alphys!"

"A-anytime, Undyne!" Alphys said as Undyne walked off. Braedan chuckled slightly at their interaction, amused.

"So, Alphys…"

"Y-yes?" She responded nervously. He held out his hand.

"I'm Braedan. It's really nice to meet the best scientist in the underground." He said cheerfully.

"O-oh, I-I'm not the uh… um… t-thank you." She smiled back shyly. "Y-you can call m-me Alphys."

"Alright, Alphys. I'd let you call me by a nickname, but I don't have one." Braedan laughed, and Alphys chuckled.

"Y-you seem p-pretty cool. And n-not very serious."

"My seriousity is quite low. I picked it up from Papyrus. He's a real goofball."

"A-ah… well uh… wanna come in and watch some a-anime?"

"... You just offered to let me watch anything other than Mettaton's awful show. I'm in."

"R-really?!"

"You have no idea how much I dislike Mettaton." Braedan shrugged.

"Is… Is he that bad?" Alphys asked nervously.

"He seems pompous and self-centered. But ignoring that, you said we could watch anime? Whatcha got? Any classics, like Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood or Trigun?" He asked, causing Alphys to squeal happily.

"You know anime titles too? Well, I have a r-recommendation! How about we watch Mew Mew Kissy Cutie! It's my very favorite show and I think you'd love it!"

"Why not? You certainly seem excited about it." He shrugged, before his left arm just kinda fell off.

"Yeah! It's uh… um… y-your arm…" Alphys stammered as she stared at the limb laying useless in the dirt. Braedan just sighed.

"It does that now. I blame Undyne." He shrugged, picking it up and gently shaking it off before reattaching it. "After a scuffle it can fall off again. Sometimes repeatedly."

"O-oh… well, uh… I could m-maybe help with that? I a-am the royal s-scientist after all." She said gesturing inside.

"Don't worry about it! We got a show to watch." He said, patting her shoulder as he headed inside.

"R-right!" She said as the door closed behind them. Inside the lab Braedan was surprised to see that it was simply furnished, with two floors. An escalator ran along each side of the room to a large balcony that ran along the room. She led him over to a battered couch covered in blankets sitting in front of a large tv. Braedan dropped onto the couch while Alphys turned on the tv, inserting the first disk of the show.

"R-ready?" She asked nervously.

"Yep!" Braedan said cheerfully. "Have a seat." She sat beside him, pulling a blanket around herself as the opening theme of the show began to play.


One Season Later


The screen faded to black and the credits began to roll. Alphys nervously waited for Braedan's reaction.

"... I can't believe this had a half decent cliffhanger finale." He said, nodding slowly, as he stretched his arms. "That was a pretty good show."

"Really? You liked it?" Alphys said, excited.

"I mean, I'm not normally one for the magical girl shows, but yeah. It certainly wasn't what I expected, or what I usually watch." He chuckled, before beginning to crack his joints from the neck down, not noticing Alphys watching him curiously as he did. "I'm usually more of a comedy or action guy myself. The Devil is a Part-Timer is a personal favorite of mine."

"Oh, that's… that's cool. Quick question?" She said as she sat up, still watching him.

"Shoot."

"Can all skeletons do that?"

"The cracking? I've seen Sans do it. Dunno about Papyrus." Braedan said with a sigh. "But it feels great."

"That's really interesting… almost like the stress is manifested in the points that your magic connects your bones."

"Magical tension maybe?" He offered as he stood and cracked his hips. "That's my best guess."

"That's i-interesting. I wonder if r-researching it could find an explanation?"

"If you want? I'm kinda curious. We could see if Sans and I have the same cause or not."

"Y-yeah! I'm on the c-case!" She said, hopping up and rushing to a messy workstation covered in papers. Braedan chuckled as he did, glad to have met the quirky scientist.


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