"Hey! Stop!"

Alphys ran in, hands held out. "I got you guys some food, okay!?"

She gestured behind her, and the monsters sheepishly shuffled in that direction.

"Sorry about that..." Alphys chuckled nervously. "They get kinda sassy when they don't get fed on time."

"They as in the malformed monster fusions you've been keeping down here?" Peter snapped, a bit harshly.

Alphys wilted. "Um... anyway-"

"No, let's talk about this!" Peter interrupted. "How about you explain your reasoning behind ruining the minds of living beings and not even having the basic decency to return them to their families!?"

"Bu... but what would they have thought!?" Alphys yelped. "I mean, what kind of... what..."

"You were just worried about yourself! Again!" Peter yelled. "Look at those poor creatures! Half of them seemed nearly dead! And that's before they felt compelled to attack a random person who found their way down here!"

Alphys opened and closed her mouth multiple times. "... You're right. I... I was thinking about myself." She scoffed. "Aren't I horrible? I'm such a horrible person that I make myself more horrible to prevent other people from finding out about how horrible I am!"

Peter stood up. "Would you stop it? Please? So you're a terrible monster-being! We all make mistakes! We all mess up! But beating yourself up about it is just as bad as pretending your some rocking superstar who keeps things under control! That-"

Peter stopped. "... That because you have special things about you... that you're some big shot who can't be bothered with some petty crime. Until it hurts you. Until it effects... you."

He looked sadly at Alphys. "For a while, I thought we were so alike. Then, I thought that we couldn't be more different. In the end, though..."

Chara put her hand on his shoulder. He couldn't feel it, but he felt it all the same.

"I spent... so long blaming myself. For what happened to my Uncle Ben. For what happened to Mr. Stakr. Or to Liz. Or to everyone who died, even if they came back. But... You can't let the mistakes of your past keep you rooted in some self delusion about your lack of self worth. Even though... you may feel more at home in a garbage dump than your house."

He looked into Alphys' eyes. "You have to grow. And that means admitting your mistakes... and learning from them." He dropped his gaze. "And learning that others need that chance too."

Alphys cleared her throat. "You know... When I came down here... I wasn't sure I was going to come back. Not cause of the Amalgites, but... because of the weight of my own failures. Because of my fear to face the truth..."

She cleared her throat. "After my experiment failed, I didn't have the heart... didn't have the courage to face the families of the monsters I had tried to help. No matter how much they asked me. At the same time, I didn't want to do any more work... since everything I'd done so far had been such a horrific failure. But after the last time we spoke, and even more after what you said, I've realized I didn't want to be that person. I'm going to come clean." She swallowed hard. "It's going to be really hard. And I know I don't deserve your trust or your help, but... can you help me?"

Peter nodded. "I've been given second chances before. Why should I withhold one from you?"

Alphys teared up. "I know it'll be difficult. Focusing less on my failures, being honest... And I'm sure I'll mess up... But I heard that Undyne and Papyrus were looking for me too. And Sans is always ready to help, and King Asgore... With friends like you, I know that I'll be able to do it."

She whistled, and the Amalgites came running over. "Come on guys!" She shouted. "It's time to go home!"

The Amalgites cheered, and the entire party exited out the door.

"Well, that ended much better than I thought it would." Peter noted. "Still... now I have to face King Asgore."

"Flowey said that something would be different." Chara noted.

"Flowey is a tool." Peter replied. "But knowing he was created with determination... something is missing."

Chara pointed. "Like that?"

Peter turned. Two of the screens in the hall had activated, glowing with a blood red smiley face.

"Alphys picked the first golden flower to grow in the garden for her test candidate." Peter read. "Then... it left."

"Guess we have an answer now." Chara said as the two entered the elevator. "Something's still bugging me, though. Flowers are already alive. Giving something without a SOUL the will to live shouldn't effect it, right?"

Peter shrugged. "Logically, no. I'm guessing there would have to be another element added to the flower to give it an extra kick. Then again, this is magic science."

His phone rang.

"Odd." Peter picked it up. "I thought we couldn't get service down here."

A voice began to speak, unfamiliar to him.

"Chara... are you there?"

Peter turned to look at the ghostly girl floating beside him. "... It's for you?"

She tilted her head. "I can't hold it anyways."

"Who's asking?" Peter replied.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it...?" The voice asked. "But you've done well. Thanks to you and the shiny new body you've acquired, everything has fallen into place. Chara... See you soon."

The phone hung up. As soon as it did, the elevator doors slammed shut, and it sped up a a fast rate. Peter barely had time to stick to the floor as it rose faster and faster and faster and faster and-

Peter opened his eyes. He was in the castle, vines blocking the elevator.

"Good, you're awake." Chara was floating by him. "It looks like our caller has set out the path for us."

Peter touched one of the vines. "Flowey, by the look of it. But how would he know your name?"

Chara shrugged. "I'm not sure. Shall we?"

Peter nearly ran across the battlements, through the hall and the throne room, til he stood outside the entry to the barrier. Taking a deep breath... he entered.

"Oh... Back so soon?"

Asgore turned around slowly. "Does this mean you are ready for our fight?"

Peter sighed. "No offense your highness, but I just survived a creepy lab of goo beings."

"And he doesn't have much choice." Chara added.

"So if you're ready... let's do this."

"This is it then." Asgore replied sadly. "Ready?"

The soul containers flew out of the ground, exactly like last time. Peter could count every beat like it was deja-vu.

The fight began. Winds howled, and Asgore seemed filled with sadness.

"Human... It was nice to meet you. Goodbye."

Asgore went to whip out his trident, only to be surprised by a fireball which smacked him across the face.

"What a miserable creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth..." A familiar voice spoke. "Though I must say, his dressing skills have improved since we last met."