When the Warners returned to Alphys' lab, Yakko slipped the note under the door and knocked.
"Hellooooo? Anybody home?"
No response.
"Guess not," said Dot.
They started walking away until they heard Alphys mutter something on the other side of the door.
"O-oh n-no, is that another letter…? I don't want to open it...C-can't I just slide it back out…?"
"Spoke too soon," said Dot.
They pressed their heads against the door to hear her better.
"N...no...I can't keep doing this. I'll read this one."
They heard some whirring, the letter must've been shut kind of strongly. Alphys opened the door, causing the Warners to fall on their faces.
"Hey, if this is a joke, it's- Oh My God?"
She took a few steps back to avoid having the kids land on her, even if her registering their presence was slightly delayed.
"Hey Al," said Yakko, standing back up with his siblings. "Long time no see, huh?"
"I thought you were meeting up with Asgore?"
"We came back 'cause Wakko needed to pee," said Dot.
"Oh. I guess that makes sense."
"You were right," said Yakko. "He won't listen to us. But at least he doesn't wanna fight."
"That's good. Anyway, did you slip this letter under my door?"
"Yep," said Dot.
"It wasn't signed, so, I have no idea who could have...Oh my god. Oh no. That's adorable...And I h-had no idea you-"
"What are ya talking about?" said Yakko.
"Which one of you asked me on a date?"
"Wakko," said Yakko and Dot simultaneously, pushing him towards her.
"Wha-?" said Wakko, caught off guard.
"Have fun!" said Dot.
She ran off with Yakko, both laughing. Feeling confused, Wakko thought it was best if he just pretended he knew what he was doing.
"It's the least I can do to make it up to you," said Alphys. "Come in!"
Wakko walked inside the laboratory as Alphys went to change. Within a few seconds, she came out wearing a nice dress with polka dots.
"H-how do I look?"
"You look great!"
"Thanks! My friend helped me pick out this dress. She's got a great sense of…Um, anyway! Let's do this thing!"
Dating start!
"H-h-hey, w-w-wait! Actually, we still can't start the date yet! Umm, I've gotta give you some items to raise your affection statistic, first!"
"Is this how dating works down here?" Wakko asked. "I've never been on one."
"More or less. That'll increase the chance of a successful outcome to the date! Anyway, d-don't worry! I'm prepared! I-I've been stockpiling gifts in anticipation for a date like this! F-first, I've got...Some metal armor polish!"
"Ooh, perfect for the Temmie armor!"
"I also brought some waterproof cream for your...scales?"
"Hmm...sorry, don't have any."
"What about...This magical spear repair kit, that I…"
"Don't have any of those either."
"Um, hey, let's forget about the items! Let's just start the date! Yeah! Let's, uh, date!"
"Okay!"
Soon, however, they were surrounded in an awkward silence. Wakko broke it.
"So, nice weather we're having."
"Y-yeah, it's always hot down here. That's w-why we call it Hotland. Um…Do you...like...anime…?"
"Yeah!"
"H-hey! Me too! What's your favorite?"
"Pokémon. Yakko likes Hetalia and Dot's more of a Pretty Cure fan."
"Hehe, that's nice. I'm more of a Mew Mew Kissy Cutie girl."
They were surrounded in awkward silence again. This time, Alphys broke it.
"Hey! Let's! Go somewhere! But where's a good place to go on a date…?"
"Mettaton's restaurant is faboo!" Wakko suggested.
"We'll need reservations though. We don't have enough time for that."
"Oh."
"...Wait, I've got it! Let's go to the garbage dump!"
She took his wrist and excitedly pitter-pattered away, accidentally taking one of Sans' shortcuts.
"Here we are! This is where Undyne and I come all the time...We find all sorts of great stuff here. Heh, she's really...Oh no. That's her over there. I c-can't let her see me on a date with you!"
"Quick, get under here!"
He took his Gag Bag and pulled it over her.
"Here she comes, get low and she won't see you."
She crouched down, seemingly disappearing under it. Undyne passed by wearing a fancy leather jacket and shirt, jeans, a scarf, and comfortable boots.
"Hi Undyne!"
"Hey! There you are, Wakko! I, uh, realized delivering that letter was a bad idea. Have you seen Alphys?"
"Yeah, I saw her come that way."
He pointed to his right.
"So she's somewhere around here...Thanks, toon. I'll keep looking."
As soon as Undyne was out of sight, Wakko pulled the Gag Bag off Alphys.
"It's okay, she left."
"Oh my god…"
She looked away from Wakko, feeling ashamed. He understood.
"You wish you were dating her?"
"Yeah. Thanks to Mettaton, you already know I really like her. I mean, more than I like other people! I'm sorry. I j-just figured, you know...It'd be f-fun to go on like, a cute, kind of...Pretend date with you? T-to make you feel better?"
"I think you needed it more than I did."
She nodded as Wakko pulled out a couch and had her lie down on it. He pretended to be her psychiatrist, taking notes on what she told him.
"I'm sorry, I messed up again. Undyne's the person I, Um...really want to go on a date with. But, I mean...She's way out of my league. N-not that you aren't, um, cool! B-but...Undyne...She's so confident...And strong...And funny…"
At that point, Wakko stopped taking notes; actually, his notes were just a childish drawing of Undyne and Alphys holding hands. He took the notepad, turned it around a couple times, then shrugged and ate it.
"And I'm just a nobody. A fraud. I'm just the royal scientist, but...All I've ever done is hurt people."
"That's not true!" said Wakko. "Ya got us on Mettaton's show."
"I guess you're right. But I told Undyne so many lies, I...She thinks I'm a lot cooler than I actually am. If she gets close to me, she'll...She'll find out the truth about me. What should I do?"
"Be honest with her. Tell her the truth."
"The truth…? But if I tell her that, she'll hate me."
"If she doesn't love the real you, it's her problem."
"But I don't even love the real me! They say 'be yourself', but I don't really like who 'myself' is. I'd rather be whatever makes people like me. Ehehe..."
"But you'll only hurt her more if you keep lying."
"...You're right, Wakko. Every day I'm scared...Scared what will happen if people learn the truth on their own. They'll all get hurt because of me...But how can I tell UNDYNE the truth? I d-don't have the confidence…"
Wakko tapped his foot, trying to think of a way to help Alphys. Soon, a lightbulb appeared over his head.
"I know! Why not practice with me? I'll be Undyne."
"R...roleplay? ...That actually sounds kind of fun! Okay, you can show me what she would do."
She cleared her throat.
"H-hi Undyne...H-how are you doing today?"
Wakko took a deep breath and made his best impression of Undyne.
"Ngahhhhh! Alphys!"
He grabbed her cheeks and pulled her close to the point where their noses were touching.
"YOu lOOk sO cUtE tOdAY!"
"Th...thanks! You say that to me a lot, and I never know what to say! But I know, you just, mean it platonically, because we're just friends! Eheheh!"
She started to sweat.
"Uhhh, so I'd like to, um, talk to you about something."
"Then she kisses you!" said Wakko, smiling and sticking his tongue out.
"WH-WHAT!? UNDYNE WOULD NEVER, UH…"
She blushed and looked away.
"Just play along," Wakko advised. "Trust me."
Alphys shyly looked back at Wakko.
"I kiss her back...S...softly...I...I l-look gently into her eyes…"
She freaked out and pushed him away, pressing her hands against her face and shouting.
"I START HOLLERING! UNDYNE! I LOVE YOU! UNDYNE! KISS ME AGAIN! UNDYNE!"
Just then, Undyne walked by Alphys and Wakko with a shocked look on her face.
"WHAT did you just say?"
"U...Undyne!" said Alphys. "I...was...just…"
Suddenly, the three of them heard hysterical laughter. Wakko turned to look behind him and saw Yakko rolling down a pile of junk. As soon as he reached the bottom, he wheezed and banged his fists against the floor. He spoke between breaths, still laughing.
"Oh...oh my god…! Did you see the look on Undyne's face?!"
He wiped away a happy tear and calmed down.
"Totally worth it!"
"Yakko?" said Wakko. "What are you doing here?"
"Dot told Undyne we had a problem with the letter, so I followed you and Alphys to the dump; wanted to make sure you guys were okay."
"Is she here too?"
"Yeah," said Yakko, "but it's gonna take more than this to get her to come out. You'll see why in a bit."
"Hey," said Undyne, checking out Alphys, "woah, wait a second! Your outfit's really cute! What's the occasion?"
Undyne looked at Wakko, then back at Alphys.
"...Wait a second. Are you two...On a date?"
"UHHH-" said Alphys.
"Not really," said Wakko. "We were just pretending."
"Y-yeah! We were only romantically role playing as you!"
"WHAT?"
"I think ya did a good job pretending to be her," said Yakko, patting Wakko's back.
"Thanks."
"Undyne...I…"
"Oh boy," said Yakko, "here comes the breakthrough."
"I've been lying to you!"
"WHAT? ABOUT WHAT?"
"About...well...everything! I told you that seaweed was like...scientifically important...Really, I just...I just use it to make ice cream!"
"That's gross," said Yakko.
"And those human history books I keep reading...Those are just dorky comic books! And the history movies...those...Those are just, uh, anime! They aren't real!"
Undyne's eye twitched in disbelief.
"And that time I told you I was busy with work on the phone...I...was just eating frozen yogurt in my pajamas! That-"
"Alphys."
"I...I just wanted to impress you! I just wanted you to think I was smart and cool. That I wasn't some...nerdy loser."
Undyne crouched down and tenderly rubbed Alphys' head.
"Alphys."
"Undyne, I...I really think you're neat, OK…"
Undyne hugged her tight.
"Alphys. Shhhh."
"Awww," said Wakko.
"That's adorable," said Yakko.
Suddenly, Undyne picked up Alphys and stood up. She threw Alphys through a basketball hoop and into a nearby trash can.
"Whoa!" said Wakko.
"Man," said Yakko, "she's strong."
"Alphys! I...I think you're neat, too, I guess. But, you've gotta realize...Most of what you said doesn't really matter to me. I don't care if you're watching kid cartoons or reading history books. To me, ALL of that stuff is just NERDY CRAP!"
"Hey!" said Yakko. "We're right here, ya know!"
"Well you guys are kinda cool, I guess. Anyway. Alphys, what I like about you is that you're PASSIONATE! You're ANALYTICAL! It doesn't matter what it is! YOU CARE ABOUT IT! 100-PERCENT! AT MAXIMUM POWER! ...so, you don't have to lie to me. I don't want you to have to lie to anyone anymore. Alphys...I want to help you become happy with who you are! And I know just the training you need to do that!"
Alphys' feet broke through the bottom of the trash can. Undyne, Yakko, and Wakko could barely see her eyes peeking out.
"Undyne...You...Y-you're gonna train me…?"
"Pffft, what? ME?"
Papyrus slowly crept out from a nearby junkpile. He had a headband around his skull and his shirt was plain, with only the words "jogboy" written on it. Perched on his shoulder was none other than Dot, who ran her fingers through his cape and happily sighed as Undyne continued her response.
"Nah, I'm gonna get Papyrus to do it."
Dot hopped off Papyrus' shoulder and joined her brothers as Papyrus approached Alphys.
"Hey guys," she said.
"I was wonderin' when you'd show up!" said Wakko.
"GET THOSE BONES SHAKIN'!" Papyrus shouted. "IT'S TIME TO JOG 100 LAPS, HOOTING ABOUT HOW GREAT WE ARE!"
"What a hunk!" Dot swooned.
"Ready?" said Undyne. "I'm about to start the timer!"
"U-Undyne…" Alphys stuttered. "I'll do my best…!"
Papyrus and Alphys jogged away. Undyne then turned to look at the toons.
"OH MY GOD!"
They jumped back at her sudden outburst.
"She was kidding, right!? Those cartoons...those comics...Those are still REAL, right!? ANIME'S REAL, RIGHT!?"
The Warners hadn't seen her in such a frenzy before.
"Don't be silly, Undyne!" said Yakko. "Anime's just as real as we are! They're just not a part of 'normal human history'."
"HA HA HA! I KNEW IT! GIGANTIC SWORDS! MAGICAL PRINCESSES! HERE I COME!"
She realized how she was behaving and calmed down.
"Uhh, thanks for taking care of Alphys. I didn't get to say what I wanted to, but...Things seem like they're going to get better for her."
"Anytime," said Wakko, smiling at her.
"Well, I gotta go catch up with them! Later!"
They waved as she ran off.
"Bye Undyne!" said Dot.
"So, what now?" said Wakko.
"I dunno," said Yakko. "We'll see what else happens."
They waddled through the water, remembering how they played in it after Undyne tried to kill them a second time.
"To think we were running away from Undyne only a few days ago…" said Wakko.
Soon, Dot got a call from Papyrus.
"Hi Papy!" she squealed.
"HOWDY! IF IT ISN'T MY GOOD FRIEND, DOT, WHO TRUSTS ME."
"What's up, hon?"
"ALPHYS AND I FINISHED OUR TRAINING EARLY. VERY EARLY. SO I SENT HER HOME."
"Guess she couldn't handle it, huh?"
"NOPE. I THINK YOU SHOULD STOP BY HER HOUSE. SHE LEFT IN A PANIC, AND I DON'T WANT TO SCARE HER AWAY AGAIN."
"Okay, I'll go see what's up."
"THANK YOU. I HAVE ONLY GOOD FEELINGS ABOUT THIS. GOODBYE!"
He hung up.
"That was weird," said Dot. "Papyrus didn't sound like himself this time."
"I know," said Wakko, "it sounds suspicious."
"Either way," said Yakko, "we're not walking all the way back to Hotland. Come on, let's skip ahead!"
They used another shortcut, skipping to the next chapter.