He shot his brother a frustrated look as they walked through the door, and took a left. The 'shortcut' from before had saved maybe, twenty steps or so? Sans just shrugged. His eyes didn't have their usual glee, but they weren't wallowing in guilt anymore, either… very much unlike the human.
Frisk was sitting under the table, crying into their knees.
He stooped down, and pulled the child into a hug, because whether they wanted it or not, it was what they needed. "FRISK…"
"I'm sorry."
Sans's voice was calm. *don't say that.
They both turned to look at him, the human wiping at tears that wouldn't stop.
He shrugged. *it doesn't really matter what you say. if you're really sorry, it won't happen again. right?
Frisk gave a heartbroken sigh. "So that's why you didn't just kill me on the spot. You figured it out."
"FIGURED WHAT OUT?"
"I can't reset anymore. I gave it to you, Papyrus."
*kid… Sans sounded hurt. *that has nothin' to do with it. i'm not just gonna end ya for something you did in…
Frisk sniffed, trying to wipe their nose. He looked around for a napkin or something, and Sans pulled a tissue from his pocket and handed it to him.
He frowned at it, but it didn't look used, and, miraculously, it wasn't covered in any sort of pocket residue. If he didn't know better he'd think it was because he'd given Sans the clean hoodie just yesterday, but, unfortunately, he did know better. The strangest things managed to end up in Sans's pockets.
Deciding it was clean, he used it to first wipe the child's tears, then under their nose. "BLOW."
How much mucus could come out of such a tiny human? He grimaced and started to hand the tissue back to his brother without thinking. He jerked it back at the last second, and handed over the child, instead. "HERE. I AM GOING TO GO DISPOSE OF THIS PROPERLY."
There had to be a trashcan around there somewhere.
He glanced back. Frisk was standing beside Sans, no longer sobbing uncontrollably, but still wiping new tears from their eyes.
Sans stood there for a second, then took half a step forward to wrap one arm around the child's shoulders.
Frisk immediately clung to him, burying their face in the shoulder of his hoodie. Sans hesitated, then patted the child's back.
He smiled to himself, and resumed his quest to find the trashcan. He was a little irritated to discover that there was a trashcan rental fee, but it was well worth it to not have to carry the tissue around.
He came back, finding Sans talking quietly, his hand on Frisk's shoulder. The human was still emotional, but under control now. "FEEL BETTER, FRISK?"
The child nodded. With each word, they looked like they might burst into uncontrollable sobs. "Yeah. I just… I guess I should have known that you guys would even forgive me for, that. I'll just have to live with that fact that I had the power to save you all, and I used it to say mean things, and, you know… kill you, instead, and you just, forgave me, like it was nothing."
"WE'LL HAVE NO MORE OF THAT. YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CHANGE THE TIMELINES, BUT YOU CANNOT CHANGE YOUR OWN PAST, FRISK. SO LET'S JUST LEAVE IT WHERE IT IS, OKAY? I DON'T REMEMBER BEING YOUR FRIEND BEFORE, BUT I DO REMEMBER BEING YOUR FRIEND NOW, AND YOU ARE A MUCH NICER PERSON."
"Thanks, Papyrus. I… I know you can still fix it."
He certainly hadn't been so sure, but when Sans winked at him, he knew he had to rise to the occasion, if only to reassure them both. "BUT OF COURSE! WORRY NOT, HUMAN. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL ENDEAVOR TO RIGHT ALL WRONGS, AND HEAL ALL HURTS IN THE UNDERGROUND. I… DON'T KNOW IF WE'LL BE ABLE TO BREAK THE BARRIER AND GET YOU BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM, JUST YET… BUT WE'LL FIND A WAY. SOMEDAY."
"It doesn't matter. I know Mom will take me back, and I know I can be happy here. I'm just sorry that I ruined it for all of you."
"WELL… IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN NICE TO BE ON THE SURFACE WITH EVERYONE, BUT, AS LONG AS I AM WITH MY FRIENDS, THAT IS MORE THAN ENOUGH FOR ME. WE SHALL JUST HAVE TO TEACH ALL THE MONSTERS IN THE UNDERGROUND THIS IMPORTANT TRUTH."
Sans gave him a proud smile.
"TOGETHER?" He held his hand out.
Sans put his on top. *together.
Frisk gave a little laugh that was one part broken, and three parts relieved, and ten parts happy. "Together… that sounds really, really good."
"THEN THE TOGETHERS HAVE IT! WE SHALL PRESS ONWARD! METTATON HAS SOMETHING ELSE PLANNED, AND WE'LL NEED TO BE EXTRA AMAZING THIS TIME. I WONDER IF HE'S READY FOR US?"
LAB
Alphys paced back and forth. Was it hot in here? It was most definitely hot in here. Even for Hotland…
She fiddled with her glasses, then wrung her hands as she checked the cameras again. They'd been out of sight for quite some time now, and… there! They were talking to… the guy who sold the Glamburgers? He didn't even look like he wanted to talk...
It seemed the human was talking to every single monster in the Underground, except for…
"OH ALPHYS, DARLING! I JUST THOUGHT I'D POP IN AND MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING WAS IN ORDER FOR THE BIG FINALE!"
She turned to glare at Mettaton, who was too busy looking into a mirror to notice. "HOW LONG DID YOU SAY MY BATTERY PACK WOULD LAST? OH, I AM SO EXCITED!"
"M-mettaton! Wh-what have you been d-doing?! We had an agreement! Y-you're supposed to b-be…"
"IS IT REALLY READY? THE DESIGN WE DECIDED ON?"
"Y-yes. You're all set. B-but are you going t-to stick to the plan th-this time?"
"HAVE YOU SEEN THE RATINGS? THE WHOLE UNDERGROUND IS ENAMORED BY THAT LITTLE HUMAN. AND THE SKELETON? HE REALLY MAKES A GOOD POINT. WHY SHOULD I GO TO THE SURFACE WHEN EVERYONE LOVES AND ADORES ME DOWN HERE? WHAT WOULD THEY DO WITHOUT ME? IT WAS PREPOSTEROUS TO EVER THINK OF LEAVING IN THE FIRST PLACE."
"M-Mettaton! You're n-not listening! W-what happened t-to the plan?"
"IT'S GOING TO BE FABULOUS, DARLING. FAR BETTER THAN OUR ORIGINAL PLAN. THAT WASN'T WORKING OUT ANYWAY."
Mettaton continued to drone on about his big debut, never noticing how his words had hit her in the gut. He was right. The plan was stupid from start. Why would the human ever have listened to her help? Watching them on the camera when she called or posted… sometimes they just looked… irritated, or even annoyed.
She swallowed hard. It served her right for trying to play the hero. Instead of showing the human that she was worth listening too, she'd been so worthless, the child preferred the company of the robot that was out to get them.
What was the point? She should have known it would all end in failure. Dr. Alphys, able to fix her mistakes? Ha! That would almost be funny, if she didn't know that it was a lie.
"IS EVERYTHING ALL SET?"
She was good at not crying in front of people. Swallow the pain. Bury it. Push it down. "Y-yeah. You're all s-set." He didn't notice the tremor in her voice. Why should he? It wasn't all that different from her usual stutter. No. Not now. Later, when she was alone. She'd let herself cry then…
Despite her resolve, tears were starting to well in her eyes. She was grateful that Mettaton's back was to her. "Sh-shouldn't have any p-problems out there."
"THANKS, DARLING. BE SURE TO GRAB A GREAT SEAT FOR THE SHOW. IT'S GOING TO BE FABULOUS!"
"Yeah, you p-pretty much said that…" but he was already wheeling out the door again, leaving her alone in the darkened, humming room. She could cry, now. It wasn't like she'd get any visitors. But for some reason, the tears wouldn't come. The pain was more of a dull ache, now.
She paced the room, trying to get a grip on her emotions, but she just couldn't. It felt like they were in control of her, and why would she be able to do that right anyway?
She wrung her hands together, and pressed them to her nose. Trying to play hero to the human was really just a diversion, anyway. Her real troubles were beneath her feet. She glanced back over at the letters again, but they left her feeling more numb than ever.
This was it. The end of her rope. She was going back down there, and she was going to give it her all again. It had been a while since she last really threw herself into her work. And if it took forever, or if she died trying...
Well, who would even care anyway?
She swallowed that bitter thought with the rest, and turned to go down the elevator. She considered leaving a note, but there really wasn't a point. If she failed again, maybe it would be better for the secret to stay where it was.
A single tear ran down her cheek, and it felt kind of nice, actually, to care about something. Because sometimes when she cried, she felt detached. Like she was just going through the motions. One more thing that was wrong with her.
No.
No more tears. She didn't deserve to cry. Not after what she'd done. She stomped her feelings down, and stepped into the elevator, whispering reminders to herself of how worthless she was.
A/N: Thank you all so much for reviews, and for waiting so patiently! I had a bunch of stuff come up over the past few days, and I really wanted to spend some time on the end of this chapter. It's short, but I wanted to show Alphy's struggle with her self-doubt and depression. I hope to update much sooner next time.
Thank you 'I guest as much'! I'm glad you're still enjoying it! =D
'A human', your compliments are worthy of THE GREAT PAPYRUS himself! Thank you so much! =D