"Alphys here."
"A senior at Ebbot Middle School, just like you two."
"And… I'm a magic monster that has made a contract with Flowey."
My alarm clock is beeping. I shut it off before sitting up to hug my stuffed animal. After a moment or two, I sighed in exasperation. "Another weird dream…" I realize. But then suddenly, I notice something behind me. Sitting on my bed.
"Good morning, Frisk!" Flowey greets me, smiling mischievously.
Huh? Oh wait. I chuckle lightly as I remembered the previous day's events. So it wasn't a dream.
"What a strange room!" I gasped as Papyrus did the same. It was a rather messy little room, with white and brown shelves filled with books to potted plants with blooming yellow flowers and all the like. White lab benches and strange concoctions were lined up against the wall, and some random chip bags were laying around. There were pillows and a pile of anime discs in the corner, and a simple table set in the middle of a black and white patterned carpet. There were heaps of items piled on the table as well, and Alphys hurried over to clear it. Yellow lights hung from the ceiling and a mysterious escalator to the side lead to an upstairs. Everything was strange, messy, yet comfortable. Flowey was sitting contentedly on the carpet.
"I live alone, so make yourselves at home." Alphys said, before adding quietly, "I didn't really have time to get ready for guests though…"
She treated us to some bags of chips and tea. The brand was labeled "Chisps," I reckoned it must've been a monster thing. The chips also seemed to dissolve in my mouth, like magic. "This is so cool!" I say as I cram a few more chips into my mouth.
"It's PRETTY GOOD. But a little GREASY." Papyrus hums, trying a few himself. I hadn't known he could eat anything besides spaghetti. In fact, I wasn't even sure how skeletons were supposed to eat.
"T-thank you." Alphys responded, obviously embarrassed and adjusting her glasses again. "And since you've been chosen by Flowey, this is your problem as well. I thought a decent explanation of what has been going on would be in order."
"Of COURSE!" Papryus responded happily, dropping his chip bag. "Just ask me ANYTHING!"
"Paps, I think you have it backwards."
Alphys only smiled kindly before showing us something in her hand. It was the gem from before, and close up, the light seemed to reflect perfectly in it so it looked like a priceless crystal worth a million dollars.
"That's so pretty…" I murmured.
"This is a soul gem." Alphys told us, "It's a gem created by the monsters that are chosen by Flowey, born of their contract. It identifies them as a magical monster and is the source of their magic power."
"What do you mean by a CONTRACT?" Papyrus asked curiously.
All heads turned to Flowey. He raised an eyebrow before shrugging. "I'll grant each of you one wish, whatever you want."
"WHAT? SERIOUSLY?"
"A wish…" I commented dryly, thinking.
"It can be anything." Flowey confirmed. "No matter the miracle, I can make it happen."
I could already tell Papyrus was thinking. He started to eagerly list off on possible wishes. "PRICELESS treasures, UNENDING popularity…" Suddenly, Papyrus brightened up. "And a HUGE spaghetti FEAST!" I could only chuckle at Papyrus' humor.
"But!" Flowey reminded us. "A soul gem is produced in exchange. Those that receive these jewels are charged with a mission to fight witches."
"Witches?" There it was again. Maybe someone could finally explain what it meant.
"WHAT is a WITCH?" Papyrus asked thoughtfully, "Are they DIFFERENT from MAGIC MONSTERS?"
Flowey took this as his cue to answer. "If magic monsters are said to be born from positive desires like wishes, then witches are born from negative desires like curses. Magical monsters spread hope, witches spread despair." He shrugged before adding, "And to make matters worse, they can't be seen by the like of normal humans or monsters. Doubt and suspicion, extreme anger and hate. They bring seeds of catastrophe to this world of yours."
"The curse of a witch is almost always behind unexplained murders and suicides." Alphys put in, "They become a formless evil and eat away at humans from the inside-out."
"But if they're so DANGEROUS, how come no one KNOWS about them?"
Flowey again. "That's because witches hide within barriers and never show themselves to people. The labyrinth-type area you wandered into before was one of their barriers."
"That was pretty close." Alphys sighed, "Humans swallowed up by those barriers usually don't make it out alive."
All this shocking information being relayed to us... it was difficult to comprehend. Dangerous, lurking forces, unknown and unseen to human and monster-kind? Something so evil, yet no one but Magical Monsters could deal with them?
"Alphys…" I start, feeling pity and fear building up inside me. "You're fighting something that dangerous?"
"T-that's right." Alphys confirmed, with a hint of finality in her tone of voice. "I put my life on the line. That's why I think you two should weigh your options carefully. Any desire you have can now be granted, now that you have been chosen by Flowey. But doing so can lead to…" She gulped. "Death.
"This is a HARD CHOICE." Papyrus muses, thinking.
"So. I had an idea." Alphys began, "W-why don't you come along with me while I take out some witches?"
"Huh?" Papyrus and I questioned at almost the same time. The suggestion was so out-of-the-blue, I actually found it a bit hard to believe.
"I-it'll be better to see out of your own eyes what it means to fight witches." Alphys remarks, nervously gesturing with her hands. "Once that happens, you can think about whether or not you have a wish so great that you'd risk putting yourself in danger."
After that day, I had learned a couple of things. First off, no one could see Flowey except Magic Monsters, or apparently, those who had the potential to become them. Namely, Papyrus and I. Also, Flowey had the ability to let all Magic Monsters talk to each other by thought communication, so we were able to speak to each other without letting others know. Unfortunately, Papyrus and I silently exchanging thoughts on the way to school had earned a couple of strange theories from Napstablook.
Lastly, we had discussed the danger of Sans. We didn't want him attacking us again. According to Flowey, Sans had only been after him to cease the creation of Magic Monsters, as the creation of more would create bigger competition. According to Alphys, compensations could be achieved when taking out a witch. So basically, the assumption we came up with was the fact that Sans had guessed beforehand that Flowey would like to turn me to a Magic Monster, and that was why he had been targeting me all morning.
I felt like it was more than that. But I couldn't figure what.
"HUMAN?" Papyrus brought me out of my thoughts. We were having lunch outside at the top of the school building. It was a nice day out, with a cool breeze and white fluffy clouds floating overhead. "Have you thought about what WISH you want to make?"
"No," I shook my head. "What about you?"
"I haven't either." He responded forlornly. "I had imagined a BUNCH of things would just come to me… there are MANY THINGS that I would want to have and do. But the fact we'll risk our LIVES kind of makes you rethink things, doesn't it?" Papyrus rubs his gloved hand under his skull before getting up to think. "You just end up THINKING that it really isn't WORTH THAT much in the END."
"...yeah." I agreed. There was silence between us for a while. Flowey only sat quietly to the side, listening in.
"I'm sure there are OTHER people who'd REALLY want a chance like THIS." He pointed out. I could tell he was thinking of someone.
"Papyrus…"
Then suddenly, from the other end of the roof, was Sans. He was heading our way, slowly. I freeze up, but Papyrus immediately stands protectively in front of me. What was he going to do?
"D-don't worry." Alphys' voice speaks up in our minds. Looking to our left, we can see her hiding in a nearby watch tower. If anything bad happened, she would come to stop it. We were fine.
The skeleton was just a few feet away from us now. He finally paused when he was within talking range.
Papyrus spoke first. "A-are you here to FINISH the JOB?"
"Nah, that ain't my intent." At the moment, he just seemed like a friendly student. He looked down at Flowey with a kind of resentment. "I wanted to handle things before he made contact with Frisk, but it's too late for that now." He sighed before facing me. "So. What have you decided? Are ya going to become a Magic Monster too?"
"I…" I couldn't answer to his intimidating gaze.
"T-this is not YOUR business!" Papyrus defended me.
But Sans ignored him. "Ya remember what I said to you yesterday?" He asked.
I gulped. "Yeah."
"That's fine then. Real fine." He turned to leave. "Let's pray that the warning doesn't fall on deaf ears then, huh?" He started to walk away, back from where he came.
"S-Sans!" I called out to him, one last question burning in my mind. "What wish did you make to become a Magic Monster?" Sans suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned to give me an extremely serious, dreading look. Then he turned back around and strode away firmly, without answering the question.
"Okay," Alphys spoke out, seeming determined. "Let's begin our first lesson on the Magical Monster experience. Are you two ready?"
"I brought A BAT!" Papyrus proclaimed unashamedly, bringing out a full-fledged baseball bat.
"Plenty enthusiastic." Alphys noted.
"HUMAN! Did you bring ANYTHING?"
I blinked at them before quickly shaking my head. I believed Alphys could protect us.
"Now, this shows the magic residue left behind by the witch yesterday." Alphys instructs us, showing us her flashing orange gem in her scaly hand. "Searching for witches basically involves a lot of walking. All you have to do is follow the Soul Gem as it picks up the witch's whereabouts."
"THAT is SURPRISINGLY UNCOOL." Papyrus remarks, following Alphys' lead.
"These are rather strong pulses of magical energy." Alphys explained to us as her gem glowed a vibrant yellow. "It might be close." The three of us ran up to the factory building ahead, looking for signs of danger or witches. I carried Flowey in my arms, as for some reason, he felt incapable of walking, being the lazy flower he is. "I'm sure it's here." The gem was glowing like crazy now.
"Human! LOOK!" Had he found something? Papyrus was pointing to the roof of the building. Looming before us, I saw the figure. She jumped. Oh no.
Alphys suddenly ran ahead as she raised her arms, summoning golden ribbons to appear around her. Now below the falling figure, the ribbons rose to slow down the fall of the person, and successfully did so before bringing her onto the ground gently. Papyrus and I ran over to help.
Now up close, we could see a strange crown-shaped tattoo marking on the woman's neck. "A-a kiss from a witch." Alphys explained gravely. Was it bad? "I knew it." She started to get up.
"Is she?..." Does a witch's kiss kill people?
"It's okay." Alphsy reassured us. "She's just unconscious. Let's go." The three of us rushed into the building, and were met with cracked stone and wood. Things hung from the ceiling, and yellow strips of "Keep Out" paper were wrapped around nearby shelves. Stepping forward, Alphys examined her surroundings for anything suspicious.
Suddenly ahead of us and at the top of a large staircase, a huge circular portal opened up. It was ominously red on the edges, and right in the middle was the design that was tattooed onto the woman's neck. A crown.
"I'm not letting you get away today." Alphys said determinedly as she faced the portal.
"WOW!" Looking over, I realized that Papyrus' wooden bat had been transformed into a thick, metal one. Not to mention the fancy designs on it. Alphys had enhanced its strength somehow.
"It's nothing special, but it'll at least help to protect you. Make sure you keep alongside me, okay?" Alphys headed into the portal.
"OKAY!" Papyrus answered, following her in. I blinked a couple of moments at it. It looked hazy and bright… dangerous. Should I jump in? Looking behind my shoulder, I could've sworn someone was following us. There was nobody. Just thinking of the witch was getting on me nerves. Taking a deep breath, I entered.
Already, the world was getting creepy. The cotton balls were there again, standing on butterflies and tossing roses to one another. My friends were waiting for me, and Alphys nodded her head forwards. Trying to tear my gaze away from them, I followed my friends up a long, yellow staircase.
At the top, we were met with a dome and more enemies. This time, they were ghost butterflies, and they still wore mustaches. With one swift motion, Alphys took them all out with a couple clicks from her remote gun. Then she tossed it aside before moving ahead into a hallway to the side. I was unsure about how she knew where she was going, but I didn't question it.
Past a yellow door, and met with more stairs, columns, and enemies. Some started to fly our way, and Alphys was distracted at getting rid of her own foes.
"DO NOT worry, human! I will PROTECT you!" Papyrus swung his bat around, and actually managed to keep most of them away.
More running down bridges. "W-well," Alphys prompted, "Are you scared?" Little bristles here and there. A huge dome looming above us. More enemies flitting around like butterflies. I was scared, but...
"T-this is NOTHING!" Papyrus claimed bravely. He suddenly stopped as Alphys paused and put her arm out. Ahead of us was a metal bridge leading to a final orange corridor. She took out her remote and blasted a few enemies first. A few started to mold together to form a stronger combination, but Alphys smacked it away by roughly tossing a few metal guns at it.
More running. "Keep it up!" She calls back to us, "We'll be at the core of the barrier soon!" I gaze in horror at the scene next to us. More black patterns, roses, cotton balls, butterflies, mustaches, and that deadly crown symbol again. The scary symbols made me feel sick.
At the end of the corridor, and below us loomed a huge abyss of cotton balls, snapping scissors, and rising thorny vines. And was that a high-heel? Alphys jumped straight into the abyss and landed gracefully before summoning a circle of remote guns, blasting the cotton balls to smithereens with the press of a button. The enemies exploded in butterflies, and in front of us, we were rewarded with a door behind drawn curtains.
In we went. Behind, another door of butterflies. Behind, another door of thorny roses. Behind, another door of cupids. And finally, through another door onto a ledge, and met with unlimited patterns. In the middle, a single dastardly creature. It's body was long and hunched like a deformed snail, and a pair of black-outlined butterfly wings grew on its back. It's head looked like it was drooping, practically a ball of barf. There were little roses in it.
Simply to say, I was terrified.
It suddenly rose, as if it could sense our presence. I felt myself flinching at every move it made. "Look." Alphys explained, "That's a witch."
"It looks GREASY!" Papyrus proclaimed, holding his bat tightly. I could see his bony arms shaking.
"You're not seriously going to fight that?" I ask, casting it another worried glance.
"It's okay." Alphys reassured us. "I won't lose." She suddenly struck the ground, and a barrier was created on the ledge, separating us from the room. "Keep back." She instructs before floating down into the boss room to confront the witch. Little ghosts flitted on the ground, and she crushed one with her foot, as if to show her ferociousness.
The witch finally noticed her. I watched at his gruesome head turned to her. Alphys drew out a few remote guns from under her skirt. The battle was about to start.
Then suddenly, a humongous couch was flung onto her. Somehow, she managed to avoid it and shoot it in half. The witch flitted around the room with her tiny wings, and Alphys temporarily removed her hat to summon more guns next to her. Putting the hat back on, she took her time to pick up a remote, press the button, drop it, then pick up another. She continued this spree, exchanging turns between her two hands.
Actually excited, I turned to look at the witch, only to see that all the shots were missing. That huge, clumsy monster was actually lithe enough to dodge those things. The shots stopped. Surprised, I looked back down to see that Alphys was now surrounded by those little ghosts that had been on the ground earlier, the one that she had squashed. A thick wire now grabbed onto her, extending from the witch. Alphys was brought into the air, hanging upside-down, but she still continued to fire shots. The ground cracked from her continuous misses. Then with a simple flick, Alphys was sent crash-landing into the wall. I winced involuntarily when that happened, and Papyrus gasped alongside with me.
The smoke cleared, and Alphys was still conscious. With the vine still around her, it brought her out hanging in the air, her arms limp as they dangled. "Alphys!" I called out, afraid.
She turns to look at us. "Don't worry." She calls out, attempting a smile. "I can't let my future mentees see me when I'm down." The cracks made by her bullets suddenly started to glow, and colorful flowers and rich, green vines grew and rose out of them. Seeming angry, the witch summoned thorny scissors from her head and attempted to cut away at the vines, but they just wrapped around her endlessly.
"Close." Alphys teased. "But not good enough." She removed the ribbon around her neck, and flung it out, allowing it to cut the wire holding her. She caught the ribbon as she fell, and twirled it until it looked like a tornado. In the next moment, it had become a huge rectangular piece of metal, a remote gun five times her size! Alphys carried it like it weighed nothing.
The witch struggled and twisted, but couldn't escape the green vines holding her down. Alphys winked before pressing the button on her huge gun. "Pilo Finale!" The blast fired, and the remote shattered from the force. The room was spinning. The fire shot unto the witch, and it struggled one last time before it was obliterated in an exploding mess, leaving behind a trail of butterflies. Alphys landed gracefully onto the ground, drinking something in her hands.
Sipping a cup of tea, Alphys turned to give us a look of relief.
"She WON?" Papyrus asked dumbfoundedly. But I was more confused from where she got her cup of tea from.
The world around us started to quiver, and in the next moment, we were back in the factory. Dull light was filtering through the windows. Alphys was ahead of us in the hall, walking up to something and bending down to pick it up. Confused, Papyrus and I headed up to her.
"This is a Grief Seed." She informed us, holding out a circular object with a spike protruding through it. It was pure black, with silver thorn designs on it. "It's a witch egg."
"E-egg?" Was it its offspring or something? Please don't tell me it's going to hatch…
"If you're lucky, sometimes witches will have one on them."
"Don't worry!" Flowey assured us, waving his paw. "It's safe in that form."
"A-actually, it's extremely useful." Alphys took our her soul gem for us to examine. "My Soul gem looks a little less bright than it was last night, right?"
"Now that you mention it…" I pondered, finding her gem a bit more dull colored than I remembered.
"But," She continued. "If you use a Grief Seed… well, take a look." She brought the seed and her gem close together, and I watched as a strange black substance left her gem to enter the seed. The gem was bright again.
"It's BACK to NORMAL!" Papyrus remarked.
"S-see?" Alphys explained. "Now the magic I've depleted is back to normal. That is the compensation for defeating witches that I was speaking of before." The next thing she did was totally unexpected. Taking a step back, she drew her arm back and threw the seed straight into an empty doorway close by. But instead of hearing multiple noises of its fall, we heard a single satisfying thump. Someone had caught it. "You should be able to use it one more time." Alphys spoke to the doorway. But who was she speaking to?
Someone started to appear from the doorway. "I'll give it to you." Alphys continued, as an all-too familiar skeleton showed up, giving us all an unsatisfied grin. "...Sans."
"It's HIM again!" Papyrus stated the obvious. Sans just gave us an empty look, so I wasn't sure what to think. What was he doing here? Was he the presence I had sensed following us before I entered the portal?
"Or are you unhappy sharing with another?" Alphys prompted.
"It was your prey." Sans shrugged, "You should keep this for yourself." In one swift motion, he had tossed it back into Alphys' hands. Both looked equally displeased.
"I see." She regarded him coldly. "So that's your answer."
"Yeah." The skeleton turned himself around before stalking away, back into the darkness. He was gone.
"THAT GUY IS WEIRD!" Papyrus proclaimed loudly. I was pretty sure Sans could hear that.
"I wish we could all just get along." I sigh.
"That only works if everyone feels the same way." Alphys responded uneasily.
At home, at desk, just thinking.
It was too difficult for me, trying to come up with a wish I wanted to be made true on a moment's notice. But seeing Alphys trying her best to save others was really amazing. If someone like me could really help other people and monsters… I figured it would be really nice.
So maybe, if I stayed determined enough, then…
Then…